Podcast 294

Dry Cycle. The update turns into a discussion of the fallibility of media, even your favorite cable news channel. This weekend, Fox News had to correct itself and apologize profusely for reporting there are ‘no go’ zones in Europe, where non muslims fear to tread, and the police won’t enter. Everyone was talking about it all weekend after Fox anchors and guests apparently got it wrong. These are neighborhoods in England and suburbs in France that are about as forbidding as LA’s Compton, or Chicago’s South Side. While Europe has been more lenient allowing Sharia Law, it does not mean muslim ‘enclaves’ have sprouted, even though allowing a separate law for Muslims in a modern, western democracy is not a good idea. That said, the President and the Pope continue to support limits on free speech. President Obama even went so far as to say he doesn’t consider terrorism a existential threat, which it most certainly is, then said Europe has to do a better job ‘integrating’ its Muslims. Maybe he fell for the No Go story too. This provokes a whole conversation about how to wean yourself from cable news and talk radio, develop multiple sources of information, deal in facts, avoid the emotion spewing out of talk radio and fox news, and use your tools to find and develop deeper knowledge on key subjects. The need to fill the airwaves, pushes under financed and poorly managed outlets to spew out incorrect information, relying on ping ponging viewers back and forth between the latest outrage and the latest breaking news. The good news? That kind of media’s glory days are behind it, as it gives way to on demand audio (podcasts), You Tube, NetFlix and future on demand video services. A recent survey reports that most millennials don’t ever watch broadcast television, seldom watch cable news channels, and download virtually all their entertainment and information. In an on demand world, the daily outrage may not work as well, as people seek out information, rather than people screaming at each other. The latest example? NASA says 2014 was the hottest year on record? Do you know by how much? Do you know what the margin of error is in that estimate? The answer might surprise you. Finally, Arizona and other states are passing laws which require high school seniors to pass citizenship exams in order to graduate. Good idea? Sponsored by Baklund R&D.

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Podcast 231

Short Term Thinking. How reliance on formula reduces innovation. American Business is increasingly reliant on short term thinking and ‘templates’ or formulaic approaches. The least revolutionary kind of innovation – improvements in finance, procedure, cost controls and personnel – are increasingly the only kind of innovation in the corporate world. Meanwhile, innovations that create new products, new markets and revolutionize thinking are in short supply. What started as a conversation between two old radio friends about the broadcasting business sparks some ‘slash and burn’ thinking about business in general. Why do some businesses rely on formula so much? When are formula’s good. When is it best to trash the formula and let the inmates take over the asylum? (Editors Note: The best jobs I’ve ever had in radio, the best experiences as a creative person in broadcasting happened when the inmates were running the asylum. In fact, that used to be our business model!) These days it seems like formulaic thinking has invaded politics, movies, radio, music, television … really almost everything. And, we’re choking on it. Is it possible one of the reasons so many people remain out of the work force for extended periods of time is because they’re sick of implementing plans from the corporate office? Maybe what we all need is to throw the formula out and start doing whatever we want. To be sure, there will be mistakes, and failures, but there might also be some great successes. Some of the things business does, it does because of formulas developed 20, 30, 40 even 50 years ago. Back in the day, those formulas may have made sense but now they bear little resemblance to new market contours. If the United States wants to maintain its position in the world, we’re going to have to set our workers free; Free to think, free to make mistakes and free develop the kinds of new strategies that revolutionize markets. The response to almost every truly revolutionary idea has always been, ‘You can’t do that’, or ‘It sounds like crap’, or ‘Why would anyone want that?’. Or worse, ‘That’s not the way we’ve always done it’. Our strength has always been in the skunk works, the garage, the basement and backyards, and with the so called ‘crazies’. Rules are made to be broken. Why don’t we start breaking some? Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and by Depotstar.

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Podcast 192

The Bob Davis Podcasts Celebrates One Year. The one year anniversary of the new version of the podcasts is August fourth. July 5th 2009 is the fifth year anniversary of the original Bob Davis Podcast. Don’t get too excited, although there will be fireworks at the end of the podcast. In just one year, nearly a million podcasts have been served up at the rate of about a hundred thousand a month, three thousand a day. Thanks to the listeners, and the sponsors. A dinner discussion about the opportunities departing talk show hosts (locally) may mean for Bob Davis, provoked a wider discussion about why podcasting is better, more promising and more fun, than radio. Plus, why more and more quality talk hosts and radio people are jumping a sinking ship and starting their own podcasts. How has that changed Bob Davis, how are the podcasts different from radio, how a revolution in technology spurns a revolution in communication. In some ways, it’s the same revolution we’re seeing in American Politics, and the fading institutions of the old world. What happens when a podcaster runs out of printer paper on a Sunday night, just before he about to print his ream of the latest news, read it, and then comment on it? A discussion about what a ‘political news cleanse’ might sound like. Plus a few shout outs and a short talk about what being in business for yourself is all about. Sponsored by Baklund R&D.

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