"None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone." Emerson

"There is something that is much more scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability." Robert Half

"There are two rules for success: 1) Never tell everything you know." Roger Lincoln

Today's image: She Said She'd Take Me Anywhere by Matt Roe. Great shot. Thank you!

Tis the season, let the list making begin. Patrick Phillips has his annual Media Person of the Year poll on offer. Pick one of ten or write in your own. The usual suspects - Google, Murdoch and Zuckerberg - joined by Perez Hilton, Rosie, Imus and Joanne Lipman among others. Check out the big ten and add yours to the bold-faced names now voting (e.g., Frank Rich, Kurt Anderson, Craig Newmark and Tina Brown). IWM 2007 Media Person of the Year here. Kudos to Patrick, for offering what is always one of the most interesting posts of the year. Murdoch gets my vote, Goggle in second. Ones to watch next year? Microsoft and Diller will both make my great in 08 list.

Quality v Quantity: Rob Barnett argues an important point. Which is the more productive business model - offer consistent quality or offer consistent quantity? In my experience, talent wins in entertainment. Quality trumps quantity. The long tail serves to confirm this notion. The "hits" do matter, they always will. The difficult concept for some to grasp is the practical working definition of hit is changing. It's no longer strictly defined as exclusively being the head of the long tail. It's less only a game of pure volume and more a game of consistently delivering on expectations within some defined community. The head rules, as ever but the tail now matters. Cable TV is a reasonable proxy here. During my life as an MSO the "quality" niche channels were the real drivers of our basic sub growth. We see that even more pronounced today in the growth of digital tiers. Rob's also a former cable hand and he's got this one down cold. Here's what Rob has to say about quality..

"In our first 4 months of life, we’ve brought a small number of big talents into a tent where they deliver new webisodes every single week...Our thinking is that if the best talent delivers the best videos - consistently - then less can be more."

In a wee bit over 100 days Rob and his gang have established a venue of weekly entertainment. My sense is they are one viral hit, one Leno clip away from achieving escape velocity. The cool thing is, they're just getting started. G.B. McLendon comes to mind here, to wit: "People don't know what they like but they like what they know." Rob & company have opened a place where people can come to know and expect entertainment. The 08 election cycle and Rob has Shearer in the tent, that alone is chock full of possibility and fun. Read Rob's post Can Less Be More? here.