"We become uncompetitive by not being tolerant of mistakes." Roberto Goizueta

"Retail has been described as selling things which don't come back to customers who do." Tom Farmer

"Conversation is king. Content is just something to talk about." Cory Doctorow

Today's image: Much Music by RossinaBossioB. Great series. Thanks for sharing.

Tony Quin, CEO of IQ Interactive writes Another Type of Climate Change in the latest issue of OMMA Magazine (free reg). Tony makes six points about digital competition, here's one of those...

"Don't presume attention. Time is the consumer's most valuable resource. So if you want it, you have to earn it. Consumer attention is very hard to attract and fleeting, and you earn it by delivering relevance. Even though the depth and breadth of a Web experience, unlike traditional channels is unlimited, you must engage the consumer in short increments, with each step getting more personally valuable to them."

Excellent point. Bravos, Tony.

Peter Bart, editor in chief of Variety has started a blog and he's promising unfiltered opinion. You decide here. Kudos, Peter.

Buzz: MSNBC launches micro-site for Keith Olbermann Countdown video here.

Bonus: Alison, a father documents his daughter's life [photo gallery].

Priceless: Despair, Inc. One-stop shopping for all your special gift giving needs and the link you'll be sharing the most this week.

Congrats & cheers: The Filter on their official launch. The new Rob Walker book ships today and promises to be one of the year's best reads on marketing. Highly recommended. [Amazon info], [Laura Miller review via Salon]

"Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit." W. Somerset Maugham

"Success is the point of self-deception. Failure is the point of self-knowledge." Graham Greene

"To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful, ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of poetry." Gaston Bachelard

Today's image: Morning mist by Steve Lacy. Great shot. Thanks for sharing.

Buzz: AOL will buy Sphere, it's official. Kudos to Martin Remy, Steve Nieker and the entire Sphere gang. Tim Robbins - 1) Erase all diversity 2) Stay focused on sex scandals 3) Find more racially divisive news...salacious entertainment not information...Imagine a world of broadcasting where the American people are encouraged to reject despair and distrust and when they turn their TVs and radios off at night and go to sleep they possess strength and unity and compassion for those they disagree with. NAB Keynote (audio)

Bonus: The Filter (now in private beta)

Congrats & cheers: John Battelle's Federated Media Publishing closes a $50 mil round.

A bunch of radio stuff...



Update: NAB bows radio initiative - Radio Heard Here. Related - Radio 2020 and radiocreativeland. At least the first tribe of wireless can rest easy knowing the NAB spent the time and money (even engaged an attorney) to officially file a trademark application for "Radio Heard Here." While perhaps among the first thoughts upon hearing about this creative tag line might well be "WOW, I sure hope that very cool slogan is protected to the full extent of applicable federal law" the use of the TM mark at this point does seem a wee bit premature. Two more early thoughts. First, will this Radio Heard Here campaign indeed be as powerful, effective as the Goodby Silverstein & Partners "Got Milk" campaign Jeff Haley has compared it to? (Have they our Michael Bay at the ready? Some clever Toma Leche messaging?). Second, without any disrespect whatsoever to Messrs Rehr, Haley and Ferrara, where are the women in the leadership of this initiative? Where are the young turks? These three middle-aged white guys and the initiative would benefit greatly from diversity.

Update 2: The new Arbitron - Edison Media Research findings - the annual update of their ongoing study The Infinite Dial - Radio's New Digital Platforms. Detail on the latest data set here.

The beat goes on: RBR chief Jim Carnegie gives a reader who "cannot be identified by name" the use of his hall to opine on Why HD Radio may never make it.

All of these items merit thought and discussion. My comments on each in the days ahead.