Interviews with Digital Media Thought Leaders
When Habit Becomes Reflex
Podcast Audio | Posted by Phil Leigh on May 17, 2010
While watching a theatrical motion picture, have you ever instinctively reached for the DVR remote in order to replay a scene where you didn’t quite catch the dialog?
I have – a number of times. Even though I was in a dark theater surrounded by many people, it became a reflex.
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There have been similar experiences while listening to my car radio. I get sporadic impulses to advance the playlist to the next song. It happens when I don’t like the DJ’s current selection.
About a year ago I started using Pandora’s iPhone application. Pandora calls itself an Internet “radio station”. In reality, at a basic level it is a free Internet service that streams a playlist of recorded tracks. Most importantly, within technical and legal limits it permits me to choose the type of tracks in the list. For example, I specified one station as Richard Wagner thereby getting selections by Wagner and comparable composers. But, as Woody Allen put it, “too much Wagner could leave me with an uncontrollable urge to invade Poland”. Thus, I designated a second station as Bruce Springsteen resulting in song streams by Springsteen and related artists. And so on.
An adapter cable connects the iPhone to the car stereo which I can also use with a discrete iPod. Increasingly my car stereo is either playing iPod selections or Pandora streams, both of which enable me to skip songs failing to suit my ephemeral tastes. As a result, when listening to conventional radio, I instinctively feel entitled to skip songs I don’t want to hear. Sometimes my right hand automatically reaches for the advance button. After the reflex has already started, I consciously remind myself that traditional radio has no such button.
Although habits are hard to break, reflexes are uncontrollable. This is bad news for traditional media, especially radio. As the wireless Internet steadily enables other forms of interactivity the gap between my reflexive expectations and the capabilities of broadcast radio will grow. Consequently, I’ll listen to radio less often as will the public at large.
Even 5 – 10 years ago radio had too many commercials. But today my favorite station seems to be scrapping the bottom-of-the-barrel to find sponsors. While the loudly obnoxious auto dealers remain typical, I’ve noticed a significant allocation of ad time to businesses that seem misleading, if not fraudulent.
One example is a company offering a “free” $130 device to help smokers quit. Another uses an announcer imitating Paul Harvey’s monologue style to promote an accounting service for taxpayers with money-owed notices from the IRS. The ad mentions settlements for pennies on the dollar and a never-before-available opportunity to reduce IRS debts by up to 85%. Last, is one recruiting “girls in your area” to be models. While it sounds like it’s seeking people for a glamorous paid assignment that is only temporarily available, most likely it is instead of a solicitation for a fee-based service of dubious value.
Despite other commercials aired for trustworthy companies, the ads noted above are as conspicuous as cow patties on a snow bank. They lower the station’s audience trustworthiness. Reputable sponsors are increasingly likely to seek better opportunities. As a viable business the station may already be circling the drain.
Categories: Podcast Audio
Tags: Internet Radio, iPhone, iPod, Pandora radio, radio, TiVo, wireless-internet
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As usual, you hit the nail on the head. I don’t listen to radio, only in car because theres nothing elese to listen to unless I have a mp3 player with me.
However at home; thats another story. I have used Pandora, and generally like it. Most of my music comes through my Dish Network receiver, they have a large number of Serius Music station that they stream, along with a wide selection of music station of their own. All of which have NO Commercials; No announcers, I counted about 20 songs in one hour of music a while back,, Let see you get that much on regular radio.
I do understand what your saying about questionable ads and how it brings down the quality of the stations that run them.
The only ads I generally don’t mind listening to are ones on TWIT.TV a netcast run by Leo Leporte. All of his ads are well spaced generally about 30+ minutes, but more impotently, he dosen’t talk down to the audience. The products that he advertises are all products or services that he uses personally. The ads are also products that are of interest to people who listen to his type of content.
Unfortunately on tv we’re still using the old shotgun method, of shooting many ads out and hoping some will result in sales.
The Tivo or DVR has changed the way people watch tv, time shifting to watch what they want, when they want, and with new satellite receivers with sling box built in natively they can now place shift to watch whats on their DVR , where ever they have a decent internet connection, and STILL skip the ads..
With all of the choices consumers have in what, where, and when they watch, advertisers and content produces both are hard pressed to find ways to get their content out and still make money. Without totally losing control of their content.
Ken Lawson