Google glasses: A view of the future

Google revealed last week that it was working on a pair of Internet-connected spectacles able to do “everything you now need a smartphone or tablet computer to do—and then some.” The glasses will display readouts on the lenses, above the normal line of sight; as you’re walking, Google Maps directions will “appear literally before your eyes.” When you meet someone new, their social-network profile will appear next to their face. Google claims to have already built a prototype, despite skepticism from the tech world that such technology yet exists. But if Google can bring this wearable computer to the masses, we’ll be nearing the point “where the line between human and machine blurs.” Read more here

WTOP, Washington DC all-newser, repeats as America's top-billing station

New BIA/Kelsey revenue estimates put Hubbard Radio's WTOP (103.5 and various simulcast stations) at $64 million in 2011 revenues. From the researcher's new Investing In Radio update, here's the top 10 list for 2011:

WTOP (News) Washington, DC  Hubbard Radio LLC  $64,000,000
KIIS (CHR) Los Angeles Clear Channel  $57,000,000
KFI  Talk  Los Angeles Clear Channel  $48,100,000
WBBM-AM  News  Chicago CBS Radio $48,000,000
WCBS-AM  News  New York CBS Radio  $47,500,000
WHTZ  CHR New York  Clear Channel  $46,000,000
KROQ Alternative Los Angeles CBS $42,000,000
WINS  News New York  CBS Radio  $42,000,000
WLTW  Lite AC New York Clear Channel  $42,000,000
WFAN    Sports/Talk  New York CBS   $40,500,000

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Can the Computers at Narrative Science Replace Paid Writers?

Narrative Science will certainly replace some types of human-generated writing, the stories they're most excited about are the ones journalists rarely cover. Because of readership expectations, no journalist would write a story with relevance to only one person, or a few—sports writers, for instance, don't write about Little League games in the first place. Instead of simply tallying wrong answers, your kid's standardized test results make highly specific study suggestions—in language that would do an English teacher proud. Log in to check your portfolio, you'll get an expert analysis on how your stocks are doing, with suggestions on what to trade our buy. As Slate's Evgeny Morozov notes in a recent article, "automated journalism" could result in news stories appearing differently to different readers. As Narrative Science continues refining and improving their authoring platform, two future grails stand out. First, Hammond would like to be able to train the platform to look for conclusions that haven't yet occurred to human clients. It can only report on story possibilities that human programmers have trained it to "see." Second, they hope to move beyond numbers. Though humans delve in stories and narratives, computers are simply much more adept with numbers. Further developments in computer understanding of human language could blow the current technology open. When Narrative Science can scan written documents with the same comprehension it brings to number sets, its viability increases dramatically. Read more herehere

2012 Jobs Rated Report

Professions that provide us with our news - Newspaper Reporter and Broadcaster - ranked among the worst jobs in the nation, according to the new 2012 CareerCast.com Jobs Rated Report. Lumberjacks, who work on the hottest and coldest days in a highly dangerous occupation with a low salary and a history of high unemployment, were rated as having the worst job in the nation. "Many jobs in the media are characterized by high stress, short deadlines, long hours and a poor hiring outlook," explains Tony Lee, publisher of CareerCast.com's 2012 Jobs Rated Report. To see the full rankings of all 200 jobs and the report's methodology, go here.

Radio Revs Growing

Total radio advertising revenues will grow 3.5% in 2012, according to BIA/Kelsey’s “Investing In Radio Market Report,” largely thanks to intensive political advertising. BIA/Kelsey also expects strong continued growth in radio’s online revenues. In 2012 BIA/Kelsey sees total “over-the-air” local radio station revenues reaching just under $14.6 billion. If accurate, this forecast would be a welcome return to growth after a distinctly mediocre 2011. They see radio’s online revenues reaching $767 million by 2016, suggesting a cumulative annual growth rate of 11% per year from 2013-2016. The fact remains, however, that online revenues are still a relatively small part of the radio business. Read more here

Magazine Ad Pages Down 33% From 2006

While they have not fared as poorly as their print cousins in the newspaper business, consumer magazines have taken it on the chin over the last few years. Last year, total ad pages as measured by the Publishers Information Bureau were off one-third from their peak of five years ago, having declined 33.4% from 253,494 in 2006 to 168,742 in 2011. This is partly the result of the closure of some titles, as the total number of magazines tracked by PIB fell from 252 to 221 over the same period. But even magazines that survived endured steep losses. Read more here

The Next Time Someone Says the Internet Killed Reading Books, Show Them This Chart

Remember the good old days when everyone read really good books, like, maybe in the post-war years when everyone appreciated a good use of the semi-colon? Everyone's favorite book was by Faulkner or Woolf or Roth. We were a civilized civilization. This was before the Internet and cable television, and so people had these, like, wholly different desires and attention spans. They just craved, craved, craved the erudition and cultivation of our literary kings and queens.

Well, that time never existed. Check out these stats from Gallup surveys. In 1957, not even a quarter of Americans were reading a book or novel. By 2005, that number had shot up to 47 percent. I couldn't find a more recent number, but I think it's fair to say that reading probably hasn't declined to the horrific levels of the 1950s.

Read more here

the new spirit of business

Centralised, hierarchical systems made sense in a world in which information and knowledge were relatively scarce commodities and could be tightly controlled, but the decentralisation of knowledge, brought about by the inexorable rise of the internet – combined with a collapse of trust in traditional sources of authority and expertise – legitimises the creation of flatter, decentralised operational models. Rapidly changing customer expectations powered by social media are forcing institutions to become more open, transparent and responsive and to operate in close to real time, as opposed to the painfully slow pace of institutional time.

Agility, flexibility, a willingness to exercise judgement and an ability to improvise will become the defining characteristics of successful institutions in the next decades. This means fighting the instinct to solve every problem through rules and regulations and recognising the limitations of long-term planning and the painfully slow nature of most internal decision-making processes.

It means accepting the need to operate in real time and making the organisational and cultural changes necessary to achieve it. And most importantly, it means building a strong, self-sustaining, trusting organisational culture rather than in investing in yet more process and bureaucracy.

The future is loose, messy and chaotic: now is the time to embrace it. Read more here