Jim just iMessaged asking whether his mother-in-law should get an Echo or a Dot. You know a revolution is brewing when a septuagenarian jumps on the technology bandwagon. It reminds me of 1995, the heyday of AOL.

Now in that year most people did not own computers. Ironically, many said they were waiting for a device you could talk to. But then AOL exploded.

Not that it hadn’t been hiding in plain sight, the online enterprise had launched years before. It wasn’t even first to market, initial traction was gained by CompuServe, Prodigy and GEnie. But none were as easy to use, and ease of use begets buzz. Interestingly, Prodigy was backed by Sears and GEnie by GE, the behemoths were in the know, kind of like Xerox, with PARC. But they gave up too soon, they didn’t adjust on the fly, and they were left in the dust. Proving it’s not always first mover advantage, but continued improvement. AOL was Facebook to its competitors’ MySpace. Hell, even many who tried the ultimate also-rans gave up, there’s no greater frustration than a computer that does not do what you want it to, even if it’s human error. That’s what made the Mac so successful, what ultimately caused Apple to become the most valuable company on the planet, not only ease of use, but the Genius Bar, where those who were inept or time-challenged could make an appointment and be walked through something that most geeks could figure out by themselves. And only geeks were on the other online services.

But AOL was a revelation. It was easy to use. And so exciting. Within twelve months seemingly all of America did sign on, forget that the service did not access the World Wide Web at first, to suddenly be able to hook up with the rest of humanity, both intellectually and socially, was an incredible thrill. You know how you wait for a text or an email on your mobile device? When you logged on to AOL and heard that voice saying “You’ve got mail!” you felt like the most popular person in the world, the dopamine hit was staggering.

That’s where the Echo is now.

Talk about ease of use, you just talk to it. But when it talks back, you get that same tingly feeling you did when you heard “You’ve got mail!” And just like in the early days of AOL, most of what you’re doing with the Echo is unnecessary and irrelevant, but it’s so much damn fun. To the point where you can’t stop talking about it, you’re a member of the club, you want to demonstrate the device’s wares to everybody you encounter.

And at first AOL was like Google search, it spread by word of mouth, not advertising. Which may have you scratching your head when you think of all those giveaway discs you ultimately kept getting in the mail, but despite being available to all, AOL was a secret club, that anybody could join, and you did. First because of the buzz, then because you didn’t want to be left out. You might have heard of the Echo, but you didn’t need one until the buzz reached you, and to this point it’s being sold on word of mouth.

Now once you decided you wanted to play on AOL, you needed a computer. Or if you already had one, a modem. And every couple of months both were improved. Talk about a technology boom, talk about the eradication of the national deficit, funny how technological breakthroughs can benefit the economy. The rich do get richer, because when you’re selling something to everyone with little labor you garner great wealth, but our nation as a whole benefited. And there have been technological breakthroughs since…

But now you don’t need a new phone.

A new computer only once a decade for many people.

But the Echo is a gateway to a whole new world of acquisition, one we’ve been hearing about for years which is just now coming to fruition. Kinda like digital photography, we heard it was going to kill film for a decade and it didn’t, but then, overnight, it did.

Smart home here we come!

There was Nest.

Apple’s been bloviating about the smart home for years.

But with Echo, the public finally gets it. They want their device to control their environment, not only the temperature, but the lights.

Now many forget all the AOL naysayers.  People were addicted! It was gonna end human interaction! The same way they’re uptight about the Echo and privacy. But the truth is you already gave up your privacy, wanna know how? Look at the ads following you around the web, Google and ad networks know all about you already, never mind all the info that’s hiding in plain sight. If you can’t find anybody you ever knew online within half an hour, pictures and everything, you don’t know how to surf, and others do, they can find you. So if you’re afraid of Alexa listening all the time… Amazon says it doesn’t. But that’s not convincing to you, because you’ve got culture shock, you don’t want to throw in with another new device, but everybody else does.

And Apple was the first company with mainstream voice activation, but Siri was a disaster upon launch and still isn’t very good. In this case, Apple appears to be CompuServe/ Prodigy/GEnie.

And Google has a competitive product, but Google’s track record of arriving late and obliterating first movers in new markets is just terrible. It tried to kill Facebook and didn’t come close. As for Google Home… It understands me very well, maybe even a bit better than the Echo, when it hears me, which oftentimes it does not. It seems to have a dead zone in the back, and if I’m not right up close and sometimes even if I still am, I end up yelling at the device and getting frustrated with it, makes me want to use it less, unlike the Echo, which I want to use more and more. And Amazon was brilliant in using the name Alexa, the geeks at Google don’t know how to be hip. “Hey Google”? Where’s the fun in that? And AOL taught us first and foremost it has to be fun. Also, the speaker in Google Home is too small and the device is unattractive. Sure, the Echo might be ugly beautiful, but you never want to be bland.

And unlike Apple, and very much like Microsoft, never forget, the success of AOL coincided with the launch of Windows 95, the Echo is an open system, anybody can play. You’ve got Spotify, but no Apple Music. How can that be?

Amazon is playing a long game wherein it wants to become the standard, and so far it appears to be winning.

Now what killed AOL was the World Wide Web and broadband. Proving that you can be here today and gone tomorrow in tech, and you have to reinvent the wheel every damn day. But every Friday I get an email from Amazon all about new Echo features. Some utilitarian, some just fun, so…

You’re gonna own an Echo, it’s just a matter of when.

Voice activation/response is the latest technological breakthrough. While we were waiting for flying cars, when it looked like there were no breakthroughs on the horizon, it snuck up on us, kinda like AOL back in ’95.

This is only the beginning. In an on demand world, we can now all have a personal concierge, at our beck and call. One we can use and not feel guilty about. One, in the tradition of modern tech, which is not expensive to buy.

This is a juggernaut.

“The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds”

I’m pretty sure most buyers never finished this book.

So why did I?

Maybe it’s fandom, I’m a Michael Lewis believer. He writes well about subjects I find interesting and he’s not self-aggrandizing and thin-skinned like Malcolm Gladwell, whom I’ve lost faith in. But both oftentimes write about science, when neither has any true expertise in the field. And after reading Clayton Christensen’s latest tome I’ve realized you’re much better off going to the source, only oftentimes the source can think, has experience, but can’t write.

Maybe it’s because of my Kindle policy. If I buy it, I read it. My inbox fills up constantly with print supporters, they’re even more vociferous than CD supporters, maybe not foaming at the mouth quite like vinyl supporters. And that’s part of what “The Undoing Project” is about, the investment the old guard has in debunking new theories. I got an email from a friend in Bora Bora telling me she had nothing to read, that the book she’d brought was boring her. I told her I was lying on my bed reading about a new book on my iPhone and went on Amazon and bought it and started reading it right away on my Kindle and was engrossed. Funny how the people addicted to their mobile devices can’t stray from hardcover books. Then there’s a publishing industry that won the war with Amazon by pricing digital copies almost the same as physical ones, and that just doesn’t feel right. And that’s another thing in “The Undoing Project,” how emotions, however irrational, creep into decision-making. If I had the hardcover I could lend it, it could sit on my shelf forever, even though lending can be rare and we end up weighted down by our possessions.

Maybe it’s because of Middlebury. I vividly remember Professor Andrews saying in anthropology freshman year that we were never going to discuss the reading in class, if we’d gotten this far and had trouble comprehending the book we had bigger problems. That was what Middlebury was about, reading. You’d sit in the dorm lounge on sunny afternoons for hours, poring through books you had little interest in, because you knew you’d have to expound upon them in the test, and expound you did, there were no objective exams at Middlebury, only subjective ones, essays, three hours long. So I know how to read a boring book and soldier on. Is this an asset? I oftentimes wonder. We hear all the time about pivoting, but I stay the course, I’m starting to think to my detriment, sometimes you just have to give up.

Like I’m sure most of the purchasers of “The Undoing Project” did.

But the reviews were so good!

Ever since Michiko Kakutani raved about “The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter,” I’ve doubted her opinion. Kinda like Steve Bannon. Who wondered why no one in the media that got the election so wrong lost their job. Because it’s a club, they circle the wagons, and the press keeps doing its job, reporting what it sees as the truth not realizing it didn’t work against Trump yet and it probably never will. And then you’ve got the lefties saying to throw money at the newspapers. Now I get three, but I will never look at them the same way since they got the election wrong. It’s kind of like a spouse lying to you outright. There should at least be consequences. And the truth is Trump and his cronies will not be beaten in the press or at protests but in the election booth. Like the Tea Party the left wing needs to line up Congressional candidates far to the left of Hillary, closer to Bernie, who excite the younger generation and will get people out to vote. But so far, the left has learned nothing from Trump’s election, it’s painful to watch, how the best and the brightest have their heads in the sand. And none of the reviews said “The Undoing Project” was nearly unreadable, they all focused on the bond between the two protagonists, but the truth is this is a story of psychological theory, do you care about that? I can’t say that I do very much, and I would have liked it better if it was a ten page article in “The New Yorker.”

But the media buys the pitch of the publisher and then the public buys the book and no one reads it. But it appears a best-seller. Once upon a time Amazon published how far people got in books, they’ve got that data (yes, you people afraid of Alexa can feel good about your position), but publishers don’t want that information out, certainly not authors. Then it would be like the music business, where we can see on YouTube and Spotify what people are actually listening to, and it oftentimes doesn’t square with sales, never mind the media spin. Hip-hop is even bigger on streaming services. Chew on that for a while.

And then there’s the curious case of “All The Light We Cannot See,” one of the best sellers of the last half decade. I was intrigued at first, but it took me a month to plow through it, because of the writing style. I don’t think that many people finished this book either. More than “The Undoing Project,” but… You see academics and critics laud that which squares with their principles. And if it cuts like butter and it’s easily readable it’s considered pop trash and pooh-poohed. But accessibility is a virtue. Anthony Doerr has won a slew of prizes, but I think they’d be better off going to a more populist writer, then again, the committees don’t want to acknowledge that work. The lunatics have taken over the asylum, and they want to keep it that way. You do know that prizes are a scam, that it’s a club and if you’re not a member the odds of getting one are almost nonexistent. But I will say Doerr’s book does qualify as art. The sense of loss and the suffering and consequences of war and the power of radio… They’re all in there. Funny how we live in a world where emotions are pushed under the rug, when emotions are the only thing worth living for.

So, if you’re gonna read one of these books, read “All The Light We Cannot See.”

As for “The Undoing Project”…

It starts off with an NBA anecdote, you’re riveted, but then it moves on to economics and psychology. You’re waiting for the NBA to return, but it never does. There are detours to a hospital in Canada, but most of the book is dry psychological theory, very important, but written in a fashion and at such length that unless you majored in the subject your eyes will glaze over.

The truth is people don’t act rationally. And economists thought they did. Amos and Danny proved them wrong. Over and over and over again.

We’d like to read the application of their theories, but mostly we just get theories.

And a bit of their interpersonal relationship, but if you’re reading this book for that you’re gonna throw it against the wall.

So what I’m saying here is we have a fact problem in the left wing world. We don’t question our media sources, we accept as a given everything put forth to us. We feel proud that we own unreadable books. We don’t look back and evaluate our choices. We’re overconfident and proud of it.

Not that I’m lauding the down and out Trump voters who don’t read at all and just dig in their heels as they vote for policies against their interest.

But first and foremost we must change us.

When you see people with a house full of books, ask how many they’ve read. Then pull one and quiz them about it. They like showing off, why else build a collection/monument to themselves?

Question authority.

Most learning takes place outside the classroom. Some of the dumbest, least analytical people have college degrees. Find an interest and pursue it.

Know that if you gain traction, if you break taboos, people will come after you, and no matter how much you fight back, you can never shut them up, this is what Amos and Danny realized, it drove Amos nuts.

We live in very dark times. My head is spinning from the inanity of the wall and the support of pipelines and dumb economic policies, but not only must we complain, we must put our faith in leaders and support them. Who is carrying the Democratic torch? Looks like no one at this point. We need someone to be our mouthpiece, and we’ve got to work the refs just like the right, call them on their b.s. when they attack our leader(s).

So it’s no wonder people turn to books.

Just don’t turn to this one.

Does not give its audience what it wants, does not tell it what it wants to hear.

Is not in it for the money.

Is not a member of the group. If you’re the quarterback of the football team or the head cheerleader chances are you are not an artist. An artist is a misunderstood outsider who doesn’t get along with others, sorry, but it’s true (see #1 above!)

Lives for feedback but hates that they do.

Is not an activist for rights they are not participating in. When you hear someone complain about streaming payouts and they’ve got none, beware. Pay attention to those in the game. You earn your presence in the game, until then what you say doesn’t matter.

Is not entitled to an income.

Speaks truth. To power, to everybody. If you’re afraid of the reaction to your work and flinch and don’t put it out you’re a sniveling wimp, not an artist.

Knows that the audience is the ultimate arbiter. Gatekeepers are to be tolerated, at this late date critics are nearly irrelevant. If you’re getting a good response you’re on the right track, ignore the haters.

Knows that awards are meaningless. Sure, they’re nice to get but they don’t represent quality, only acknowledgement by people you probably wouldn’t want to go to dinner with.

Knows chops are important, but they’re no match for inspiration.

Knows that credibility is everything, if people don’t believe in you, they will not believe in your work.

Looks for inspiration everywhere. The more you interact with the world, the better your art. In other words, an artist is CURIOUS!

Will take no for an answer, but will not stop creating.

Wants to give up on a regular basis, but always comes back to creating.

Is willing to sacrifice. If you want a house and a spouse and children and a cushy income art is probably not for you.

Knows when they ring the bell, which they do infrequently.

Gets better with time. Unless they’ve reaped huge success, then they usually get worse, because they worry about the audience’s expectations and are afraid to take risks and then become slaves to their income.

Challenges norms.

Is a student of history. If you don’t know how we got here, who came before, how the game works, chances are you won’t succeed. You’ve got to learn the parameters and see where you can test limits. You want to reinvent the wheel, but not EVERY WHEEL!

Is inspired by other artists. No “Sgt. Pepper” without “Pet Sounds.” You’re part of a community, some of the best art is a reaction.

Lives for stimulation.

Knows how to capture lightning in a bottle. Art is not 9-5 work, it’s about getting inspired and letting your freak flag fly.

What does this mean for radio?

“Bad and Boujee” is number one on Spotify, even number one on the “Billboard” Hot 100, but it’s nowhere to be found on the Mediabase Top Forty chart.

I’m fascinated by the Oscar nominations, because other than the voters and the media savants no one cares about these pictures. How can such a disconnect take place?

Both are run by old people, the Oscars and radio, and they want to believe they’re hip, but they could not be more out of touch.

If I write anything negative about radio, my inbox fills up with lifers saying I just don’t get it. As if waiting to hear one’s song come on works in an on demand culture. As for personality radio, theatre of the mind, that’s in podcasts, not over the air transmissions. All the story has been expunged from radio. But those involved keep saying it counts. And those in the industry, who grew up in the world of ads, kneel at the feet of radio, should they?

The Oscar organization has not realized its lunch has been eaten by television. That’s where you go for long form story. Where personalities are explored and you get invested in real life. Movies are for popcorn releases, flicks made to play around the world, with special effects and comic book heroes and you’re expecting the people who keep the industry alive to care about the Oscars?

No way.

But that’s a baby boomer for you, talking out of both sides of his mouth, believing if they wear the clothes of their children they know what’s going on.

The same media that trumpeted the effort known as Beats 1. Heard much from Zane Lowe recently? The story is today’s young ‘uns don’t cotton to radio, they want what they want and they want it now, but the oldsters keep playing by the old rules, when’s it gonna change?

Sure, radio is the icing on the cake, a victory lap where you can make even more money, but songs that cross over from streaming services are hits there months later, appealing to the most casual of listeners, and we all know it’s the dedicated who pay our bills. Used to be you listened to radio for the new releases, for exclusive announcements, now you go there to find out what happened last spring. When is it going to change?

The truth is streams count, they’re all that matter, all sales are nearly irrelevant, because streams tell how much people are actually listening, they’re the ultimate arbiter, they illustrate that Lady Gaga’s new work is an incredible stiff, something the NFL could never fathom when it booked her for the Super Bowl, but they’d be better off booking Migos.

And radio spoon-feeding us tracks in a world where hit artists constantly release new material? Explain to me how this works?

The model is broken.

We have to bring everybody into the present. A fluid world where acts are built on streaming services and live there. Late night TV is a circle jerk. Why does everybody love Jimmy Fallon? When it counted, he punted, he didn’t ask Donald Trump the hard questions, but he needs to be liked, whereas artists are edgy, hell, Migos’s career was stymied by a member being in jail, and I can’t say I approve of that, but it’s definitely an illustration of refusing to color inside the lines.

Oldsters don’t believe it until they see it in the newspaper. As if the reporters had a crystal ball wherein they could see truth. But too often reporters are harried writers with little expertise subject to the efforts of public relations people. There’s no news there.

But there’s plenty of news on the internet.

If only we had a chart for news on the internet…

But we do have music charts. And they show what people are really listening to. Why does radio, why does the industry ignore them? A hit is such the moment it’s released, so why isn’t radio playing Rag’n’Bone Man? Number one in many countries, they’re waiting for the green light from the label, they’re so behind the times it’s not funny.

Music is about immediacy. When you capture that people are excited. We should all get on the same page and lionize that which is happening now, instead of confusing the customer. And if radio wants to survive, it must add tracks when they are new and turn over the chart more.

So the internet has disrupted music exposure, not only distribution. It’s a hit first on the internet. Why can’t we all accept and embrace this?