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Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy indulging in good food and drink. And often expensive food and drink. But the article I just wrote for Cork & Knife features something even I couldn't imagine ordering, even if my wallet would support it. It's a $7,450 cocktail.
You know I'm a big believer that online pairs nicely with print. You won't hear me saying that books, newspapers, magazines, and the like are dead. In fact, my own Eaglon publishes online and offline in tandem for Media Bullseye and Cork & Knife.
That's why I was not surprised, but definitely pleased, to see the news that the German version of Wikipedia will be published in book form. Read more here.
You don't expect to get lessons in perspective when you read the Boston Globe's Extra Bases blog about the Red Sox. But one post tonight delivered that message twice.
At the end of a notes-style piece, Nick Cafardo writes that former Red Sox backup catcher John Marzano died of a heart attack at age 45. I vividly remember the excitement I felt when I got his first baseball card, one from his stint on the 1984 Olympic Team, that was included in the 1985 Topps baseball card set. I actually liked it more than the Roger Clemens rookie card that was included in the same set (I can't even explain why 23 years later). He always seemed like a class act and was an easy autograph, which I appreciated as a youngster. Life is indeed too short, especially John Marzano's.
On a lighter note, the same blog post quotes Manny Ramirez of all people demonstrating that not every bad act requires higher intervention. In this case, it was his reaction to MLB suspending Yankees pitcher Kyle Farnsworth for throwing at Manny during a game earlier this week. Manny said it was unnecessary because it is how the game is played. Amen to that. Sports -- especially baseball and hockey -- would be better served if the suits let the players police the game rather than jumping to suspensions and penalties as readily as they do these days. That's not to say some vicious acts don't require severe penalties, but the players on the field and the ice do a pretty good job of keeping things in balance themselves when permitted to do so.
Both of these are lessons that we should take to heart off the field as well.
My semiannual Think Week has concluded, and I'm full of ideas and energy. Think Week is my opportunity to step back and take a 30,000 foot view of my companies, projects, and activities to make any necessary strategic adjustments. I unplug as much as possible, get out of town, and try to put my mind in the right place to sort these things out in a relaxed way. By shunning the day-to-day slog we all get bogged down in, I find I can make better judgments and churn out more productive ideas. I have been doing this for a number of years now, and I always find myself rejuvenated upon my return every 6 months. Ironically, I often find it more restorative than vacation in many ways.
(If you want more details on Think Week and my thoughts on the subject, check out my Mass High Tech magazine column on the topic from late last year.)
As I return from my latest solo retreat (or "advance" as Newt Gingrich used to like to call it when he was Speaker of the House), I have tweaked my focus a little bit. In particular, I have decided to rededicate myself personally to two of my publications, Media Bullseye and Cork & Knife. When I created Eaglon as a new media publishing company last year, I had great hope for it, and I am at least as excited about the concept today. These two publications in particular have gained traction and show real promise for long-term success.
At the same time, I am slowing down some other Eaglon projects in order to focus the limited resources of my startup enterprise on these two flagship outlets. You can look forward to lots more content and innovation from both in the coming weeks and months. And you will finally see print versions of each magazine, something that was part of the original vision. In fact, the first "dead tree" edition of Media Bullseye should hit the street next week featuring the best of the web content from the first quarter of this year.
Of course, CustomScoop remains an important part of my personal portfolio as well, and I'm excited about some of the innovation we'll be offering up in the coming weeks. I'm especially proud of the fact that we will be rolling out a very useful tool that no other traditional or social media monitoring company can boast. My efforts during Think Week have convinced me that I am striking the right note in my involvement, focusing primarily on high-level product vision as well as being a public "face" for the company.
This Think Week did not dwell heavily on my AOS Ventures, or my volunteer work with American University, or other companies and projects I'm involved in. Generally, I find it helpful to zero in on just a few areas to achieve maximum results.
If you think the media is slow to understand the dramatic changes taking place in their own industry, you may not be surprised to know that Congress is even more in the dark. Recent reports suggest that some politicians would seek to handcuff the American media at a crucial juncture in the industry's history.
Read my commentary on this subject here.
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