Radio Sweethearts

Interesting stuff on this week’s recap – namely the technical glitch that made this post a day late: The fact that I forgot to hit “publish.” So I’m taking this opportunity to rework it. For no particular reason.

It happens. I’ve been feeling way under the weather, Kerry’s been out of town, I fell asleep at the table around 10 p.m. Sunday. Excuses, Excuses.

It makes me wonder what would happen if behavioral advertising could see my real life. Would they sell me Ambien or No-Doz? Or would all of the ads I see be for media provided free of charge, with the request to donate if I’m getting value out of it?

Which leaves me to interrupt my own post to let you know that our local public radio station, WKNO, has just started their fall pledge drive. You’ve heard the stuff about value, less than a cup of coffee, thank you gifts, all that.

If you’re anything like me, you’re deaf to that drivel. You donate to public radio because you’ve been listening for years, because the guilt is crushing, and because you want people like Bob Garfield and Brooke Gladstone (and Justin Willingham) to eat.

Also because they keep interrupting my favorite programs. And they’ll end the drive when they reach their goal. And I want my “Morning Edition” back. Go to WKNO, donate. Or find your own local NPR affiliate, and toss them a few bucks.

Anyway. Behavioral advertising. Bob does a story on a study conducted by UPenn Professor Joseph Turow, and he totally geeks out about “Nightmare Scenarios” – which Turow defines as “the digitization of all media and their interconnection.” That actually sound really cool to me. I love the iTunes genius feature – though not as much as making my own mix tapes – because of how it draws unexpected connections between songs.

Much as I did just there, Bob veers a little off topic – rather than keep the conversation on behavioral targeting (which doesn’t work quite like Bob says anyway) and why it skeeves people out – the story tends to drone on into one of Bob’s favorite topics – wondering aloud why people surrender their privacy.

Brooke, too, falters a little bit (to my ears) when talking about one of her favorite topics. We know her to be a little bit of a geek. She’s professed to us to be WNYC’s resident Star Trek expert, and she likes Dungeons and Dragons. We have to assume she was absolutely beside herself when interviewing Dmitri Williams about how the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, “Everquest II,” works to provide better social research than available just about anywhere.

It’s interesting, I guess, but I have very little invested in it. I barely even find it to be curious that people behave like they normally behave while playing role playing games, especially when dealing with economic decisions.

It’s clear here that Brooke is feeling no small amount of glee just talking about “Everquest,” and it’s quite fetching, but I just can’t relate in this case.

Today’s OTM highlights post was written by Matthew with no input from Kerry, who like to walk up to me while I’m trying to write, and breathlessly whisper with a vaguely British accent: “From all corners of the world heroes are being called to join the quest that will decide the fate of Norrath.”