Wednesday, November 19, 2008
As the web expands into so many different little niches, it's tempting to just stick with the free world and not even try to build your own, private, custom web site. Let me just say that for many, that is a good decision. It makes no sense to design a half-*ssed custom web site -- and if you don't believe me, ask someone who has.
MySpace, Facebook and all the other free social networking sites are powerful, albeit entirely generic, web options for any artist, author or business. And make...
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mike@generatornetwork.com at
10:00:25 PM | 0 comments
Sunday, November 02, 2008
It sounds like a goofy-simple question, but it's the first question you must ask and answer before you start the process of creating a new web site. Unfortunately, most clients don't really get to the bottom of this question until their new site is well underway.
The web is a Rubics Cube of options. Unlike a print ad, in which your options remain limited to layout and design, the web has multiple dimensions. Sure, design and layout matter. In fact, design is fundamental to a good web site...
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mike@generatornetwork.com at
10:02:09 AM | 0 comments
Friday, October 10, 2008
This was, by any estimation, a wild week. With the stock market taking its worst dive in history, and governments all over the world trying to get more involved in everyday commerce, volatility is at an all-time high.
It can be unsettling, can't it?
Today, Paul Resnikoff at Digital Music News wrote another very insightful article about how artists need to prepare for the future. The key, he believes, is to diversify — just as guys like Jim Kramer of Mad Money are preaching to...
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mike@generatornetwork.com at
5:26:07 PM | 0 comments
Sunday, September 28, 2008
These are tough times for the publishing business. And while the blogs and web sites like to extol the spirit and opportunities of the independent artist and author, the realities can be daunting at best.
It's not so much that there are limits placed on what indies can accomplish anymore. The problem is, there are limits placed on anyone without capitol.
When I worked on the client side of the business, we had all the stuff we needed to make a run at success. We had back office...
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mike@generatornetwork.com at
9:38:19 AM | 0 comments
Friday, September 26, 2008
This evening I was checking my Gmail, and I noticed something very unassuming at the top of my mail In Box window. It was a simple line of text that said this:
" Memphis Flights $49 - Memphis-Flights.Ask.com - Great Deals On Cheap Flights To Memphis If You Book Here Online!"
Now, that link may have been there before, but I never noticed it. What's interesting about this? Well, I have been in some lengthy Gmail conversations with three of my Memphis-based partners...
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mike@generatornetwork.com at
11:57:00 PM | 0 comments
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
This month, Apple announced that they had become the largest music retailer on the planet in any format. That includes CDs, btw, which is an ominous sign for the music business.
The reason is simple: With Christmas fast approaching, all of our moms and grandmoms will be buying their first iPod. Those who have iPods will be looking to move up to iPod Touch or the iPhone. With iPhones selling at a rate of a million per month, and Google waiting in the wings with their new multimedia phone...
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mike@generatornetwork.com at
5:42:52 PM | 0 comments
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Most of us here at generator spent most of
our careers working at and for major record companies. People would
often ask me if working for a record company was fun. I’d always say,
“I get to wear whatever I want, listen to music all day, talk about
music all day, go to fancy parties, get any CD I want for free, go to
awards shows on an expense account, become friends with famous,
creative and otherwise interesting people…and they pay me! Who wouldn’t
like that job?”
When I started at...
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mike@generatornetwork.com at
12:39:16 AM | 0 comments
Thursday, May 01, 2008
I once made most of my money designing
print materials. CD packages, book covers, print ads, posters and
fliers. Occasionally clients would ask me to do things out of the box,
but usually those things tied directly into print products they had
already designed and simply needed reconfigured.
About three years ago, I started seeing the handwriting on the wall
for the print world. The most obvious sign was when we did our taxes
that year and discovered that our income on marking up...
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mike@generatornetwork.com at
6:35:41 PM | 1 comments