I’ve gone back and gathered links to old Chicago Reader “Did You Read __________?” blog posts that I contributed items to from 2012 to 2016. These posts were all “authored” by “Reader staff” with attibution to the individual contributors appearing in the body text next to their contributed items. So like some other things with … Read more
Before 97X, There Was WOXR An interesting look at the history of WOXR, the 3,000 Watt radio station in Oxford, Ohio that preceded WOXY 97X at 97.7 on the FM dial. Of particular interest are Chuck Cowdery’s personal recollections from the period of approximately 1972 to 1974, including details about who was at the station, … Read more
The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok A lot of good observations, context, connection-making, and generally clear thinking in this piece about social media and platforms in general and how they inevitably (?) destroy themselves through their “business models.” Or rather, perhaps, how “montetization” destroys digital “products” built around or for online coomunities. This is enshittification: Surpluses are … Read more
What pricing performs best? Interesting: For digital albums of seven tracks or more, most artists will maximize their earnings by charging $7 USD. For EP-length albums (six tracks or fewer), $4 USD is the sweet spot. But again, there are exceptions, and if you’re an established artist who has seen recent success charging $18 for … Read more
Private papers of Justice John Paul Stevens released by the Library of Congress give “look at the justices at work on thousands of cases, including Bush v. Gore and the 1992 abortion case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey.”