6-5-2012
Many of radio's most innovative minds have gathered in Santa Clara, California for Convergence 12, Radio Ink's annual 2-day Internet conference. This year Atari founder Nolan Bushnell (pictured) was the opening keynote speaker. Bushnell has come a long way from his days developing the game pong. And he shared oodles of wisdom with attendees. Bushnell, who was a mentor to Steve Job, told the audience that a college degree is right up there with toilet paper, as far as its worth. He said the reason Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, which he also founded, worked was because "we only hired enthusiasm." Bushnell said, "drink from a fire hose whenever you can and push the envelope."
Rob Curley, who has pulled many well know newspapers kicking and screaming into the digital world told Convergence attendees to understand the ecosystem and know what the audience wants. He said you can't just move a product to the web. You need to focus on relevance, build a sense of community and protect your community. Curley also said you should find a way to give listeners something they never expected and find a way to "wink" at your listeners, meaning produce humorous local content they would enjoy.
Convergence also focused on The Digital Dashboard on day one. And if you thought it was challenging for a radio station to figure out digital, it isn't much easier for the automotive industry. Not only does the technology change quickly, the automotive manufacturers have to worry about safety. Jon Bucci of Toyota said this is very tough. "We are in a very challenging time right now and getting it right with the consumer and the local dealers is top priority."
Tuesday will be filled with many more exciting panels and Rob Glaser will be our closing keynote speaker.
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