Any college student will tell you that bookstore visits are usually dreaded. It isn’t that the staff are unfriendly, or that the atmosphere isn’t nice enough. Its the drain on the wallet – or pocketbook – that is so painful. Buy the latest edition, because last semester’s textbook is pitifully outdated. Get the right edition, because the prof isn’t going to accommodate a slacker who can’t get the required book. And watch the latest become…a big old paperweight, rather useless after the semester is over. I am ashamed to say that I actually thought I’d refer to some of my most valued college texts…and that a few remain crammed into a box in the attic…even though it has been a long, long time since those courses.

Obviously the college textbook system is antiquated and in need of overhaul. And our friends at Apple are looking out for us. According to some quick research, Apple sold 350,000 textbooks in the three days after unveiling their availability on iBookstore.

I recall a conversation less than a year ago with my daughter, a high school student who carries about 100 pounds of books to and from school everyday. It was about the way things in her academic “career” would change.

“Saige,” I said, “Before you finish college you’ll be getting all your textbooks electronically. You’ll have ‘em all on an iPad. It’ll save you money – and it’ll save your back!”

Looks like I was a little long on the projection. Seems she’ll see that textbook revolution happen before she finishes high school. And for that, Apple, I thank you.

Now, what’s Cupertino got planned next?

What announcements, products or presentations from CES strike you as most exciting or promising?

So, the following are the starting point for a “Top Books of 2012 – Which I Actually Read” list…which I’ll try to post in about twelve months.

1. All is Grace, Brennan Manning  – Memoirs of a fascinating man who found God’s grace…everywhere. I am eager to get to know Manning better.
2. Prayer, Philip Yancey – Started, just need to finish this fine book. Philip has been a favorite writer since I started reading his columns in Campus Life magazine during high school. That’s quite a long time!
3. The New Testament – Various (human) authors. Chuck Swindoll has challenged believers to read through the New Testament this year. I think that’s a great idea – and plan to add in the Psalms and Proverbs, as well (see this reading plan). Why not join me?
4. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy’s epic. If three of my kids have read it, why haven’t I?
5. The Meaning Of Marriage, Tim Keller – We’ll be interviewing Tim and his wife Kathy for a Focus broadcast soon, and I am always glad for an opportunity to read this wise man’s perspective on life.

I’ll try to gather up the best books I’ve read this past year in a future post. Meantime, what books are on your “didn’t read – yet” list?

ADDENDUM: Just today Danny Heitman writes in the Wall Street Journal (subscribers only, sorry) about this very matter. I appreciated his perspective, which affords some comfort:

The truly cultured, (author Gabriel Zaid) says, “are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or desire for more.”

Further, Heitman adds,

Unread books…can be noble evidence of aspirations not yet met but still worth embracing.

Somehow, such thinking gives me permission to go through those stacks of books which I have not yet cracked open, or which was started but never finished, on bookshelves both at home and at work, and dare to pick one up…and read.

Here’s to a growing collection of unread books, and to a year ahead of great reading!

Who would have thought typing such short messages could be so impactful?

And, as an article in the Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, beyond the use of Twitter by individuals,

even the stodgiest companies have found their way onto Twitter. They have discovered it isn’t just another marketing channel with a funny name, it’s more like a conversation they need to join or risk losing influence over how consumers view them or their brands.

(Twitter…) has become a very public complaint line, and ill-considered tweets or hacked Twitter accounts have caused plenty of embarrassment.

What are the pitfalls – and advantages – to having an active presence on Twitter? Here’s an assessment of three major companies which are utilizing Twitter quite effectively, with some lessons for every business.

…analysis of Arbitron ratings among the A18-34 demo (shows that) Pandora’s AQH is now higher than any terrestrial radio station in all of the five-largest U.S. radio markets.

From personal observation, I’m not surprised. To see that “AQH” (Arbitron’s measure of the average number of individuals listening to a station during any given 15-minute segment) I recall a conversation a few years back with one college student I knew, in which he revealed that Pandora is the only radio he listened to at the time. “Regular” radio just wasn’t reaching him. Then or now, apparently. From the above stat, it seems he is STILL only listening to Pandora.

Contrasted with a dismissal of online radio, I also remember the fear that some broadcasters had several years ago as web  radio was just taking off. They rightfully were concerned about listener erosion. I challenged those I spoke with to concentrate on doing what they did better than any online station: provide localized service, “superserve” their existing audience and remain the trusted, “first source,” local provider of music (and/or information).  I’ve not checked lately to see how those stations are doing, but if they didn’t heed my advice (which admittedly was not altogether uncommon, nor terribly revelatory), their fears are perhaps being realized.

Bottom line, I like Pandora. It isn’t “DJ-hosted” radio, but for the music I want, and the new music I want to learn about, Pandora does a pretty good job of keeping my attention.

Other services: Not so much. With all the hoopla about it, I’ve tried Spotify, but so far don’t find it convenient enough – for free. Maybe the paid service is good…but I can’t – won’t – go there. I just don’t want to pay for my radio. I’ll take the ads Pandora includes in the free stream. I’ll skip the “premium” services.

“Radio is radio” observed Pandora founder Tim Westergren.

I think he is right. Radio is…lots of things. It is companionship. It is information. It is entertainment. It is…free.

Things have changed since I first started on-air. with LPs, 45s, carts, and a bit of dead air. Online changes everything. Except, it would seem, radio listening habits. Most people in the U.S. still listen to radio. Its just that more and more are listening online. That isn’t bad. It just is.

I hope that terrestrial broadcasters are coming to terms with the new reality, that they are either cultivating an online-savvy audience, or they risk losing sharing their audience all-too-soon. I’m not giving up on radio. I’ll continue to punch buttons on my daily commute. And I’ll still listen to online radio stations at my desk.  Because radio is radio.

The headline stat: 71% of the respondents preferred texting to phone calling.

See the graphic, and consider:

• What are you doing to reach the next generation of media consumers?
• In this over-saturated, fast-moving world, how will you be heard/seen?
• What is going to make your message worthy of a teen’s interest?
• And is texting part of your strategy?

Just asking.

Newspapers and magazines are struggling in a world in which we get our information faster than it can be printed and delivered to our door. Television has been slow to move into the internet era, and the massive costs of creating content and distribution are pulling down revenues. Radio has been in some turmoil as it has tried to go “HD” (unsuccessfully) and monetizing online activities.

About radio, here’s a brief summary from veteran Fred Jacobs about where the medium is now, and what the essence of its challenges is:

(It) isn’t about “To stream or not to stream.”  It’s about the difficulty of facing change and about the eventual challenges to aggregate audience, and to generate profits from these efforts.  In the early days, few new businesses are profitable in their embryonic stages – Amazon, Google, Facebook, and now Pandora are all modern examples.  All of these brands have done what radio’s pioneers did eight decades ago – focused on consumers, recognized opportunity, took a risk, built infrastructure and access, created content and functionality, and then developed a business model that made the venture successful.

While specifically about radio, I think the comment has broader application. In today’s media world every new venture has great potential, and every “traditional” effort faces challenges – and oppportunities.

Read more from Fred Jacobs, including his thoughts about what he calls “CX,” right here.

Related: “Crowdsourced” content radio is coming to Vegas. Can it work? I’m not convinced that a bunch of amateurs can create the kind of radio I’d like to listen to regularly…but I didn’t really see iPods with “shuffle” or YouTube coming, either. I like RAIN‘s take on things, and Kurt was right about internet radio, so I’ll keep reading – with an open mind.

1. There are even Beatles posters! At trend Central, a look at media that reflects the history of adolescence — including a photoblog showing teen bedroom decor. http://bit.ly/lYCvxb
2. As young as nine! Nielsen Wire reports that when asked what percentage of the apps on their phone were downloaded by their children, parents reported that 30 percent of the apps on their phones were installed by their kids. http://bit.ly/grc3oV
3. No surprise: Trailing all other age groups, teens age 12-17 watch the least amount of TV. The average American watched 34 hours 39 minutes of TV per week in Q4 2010, a year-over-year increase of two minutes. Media Post reports on other stats about users of traditional TV. http://bit.ly/ltZJ57

Here’s to a thoughtful start to your week.

What I don’t have in my vehicles is a way to easily connect my iPod or iPhone. I can run a cassette adapter, and have at times done so, but it isn’t really worthwhile for my daily 15 minute commute to and from work. Just too much hassle to plug in, find the station or tune I want (especially while I merge onto I-25), and enjoy.

Having been in the radio world for 30 years (did I just write that? Am I really old enough to have been in radio that long? Yikes!), I am keenly interested in the medium. I love radio, and want it to continue to succeed in the future. So I read a lot about it, and talk with many friends in “the biz” about how 280 million Americans listening to their radios every week.

In my personal research, I recently came across an interesting blog that is devoted to internet radio for cars. I like the dedication of the blog to just this topic, and reading some of the posts led me to consider the future of in-car listening experiences.

What does the future of car radio look like? Well, like this. Select GM autos rolling out this fall will feature internet radio listening through a tightly integrated dashboard control center.

Or like this: Pandora delivered to the dash of your new BMW.

Related, here’s some data from knowDigital. They surveyed individuals who stream audio in their cars and found

• 71% of streamers (Editor’s note: add that phrase to your spellcheck, I think it will be used more frequently in the coming days) indicated they streamed in the car at least five minutes in the past week.

In a separate survey, knowDigital uncovered some common issues associated with in-car internet audio streaming:

• Some said it is simply too much of a hassle for short trips

Others indicated concerns about

• becoming distracted by channel changes or skipping songs on the smartphone sitting in their cupholders
• running down the smartphone battery
• over data usage cost and limitations of their data plan

I think such concerns are the big challenges ahead for in-car internet radio. And they relate to the user. When it comes to new technology, it is always about the user experience. Make it easy. Make it intuitive. Make it iPod easy. The learning curve has to be pretty short, especially for those folks who are learning to operate the device while they drive.

Drivers aren’t even supposed to be texting, which many can do without even looking at their phone, but some of these “in-dash integrated media devices” are more complex than the latest MS program. You don’t want to be near the guy who is so totally distracted by his internet radio menu-from-hell-button-pushing-frenzy that he is swerving between lanes while he tailgates you, do you?

So the question is, really, “How easy can you make this for me? If you can’t make it super-easy, I’ll stay with what I know, or already have.” That’s how in-dash internet devices have to be designed. The dashboards noted above seem to make some of those user-difficulties disappear, or at the least, minimize them. Still, I suspect there’s a ways to go before consumer adoption increases dramatically.

Back to the future, and in-car audio: there’s always speculation about where radio is headed. Considering the landscape, the data, and the trends I’d say the answer is clear: radio is anywhere and everywhere…because internet radio, in your car, means radio will go wherever you are going. Across town, or across the country.