The former head of Ford Motor Company, Donald Petersen, said that the number one reason people succeed in business, or fail, is because of “people skills.”

What are they, anyway?

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From the time Alexander Graham Bell’s little invention first allowed man to speak to others across the miles, it’s been pretty much a given that nothing is as strong a tool for communication as the sound of the human voice . . . not newspapers, not magazines, not even the knowledge-stuffed texts on the Internet. Seeing may be believing, but seeing AND hearing motivates people to act!

With that in mind, I’ve been peddling audio on the Internet for more than 4 years. As a professional singer for most of my adult life, I’ve always understood the importance of sound and the effect it has on an audience. The challenge for me has been to open the eyes and ears of my own audience. It started while marketing our company’s first product Rave Reviews. Rave Reviews are professionally interviewed and produced audio testimonials that can be featured on web sites for added credibility. Wouldn’t every business owner want to have “real-life” testimonials on their Web sites rather than those typically boring text ones that everyone else has? One would certainly think so.

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It’s one of the oldest riddles in the history of music: If a band rocks hard in the forest and there’s no one there to hear it…did it ever really happen? It’s a fact: you may be the most talented musician in the galaxy, but if no knows about you, you’ll probably never advance past playing to your one and only fan in the mirror in your mom’s garage.

Writing, recording and performing terrific music is half the battle, but the other half may be even tougher than the challenge of creating a #1 hit…the task of publicizing it. Without publicity, your great opus might very well sit, gathering dust on your closet floor with the other 999 copies you had printed, cased and shrink-wrapped. Getting your name/your band’s name out there is quintessentially the most crucial step to: gigs, management, fans, radio, label exposure and rock ‘n’ roll stardom.

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Aftermarket radios are far superior to factory fitted radios. So, why should any audio expert advise you to keep your factory fitted radios? Reasons abound why that may be a wise option for some. However, let’s ensure first that everyone understands the terms “factory fitted” and “aftermarket”.

Factory Fitted Radios, commonly known as OE (Original Equipment) radios are those that are fitted or installed in your car as standard at the factory when your car is manufactured. They can also be bought from car dealers as a replacement should it fail at some point.

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HTIB (which stands for Home Theater in a Box) is an acronym that we are hearing increasingly these days in high-end audio circles, in the movie industry, and at trade shows. Basically, it refers to the movement of some vendors to provide all of the audio components (and the DVD player) in one package.

For example, Harman/Kardon has a model out now that features a DVD player, receiver, and 7.1-channel speaker system that comes packaged in just one box. Most people would use the term “home-theater-in-a-box”, but Harman/Kardon has chosen the descriptive phrase “home theater system” instead. I didn’t study semantics, but I know that you won’t be shunned for calling it HTIB. Currently, the trend in HTIB is to combine the DVD player and receiver into only one chassis. It looks more modern and sleeker, and it is invariably easier to set up, especially if you add the crossovers and speaker connectors that snap easily into place. It’s an easy, straightforward setup—until something breaks, or the dog carries it away, or you’re ready to upgrade, which you often can’t do at all without purchasing a completely new system.

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“Country music” is a term that means different things to different people. One fan’s country music may not sound at all like another’s.

Contemporary country music is one of the most popular genres on the radio. It is truly mainstream popular music, with an appeal that cuts across all demographics. Its mega-stars regularly fill the seats at the largest venues. Indeed, as someone has observed, country has replaced rock as the main face of American pop music.

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What a delightful evening at the Coast to Coast group last night, welllllll….. actually most of the night except near the end. There was an incident involving a lady who became quite rude and almost hostile in her behavior when I started taking pictures. So much so I kept pressing for an answer why she was uptight and her horrified look. First let me explain more about these meetings.

These Coast to Coast meetings are based on the radio show of the same name that comes on at about midnight on most AM stations. We have different speakers or an open mic format. Nothing is sacred or left untouched as far as topics. Everything from conspiracy’s, UFOs, politics, health, no stone is left unturned. You always learn something. If you get offended easily or are very opinionated its not for you because no one is right or wrong, though we do have discussions, ultimately it’s still left up to you to decide fact or fiction. Once in awhile some one will bring up a subject that makes you shake your head but again we never say that person is wrong or argue, discuss yes but never argue. But this ladies actions have finally made me speak up and say hey enough with these weird beliefs. Sometimes ya just gotta!

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“Please indicate if your Web site contains any of the following (select all that apply): Al Waxman, Alanis Morrisette, Alan Thicke, Alex Trebeck, Anne of Green Gables, Anne Murray, back bacon, bears, beavers…”

It hasn’t come to that – yet. The CRTC firing off questionnaires to professional web designers, amateur enthusiasts, or awkward teenagers reminding us yet again that the world simply doesn’t understand them. Anyone possessing the time and the inclination can create a website and have it up and running within hours. As of July 9, 2002 there were 2,073,418,204 web sites listed on Google with “no way of knowing definitely.” With that amount of sheer numeric volume, it is nearly impossible for any organization to tackle the responsibility of regulating web site content.

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