While the arts may not have the vibrant fantasy leagues I posted about yesterday, at least we have trading cards. Yesterday also saw a few stories on the Houston Symphony’s musician trading cards (in the Houston Chronicle and on NPR). While not intended to spark trading and competitive bets, the cards turn out to be […]

Public radio’s ”Marketplace” ran a quick segment last week on the rise and wealth of ”fantasy football” leagues. These are formalized networks of fans who create their own fictional teams, and analyze the stats of their real-world players to determine the winners and losers. The virtual leagues make real money, drawing membership dues, internet subscriptions, […]

If you needed more evidence that price and value are complex equations, cast an eye in the direction of Apple and their recent iPhone price change. Just 10 weeks after customers camped overnight for the right to pay $599 for the coveted gadget, Apple slashed the price by $200 (no waiting required). The announcement made […]

A colleague of mine describes the role of the arts marketing and communications as ”managing evidence.” Since constituents invariably form their own decision about your work and your organization (why should they believe words that come directly from you?), the best strategy is to find out where they look and who they trust, and be […]

The start of a new school year in the MBA program I direct brings fresh students, blank notebooks, new boxes of pens, and a lingering, persistent question: How do we make best use of the two years to come? We spend a lot of time in our program discussing strategy and tactics for cultural leadership, […]

A summer packed with complexities and too many projects has kept me from blogging for over a month. But I’m soon to emerge from my little weblog cocoon to begin my more frequent posts. Not sure if anyone missed me, but I’ll be back, nonetheless.

Most now recognize that economic impact studies of arts and culture are useful in arguments for public funds, but extraordinarily narrow and flawed in building understanding of actual impact. The Impacts08 project in Liverpool is working to add breadth and rigor to the measurement process, and the range of variables to be assessed. The five-year […]

I wrote in May about a convening at The Getty Center in Los Angeles, focusing on trends in leisure time and their implications for cultural organizations. In addition to the weblog conversation spinning off from the convening, the event hosts (Getty Leadership Institute and National Arts Strategies) have just posted a summary of the event […]

I won’t be posting as frequently during July and August to give the blogging part of my brain a rest, and to focus on some summer projects. If postings are really slim, I may send out my usual Friday e-mail summary every other week for a while. Hope you all have a fabulous summer.

With everybody else wandering into virtual space, it was only a matter of time before organized philanthropy found its way. Such was the news from the MacArthur Foundation, which has begun sponsoring a series of conversations and initiatives in the virtual world of Second Life. Says an article in the New York Times (registration probably […]