Ad-Blocking is About to Go Mainstream, and it’s Ad-Mageddon for Publishers! And… Mashable Teams Up…with Dan Rather?! It’s episode 25 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Plus, rants and raves for Donald Trump, Amazon’s strange new “Dash” button, the Lexus Hoverboard, and more. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button below: And if you’re reading this by email, click here for the audio. For

Never let it be said that the automakers don’t listen to feedback, because when it comes to Ford’s clunky Sync platform, they got an earful. And guess what? Ford responded. This week the automaker introduced the latest and greatest version of its Sync infotainment system, and it looks great. It will make its debut on at least some Ford 2016 models, meaning it will be in the showroom in the fall of 2015, just months from now. The primary value proposition of the platform has l

There’s a tendency for some broadcasters to put too much faith in the idea that consumers will prefer traditional radio over the online variety because of scarce and expensive bandwidth. But the reality is that bandwidth is neither that scarce nor that expensive, when compared to the value derived from it. And one way to circumvent the limitations of your mobile phone’s bandwidth altogether is to access the net from another hotspot. Like, say, your car. That’s exactly Chevrol

Wearable tech is all the rage, or at least discussing it is all the rage, since gadgets like Google Glass and the rumored iWatch are just over the horizon for the most part. But does wearable tech have the potential to affect radio listening in its traditional form? It might. Case and point: “Smart earphones.” Business Insider writes: In the near future, smart earphones could be used to enhance the world around you by providing supplemental information about the people you me

Dear Radio Listeners: Apple and Google want you! Even (and perhaps especially) when you’re in your car. Here’s a video showing some of the navigation functionality of the “coming soon” iOS upgrade: But don’t imagine that the functions will be limited to maps and directions. From 9to5Mac: iOS in the Car is a feature that allows customers to attach an iOS device to a compatible car center console via either wireless protocols or over a USB cable. An iOS interface for managing M

What does the crystal ball predict about the future of the so-called “connected car” and radio’s place in it? That was the purpose of my conversation with Toby Trevarthen, VP Monetization for Aha by Harman, a key provider of platforms and apps to automakers and the “connected” car. Here are two of the key questions I discussed with Toby: What will the auto dashboard look like in five years? What is the role of radio in the future of that dashboard? We talked about what’s real

It seems to me that radio is in a bit of paralysis by analysis when it comes to the “connected” auto dashboard. As we get lost in the details of what change is coming and how fast, we’re not focused nearly enough on what to do about it, given that such a large proportion of radio listening emanates from that very dashboard. We’re stuck in the theater of the moment. Consider the reality of the situation: The complexity of the new dashboard is overwhelming many consumers. What

All this fretting over the evolving car dashboard is so much ado about the wrong stuff. Okay…. A flood of new content is coming. Lots of it is already here. There is no way to keep it out because consumers don’t want it out. The primacy of radio on the car dash is officially a thing of the past. So let’s begin by accepting that fact. Further, being on new platforms in the new dash is fine, but we’re already on the platform that is most familiar and most used – the “radio” one

There’s no doubt that technology is bringing new choices to an auto dashboard near you.  Nor is there any doubt that consumers will embrace and even demand those choices. It’s customary for broadcasters to freak out about this, as we stand by and watch radio’s hegemony over the dashboard under attack. The natural response is to fight technology with technology – to assume that your FM station must have all the doo-dads and whistles that Pandora has. What is the truth about ra