Month: August 2007

Professional Blog Advice May Not Work for Artists

I'm going to use a lot of generalizations here, so if that is your only comment at the end, save it.

After a profoundly enjoyable evening with a local writer's group, I walked away with a newfound sense of appreciation for artists. I am an artist, though you couldn't tell by my daily production. Duty calls for marketing messages that compel readers to act. But at my center, I am a poet and creative writer.

And while the tips from Copyblogger, Problogger and dozens of blogging, branding, and marketing experts are invaluable for corporate blogs, the same principles are stifling and unnatural for many strictly creative types. I call all creative types "artists", because anything creative can be art: words, paint, dance, sculpture, song, design, etc.

I've spent the lion's share of this site's existence on marketing principles recommended by the experts. The danger there is missing the forest for the trees. CultureFeast will be two years old in November. Prior to this, the only writing I showed anyone outside the office was poetry, prose, or journal entries that I felt were worth sharing.

You have to be careful not to suffocate your art with marketing. It happens all the time. You have something worth sharing, but in order to get the public's attention, you have to walk a fine line balancing marketing and artistic sincerity.

My advice: read the tips and study effective marketing strategies, but realize that they must not overtake the art. Balance. It's not a fun word. It's not a sexy word. Balance is not a popular concept, because it's one of those responsibilities people don't want to take the time to mess with.

Be true to your art. Look for ways to hone your craft that can make it more successful without losing power. Whether you post words, photos, or video, there are sure-fire ways to improve your presentation without sacrificing content. There are also plenty of opportunities to focus on results rather than the message.

There are enough self-improvement gurus already. Guard your art with your life! If you don't, you'll discover that the purpose of your art has declined from the pleasure of creation to that of recognition. Recognition is wonderful, but it's fickle and fleeting. The first and foremost active ingredient in successful artistry is quality product. Preserve quality at all cost.
TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

Thanks to StumbleUpon, the most enjoyable social media/bookmarking site thus far (and the official choice of ADHD users everywhere), I was introduced to TED.com last month. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. TED began in 1984, bringing together the best and brightest from those three industries and thought groups. Since the '80s, TED has evolved into an annual invitation only conference where the most influential and/or innovative thinkers present the talk of their lives (limited to 18 minutes). TED.com makes the best of these talks available for free online.

Once a year, 50 speakers share with more than 1,000 visitors in Monterey, California. Topics cover business, science, the arts, music, and global issues. The best TEDTalks are provided online via streaming video at TED.com.

Granted, the majority of speakers appear to be atheistic proponents of evolution. This is somewhat disappointing, though not entirely surprising. Past speakers have included the likes of Billy Graham, so it's fair to say that the organization is open to most ideas as long as they are presented in the proper fashion.

The recorded TEDTalks are worth watching. Some are more mentally stimulating than others (check out the talks on memes and, surprisingly, Tony Robbins). 137 presentations are currently available online. Additional talks will be released on an ongoing basis.

TEDGlobal is a conference held every other year at various locations worldwide. The basic format is the same, but these conferences tend to focus more on development.

The TEDPrize is an annual prize awarded to three individuals who receive $100K and the granting of "One Wish to Change the World". The winners unveil their wishes at the annual conference, and the TED community comes together, pooling their resources, to grant each wish. Visit TED.com to learn more about past wishes granted.

For those of you accustomed to the collegiate Pew / Paideia society or other philosophical and sociological communities, these talks will resonate along the lines of cultural examination of what is, what has been, and what could be.

The only question remaining is, how does one get invited to TED? Send me an invitation. I'm in.
Book Review: Stealing Lumby

Gail Fraser's second novel in the Lumby series, Stealing Lumby, is a refreshing change of pace from the original storyline provided in The Lumby Lines. The first story took a good 40 pages or more to set the stage before the reader ever discerns who the main characters are.

Stealing Lumby jumps right into the action as one of the nation's prized landscape painting, The Barns of Lumby, is stolen from a New York museum, drawing much unwanted attention to the little town where the painting was created. Strange things happen (strange even for Lumby) in the town as it appears that someone is attempting to sabotage one woman's financial future and sense of well being, and she just happens to be the woman who owns the barns that were the inspiration and subject of the stolen painting.

Main characters Mark, Pam, Brooke, Joshua, Brother Matthew, and Hank the flamingo return as the story turns and focuses more on Katie (owner of the barns), Adam Massey (writer/reporter assigned the task of completing an unfinished biography on the famous painter), and Dana Porter (artist who painted The Barns of Lumby some 40 years prior).

The Lumby series thus far has some solid strengths and some unfortunate weaknesses. Strengths revolve around creation of a solid metanarrative and several clever subnarratives that all fit perfectly together. The reader is inevitably impressed by the creativity necessary to create a small town with so many amusing quirks. The quirky events and personality of Lumby are fluid and well fitting, avoiding any sense of artificiality which one might expect from the invention of a realistic town as strange as this one.

The back story of Charlotte and Dana Porter, as told by Charlotte to Katie, gives the reader a solid sense of the connection between artist and town. Sentimental reminiscing effectively builds a sense of historical reality to the story.

The novel's greatest weakness, as with The Lumby Lines, lies within the dialogue. Every reader won't share this critique, which is why I mention it last. One of the most entertaining and realism enhancing potentials in any given novel is the dialogue. Where the narrative can work overtime to provide enough backdrop and historical significance to set the scene, carefully crafted dialogue can paint a vivid picture in the mind of the reader.

The characters in the Lumby series lack unique voices. Everyone responds to various situations with very unnatural language – much more formal, educated, and literary than any small town uses that I've ever heard of. I expected country colloquialisms, slang, and unique word choices to come from the mouths of various characters, based on their backgrounds. Dana should speak differently than Simon. Mark should speak differently than Dennis. Pam should speak differently than Katie. Everyone shouldn't be using the same diction palette.

The storyline is worth reading. But the satisfaction level is sub par because most everyone sounds the same. If these books were revised and the characters each given unique sayings, slang terms, and responses to situations, this series could have won awards.

But don't take my word for it. Pick up a copy of The Lumby Lines today and look for Stealing Lumby soon.

Stealing Lumby is scheduled to hit the shelves in September 2007.
Will.I.Am and the Black Eyed Peas Take On the World

Will.i.am, leader of the Black Eyed Peas, called in to the Kidd Kraddick in the Morning show today. He called from Korea, where the band is on an unbelievably comprehensive Pepsi concert tour. Tour locations include Korea, Kazakhstan, Moscow, Poland, China, India, Ethiopia, Ghana, Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico City, and at least ten other countries worldwide.

During the phone interview, Will discussed the upcoming release of his new album, "Songs About Girls", scheduled for release September 25, 2007. The Peas' new single, "I Got it from my Mama" is now available online.

Will disclosed to Kidd Kraddick that his mentor is Michael Jackson. Will is helping Jackson out on his newest album. Will was the driving force behind Fergie's solo debut album, which they recorded on a bus during the Black Eyed Peas "Monkey Business" tour.

From a marketer's perspective, it was fascinating to hear Will.i.am's take on the current state of the music industry. Kidd Kraddick asked Will about his goals for the new album, which brought up the subject. While the last album sold some 15 million copies, Will admits that the same standards cannot be held in today's consumer economy. While he didn't outright mention iTunes, it can be assumed that online music stores such as iTunes and free file sharing website applications like BitTorrent and LimeWire have completely transformed the music biz landscape.

Will says he no longer measures success by the number of albums sold, (since millions of fans will go online and buy singles only or download illegally) but instead he is participating in a new concept gives the fan/user the power to make money off of the Black Eyed Peas new album as an affiliate marketer.

A new media player will be available for download that each person can place on their favorite social media sites (MySpace, Hi5, Facebook, Blogger, etc). This player will allow visitors to purchase and download the songs directly from the player widget, and the person who posted the player receives a percentage of the sales profits.

It sounds like a brilliant way to take thousands of fans who would normally download for free and turn them into entrepreneurs who will actively seek to help spread the gospel of Will. Of course, with the record will only appeal to a certain demographic, but this could mark a new business proposition for dozens of labels in the future. Imagine if the most popular MySpace profiles sell thousands of music downloads from hundreds of artists. Social media suddenly takes on a new face. The competition would be fierce, and social media marketing efforts would intensify as the average joe enters the fray and attempts to compete for music download dollars.

But Will is the face of the new thing. Put the power of affiliate sales (think Mary Kay) into the hands of the people, and see how far the people can take your business. It is very likely to work only in a limited number of business verticals. Of course, people are already making money from affiliate advertising/sales. But turn the widgets into mini emarkets and you have a million little stores everywhere, all competing for the same market. The oversaturation would eventually be the cause of its demise, but an intelligent marketing strategy could put the power of sales or increased eshop products into the hands of a select few (a thousand or so) successful sellers. Limit the number of people who can sell so that the widgets/players/stores don't become so common that people ignore them just like banner ads.

A lot of potential here. It will be interesting to see how this concept develops, and whether the music industry jumps on board to save itself.
Sabra Wins: America Gets It Wrong Again

The So You Think You Can Dance season three finale just concluded, and everyone I know is in shock. Sabra? Seriously? How on earth did she manage to beat Danny?

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this result was fixed by the show's producers, but I would say that they heavily promoted a female to win this year despite the obvious conclusion that Danny was the superior dancer.

Make that two years running that America has gotten it wrong. Last year, despite how charismatic Benji was, he couldn't hold a candle to Travis. Yet somehow America voted for Benji. But that was NOWHERE NEARLY as surprising as this season's finale. Danny was obviously the superior dancer. Neil was obviously the in-house crowd favorite. Lacey is Benji's sister. Sabra is this really talented and surprisingly fresh girl shorter than five feet tall. She's excellent, don't get me wrong. But she didn't deserve this prize.

Danny, Neil, and Lacey could each have won in my estimation. Each possessed a quality the others lacked. Sabra was definitely a ray of sunshine, but that is not the sort of quality you expect to be recognized and appreciated by the masses on a reality show / dance competition. You expect America to vote for the sexiest or the most charismatic. That is the way popularity seems to work. Except here.

You can't really begrudge her the prize. Sabra possesses the most excellent attitude of the final four dancers. She is positive energy wrapped up in an amazingly small package.

I'm amazed that Danny lost. I'm surprised that Lacey lost. I'm disappointed that Neil lost. I have no explanation for Sabra's victory. Perhaps some of you out there can explain this to me.
Danny Tidwell For America’s Favorite Dancer

The final competition of So You Think You Can Dance featured Danny, Neil, Sabra, and Lacey. Each of these four dancers are extraordinarily talented. Sabra, though under 5', dances with intense energy and charisma. She is extremely athletic and able to adapt to almost any dance style (tonight's hip hop routine was a bit weak). Lacey plays the sex card a little too much during her solo acts for my taste, but she definitely exudes stage presence and confidence. Her big surprise was dancing so elegantly with Dannny tonight without a hint of overt sensuality.

Neil is a gymnast turned dancer/actor. He is a crowd favorite and exudes larger than life presence on the stage. He really enjoys playing angry or devilish roles. Danny is obviously the superior dancer when it comes down to technique and discipline. He can do what no other dancer on the show can do – compete with anyone, anywhere.

The unfortunate part is that Danny has been largely misunderstood throughout the season. Some of the judges thought him arrogant in the beginning, simply because he was perfect in form and did not express the nervous laughter and insecurity that most contestants do. He is very shy and is learning to unlock his personality throughout the performance. His technique is near flawless, and his willingness to express self is just starting to emerge.

Though Lacey and Neil are likely to be crowd favorites (both exude charisma and confidence), vote for Neil if you get a chance. The phone lines will be open for another hour and a half at least.

To vote for Lacey, dial 1-888-TEMPO-01

To vote for Neil, dial 1-888-TEMPO-02

To vote for Danny, dial 1-888-TEMPO-03

To vote for Sabra, dial 1-888-TEMPO-04

These are your top four dancers. The winner will be announced Thursday evening. Don't miss it.
An Interview With Penelope Trunk

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to interview Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist: The New Rules For Success, and columnist for Yahoo Finance and the Boston Globe. Her blog, Brazen Careerist, is also a well-established blog and a worthwhile read for aspiring professionals everywhere.

I had the opportunity to interview her at length, so enjoy!

Daniel Dessinger: First off, thanks for agreeing to take the time to talk with me. I know you’re busy with your columns, a new book, and speaking engagements. I recently read on Wendy Piersall’s blog, emomsathome.com, that you just spoke at the BlogHer Conference in Chicago just a few days ago. You spoke with Stephanie Cockerl and Nina Burokas about personal branding, correct? What were the top three takeaways from that session?

Penelope Trunk: I am not sure what people actually took away from the session, since there was subsequent online hoop-la. But here are three things to think about when you want to create a brand out of yourself:
1. What do you stand for?
2. What do you not stand for?
3. What do you give people that is unique to you?

Daniel: Is this your first time at BlogHer? Can you describe the atmosphere of the conference and tell us how it differs from other conferences you attend?

Penelope: Well, I can compare this recent BlogHer to BlogHer Business — I went to that. And, not surprisingly, it was much more business oriented. I went to SXSW earlier this year, which is also full of bloggers. SXSW had a lot more men.

Daniel: Based on Wendy’s comments, I’m picturing a collection of professional work-from-home women who have the conversational floodgates burst open for this three day event. Is that a fair description?

Penelope: Um. I don’t know very many of the work-from-home bloggers and I didn’t talk with many when I was at BlogHer, so I’m not really sure about the answer to your question. I do know Wendy. I have come across her blog before because she has such a successful business.

Write regularly, write on a focused topic, and write great posts. – Penelope Trunk

Daniel: Gotcha. Okay, changing subjects a bit, I’d like to talk about your blog. I’ve kept with Brazen Careerist for a little while now. My coworker is infatuated with you and, sadly, he is passively wishing you were single. I guess you’ve found a professional way to turn on the charm!

Penelope: Not a question, right? But tell your co-worker thanks 🙂

Daniel: Ha! I will. I really like the balance you bring to your own brand with your tagline: Advice at the intersection of work and life. How would you say you’ve done at balancing “work and life?”

Penelope: I don’t believe in balance because it implies that the two things are competing. I try to create a life where things are working together, and I feel whole and integrated. That said, I’d have to say I’m not doing the greatest job. It’s very hard to do. One of the reasons I blog is to be with a community of people who are trying to improve things at the intersection of work and life and we’re all doing it together.

Daniel: The reason I ask is because, for all your interesting perspectives on work culture and Generation Y, you manage to throw everyone off with a few posts on your marriage and the difficulties that arise in your personal life. Do you ever regret exposing your issues to the world? Does the transparency adversely or positively affect your life at home?

Penelope: I never regret talking about myself in an authentic way. I don’t really know another way to connect with people. I’m sure that one of the things that my husband likes about me is that I’m authentic, no matter what. He is that way, too. So doing it on the blog seems inevitable.

Daniel: One more personal question I have to ask: How does your husband feel about having your marriage issues made public knowledge? This is a tender subject for me, since I guard my relationship with my wife very closely. I don’t pretend that we don’t have our problems, because we have plenty. But until something is dealt with, I feel that to expose her faults to anyone other than a trusted adviser is disrespectful.

Since I’m willing to accept that everyone can and does feel differently about how to approach these types of issues, I’d just like to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Penelope: Newsflash: Your wife talks about your sex life with her friends. Every woman does. Men have a skewed idea of how private their marriage is because men don’t talk about marriage with men. How do you think women learn to give blow jobs? Not from men.

That said, my husband doesn’t care about what I write. I know it’s hard to imagine. But try to imagine being married to me at all. A handful, right? In that sense, blogging about the marriage is nothing.

Daniel: My instinct is to apologize for mentioning your personal life, but I remind myself that you intentionally made it public, so there you go. I read a bio about you somewhere, and it mentioned how you went from professional volleyball player to writer. Could you tell us what it was that opened the door for you to transition into being a writer? If you could, highlight a circumstance that you might call an open door or an unexpected turn of events in your favor.

Penelope: I think the most important thing was that when I was playing volleyball, I was great at getting sponsors to pay to put their name across my chest. So I inadvertently discovered that I was really good at marketing. I have used that knowledge each time I changed careers. I’ve said to myself, how can I leverage the marketing talent to make a smooth transition?

Daniel: You have a book out there for sale entitled: The Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success. I’ve read that another book is in the works. Can you give us a hint as to the title or subject matter of this one?

Penelope: No.

Daniel: Sigh. Fair enough. When can we expect release?

Penelope: 2008

Daniel: While the feedback on your blog is mostly positive, I’ve read some overwhelmingly negative feedback from readers of your article at Yahoo Finance. Did you make some enemies early on, or what? I get the automatic feeling that you’re rocking the boat too much for comfort in some reader’s minds.

Penelope: Yeah, I think you’re right.

Daniel: Do you think the feedback on Yahoo Finance is just the natural result of a wider audience, or is it the specific readership demographic that seems to be a bit more old fashioned and stuck inside-the-box?

Penelope: Both. I think when you get a wider audience you inevitably get more people who are not thinking along the same lines you are. It happens with everyone, I’m sure.

Daniel: Agreed. You mentioned to me recently that you’re already living my fantasy of blogging and writing for a living, and that this isn’t the end of the line for you. Given the ability to choose, what is the next step in your career? And maybe also five years down the road?

Penelope: I am actually in the middle of figuring that out right now. I’m thinking it’s getting time for a next step. Stay tuned….

To get a special career you need to specialize. People get nervous specializing because it narrows the types of jobs you can take. But being an expert instead of a generalist actually makes you more employable as long as you shift your expertise as the markets shift. – Penelop Trunk

Daniel: Does being a woman help to propel you in your career? I ask this because my wife is very attractive and intelligent and doors just open for her that wouldn’t budge for me. I think you’re the total package if you can pull off the intelligent, witty, fashionable, attractive, and confident woman image. I’m not calling women eye candy, but it seems that these days, the world (beyond redneck borders) opens its doors to attractive and intelligent women. Thoughts?

Penelope: I think men like to do business with women they would like to have sex with. It seems totally normal. The same is true in reverse. This is why good-looking men and women earn more money than ugly men and women.

Daniel: I often wonder if our (yours and mine) motivations aren’t opposite.While we both blog for personal branding purposes, my motive in blogging and writing is self-expression. The writing is the joy… The proverbial cake, if you will. Positive feedback is the icing. Would you say that writing is a means to an end, or the end itself in your career?

Penelope: Are you asking if I get joy from writing? The answer is yes. I could never write five posts a week if I didn’t truly love to write. In fact, I’ve written in lots of different formats, and there is nothing I have loved more than blogging.

Daniel: With millions of blogs out there in the space, what are the Top 3 recommendations you can make to someone who wants to build a readership for one reason or another but has no additional claim to fame such as writing for the Boston Globe or Yahoo Finance or publishing a book? Without those tools in their belts, what can bloggers do to establish a name for themselves?

Penelope: Write regularly, write on a focused topic, and write great posts.

Daniel: And there you have it. Simple. Yet Profound. While we’re at it, would you take a stab at predicting 3 of the most radical shifts we have yet to see but can expect in the workplace as Generation Y takes center stage?

Penelope: Decentralized leadership, unapologetic focus on family, and financial downshifting

Daniel: What common beliefs does the average Joe or Jane need to revise in order to break through the “average career” barrier?

Penelope: To get a special career you need to specialize. People get nervous specializing because it narrows the types of jobs you can take. But being an expert instead of a generalist actually makes you more employable as long as you shift your expertise as the markets shift.

Daniel: Any parting words of wisdom to the less Web savvy readers out there?

Penelope: Blogs do not require you to be web savvy. If you start reading them without worrying about whether you undertand them, you will start to understand them. Click a lot.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, Penelope.
3 Highly Effective Methods for Reaching Kidd Kraddick Fans Online

It's been a while since I offered Kidd Kraddick both online marketing and blogging advice. Now is a good time to back up those initial tips with a few extra methods of online promotion that the #1 morning radio show in America needs to execute in order to grow the brand online.

As a side note, I started using a Mac notebook computer since my last post about the KKITM show, and discovered to my dismay that the "Listen Live" option does not appear to function properly on the Mac. It opens the same window for a media player, but instead of listening to the remainder of the show as I still can on my Dell, the Mac plays a repeated loop of the show every five minutes. So I only get to hear 5 minutes of the show without closing the application and restarting. This is apparently only an issue with my laptop, however, since a coworker of mine said he's listened to the show on his Mac with no problems. So I'll put that complaint on hold while I investigate my laptop settings.

My issues with listening live online drove me to these additional online marketing recommendations. These are predicated on the assumption that there is an audience to be had out there that cannot listen to part or all of the show each morning due to work restrictions or radio/internet availability. Here we go.

Number One: The New and Comprehensive Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Show Blog
Cover all topics including funny quotes and pics in each day's post. The blog can be posted to hourly/twice an hour during the show for people who are not allowed to play music/radio out loud or listen to headphones but still have access to the Internet.

***RSS Feed Bonus***
Assuming the blog is built on a WordPress platform (non-negotiable, must-have for maximum usability), The show blog comes equipped with at least one automatic RSS Feed. For workers who cannot be seen logging in to Kiddlive.com or any other website that looks cool or fun, the RSS feed can be read in various formats and through various feed readers, which the user can select according to their work needs and preferences. This RSS feed puts the regularly updated show posts into their feed reader so that they can select the time frame they missed and catch up with only the info they haven't accessed yet.

Number Two: A Double Opt-In Daily Email Update
Some readers might not have a clue about RSS Feeds or might not be able to access non work related content online. A sign-in form on the KiddLive.com website would allow people to register for email updates that can be sent to either their personal or professional email addresses. The email would be formatted in rich text only and HTML in order to reach all audiences successfully. Daily email updates summarize the day's show (providing either brief summaries or exact copies of the blogs that are already written online) in a format that everyone with email access at work can enjoy at their own convenience.

Kidd Kraddick benefits from this process as well by cultivating an extremely targeted list of email addresses. The show can sell a couple tasteful ads to be posted on each email and thereby add another potentially lucrative stream of revenue. It goes without saying that an email marketing campaign such as this must follow email best practices guidelines including a one click unsubscribe option at the bottom of each email and providing legitimate subject line titles. An additional bi-monthly email list can be cultivated via sign-up which sends more advertisements/schedule updates/concert announcements/etc to those who opt in for it.

An additional monthly email would be sent to all subscribers containing a poll and requesting user feedback on how to improve the effectiveness and enjoyment of the KKITM email updates. This is an essential part of effective customer relationship management, allowing the users a voice to help tailor the product towards their needs.

Number Three (Optional): Full-Fledged Transcript of Each Show
While most people will not take the time to read a full transcript of 4 hrs of talk each day, A full-fledged transcript provides the added benefit of natural search engine optimization (SEO). This means that the more content you preserve from the show, the more phrases you can rank for in the search engines. This third option is labeled "optional" simply because it competes to some degree with the Show Blog recommended in #1. Some of the content would obviously be duplicate, which some search marketers will warn against.

The overall concept here is twofold: a complete transcript allows for natural optimization and will drive at least a trickle of search traffic to the website, thus creating the opportunity to gain new listeners and extend the fan base; the extensive content also provides hundreds of opportunities for text link ads. I know of an ad company or two who would go crazy buying text link ads on the Kiddlive site. It's not a lucrative ad revenue model, but it is a stream of revenue and traffic generation which could likely be implemented using a voice to text transcription application so that the majority of the process is automated.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The beauty of interactive marketing (Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Blogging, Email Marketing, etc) is that it is customizable to the user. Nowhere else does the user have as much power to help create the ultimate entertainment experience. Organizations like the DFWIMA (DFW Interactive Marketing Association) exist to help corporations understand the interactive marketing industry and to excel in said market.

Radio, television, and print ads are the traditional form of marketing revenue. While they are still essential for branding (building brand awareness in the minds and social lives of the public), they are completely untrackable. This means that advertisers cannot measure the results of their campaigns. They can tailor a campaign towards a specific market at a specific time, but the results of the campaign are completely immeasurable. Email and web-related ads, however, are completely trackable. Track ad impressions, click through rates, and user feedback to hone your ad campaigns and generate more ROI.

Radio shows are missing out on millions of interactive advertising dollars due to the lack of comprehensive online presence. Each stream of online marketing is valuable because it reaches people the others can't, while simultaneously providing real-time analytics (measurable results) in most cases.
So You Think You Can Dance – August 2nd

No big surprise vote offs this week. Sara and Dominic were voted off. Though Dominic was a little obsessive about Cat Deeley, the guy could dance hip hop style with the best. Unfortunately, his height, dance technique, and overall stage presence were not up to Top Four standards.

Sara was the beat girl who actually adapted much better than expected to most other styles of dance. It is her adaptability and lack of pretension which make it most difficult to see her go. The obvious truth is that she wasn't quite good enough in the solo department to make it much further.

And then there were six. Danny, Neil, Pasha, Sabra, Lauren, and Lacey. Skill-wise, Pasha is the obvious weak link for the men. Lauren, despite her winning attitude, is the weak link for the women. Expect them to be voted off next week.

My revised Top Four are: Danny, Neil, Sabra, and Lacey. And while Lacey gets all the girls in the audience charged up, she really doesn't have the individual dancing talent to win it all. She's a couples dancer, and it showed this week when she had to dance solo for the first time to stay in the competition. Sabra is the more talented solo dancer, but neither are strong enough to compete with the two remaining boys.

Danny is obviously the superior dancer here. He has the talent and the training to do anything. Danny's #1 challenge is expressing emotion. Neil is much more natural at expressing emotion and he is comfortable with himself. That helps him a lot. He is very athletic and acrobatic, but his form will ultimately lose to Danny's.
Rihanna, Avril Lavigne, and Good Charlotte In Concert Friday

That's right, for all you Kidd Kraddick in the Morning listeners, hurry up and get your tickets for this Friday's KISS Party concert. It's August 3rd at Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie (between Dallas and Fort Worth on I-30 and Beltline). The concert features Rihanna, Avril Lavigne, Good Charlotte, Baby Bash, and Paula Deanda!

In addition to the stellar lineup of artists, this year's concert hosted by 106.1 KISS FM will feature Kidd's top 4 contestants for the front of the line American Idol tryouts pass will be performing in front of the 6,000 person audience and one winner will be selected to go straight to the front of the line at Texas Stadium for this year's Dallas/Fort Worth tryouts.

The lines for American Idol tryouts will open two days early. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people will be waiting in line to try out. One of these four talented singers will be able to jump to the front of the line and avoid the wait. Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Show will undoubtedly track the winners (and probably the runners up) as they try out. Who knows? One of Kidd's contestants could make it to the big stage!

Let us know if you plan on going to this year's KISS Party concert!