Boombox Creators Project

[=ml=]

The Walkman creators have been recognized; the boombox creators need to be recognized too (thanks for the tip Rick)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs5FqAisIJc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bka9EizDckM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUDeb6XVgzU

Go!

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[oldskool69]

Awesome.

 

[=ml=]

Update - Twitter 02

These tweets have been sent to these accounts:

@generalelectric
EN: @generalelectric Time is running out! Please help us find the GE #boombox creators! http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators http://twitpic.com/co7pc0
JP: N/A, Twitter is in English
Status: Tweeted Randy Culbertson #6 image via @BoomboxCreators on 2013-05-04 17:36

@art_center
EN: @art_center Time is running out! Please help us find the #boombox creators! http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators http://twitpic.com/co7pc0
JP: N/A, Twitter is in English
Status: Tweeted via @BoomboxCreators on 2013-05-04 17:39

@5ken_9th (Art Engineering Festival Committee of Kyushu University)
EN: Time is running out! Please help us find the boombox creators!
JP: @5ken_9th 時間が不足しています！私たちはラジカセのクリエイターを見つける助けてください！http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators #boombox http://twitpic.com/co9mae
Status: Tweeted via @BoomboxCreators on 2013-05-04 17:39

@Johnny_Strategy (http://www.spoon-tamago.com/)
EN: @Johnny_Strategy Time is running out! Please help us find the #boombox creators! http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators http://twitpic.com/co7pc0
JP: N/A, Twitter is in English
Status: Tweeted via @BoomboxCreators on 2013-05-05 13:09

@iamas_info (Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences http://www.iamas.ac.jp/)
EN: Time is running out! Please help us find the boombox creators!
JP: @iamas_info 時間が不足しています！私たちはラジカセのクリエイターを見つける助けてください！http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators #boombox http://twitpic.com/coi956
Status: Tweeted via @BoomboxCreators on 2013-05-05 16:15

@core77
EN: @core77 Time is running out! Please help us find the #boombox creators! http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators http://twitpic.com/co7pc0
JP: N/A, Twitter is in English
Status: Tweeted via @BoomboxCreators on 2013-05-05 16:53

@dexigner
EN: @dexigner Please help us find the #boombox creators before it's too late! http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators http://twitpic.com/co7pc0
JP: N/A, Twitter is in English
Status: Tweeted via @BoomboxCreators on 2013-05-05 17:55

@Mikat33 (Mika Takagi Design lover at METI [Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry])
EN: Time is running out! Please help us find the boombox creators!
JP: @Mikat33 時間が不足しています！私たちはラジカセのクリエイターを見つける助けてください！http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators #boombox http://twitpic.com/coiymr
Status: Tweeted via @BoomboxCreators on 2013-05-05 17:55

@jdn_info (http://school.japandesign.ne.jp/kanazawa/sangaku/12/)
EN: Time is running out! Please help us find the boombox creators!
JP: @jdn_info 時間が不足しています！私たちはラジカセのクリエイターを見つける助けてください！http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators #boombox http://twitpic.com/co9mae
Status: Tweeted via @BoomboxCreators on 2013-05-05 18:15


If anyone has a Twitter account and wants to help out, please tweet any/all from your account or go to BoomboxCreators and retweet (and follow).

Go!

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[Lasonic TRC-920]

Miles, You're going off!

Nice work.....

Are you getting any replies?

 

[=ml=]

Miles, You're going off!

Nice work.....

Are you getting any replies?

Thanks, but unfortunately only three re-tweets and no responses after that.

Not giving up, though.

Odd that Lyle hasn't chimed in one way or the other...

Go!

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[Lasonic TRC-920]

Thanks, but unfortunately only three re-tweets and no responses after that.

Not giving up, though.

Odd that Lyle hasn't chimed in one way or the other...

Go!

=ml=

Well, keep pushing till they say yes or no

 

[=ml=]

If anyone else can tweet or post that would be great.

Usually, I don't mind being a lone voice on the interwebs, but because time is running out, we need a roar not a whisper.

Go!

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[=ml=]

We're tumblin' baby!

Go!

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[Lasonic TRC-920]

We're tumblin' baby!

Go!

=ml=

Great work man!

 

[Reli]

Great stuff! Haven't had time to thoroughly check out your site yet. Wish I could spread the word but I don't have Twitter or FB. Only LinkedIn, lol. Actually, hmm LinkedIn has a group page for Consumer Electronics, maybe I could post something on there to see if anyone has any contacts.

 

[=ml=]

Great stuff! Haven't had time to thoroughly check out your site yet. Wish I could spread the word but I don't have Twitter or FB. Only LinkedIn, lol. Actually, hmm LinkedIn has a group page for Consumer Electronics, maybe I could post something on there to see if anyone has any contacts.

Thanks guys!

Do it; couldn't hurt to spread the word on LinkedIn!

Point to http://boomboxcreators.tumblr.com; Facebook and Twitter are linked from there.

Go!

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[=ml=]

I need some advice from the Boomboxery community...

Since the start of the project several weeks ago, I've sent out many emails/tweets/posts to colleagues and tastemakers with few results. These were sent from different email/Twitter/Facebook accounts; some established, some created for the project.

After objectively reflecting on the content of the emails/tweets/posts, I've come to realize that perhaps the reason there hasn't been a greater response is that the requested call-to-action (CTA) isn't clearly stated. The CTA has evolved and I need the community to help craft the next CTA. I've begun focusing on Twitter and Tumblr because neither requires an account to access.
These are the CTAs used thus far (limited to 140 chars, but should be less to allow for easy retweets):

CTA v1 (pointing to Facebook)
* Please help us find the boombox creators before it's too late! http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators http://twitpic.com/co7pc0
* Time is running out! Please help us find the boombox creators! http://fb.me/BoomboxCreators http://twitpic.com/co7pc0

CTA v2 (shorter CTA (removed 'us'); generic bit.ly pointing to Tumblr)
* Please help find the boombox creators before it's too late! http://t.co/ss2EYFd8ao http://twitpic.com/co7pc0
* Time is running out! Please help find the boombox creators! http://t.co/ss2EYFd8ao http://twitpic.com/co7pc0

CTA v3 (request to retweet; custom bit.ly pointing to Tumblr)
* Please retweet to help find the boombox creators before it's too late! http://bit.ly/bbxcr8trs http://twitpic.com/co7pc0
* Time is running out! Please retweet to help find the boombox creators! http://bit.ly/bbxcr8trs http://twitpic.com/co7pc0

The goal of this first phase of the project is to generate interest and buzz such that the people that can make the project a reality - the manufacturers and creators themselves - notice and want to participate.

This is the most crucial phase of the project, and due to the age of the creators, the most urgent.

Presumably, the manufacturers hold the keys to accessing the people and documentation that the project needs. If a creator, such as the late Randy Culbertson, happens to notice, even better.

Once manufacturers and/or creators are onboard, phase two will begin: coordinating and acquiring the interviews, documentation, ephemera, and artifacts to truly tell the stories.

The project is still stuck at phase one.

I'm preparing snail-mail letters to the various manufacturers in the hope that the snail-mail gatekeepers are more sympathetic and responsive than the social media ones, and am open to any suggestions on how to better attract and galvanize the manufacturers/creators/tastemakers that can make access to the creators and their stories possible.

What should CTA v4 be?
What are other ways to attract the attention of the creators, their families, their colleagues?

Thanks in advance for any input.

BTW, you can see all the people contacted thus far by reviewing this thread or going to http://twitter.com/BoomboxCreators

Go!

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[=ml=]

BTW, my idea for CTA v4 is along these lines:

Create a page that has the twitter accounts for all the boombox manufacturers/makers and then create a tweet that points to that page with this CTA:

Time is running out! Please ask the boombox makers to help find the creators http://bit.ly/findthem http://twitpic.com/co7pc0

Any input appreciated.

Go!

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[Reli]

I like V2 the best, because I don't see the need to say "please retweet" when the site is already going to ask them to do the same thing. Also, the phrase "Time is running out!" might cause some people to dismiss it as a corporate message.

Going even further, I'm afraid that "boombox creators" might not be being understood. For two reasons. First, with regards to the word "boombox", there's an assumption being made on our part that people will know we're talking about vintage 80's boxes. Not necessarily true. Also, for some reason I think "designers" describes it better than "creators". So my suggestion would be:

Remember those big boomboxes from the 80s? Help us find the guys who designed them!
Remember those big boomboxes from the 80s? Help us find their designers!
Like big boomboxes from the 80s? Help us track down the guys who designed them!

Or how about dropping the "creator/designer" thing entirely.......

Remember those big boomboxes from the 80s? We need your help!
Remember those big boomboxes from the 80s? Help us record history!
Remember those big boomboxes from the 80s? Help us write a book about them!
Remember those big boomboxes from the 80s? Help us build a page about them!

I like those better, because they eliminate the risk of people thinking "I don't know who designed them, so there's no way I can help, so why should I click the link?" Instead, they're more open-ended, thus widening the potential interest.

 

[=ml=]

Thanks RelI, great ideas!

After writing the earlier post I came to some similar conclusions as you.

At a software company at which I used to work, we had a life-size Michael Jordan stand-up. If you were having trouble solving a problem, one of the techniques that worked wonders was "talking to Michael;" basically explaining aloud the problem so that someone else could understand it. Often while "talking to Michael," the solution would become apparent. It was funny to see people walking up to this 6' 6" cardboard cutout and earnestly explaining a vexing problem.

Something like that occurred as I wrote the earlier post. I realized that I needed to be more specific and wrote the M90 tumblr post to reflect this. I then sent @LLCOOLJ a new more compelling tweet:

@LLCOOLJ Don't you want to know who created your radio? http://bit.ly/15M7dJx

I'll give your CTAs a run and hopefully they will have a better response. I'll ask my friend Andre Royo to send a couple out.

Remember those big boomboxes from the 80s? We need your help!
Remember those big boomboxes from the 80s? Help us record history!
Remember those big boomboxes from the 80s? Help us write a book about them!
Remember those big boomboxes from the 80s? Help us build a page about them!

If anyone else has more ideas, I'm all ears!

Go!

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[=ml=]

I've started a Pinterest account and am going to ask a friend that has 300K followers to help with promotions there: http://pinterest.com/boomboxcreators/

Currently I'm planning on organizing the boards by manufacturer, e.g., Aiwa, Sanyo, JVC, Sharp, etc.

Maybe that's not the best orginization scheme. What other way might make more sense to the non-Boomboxery public?

* Year of Boombox Manufacture
* Current age of creators
* Size
* ???

Go!

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[=ml=]

Update! Finally one of the OG manufacturers responded to a Facebook post:

We are afraid we can't answer except our product.
Thanks for your understanding.

Onkyo facebook team

I replied:

Thanks for the response! The Conion/Clairtone boombox was the product of a collaboration between Coney and Onkyo in the 1980s. If you don't have information about it, who does?

They may write back with a lead; fingers-crossed.

Many here have Conion/Clairtone/Helix boxes. I've seen Coney Onkyo on Conion boxes; do Clairtone and Helix boxes also list Coney Onkyo as the manufacturer?

Does anyone know what became of Coney?

Who is listed as the manufacturer of the Korean Conions?

Go!

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[=ml=]

No one has a Korean Conion?

Anyway, I've been building out the Pinterest presence in anticipation of a push by my friend that has 300K followers there. If anyone can help add to the manufacturer boards that would be great!

If you want to help, it's easy: search Pinterest for boxes by a specific manufacturer and pin applicable images to the appropriate board.
Sounds good? PM me your email address so I can add you to the allowed pinners.

Go!

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[baddboybill]

Miles I know Jr. has a Korean model I think Royce has one as well

 

[=ml=]

Latest project post is up: http://boomboxcreators.tumblr.com/

Go!

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