Growth Matters: Pandora lets you box your own music

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore

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How would you like a radio station where every song was right up your alley? If so, you should check out Pandora. I interviewed Pandora founder, Tim Westergren who described Pandora as "personalized radio." He said, "We have 22 million registered users and 45,000 people use it in a day. We have doubled every year. We have done no advertising. The growth has mostly been from word of mouth, due to a combination of factors: People really like the service, it is easy to share, and they can get a friend hooked. Pandora satisfies an unmet need to get radio that plays what you like."