Vog's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week
Hello, Vog here, but I guess you probably already know me, sort of. It’s been a busy news week on several fronts, and there’s been no shortage of interesting articles to pick favorites from here on Techdirt. So get comfortable, pour some Kool-Aid, and check out these developments you might have missed.
Regardless of which set of political beliefs you subscribe to or which business models you value, encouraging innovation and allowing for the development of emerging technology is crucial to advancing not only business, but our culture, society, and species as well. If you have to rest on your laurels, at least sleep with one eye open towards the future. It was great to hear the results of the Insight community making some recommendations for a government innovation agenda, which is an endeavor we should all support for our common good.
Of course, those advancing our common good are occasionally those diametrically opposed to our government; members of the hacking Operation AntiSec allegedly “obtained” personal information on 12 MILLION Apple product users from the laptop of an FBI cybersecurity recruiter, a feat the FBI naturally denies. The group released just over 1 million of these as proof of possession and as a warning against government data collection. While we wait for the outcome of the other 11 million IDs, satisfy your remaining Internet bad-boy quota for the week by having some “lulz” at 4channers potentially lining up Taylor Swift for a concert at Horace Mann School for the Deaf.
On the private sector front, we have an insightful article explaining the economics of how businesses with open systems can still make money in these days of larger pies (mmm… pies…), if your business focus is on expanding your base and appealing to as many people as possible. Since technology has progressed to the point where the cost of duplication is trivial, perhaps legacy business models used by the entertainment industries should be updated to match the shifting markets and changing times. Some record label executives are figuring this out, but I won’t be so quick as to call it a turnaround.
Other things to not call turnarounds: Wells Fargo recently firing an employee for fraud that was unsuccessful, a half-century ago, and for 10 cents; also, a project to end malaria started by Intellectual Ventures for the purposes of PR grandstanding, theoretically legitimizing their own existence, and having a totally sick riposte for critics (at least in Myhrvold’s mind).
Things to actually call turnarounds: HBO offering a standalone streaming service to Scandinavia (can we please have some, too?) and Ubisoft finally reversing its historical trend of overzealous DRM. I’m glad their fiery rhetoric portraying their customers as a “pirate nation” is no longer part of their core, uh, creed.
Speaking of targeted assassinations, two drone strikes this week included a video stream of the Hugo Awards and the official stream of the Democratic National Convention (insert political joke here). The culprits in both cases were automated systems designed to protect copyright holders by checking site content for infringement; instead, they prevented access to cleared, legitimate streams. See, if only the streams had shown their papers, there wouldn’t have been a problem.
Two more surprising bits this week, for very different reasons: an expedient and reasonable end to e-book price-fixing schemes, and some digging into the steps the GOP would have to take to actually cause the end of the porn as we know it. After all, the internet is for freeloaders, not porn. That’s what I’m told, anyway.
Big shout out to bob for being a seriously cool dude; to all the other Techdirt readers: stay classy.
Simple - do the same thing that's been done since 9/11. Change the public's perception of what's "draconian".
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I agree - this is what people should really be mad at, if anything. A killer might go free not because we enjoy too much sheltering from police, but because the police botched their duty to take the simple steps necessary to remain within the law.
Ignoring the Fourth Amendment is not the answer.
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Actually... a pretty good analogy. Have the first word.
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Honestly, it doesn't sound any different from the "coordination" that happens normally. "True" fans will do what they perceive to be in their idol's best interests - sit, stay, sic 'em, maybe even heel.
It's at least plausible to believe the SuperPACs would refrain from showing ads if they're going to harm their own candidates as a result.
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My product is for sale. It's freely available basically around the world. It's still being taken without payment in places where someone can easily purchase it.
Simply being for sale doesn't necessarily mean it's been distributed in a way that makes your fans want to pay for it!
The example of albums vs. singles has been discussed: should I buy an album if there's one song I like out of an album of mediocre shit, or pirate it? The question becomes moot if you allow your customers to buy single tracks. The question becomes obsolete if you record good music.
The bottom line is this: something with your marketing strategy isn't squaring with what people want. Fix it, stop whining, and get your new car or whatever. Great success.
Truly, this level of transparency is unparalleled. Let's hope it stays that way.
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That's requires actual work. My parents didn't do a great job with grammar.
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Actually, his parents probably did a much better job. He's not crying about things he's in control of!
As Mike has said countless times, if people are pirating your work, most often it's because there's a customer need not being met.
So you have two choices - try harder to meet your customers' needs, or keep whining about "douchebags" and acting like an entitled jerk - except one of these actual work, so I know which one you'll pick!
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I thought it too, but went ahead anyway. Though now, judging from his response to mine, I doubt it.
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"I guess you don't get it: Terrorists and criminals use the "freedom" in the system to avoid detection. The use it to avoid getting caught, to avoid searches, to avoid having to explain their actions."
Then, to be absolutely sure we're catching all the "terrorists and criminals", we should probably get rid of all this pesky "freedom", huh? I mean, it sure sounds like expecting a reasonable right to privacy is pretty unpatriotic when you have all this theoretical terrorism to consider. What's stopping us from mandatory TSA strip searches? What's stopping police from pulling over random motorists on highways to ask them where they're going and what they're doing? I mean, as long as they're either stopping everyone or a random selection of everyone, that's okay, right?
Those who see nothing but knives in the shadows will jump at their own. The sad thing is I completely understand and that makes it all the more sickening.
It's especially telling that you consider Franklin's quote to be out-of-date and irrelevant to today's society; I guess I'll just shred this Constitution while I'm at it. From the looks of it, you won't mind.
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I am so sick of linking Ben Franklin's quote and explaining to thick-headed idiots like you why this is the exact wrong attitude to have.
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Argh, looks like I hit the wrong Reply. Meant in response to the AC above.
"Some people want to spent all their time writing and creating, not marketing and selling."
I wish I could spend all my time doing what I want to do. But that's not how the bills get paid.
Besides, even authors spending "all their time writing and creating" and relying on publishers for sales have to promote their own work from time to time - spreading the word is good for sales. Why are you against a service that cultivates interest in an author's work?
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And yet instead of saying "Hey, Mike, there's a typo, it should be Rainier", you chose the most snobbish way to make your point for no apparent reason.
Even if the brand didn't exist, or if he named "Shamawalagaba Brand Fuji Apples" (so as to not be "shilling for a brand"), his point still stands; yet you choose to use this meaningless contradiction as evidence of his lapse in journalistic prowess.
...Why?
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I hope when I'm as old as you are, I won't be nearly as needlessly pedantic.
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Right, and I said this in light of these facts. I'm supportive of these doujinshi artists, because they're building on and contributing to a work.
It's nice that the comic creator is making it official, as you say; I'm sure such a statement will encourage artists to create derivative works based on his material, but I have to wonder if such a statement really changes anything for the doujinshi market as a whole.
Then again, perhaps I'm being too harsh, especially since this is also recent news. I guess good news is good news.
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Would it change anything?
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I guess you missed the part where doujinshis are actually sold (for money) in Japanese stores...
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Actually guys, this AC is totally 100% completely correct. My remark was meant to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt (x3 COMBO!!) about people who make things, and in no way was it merely a flippant comment expressing my distaste for both the sense of entitlement on the part of cultural gatekeepers and the legal mire surrounding and threatening innovation these days.
Let's all give the AC a medal and congratulate him for how correct he is. Fellow Techdirtbags, be upstanding individuals and share some of your Kool-Aid. (This week's flavor, kiwi-strawberry, brought to you by Google, Inc. - "We like to watch.")