:Lobo Santo's Favorite Techdirt Articles of the Week
from the don't-mess-with-the-favorites dept
This week's favorites of the week post comes from :Lobo Santo.It first bears mentioning my very favorite article every week since its inception is "Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt". Primarily because I'm always hoping to 'place' on it again. Even without my nigh-lackluster comments, it's nice to see what the 'wisdom of the masses' pushed into the most insightful and funniest categories.
That having been said, on to the main enchilada! As luck would have it, my rapid perusal of the week's articles yielded exactly ten results which stuck in my mind for a variety of reasons, and so we'll do a top-ten style countdown (please don't sue me if you work for the "Late Show".)
Number 10. Success! Sita Sings the Blues Once Again Viewable on German Youtube
Nina's video is once again availble in Germany. Never knew Nina was cute in a Texas-soccermon kinda way. Also, her comics are particularly illustrative of certain issues and have a style quite their own. Though, I myself am more of an XKCD and SMBC kinda guy.
Number 9. Court Refuses To Issue Injunction Stopping Secret Web Spycams From Running On Rental Laptops
Can you believe the court says 'possible spying' is no harm? Kinda like saying "so yeah, this guy installed cameras in your sisters bedroom and bathroom--but that doesn't mean he's watching them. Come to court when you can prove he's watching." This line of stories strikes me; primarily due to the absurdity of the result--also, why aren't these people just formatting the laptop and installing a nice free operating system like Ubuntu or Mint? That would fix 'em in a jiffy.
Number 8. Kevin Smith Shows The Importance Of Building A Brand As A Part Of CwF+RtB
Once again the notable quotable Kevin Smith is in the news for taking actions to go directly to his fans--an amazing phenomenon for a film-maker (name two others who do that). The new site is worth checking--if only to see the "made with love" sticker. This is, of course, in addition to his podcast, iPhone app, and other offerings that I'm not taking the time to list. I've got a weak spot for Kevin Smith. He's an amazing public speaker, makes quite good movies, and if he wasn't such an ecstatic sports fan I'd still be following him on Twitter.
Number 7. Once Again, Law Enforcement Protects Us From The America-Destroying Scourge Of Children With Lemonade Stands
Children of America trying to make money, police and politicians trying to take money. An illustrative tale of absurdities in our legal system, but I guess it's never too early to start beating the "obey or else" mantra into the minds of the young.
Number 6. Can Google Get Past The Big Faceless White Monolith Stage?
An insightful look at the changing nature of Google with a particular commentary on the nature and quality of their customer service. I've been a fan of Google since the time when people used to say "Google, what's that?" Being somebody with an engineering mindset, I've usually found everything they made to be pretty much the way I would have made it. I'll miss their 'awkward engineer' larval stage--but I look forward to when they finish this cocoon stage and then move on towards founding the 'Federation of Planets.'
Number 5. The Greatest Trick The NYTimes Ever Pulled Was Convincing The World Its Paywall Exists
How many digital subrscribers does the NYTimes really have? This is a tale of cognitive dissonance and spin. Does the NYTimes really have the numbers? All I know is whoever took the money to build the paywall, convincing the NY Times they were a competent contractor, should have a job in sales instead--and never ever code any stupid thing ever again.
Number 4. Arresting People Associated With Anonymous Unlikely To Have The Impact The Feds Expect
Pretty much everything you need to know about this story is right there in the headline. This punny headline might have as well have read: FBI arrests random people, expects "internet problem" to get better. "Members of Anonymous" always cracks me up too. Did anybody check their membership cards?
Number 3. Man Made Famous Over 2006 Arrest For Videotaping Police... Arrested Again While Videotaping Police
This illustrative article is a harrowing tale of laws being stretched to abuse the populace, and in this case one particular man. Evil is perpetrated thru the inaction of good men. This guy without doubt has some problems, but at least he's doing something. Besides, when's the last time you saw a protagonist with the same name as a Legend of Zelda boss?
Number 2. Sincerest Form Of Flattery? Copies Of Apple Stores So Convincing Even Employees Think They Work For Apple
Convincing fake Apple stores in China! Sure look like real iPads they're selling. If only they'd called it the 'Snapple' store, they could've been in an entirely different mess. The sheer chutzpah, gall, and inventiveness of makers of fake products is a smiling reminder of the unquashable spirit of humans.
And finally...
Number 1. Phoenix DA Decides Not To File Charges Against Woman Accused Of Groping TSA Agent
I like this story--someone who gave a little tit-for-tat (no pun) to the TSA and will not be absurdly punished for it. Though sadly, she's saved by a technicality rather than the morality of the District Attorney.
Remember: some people are like slinkies. They're pretty much good for nothing, but still bring a smile to your face when they fall down the stairs.
Have a good night everybody.
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TSA and prostitution
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I will eventually train you trolls how to do it right.
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It pretty much kicks one of the legs of the stool out from under the whole "free or die" mentality. Shock, shock, people will pay for news.
So great article, even if Mike's conclusion is more about saving face than it is about admitting he was wrong in a very, very big way.
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I can't think of many more motivations for your unceasing personal attacks on this website and its owner/writer. I mean, a corporate shill is a corporate shill, a sockpuppet who exists merely to trumpet their own narrow view, but your posts go way beyond even that low level of ersatz "debate" and descend without fail into a snotty personal attack.
There's go to be a reason for it. This kind of bitter, ineffective and, frankly, personally-embarrassing-for-you behavior really looks like a problem where you might need some professional help. Hiding behind an Anonymous Name is simply sad, because if you can't realize, with all your vaunted "smartnesses" that you can be identified pretty easily, your "smartnesses" simply are not true.
Why don't you start your own website/forum then? I mean, you have so much to say, so many "smartnesses" and you Know The Big Score, I'd think you could really monetize your way to richness, given your alleged talents and abilities.
Just think about it, ok? And try to get some help. It's for your own good.
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I just don't agree with his views at all. I think he starts from some points of view that either encourage illegal activity, or that attempt to profit from those illegal or illicit acts. The tacit approval of piracy, and the business models based on "infinite distribution" that exists because of piracy is akin to getting the local crack dealer to put a sticker for your pizza place on every bag they sell. It would be an incredibly smart business move, but one that depends greatly on an underlying bad act.
I also tend to disagree with the endless banging of the drum of "free or die". Clearly the NYT story is show that there are at least some circumstances where this is not the case. For that matter, companies like Netflix (which Mike uses himself) are proof that people will pay subscription rates for the supposedly infinite content. It goes pretty much directly against the general themes of the site here.
Unlike Mike, I don't pretend for a second to have all the answers. I wouldn't write a blog like this because I won't even pretend to have all the answers. All I know is that for almost every story posted here, this is almost always some more plausible and more simple answer for what has happened or what is going on.
The biggest "smartness" I have is knowing that I don't have all the answers, and that I won't even try. My ego isn't that big. I also don't have the pitchman mentality to get you guys to sheeple up behind my views, so that wouldn't help. Mike on the other hand has it in spades.
I hope that answers you questions, and perhaps you can get a little help and stop worrying about people on a blog, and get a real life.
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That right there is where you don't get it and why. That "infinite content" is available free elsewhere, but people pay Netflix to get it. Because they aren't chosing to pay for the content, they are choosing to pay for the convenient service that Netflix provides. That is what they find valuable and worth paying for in a reality where they technically don't have to bother.
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The other side too is that Netflix without the Hollywood content would be a dead player. People aren't paying for convenience, they are paying for convenient content they want, in combination. The true value proposition isn't just the convenience, because that would not work.
it is service + product, not just service. Dismissing the product pretty much kills the model.
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There's no "piracy" market for it because Nina makes it available for free. But there's a massive market for it.
Yeah, I mean it only has half a million views at YouTube (and, note, that YouTube only counts views if they go all the way through the entire 82 minute movie.
And it's only been downloaded another 400,000 times from Archive.org.
And it's available in a ton of other sources as well.
But clearly, because you say so, there's no market.
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As for Youtube views, Mike I would think you know better than that. Do you really think all of those people who got Rick Rolled actually viewed the entire video? Nope. I am betting very few of them did. Yet the view count is huge. It would appear to be more "completed page loads" than anything else. Using that as even an indication of how many people fully viewed the movie is just not right.
As for the downloads, any idea how many times they actually got watched? Do people download it, watch a minute, and go "oh god, this is crap..." and dump it? 400k in what, 3 years, isn't exactly a ton, is it? Also, are they counting completed downloads, or "started" downloads?
Finally, if P2P is the infinite distribution gold mine you are talking about, how come it is so hard to find any decent seeds of the movie? Doesn't anyone actually have a copy live?
Hmmm.
Clearly, because you say so doesn't make it popular. But nice of you to try so hard. Would you like to try facts next time?
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Practice what you preach.
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You were the one who said there's no "piracy" market for it, so I was using your definition of a market.
As for Youtube views, Mike I would think you know better than that. Do you really think all of those people who got Rick Rolled actually viewed the entire video? Nope. I am betting very few of them did. Yet the view count is huge. It would appear to be more "completed page loads" than anything else. Using that as even an indication of how many people fully viewed the movie is just not right.
It's possible you're right. I remembered hearing otherwise, but if it's completed page views I'm happy to concede that point.
As for the downloads, any idea how many times they actually got watched? Do people download it, watch a minute, and go "oh god, this is crap..." and dump it? 400k in what, 3 years, isn't exactly a ton, is it? Also, are they counting completed downloads, or "started" downloads?
400,000 downloads in 3 years is HUGE. What have you ever created that got that many?
Finally, if P2P is the infinite distribution gold mine you are talking about, how come it is so hard to find any decent seeds of the movie? Doesn't anyone actually have a copy live?
Again, I don't know what you're talking about. I never said that P2P was a goldmine. Why make up stuff? And it's not out of the ordinary for something that is a few years old no longer to have many seeds.
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For Nina's 400k downloads, someone paid the bandwidth. They did so with advertising, they perhaps added files in the download to try to entice people into doing things, or perhaps tried to install a toolbar or other after the download. All of those are "costs" which negate the idea of infinite distribution.
As soon as you lose infinite distribution, the market price of digital goods would come away from zero, and we would find ourselves headed back towards the "pay as you go" marketplace.
So P2P is the real goldmine - get everyone else in the world to pay for your distribution.
Oh, 400k downloads is 300 a day or so over 3 years. Considering how hard Nina promotes this, and how much of a darling she is with the "Tardian Nation", I would say that it isn't a particularly impressive number. It isn't chickenfeed, but considering it's free, that isn't all that. I wonder what that number would be if each user had to pay even $1 for it.
All that stats don't add up to much when something is free. There is no indication that any of the 400k downloaders actually watched the whole movie (or even more than a minute or two), and YouTube is the same thing. The view count on Youtube (when it works) appears to be based on the video actually starting (ie, they start serving the video file). That is a "view". You could watch only a few seconds (a la Rick Roll) and be a view. With all of Nina's push on this movie for 3 years now, it isn't shocking that there are views. It would be truly much more interesting to see how many people actually watching the movie as opposed to just tasting it and walking away.
It would probably be equally interesting to see if a trailer version would get a similar view level, which would confirm my theories of it being tasters and not watchers.
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You really are desperate to prove that Sita is a failure, aren't you? Why do you hate artists?
People seem to like it a lot - deal with it dude. Do you not realize how pathetic you sound running around in circles trying to belittle Nina's movie? I mean that quite seriously: everyone is laughing at you right now, whether you know it or not. You are being astonishingly juvenile. Step back, take a deep breath and re-read your comment - did you notice how sad and desperate it sounds?
Again I challenge you: show us a piece of art you created that has an audience even close to that of Sita. We're waiting.
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You're officially a moron.
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I love this because of how incredibly wrong nearly every sentence in there is (including the idea that I subscribe to Netflix -- I have never been a Netflix subscriber). The rest of it is so obviously laughable, it doesn't require a response. Anyone who can read knows the response.
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As for the rest, well, why not educate the class rather than just being your usual dismissive self? Would you like perhaps to pull highlights from your anti-paywall posts about the NYT from a few months back, and run them through the reality mill for us?
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However, the search function is absolutely useless, so there is no simple way to find the quote. Too bad, I had a nice fresh crow all prepared for you. :)
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Yeah, the techdirt search (default Slashcode search, I believe) is not that great. That's the reason there's a "try the google version of this search" link on all results pages - one I suppose you missed thanks to the selective blindness that makes you complain about everything.
You will find that the Google search is excellent at finding what you seek. For even more flexibility, just go straight to google and include site:techdirt.com in your query - that is what I do whenever I want to look up old stuff, on this and most other blogs. Then you can use all your google-fu to hone in on the results you want, and stop blaming a search engine for your inability to back up your point.
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No. This is false and I told you it was false in the very same thread. I told you it was false the last time you brought it up as well. I remember the discussion. You went off on some ill-informed rant about how dare I support the industry I "hate." And I pointed out that I don't hate Hollywood at all, but hope they succeed.
And I mentioned something about movie rentals, and you went nuts about how I subscribe to Netflix despite hating the business model, and I told you right then and there that I don't hate the business model, but that you're wrong. You jumped to a conclusion. You were wrong. I told you you were wrong, and you still repeat the lie.
Dude. You're wrong. I have NEVER subscribed to Netflix nor have I ever said that I subscribed to Netflix.
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Of course not. Being a freetard, you just steal everything.
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I'm assuming you're joking. I have also never, not once, downloaded an unauthorized movie.
I rent movies legally all the time. I just don't use Netflix.
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Then you could easily find your comment as well as Mikes response.
That is not really what you want though is it? Because we could also then use it and you would be accountable to your own contradicting statements.
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The NYTimes has seen very little real revenue growth after this paywall. I doubt they will see much more.
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It just shows that piracy is not really a problem the business model is, is not that fun LoL
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Whoever thought "automatically download system updates over an unsecure connection" was a good idea must've been drunk at the time.
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Re: *blush*
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The very first person disconnected by HADOPI is going to court to clear his name, you think they would target someone who was more likely to at least apear to be a pirate but no such luck they choose a 54 year old school teacher who apparently doesn't even know how to use P2P and supposedly didn't have it installed.
It is not telling that those other people keep trying to say that those laws will never be abused and will be used only for the worst offender when in reality they are misused often and for frivolous and petty reasons(i.e. I will feck you up because I just don't like you).
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1 People at various point down the stream / torrent wont know that.
2 better be prepared to be sued for lose of legit earnings.
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Brand
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/07/21/angry.birds.billion/index.html
When you give people a reason to buy and you create a brand you can sell anything.
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Good for Kevin
And if you haven't heard him speak, make effort, he's great.
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