It reminds me of the contracting process I had to go through to skydive. The contract required me to sign in 17 different places, and the front clerk made sure that each and every spot was properly completed before I could proceed. I had zero ambiguity about the contract terms I had agreed to. Then again, this is a high transaction cost way of making marketplace decisions, and I doubt we want to go through such rigorous processes for every purchase we make. Eric.
I think you make a lot of good points. One more point along this line. There will always be a marketplace opportunity for vendors to provide tools that have limited functionality because some consumers don't want power and customizability; they just want the device to do a few things really well in a way they can learn and understand, and they are willing to give up the generativity capacity as a tradeoff. This isn't a failure of open systems; it's just a different market segment. Eric.
As usual, you're absolutely right. I have stopped linking to AP stories because of their silly expiration policy (and not because of their stupid anti-quoting policy). Eric.
Mike, you're right (as usual) that the drumbeat on this topic is wasteful showboating. However, from my perspective, the real villains are the politicians who have legislatively mandated that websites put specific words on their home pages regarding privacy. It's never good when politicians try to control user interfaces. On the other hand, it's completely fair game for the advocacy groups to identify companies who aren't complying with the law and push for compliance. (I'm not saying Google isn't in compliance, but clearly the privacy groups think so). Eric.
From Blockbuster's perspectives, a download kiosk sounds like a way to improve the current in-store experience and offer more of the long tail. Shelves don't have what you're looking for? Download it! On that basis, the download kiosk idea isn't totally stupid.
However, it also won't fix the major problem with Blockbuster's in-store experience that no one wants to drive to get their movies at all. So while it may be a short-term service enhancement, the long term for Blockbuster's retail stores looks very grim.
In Perfect 10 v. Amazon, the court rejected linking as a public display when the displayed files were on remote servers. But there's also the earlier LiveNation cases from last Winter, where a link that caused streaming was deemed a public performance. So this may remain an open legal question. Eric.
A good lawyer wouldn't proceed without permission from the client. Now, lawyers can influence that decision and need to avoid swaying a client into a bad business decision. However, it's comparatively rare when a lawyer makes a business decision unilaterally. Indeed, not atypically, lawyers have strongly protested a bad business decision but get vetoed and told to proceed anyway. In those cases, the lawyer takes the fall for the bad result, even if the lawyer tried to steer the client towards the light. Eric.
It may not cost very much. My understanding is that the technology sends takedown notices automatically to identified targets, whether the targets are legitimately infringing or not. So AP will turn into a spambot just like the others sending 512(c)(3) takedown spam. Eric.
On the post: iPhone 3G Illustrates What A Real Contract Looks Like
Another industrial strength contract process...
On the post: Sometimes The Customer Is Wrong
About Firing Your Customers...
On the post: Why Zittrain's Techno-Pessimism Is Unwarranted
The value of "handholding"
On the post: While We're Making Suggestions To The AP, How About Not Disappearing The News?
Bingo
On the post: Privacy Groups Miss The Point: It's Not Where Google's Privacy Policy Is, It's What It Does
I agree...but...
On the post: Blockbuster Thinks You'll Drive To A Store To Download A Movie?
Kiosks as Shelf Extenders
However, it also won't fix the major problem with Blockbuster's in-store experience that no one wants to drive to get their movies at all. So while it may be a short-term service enhancement, the long term for Blockbuster's retail stores looks very grim.
Eric.
On the post: The Search For The Elusive Captive Audience Means No More Contemplation?
See Godin's Permission Marketing book
On the post: Can You Create A Market For Privacy? Would Anyone Care If You Did?
The pricing problem
On the post: Is It Copyright Infringement To Embed An Infringing YouTube Video On Your Blog?
There is precedent on this
On the post: Yet Another Reminder For Why You Don't Let Your Lawyers Make Business Decisions
Who made the decision?
On the post: Cost vs. Benefit In Tracking Down People Using AP Content
This Will Be Done Cheaply
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