The real danger with free is that people don't put a "value" to something that "cost" them nothing. If you put a TV on Kijiji and say it is free, people will assume something is wrong with it. If you put a small cost, say $20, you will get much more interest. People tend to think free = low quality.
Google is the greatest company in the last 20 years. Have you tried Sketchup? I cannot believe that program is free. Their Scholar search and book preview allow me to do my job more effectively than ever. Google reveals how corrupt and evil Microsoft is.
Hollywood is full of "recycled ideas" because it evolved into a hit machine. Theatre ticket returns goes down the longer a movie plays in theatres. Movies like Star Wars and Ghostbusters played for YEARS in theatres, not weeks. Now a movie has to make its money and then get out of the way for the next big movie. Movies don't have time to gain word of mouth, they have to hit big or die. That is why advertising is such a ridiculous percentage of budget.
I hope this blockbuster mentality dies. Sure, I'll miss the spectacle movies, but I think they will be replaced by hundreds of smaller, more interesting movies.
I'm pretty sure he's joking. The successful (i.e., money making) authors are shameless self promoters. But for most people, being a "writer" is a good way to go broke.
I dabbled in writing, and there is basically no way to make money at it. If you want to make money, write for a magazine, or use your writing to become famous and then teach a classes or something. Or start a blog.
Frankly, with the internet and freely giving away your first few novels, you are much more likely to make *some* money writing than before, when you had to go through a publisher or self-publish (p.s., DO NOT EVER DO THE LATTER).
"I am against creating a climate of fear, and entering a surveillance society. Anyone who supports this has no understanding of the underpinnings of the Declaration of Independence."
Within 10 years, everyone will carry personal recording devices (e.g., in your glasses, on a necklace or bracelet, in your watch) that will record audio and video on everything they do, everyday, with GPS included. The surveillance society is coming, the question is who controls the data.
I think this is a great idea. I've always thought that the only way to go to the next level is to crowdsource everything.
Keep the government in check? Make everything open and there will always be some keener willing to pour over the data and look for suspicious spending, etc.
I'll give you a perfect example. There was a huge cheating scandal on the poker site Absolute Poker. It was found because player statistics (e.g., how often people fold, raise, call) was made public. Some people crunched the numbers and found that a few accounts had win rates that were way outside statistical norms. It was discovered these people had software that allowed them to see other peoples cards (it was an inside job). The official story was they were former employees who outwitted the new owners, and a "sophisticated" security system.
No security system is better than just making all the data public and letting the public do the security. The future is crowdsourcing.
"It is not surprising that people on this blog continue to not understand basic agent principal law. Go figure."
This is the most interesting comment yet. I went and checked Wikipedia, and yes, it appears this is a clear case of agency. Please AC, come out of the shadows and inject some sense into the discussion. (And no, I'm not being sarcastic.)
Be careful what you wish for. There are a lot of big companies that would *love* to have their employees take the blame for huge mistakes. Say, for example, you are a captain on an oil tanker, you fall asleep, run the ship aground, and dump a billion barrels of oil in the sea. "Personal responsibility" doesn't clean up the shore.
Exactly right. Businesses will manage their risk properly when they know they won't be bailed out. It reminds me of a quote: "The roads would be safer if all cars had a spike coming out of the steering wheel."
The reason for the crisis is ultimately the Fed, who manipulate the interest rates. If I have capital and you want to borrow it, why should a 3rd party say what rate I can charge you? There is a reason (but it is the man behind the curtain): fiat currency. The reason the Fed has to control the interest rates is my capital I want to lend to you is actually worthless. It isn't backed by any physical object, just millions of US taxpayers.
The most important factor is WHO is on the network. It will be very difficult for any new site to beat Facebook because grandmas are on Facebook. It takes a lot of work to put up pictures, etc. so don't expect anyone but the technophiles to switch sites quickly. It will take a critical mass of switchers to make the new site popular.
Second-to-market is a legitimate strategy. The "first-to-market" company typically works out the design kinks, and does free advertising and customer education.
How do explain that there were artists who took up Google's offer? If someone is willing to mow your lawn for free, do you go and find someone who you can pay?
I agree with fat Tony. This seems like a non-story to me. Remember the huge "terrorist" scare in Boston due to the viral campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Ya, I'm sure terrorist are going to attack with bombs emblazed with Space Invader type characters.
Not everything is for everyone. This campaign is targeting me. If people don't like it, don't buy the game, but leave the faux outrage at home.
The reason scalpers exist is because the prices are too low. If 200 people want 100 tickets, the price is too low. The price is right when 100 people want 100 tickets. There will be ABSOLUTELY NO DROP OFF IN SALES if the ticket prices are set right. Auction off every ticket and scalpers will disappear overnight.
It is not like a speeding ticket, because no one proved you were infringing. It is like the "report a bad driver" programs that large cities have, where you can phone in a license plate of someone you see breaking traffic laws. In these cases, all the police can do is send a warning letter because you can't start fining people based on the presumption of guilt.
By broken windows, do you mean the discredited theory that crime went down in New York because they fixed small things (e.g., graffiti) which help reduced big things? Legalized abortion had much more to do with that than fixing windows.
I think the only thing stopping massive scale file sharing is 1) ignorance (that it is possible) and 2) some technical difficulty (e.g., converting downloaded files). "Risk" has less to do with it.
"In the United States, designations that are geographically descriptive, namely a geographical location that consumers would interpret as descriptive of the geographic origin of the goods or services, cannot be protected as trademarks unless they have acquired distinctiveness, or secondary meaning, through use."
On the post: Mark Cuban Remains Confused About Free
Re: Re: The problem with free.
On the post: Mark Cuban Remains Confused About Free
Re: How about this
On the post: Schaumburg Dumps Redlight Cameras After They Show No Safety Benefit
Re: Re: Eco Alternative to Traffic Lights
On the post: Yet Another Company Sues Google For Not Being In Google's Index
Re: Both will play the laws...always
On the post: Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Cablevision Remote DVR Case: Good News, For Now
Re: supreme court and copyright law
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4490651/cablevision-remote-dvr-2nd-circuit-ruling
They point out some idiotic interpretations the district court made. I love how lawyers insult each other so politely.
On the post: Is Piracy Also Increasing The Quality Of New Movies?
Re:
I hope this blockbuster mentality dies. Sure, I'll miss the spectacle movies, but I think they will be replaced by hundreds of smaller, more interesting movies.
On the post: Buy The Novel, Get A Lot More -- Including True Reasons To Buy
Re: Re: Re:
I dabbled in writing, and there is basically no way to make money at it. If you want to make money, write for a magazine, or use your writing to become famous and then teach a classes or something. Or start a blog.
Frankly, with the internet and freely giving away your first few novels, you are much more likely to make *some* money writing than before, when you had to go through a publisher or self-publish (p.s., DO NOT EVER DO THE LATTER).
On the post: Town Outsources Video Camera Surveillance To Resident Volunteers?
Re:
Within 10 years, everyone will carry personal recording devices (e.g., in your glasses, on a necklace or bracelet, in your watch) that will record audio and video on everything they do, everyday, with GPS included. The surveillance society is coming, the question is who controls the data.
On the post: Town Outsources Video Camera Surveillance To Resident Volunteers?
Re: Re:
Keep the government in check? Make everything open and there will always be some keener willing to pour over the data and look for suspicious spending, etc.
I'll give you a perfect example. There was a huge cheating scandal on the poker site Absolute Poker. It was found because player statistics (e.g., how often people fold, raise, call) was made public. Some people crunched the numbers and found that a few accounts had win rates that were way outside statistical norms. It was discovered these people had software that allowed them to see other peoples cards (it was an inside job). The official story was they were former employees who outwitted the new owners, and a "sophisticated" security system.
No security system is better than just making all the data public and letting the public do the security. The future is crowdsourcing.
On the post: McDonald's: If An Employee Uploaded Nude Photos From Found Cameraphone, Sue The Employee, Not Us
Re:
This is the most interesting comment yet. I went and checked Wikipedia, and yes, it appears this is a clear case of agency. Please AC, come out of the shadows and inject some sense into the discussion. (And no, I'm not being sarcastic.)
On the post: McDonald's: If An Employee Uploaded Nude Photos From Found Cameraphone, Sue The Employee, Not Us
Re:
On the post: Too Big To Fail Isn't The Problem... It's The Hidden Risk That's The Problem
Re:
The reason for the crisis is ultimately the Fed, who manipulate the interest rates. If I have capital and you want to borrow it, why should a 3rd party say what rate I can charge you? There is a reason (but it is the man behind the curtain): fiat currency. The reason the Fed has to control the interest rates is my capital I want to lend to you is actually worthless. It isn't backed by any physical object, just millions of US taxpayers.
On the post: MySpace: That Great Club Everyone Used To Go To
Re:
On the post: It's Not About Being First... It's About Market Adoption
Re: or you have to be Billy Gates
On the post: Don't Underestimate The Value Of Exposure
Re: Re: Um. No.
On the post: Electronic Arts Stages Protest of Dante's Inferno at E3
Re: As true as that may be
Not everything is for everyone. This campaign is targeting me. If people don't like it, don't buy the game, but leave the faux outrage at home.
On the post: Ticketmaster Takes Another Stab At Shutting Down Scalpers With Paperless Tickets
Re: to effectively cut out scalpers...
On the post: Study Says File Sharers Would Ignore Warning Letters; Recording Industry Gets The Wrong Message
Re:
On the post: UK ISP Boss: 'The Pirates Will Always Win'
Re:
I think the only thing stopping massive scale file sharing is 1) ignorance (that it is possible) and 2) some technical difficulty (e.g., converting downloaded files). "Risk" has less to do with it.
On the post: Idaho Potato Commission As Trademark Trolls
Re:
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