Monthly Archive for July, 2006

The 1% Rule vs. The 1:1 Ratio

Published on July 28, 2006 in Article and Blog. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

An emerging trend in the online world is that the gap between content creator and the content consumer is closing. Personal Computers come pre-installed with many content creation tools, and many more aimed at the Amateur to the Pro-Am content cretor abound. One only has to look at iLife, Apple’s Am/Pro-Am content creation suite (now complete with a webpage editor that sports RSS feeds).
Some have put forth a suggestion, that only 1% of the online world is creating content. This seems awfully low to me. I have always thought of it as The 1:1 Ratio, for every content creator in a community there is a consumer, that in turn is also a creator. Their numbers, stating that out of 100 people, 1 would create the content, 10 would interact with it (commenting on it, offering suggestions to improve it, etc.) while the other 89 users would simple view it.
Maybe I just travel in more creative circles, because anecdotally The 1:1 Ratio holds true for me. Their numbers come from YouTube’s upload vs download ratio, and obviously skew the results because of the size of the sample. I’m not doubting their findings, but it’s interesting to hear the same theory in different contexts.
Read the article, and decide for yourself. It’d be cool if you left a comment too, and let me know which rule holds more true for you, The 1% Rule, or The 1:1 Ratio.
digg story
originally published on dr.xnlb.com

Interview with “RIAA vs The People” founder Ray Beckerman

Published on July 28, 2006 in Blog. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Peter Brown of the Free Software Foundation speaks with Ray Beckerman, lawyer for defendants in RIAA lawsuits about the impact of the RIAA’s legal strategy on the internet, copyright, DRM and our digital freedoms. He leads the discussion with the reason why only small law firms, or individual lawyers will ever take up the cause of those being sued by the RIAA.
He also dissects a typical RIAA “investigation” that form the basis of their suit against their customers. In essense the RIAA creates an account with a p2p network, finds users with RIAA tunes in their shared folder, and files the report. However, and this is the kicker, there is no proof of wrongdoing. That is, there is no proof that the user did not obtain the song through legal means (purchasing them, or making a back-up copy from a CD they legally own), nor is there proof that other users have ever downloaded the song. In other words, most of the RIAA lawsuits brought against consumers are mere ploys to extort money.
Many users have settled out of court. The few that fight it get into long drawn out court cases where every dirty trick in the book is used by the RIAA Legal Team to make it prohibitively expensive for the defendant to continue fighting the case. Lawyers, such as Ray Beckerman, are working pro bono or for significantly reduced rates on the behalf of the few brave souls willing to stand up and challenge the RIAA. Especially since many of the defendants have never used p2p software before, and until their subpoena arrived in the mail had never even heard of Kazzaa and the like.
If you want to help, you can donate money to the Free Software Foundation.
Keep up with Ray and his fight against the RIAA at his blog: RIAA vs. The People.
Download The MP3 recording of the call
digg this story
originally published on dr.xnlb.com

Yahoo! Toys with Selling MP3s

Published on July 28, 2006 in Blog. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Yahoo!, who owns and operates Yahoo! Music – a digital distribution store built with Microsofts ‘Plays For Sure’ DRM technology, is toying with the idea of selling unprotected, DRM-Free MP3s. In a recent survey, they asked participants the following question:

“Would you consider paying $1.09 for a single, unrestricted MP3 download that would have absolutely no limitations on its use and could be transferred to any portable audio player or computer?”

Don’t get hung up on the price. To me that’s irrelevant. The fact that not only a major content distributor would consider MP3, but is willing to face down Apple and the Big 4 Labels is a major step forward. Though you could liken it to DRM poisoning the water supply and suppliers are now going to sell ‘clean’ water on the side, I consider this to be a bold move on their part, and since Polyvibe Records distributes music with them as part of a larger digital distribution deal, I am awaiting their next announcement concerning this with much anxiousness.

digg this story

Recognize Your Uniqueness.

Published on July 19, 2006 in Article. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

This is probably one of the most powerful things you can do for your musical career, and for yourself. I don’t mean that “we are all unique snowflakes on god’s tongue” unique. Humans share many traits with one another. We are a social species. But if you can’t figure out what makes you stand out, what makes you more powerful than the next guy, then you should quit. Or get to working on what your core strength is, and start to share that with everyone you meet. This can be found in your passion for your projects. It may have to be dug out from under the rocks of fear, no confidence, or any other manner of excuses that make you stop in life, and halt your progress, and dusted off.
We tell our artists this all the time, and have developed and are developing programs that do just this: Help Them Recognize Their Uniqueness. Once you can stand in that, then nothing can stop you but you. Do not limit your success with fear of failure. Increase your success by owning who you are in the world, what your music does and can do for people, and then TELL THEM ALL ABOUT IT.
If you don’t… Who will?
Now before you go running off telling everyone how great you are, take a second and reflect… is that really how you are going to get them to pay attention? By bragging? It’s verbal spam. Don’t do it. Don’t be that guy.
You see, Self-Promotion is not about tooting your own horn, and comparing yourself to sliced bread… if you catch my metaphor. Instead, you want to operate in such a way that has people RECOGNIZE for THEMSELVES Your Uniqueness. This is what they pay attention to. It’s your job to inspire them to see your greatness. Don’t fall into the trap of fighting for the public to recognize you as musicians. They already do, and do that my making music. That part is a given. It’s about connecting with the music fans that makes all the difference. These are the music fans that will be totally stoked to find you, because you are making the music that they would make themselves if they could. And to connect with them, you’ve got to be able to rise above the white noise.
You won’t be able to rise above all the noise, if you don’t have YOU figured out. That is, if you don’t own, understand, and totally grok your own uniqueness, how you can expect to communicate this to anyone else? If you can figure you out, you can then begin to tell the story of your music in a way that allows music lovers to get what you’re all about. This means clear descriptions of the music, and what the benefit for the listener is.
Remember, you’re not selling music, but emotional head-spaces for your users to journey to. If you can’t tell them where you’re going to take them in a way that excites them, how do you expect them to go with you?
inspired by a post in Bob Baker’s Buzz Factory newsletter
originally published on dr.xnlb.com

Can you believe this Sh*t?

Published on July 17, 2006 in Article and Blog. 0 Comments Tags: .

FCC Combing Air Tapes for Dirty Words? By Brooks Boliek – REUTERS

Ok, so now the FCC feels the need to look into how much sports players curse during lvie sporting events.? You know, the kind where they practically put a microphone in the participants asses.? And now the FCC is upset that hearing every word a football player speaks when he’s in the middle of a pig pile isn’t rosy.

“It looks like they want to end live broadcast TV,” said? one executive, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity.? “We already know that they aren’t afraid to go after news.”? The article doesn’t say anything about this source, but it’s OK because you don’t have to be and expert in anything to come to that conclusion.

So now the FCC wants to impose decency standards on athletes.? Then again, isn’t the purpose of the camera in the grass to make the experience more real?? I’m willing to bet it’s no shock that athletes use foul words, most of us do at one time or another.

The FCC’s imposition on our moral values seems less valid every time I hear it.? I fail to see how cutting down on the profanity in pro sports is any more than a symbolic gesture.? Remember George Carlin‘s Seven Dirty Words?? You can hear most of these after Ten PM on most premium cable channels.

Are they really so dirty and profane that all you have to do is leave your house or apartment to hear them?? If they’re _everywhere_, isn’t it pointless to put a moral standard on them?? And if the cursing is that offensive, why not just turn of the microphoes and let us listen to the announcers, like we have for the last eighty years.

Last but not least, if the United States Government has a riduclous budget deficit, wouldn’t it be better to tell the people at the FCC to shut the fuck up and spend their money on something better? You know, like the almost complete domination of terrestrial radio by one company.

Twitter!