More Copywrong News
Liked Matt Asay’s piece today about how poorly Government is comprehending issues surrounding copyright, especially in moves to extend the times which generally have little of the intended benefits to the artists but inhibit the much more significant process of moving all the world’s information online.
He’s noting that a European Union proposal to extend copyright a whopping 45 years will net artists on average an extra $40. I’m assuming that number does not factor in the potential for those same artists to make money from derivative works that are much less likely to see the light of day under this proposal.
Although I’m not insensitive to the idea that online folks routinely violate copyright rules, and unlike many people I always groan when web 2.0 folks pretend that widespread unfair use is not common, it is also clear that the copycat is out of the bag and the most functional responses now are to develop systems that make sure artists can *track* and *claim ownership* when their works are used to make *other people money*. ie I think we need to move away from models that restrict use into models that *encourage* uses and derivative works but give the original artists powerful tools to claim ownership and claim a piece of the action if their derivative works are used to make money.
Sure, there are pitfalls here but the original idea of copyright is now obsolete, yet we keep trying to fit the new pegs into the old holes.
Olympics Opening Ceremony Fireworks Coverage Faked - sort of…
Wow, when I first read this I thought it was a conspiracy theory but the UK Register report appears true. Some 55 seconds of fireworks during the opening ceremony were computer generated. The fireworks *really did happen* and presumably looked very similar to the clip, but fearing they could not film this in all it’s spectacle NBC spent about a year creating the fake clip.
Of course this would be crazy if the fireworks did NOT happen, but given that they did it clouds the issue of misrepresentation. ie they didn’t do this to “fake us out”, rather to better represent a reality that would have been hard to capture in real time. Still, I don’t like it. When you fake something like this it is incumbent to present it as a simulation or animation. Not doing so raises a lot of credibility questions, which are particularly unsavory for the main reporting agency in the world’s top sporting event.
Sheesh - I was prepared to be very complimentary of NBC ever since I heard their great presentation at CES Las Vegas where they talked about Beijing coverage. C’mon NBC - let’s provide transparency in coverage and distribution and everybody can be happy!
Goodbye [S][C][R][A][B][U][L][O][U][S]
Hasbro appears to have won a battle with Facebook application “Scrabulous” which has been wiped off of Facebook. One of the most popular applications on the massive Social Network, many thought Hasbro would buy Scrabulous from the two founders. That may still happen but Scrabulous’ negotiating position has been severely weakened over the past month as Hasbro first launched an “official” Scrabble on Facebook and now has won the copyright battle and had the competitor removed.
As I’ve noted many times before the prevailing notions of copyright among onliners differ quite a bit from those held by most judges and the legal world at large and this will continue for some time. Napster, YouTube, and Scrabulous may seem like reasonably clean applications for the online crowd, but in a legal sense they are on very shaky ground. Will these copyright issue clear up anytime soon? In one two letter word … [N][O]
Ballmer: Yahoo a tactic, not a strategy
Microsoft Chief Steve Ballmer spoke to the Microsofties today about the companies plans. For Yahoo merger followers there was nothign much new as he simply reiterated this point:
Related to Google and our search strategy are the discussions we had with Yahoo. I want to emphasize the point I’ve been making all along—Yahoo was a tactic, not a strategy. We want to accelerate our share of search queries and create a bigger pool of advertisers, and Yahoo would have helped us get there faster. But we will get there with or without Yahoo. We have the right people, we’ve made incredible progress in our technology, and we’ll continue to make smart investments that will enable us to build an industry-leading business.
Some would argue that the reason Microsoft needs Yahoo is that their online strategy has so far failed to do very much. My take is that they have not moved the online market as they’d hoped, but that they also have not worked nearly as hard in this area as they could have because Microsoft (correctly) sees that their huge presence in the software market is where the big money remains, at least for the next few years. They have chosen in large part to protect their huge revenue ship rather than act more aggressively and nimbly (and expensively) to find online revenues or pull market share from Google. I think many analysts - especially those in blogging - fail to recognize that Google’s revenues simply pale in comparison to Microsoft’s. Google has the lion’s share of online money but Microsoft still has the lion’s share of the lion’s share money, which is in software, gaming, and entertainment. I agree that the power curve is shifting from MS to Google, but MS remains the 800 pound revenue Gorilla. Money beats buzz to the bank every time, and this point is not lost on Microsoft or Google.
Disclosure: Long on YHOO
Penn and Teller and PseudoScience
Showtime’s show with Penn and Teller is called “Bullshit” and it’s usually really entertaining. Not exactly scientific method here, but I appreciate how they dispense with nonsense somewhat ruthlessly.
I don’t know why Penn is so compelled to say the F word so often, but the show is a very entertaining way to examine silly, bogus, or stupid claims by health, government, and others.
Bullshit is a huge global problem because people choose to believe other (usually misinformed or opportunistic) people rather than examine questionable claims with their own research, now relatively simple to do thanks to the internet. Research won’t get us all thinking the same, but it’ll help keep the irrational nonsense out of the discussion.
Yahoo Announces Reorganization Plan which is sung to the tune of the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
Yahoo’s plans for reorganizing their reorganization have now been announced. Kara seems to have the best scoops on this.
Meet the new boss Sue Decker, same as the old boss.
I am paraphrasing somewhat, but IMHO this is the gist of the Yahoo reorganization, sung to the tune of the Who’s: “Won’t Get Fooled Again”:
Yahoo’s fighting on the screen.
Over revenues unseen.
All the money that we worship will soon be gone.
And the Yang who spurred us on.
Sits in judgement - Ballmer’s wrong!
They decide and the board all sings the song.
I’ll tip my hat to Yahoo constitution
Take a bow for Yahoo revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Open my laptop and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
[scream guest appearance by Carl Icahn: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!]
Disclosure: Long on YHOO.
Disney and World Peace
Millions of kids in America and around the world are big Disney fans. So am I.
In fact I think that Disney may be doing more than *any other entity* to bring harmony and peace to the diverse and complex cultural landscape. Although they avoid some of the complex and probably unsolvable problems like wahabism vs western culture, they really do a great job promoting racial understanding and cultural understanding via the diversity in the programming . Simply *modelling cooperation and understanding* to a global audience is powerful,and when you add the huge appeal of Disney music and production values it works on more levels. More powerful are shows like the upcoming special filmed in India where fun trumps conflict.
Is Disney’s a childish vision of global harmony? Perhaps, but maybe that is the most effective path of all.
Video Game Primer for Parents
This excellent PBS post from an MIT researcher debunks some of the mythology about gaming and youth, though to me he seemed a bit too quick to discount the growing body of research making connections between game violence and real world violence. That said, few understand how there is NOT a large body of evidence to suggest gaming is “bad”. More appropriate is the mantra “All Things in Moderation”. I’d urge parents to simply keep in touch with the games your children play, and engage them about the content
As Grand Theft Auto smashes onto the scene, breaking records for one day sales (close to 200,000,000), it’s becoming clear that gaming is a key force in the online and offline world. Parents would be well advised to learn a lot more about this so you can better understand forces that are driving your kids behavior and spending patterns as well as shaping popular culture and economics. Gaming will soon surpass motion pictures as an entertainment revenue category.
Confused about Game Consoles and Platforms? Read my son’s Video Games Guide
Yahoo Microsoft: Is the fat lady almost singing at $34?
Henry Blodget is whining that the Yahoo Microsoft deal is back to where it started, but I think Henry’s wrong … again!
I’m glad Henry was wrong about the rumor that Yahoo’s Q4 would beat expectations because it was part of the reason I bought YHOO then, and even though the stock dipped due to a bad Q4, it surged on Microsoft’s offer of $31 per share so I’m well in the black. But now he’s wrong to say the deal is not almost done. I think this Yahoo Microsoft merger is coming very soon to an internet near you.
Citibank Analyst Maheney upgraded Yahoo this morning, anticipating a boost in the MS bid to $34. Hey, maybe he read my blog post of about 6 weeks ago where I suggested Microsoft raise their bid to $34?
Unlike Henry, I think this is not back to where it all started at all!
Yang didn’t want to merge, now he sees it as almost inevitable. Yahoo board wanted more, now they know anything past initial offer is gravy. Part of the show was probably the board protecting itself against lawsuits from the unlucky minions who bought their Yahoo at $35+, some at over $100.
Barring a Q1 miracle that would recalibrate Yahoo prices without help of MS bids, I think the fat lady is now almost done singing on this deal.
Disclosure: long on YHOO
CES Press Conference Schedule
Check www.CESWeb.org for official CES information. Here’s a link to the Press Conference roundup for CES. It’s really going to be interesting to see how the Blu-Ray buzz shakes out. SONY must be thrilled to have their standard come into widespread adoption, and look more like they’ll “win” the high stakes battle for the DVD market. Likewise the HD-DVD folks must really be devastated by the trends away from that technology. Hmmm - am I remembering correctly that it was SONY that lost the betamax vs VCR battle almost a generation ago? If so, maybe they learned from that how to win this one?
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