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http://blog.jtylerrobertson.com
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First US P2P Infringement Trial Begins
The first US P2P Infringement Trial is about to start! This is awesome for 2 reasons:
1) I was born and spent the first 27 years of my life in Duluth, MN.
2) Its about time someone decided to fight against these lawsuits.
I think it is crazy that the RIAA can simply mass sue individuals, flex some muscle, and walk away with a win. Good for this person is putting up a fight, especially if they are wrong accused. I've read articles on the RIAA suing grandmothers, children, and dead people. This is the first time someone has decided to fight it. A couple of "common" defenses people think of in a case like this:
~ I have wireless Internet... Who is to say my neighbor didn't download it off of my wireless connection?
~ I might pay the bill for the Internet, but if someone else comes into my home and commits the crime, and I responsible?
~ How can you prove the file I was downloading was what it is? Maybe it looked like a track by XXXX, but the filename was misleading and it was something else?
~ Someone spoofed my IP address to make it look like I did it!
~ There was spy ware/malware/adware on my computer that did it without my knowledge!
I'm very curious to see how this plays out, and what argument the defense and prosecution use. This case will either limit or open up the lawsuits we see from the RIAA in the future.
Adult Entertainment Industry tries to tackle P2P piracy.
This is in reference to an article I read at http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070910-porn-industry-hard-up-for-solutions-to-piracy-problem.html. History has shown us that the adult entertainment industry has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to solving problems.
A classic example: The adult entertainment industry has already embraced the Wii technology. Don't believe me? Read this article. Pornography was also the first to make a breakthrough on cell phones and digital media players such as iPods.
Now this industry to looking at the P2P networks. They face the same issues that the music industry is currently facing, and one that the television and movie industry will feel in a couple of years: Shrinking sales. A business nightmare.
While the first response is to "stop piracy", it is not going to happen. Technology is evolving too quickly, and the first response of every industry is to sue everyone that is involved. Well, this has been happening for the better part of 10 years now (Remember Metallica and Napster?), and it software piracy has only grown.
The solution? The first companies in these industries to embrace the technology and figure out a way to make money on it will become successful. Who saw Apple coming into the music industry and revolutionizing it? Now you can download MP3's legally on literally hundreds of websites. Try doing that 5 years ago. Now I can download previously recorded television shows for a $1 each. Try doing that 2 years ago. Is the iTunes and pay-per-download method going to work? Only time will tell. I believe that eventually the market will drive prices down even further, as most free markets do.
Why do these companies not use the P2P networks as a marketing tool? Yes, they are not going to stop it. Stop trying, it will not happen. There are more people that tuse P2P networks then fight it, and there are lot of very, very intelligent people designing them. I have an idea for these companies: Release some of your product on the P2P networks, officially. Release shortened versions. Release low-quality versions. Release screen shots with links to download the movie. Do something to drive consumers from these P2P networks after they view your product. Give them something so they want more. (I believe I learned this in my first marketing class at collage.)
While I do not have the answer, and I believe the best ideas are yet to come, look to the adult entertainment industry. Technology has a way of repeating itself, and it happen to be this industry leading the way.
A classic example: The adult entertainment industry has already embraced the Wii technology. Don't believe me? Read this article. Pornography was also the first to make a breakthrough on cell phones and digital media players such as iPods.
Now this industry to looking at the P2P networks. They face the same issues that the music industry is currently facing, and one that the television and movie industry will feel in a couple of years: Shrinking sales. A business nightmare.
While the first response is to "stop piracy", it is not going to happen. Technology is evolving too quickly, and the first response of every industry is to sue everyone that is involved. Well, this has been happening for the better part of 10 years now (Remember Metallica and Napster?), and it software piracy has only grown.
The solution? The first companies in these industries to embrace the technology and figure out a way to make money on it will become successful. Who saw Apple coming into the music industry and revolutionizing it? Now you can download MP3's legally on literally hundreds of websites. Try doing that 5 years ago. Now I can download previously recorded television shows for a $1 each. Try doing that 2 years ago. Is the iTunes and pay-per-download method going to work? Only time will tell. I believe that eventually the market will drive prices down even further, as most free markets do.
Why do these companies not use the P2P networks as a marketing tool? Yes, they are not going to stop it. Stop trying, it will not happen. There are more people that tuse P2P networks then fight it, and there are lot of very, very intelligent people designing them. I have an idea for these companies: Release some of your product on the P2P networks, officially. Release shortened versions. Release low-quality versions. Release screen shots with links to download the movie. Do something to drive consumers from these P2P networks after they view your product. Give them something so they want more. (I believe I learned this in my first marketing class at collage.)
While I do not have the answer, and I believe the best ideas are yet to come, look to the adult entertainment industry. Technology has a way of repeating itself, and it happen to be this industry leading the way.
Clemson Football 2007 Opener
So its Labor Day weekend, and I can't make it back to Minnesota for my fantasy football draft. The next best thing? Go watch a football game! I went on eBay, and found Clemson tickets for the 2007 opener against FSU. Only $115 delivered, which is face value. Out seats weren't too bad, only 8 rows high in the upper deck. We were on one end of the field, but it wasn't bad at all. Check it out:
There are a crazy amount of people walking around before game. Tons of people trying to buy/sell/trade tickets. If my wife would have been up for it, I would have tried to trade up and get some lower level tickets. Oh well, it was still a good game!
A sea of orange...
Everyone filing into the stadium. Almost game time.
The team running down the hill for the first time in 2007!
All in all, Memorial Stadium (Death Valley) is a great atmosphere, and the crowd is great. If you've never gone to a game before, it is well worth it!
There are a crazy amount of people walking around before game. Tons of people trying to buy/sell/trade tickets. If my wife would have been up for it, I would have tried to trade up and get some lower level tickets. Oh well, it was still a good game!
A sea of orange...
Everyone filing into the stadium. Almost game time.
The team running down the hill for the first time in 2007!
All in all, Memorial Stadium (Death Valley) is a great atmosphere, and the crowd is great. If you've never gone to a game before, it is well worth it!
Liquidation.com experience
For my first blog, I want to talk about Liquidation.com. I've been looking to start a little "side" business at home, so I'm pursuing purchasing items wholesale and then re-selling them via eBay. My first purchaes was a pallet of Best Buy returns, which I paid $236.31 for, including freight. After selling the items on eBay, I've made a little over $350 after taking out all expenses (shipping, eBay fees, paypal fees). Not too bad, thats around 30%!
This is where the story gets kinda sucky. I made a great purchase on Liquidation.com, and obtained around 320 SeaGate 80GB "salvaged" hard drives for around $2.25 each, including shipping. These sell for around $25 each on eBay. My plan is to purchase them, test them individually with software, and resell the ones that don't have any damaged sectors.
Great, as soon as the auction ends, it asks for payment, and I send it to them via paypal (Around $700 with freight & buyers premium). And then I wait. And wait. I wait 6 business days, and the status never changes from "Seller Preparing Shipment". So on the 6th day, I send an email to Liquidation.com. No response. I wait another day, and send another email. No response. This doesn't suprise, since most companies take forever to get back via email.
On the 8th day, I call them. I talk to a nice lady sho informs me that "the warehouse manager asked that your order be re-packaged because it doesn't meet our standards." Hrmmm.. This is interesting since it is not shipping out of a Liquidation.com warehouse. They don't have one in Florida! They tell me that some emails have gone back and forth, and to just check back daily to see if the status changes.
So I check back the next day, and nothing has changed. I'm patient, so I wait another day. Now it says that the order has been cancelled! What the heck. I call them up again (They anwered on the 2nd ring, very quick!), and tell me the order has been cancelled because the seller could not ship it fast enough. Well duh, I already knew this, that is why I kept calling. So I ask about my $700, and they just tell me that it will be refunded by the way I paid it (Paypal) and that it takes 3-5 business days. Well, I'm not going to argue why it takes so long, since it won't change anything.
So now I wait for my money to come back, and I'll try it again. We'll see what happens next time...
This is where the story gets kinda sucky. I made a great purchase on Liquidation.com, and obtained around 320 SeaGate 80GB "salvaged" hard drives for around $2.25 each, including shipping. These sell for around $25 each on eBay. My plan is to purchase them, test them individually with software, and resell the ones that don't have any damaged sectors.
Great, as soon as the auction ends, it asks for payment, and I send it to them via paypal (Around $700 with freight & buyers premium). And then I wait. And wait. I wait 6 business days, and the status never changes from "Seller Preparing Shipment". So on the 6th day, I send an email to Liquidation.com. No response. I wait another day, and send another email. No response. This doesn't suprise, since most companies take forever to get back via email.
On the 8th day, I call them. I talk to a nice lady sho informs me that "the warehouse manager asked that your order be re-packaged because it doesn't meet our standards." Hrmmm.. This is interesting since it is not shipping out of a Liquidation.com warehouse. They don't have one in Florida! They tell me that some emails have gone back and forth, and to just check back daily to see if the status changes.
So I check back the next day, and nothing has changed. I'm patient, so I wait another day. Now it says that the order has been cancelled! What the heck. I call them up again (They anwered on the 2nd ring, very quick!), and tell me the order has been cancelled because the seller could not ship it fast enough. Well duh, I already knew this, that is why I kept calling. So I ask about my $700, and they just tell me that it will be refunded by the way I paid it (Paypal) and that it takes 3-5 business days. Well, I'm not going to argue why it takes so long, since it won't change anything.
So now I wait for my money to come back, and I'll try it again. We'll see what happens next time...