I've had a love-hate relationship with my first off-campus room. I love the larger bed. I love the fact that it's a little oasis.
I hate that it's attached to an immensely filthy house.
There are massive pudding stains in the driveway, random car parts that belong to the landlord in the backyard, and the upstairs bathroom may contain trace amounts of cocaine. (not mine, nor anyone else in the house's.) It took two months for a drawer to get fixed, and the stove and one of the fridges probably should be replaced.
One more rent check, and then I am out of this place.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Why the internet ruins everything
Hulu, the online tv show provider, is creating a subscription model: ten bucks a month for access to more shows than just the five most recent episodes of a series. This is part of a plan to try and teach us to pay for premium and professional content.
But that's not how the internet works. I can choose to pay for shows, or I can search around and find them for free. And it's not too hard to find many shows for free.
The rules of professional content on the internet:
1. People are going to pirate your stuff.
This is what happens on the internet. It's a feeding ground for people to take other people's content. I do it all the time, because the technology makes it simple. I can download images from websites, and if the site won't let me download, I can take a screenshot of what I need.
This leads me to:
2. There is no way to stop people from pirating your stuff
Technology is a poor substitute for security. Think that you can shut people out of free content? Think again. Create a secure system, and hundreds of thousands of hackers will attempt to systematically disassemble it (if they can be bothered to). Internet security always has a weakness, a backdoor. And it will be found.
3. If you're not putting it online for free, odds are someone else is.
Thanks to P2P software and video hosting sites, it really doesn't cost a person anything to offer someone else's content for free. Sometimes, these sites can even make money off their own advertising. That's right major networks: other people are making money off your hard-earned work.
So what's a major network to do? Internet pirates may be able to take your content, but they can't take your stars. Things can be copied, but experiences can't. Bootleg video of a concert is not the same as actually being at the concert, and bootleg movies aren't the same as being there in the theatre.
This is the final rule:
4. People will pay for things they can't get for free, and you're in a prime position to offer those things.
Want to draw a crowd to your site? have the actors chat with fans online about the show. Make it participatory. Make it special.
Also, don't think that just because it's 'premium content' that people are gonna pay for it. There is a lot of professionally-produced content that is absolute garbage. There's also some (but not a lot) of non-professionally produced content that is darn good. Bo Burnham, Tremendosaur icanhascheezburger, etc. That annoying fred kid is getting a movie deal, and he started with nothing. The tools needed to produce and distribute content are cheap, and we don't have the same constraints that the networks do.
The internet ruined the model that the networks and music labels came to love. And they're now going to have to play by a different set of rules. Our rules. I can hardly wait.
But that's not how the internet works. I can choose to pay for shows, or I can search around and find them for free. And it's not too hard to find many shows for free.
The rules of professional content on the internet:
1. People are going to pirate your stuff.
This is what happens on the internet. It's a feeding ground for people to take other people's content. I do it all the time, because the technology makes it simple. I can download images from websites, and if the site won't let me download, I can take a screenshot of what I need.
This leads me to:
2. There is no way to stop people from pirating your stuff
Technology is a poor substitute for security. Think that you can shut people out of free content? Think again. Create a secure system, and hundreds of thousands of hackers will attempt to systematically disassemble it (if they can be bothered to). Internet security always has a weakness, a backdoor. And it will be found.
3. If you're not putting it online for free, odds are someone else is.
Thanks to P2P software and video hosting sites, it really doesn't cost a person anything to offer someone else's content for free. Sometimes, these sites can even make money off their own advertising. That's right major networks: other people are making money off your hard-earned work.
So what's a major network to do? Internet pirates may be able to take your content, but they can't take your stars. Things can be copied, but experiences can't. Bootleg video of a concert is not the same as actually being at the concert, and bootleg movies aren't the same as being there in the theatre.
This is the final rule:
4. People will pay for things they can't get for free, and you're in a prime position to offer those things.
Want to draw a crowd to your site? have the actors chat with fans online about the show. Make it participatory. Make it special.
Also, don't think that just because it's 'premium content' that people are gonna pay for it. There is a lot of professionally-produced content that is absolute garbage. There's also some (but not a lot) of non-professionally produced content that is darn good. Bo Burnham, Tremendosaur icanhascheezburger, etc. That annoying fred kid is getting a movie deal, and he started with nothing. The tools needed to produce and distribute content are cheap, and we don't have the same constraints that the networks do.
The internet ruined the model that the networks and music labels came to love. And they're now going to have to play by a different set of rules. Our rules. I can hardly wait.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Just because you're famous...
Tomorrow, a sort of rock star who's admitted to cocaine use will be in town. In a completely unrelated event, Courtney Love will be in LA too.
That's right. Pres. Obama will be a stone's throw from my front door. Will I have pictures? Possibly. I may just put on a suit, shades and stick a phone cord in my ear and walk around with impunity.
That's right. Pres. Obama will be a stone's throw from my front door. Will I have pictures? Possibly. I may just put on a suit, shades and stick a phone cord in my ear and walk around with impunity.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Getting up early
I am not a morning person. I'm barely an early afternoon person. my usual hours of operation are 1:30pm to 3am. So why was I up at 6am on Saturday? Evil cats. I like these cats even though they're not mine, but I reserve the right to hate them when they pee on things. Like my duvet. While I'm sleeping under it. Whoever the kitty version of R. Kelly is will be punished, once I figure out which one it is.
I was forced to use a bathrobe and snuggie combination to fall asleep again. (say what you will about snuggies, they do get the job done)
I was forced to use a bathrobe and snuggie combination to fall asleep again. (say what you will about snuggies, they do get the job done)
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