rosspruden 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (103)

• On the post: Kickstarter Still Setting Records Despite Everyone Wanting Everything For Free

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 27 Nov, 2015 @ 11:33am

  PDF is out.

  Fyi, I just finished doing the PDF of the book (bursting now at 496 pages long). Send me an email (ross AT rosspruden D0T COM) and I'll shoot you a copy. :)
  
  P.S. Mike Masnick wrote the foreword, too.

• On the post: October Content Creator Of The Month: Ross Pruden Contributing To The Public Domain

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 03 Nov, 2015 @ 01:58am

  Thanks!

  The book's galley is is in good shape now and nearly ready for professional editing. After I clear that hurdle, I'm happy to say the second tier (sending out the PDF) will finally be ready for prime time.
  
  There's a Kickstarter update coming in the next next month, so stay tuned. :)

• On the post: Announcing The Copia Institute: A New Business Network & Think Tank Exploring Ideas In Abundance

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 12 Feb, 2015 @ 05:27pm

  Techdirt shall lead the charge!

  Yes! THIS is the summit I've been waiting for. Had I more time to waste debating with the Negative Nancys, I would explain why.
  
  I can say I've been waiting a loooooooog time for Techdirt—a.k.a. the "people who get it"—to host a summit for brainstorming a functional action plan for the Information Age. I've already booked my ticket and hotel. I hope to meet some of you there!
  
  While we're at it, for those of you who do attend COPIA, I'll have a galley PDF of my book that I wrote about here on Techdirt. Titled THE BEST SHIP THAT EVER WAS—100 Short Stories For The Public Domain, it embodies the principles espoused here on Techdirt. As such, the book is free... but I'm open to receiving friendly donations. :)

• On the post: Shia Labeouf Brilliantly Parodies Intellectual Property With Plagiarized Apologies And Defense Of Plagiarism

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 02 Jan, 2014 @ 02:46pm

  Sounds familiar.

  Fans of Robert Heinlein will recall how Zebadiah Carter (in The Number of The Beast) earned a doctorate in education to show how ridiculously easy it was by lifting ideas from the doctorate review board's own theses and crafting his thesis with no original ideas.
  
  One has to wonder if this has ever been attempted in real life...

• On the post: Price Elasticity Can Work: Dropping Ebook Price To $1 Catapulted Year-Old Book Onto NYT Best Seller List

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 06 Nov, 2013 @ 04:01am

  Re: Re:

  I often wonder how we would price products if we lived in a world where the internet had been invented before costly physical objects...

• On the post: Price Elasticity Can Work: Dropping Ebook Price To $1 Catapulted Year-Old Book Onto NYT Best Seller List

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 06 Nov, 2013 @ 03:54am

  O Apple, look hither!

  I wish Apple's ethos would permit price elasticity. Valve runs sales midweek and weekends, over the holidays, and sometimes daily (why not hourly??). As a result, I purchase FAR more games from Valve than from Apple whose strategy of "we are premium and thus never do sales" puts a sour taste in my mouth when I know all too well that digital can be sold for nothing. Valve gets it right: sales drive me to buy from them more ?> I use their service more ?> I tend to buy more products, even at higher prices.
  
  Valve also uses price elasticity to build their community, and actively encourage that community to interact with each other in many ways that Apple's App Store does not. The result? A loyal base of gamers who encourage their gamer friends to also use Steam... which means more purchases on Steam. Smart guys, those Valve people. If Apple ever did what Valve does, I might switch my game purchasing to Apple.
  
  Sometimes I think Gabe Newell was the best thing to ever come out of Microsoft.

• On the post: Investigative Journalist Claims Her Public Tweets Aren't 'Publishable;' Threatens To Sue Blogger Who Does Exactly That

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 04 Feb, 2013 @ 10:32pm

  All Tweets are Public Domain

  Bad news, Teri: you can't copyright a tweet because copyright does not extend to short phrases.
  
  It's like talking in public and then insisting nobody repeat what you just said, or comment about it... at all. Good luck with that.

• On the post: Ross Pruden's Favorites Of The Week: Hand Me The Keys (Or I'll Take Them)

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2012 @ 02:59pm

  Re: Re: Re: *cracks whip* COOOOOOKIES

  Wow, is that ever an understatement. :P

• On the post: Ross Pruden's Favorites Of The Week: Hand Me The Keys (Or I'll Take Them)

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2012 @ 02:58pm

  Re: Re: Re:

  Excellent point, Richard. Upvote for insight!

• On the post: Ross Pruden's Favorites Of The Week: Hand Me The Keys (Or I'll Take Them)

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 15 Dec, 2012 @ 10:09pm

  Re:

  Rikuo, good points, but consider:
  
  1. Is a $2000 Canon 7D DSLR clearly superior in capturing images over a smartphone? Undeniably, yes.
  
  2. Does that distinction matter to most people... even film people? Not really. If that distinction does matter, it won't matter for much longer because the rate at which smartphones improve is much faster than the rate Canon 7Ds can improve.

• On the post: Ross Pruden's Favorites Of The Week: Hand Me The Keys (Or I'll Take Them)

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 15 Dec, 2012 @ 10:04pm

  Re: *cracks whip* COOOOOOKIES

  Your cookie call has been duly noted, sir! I owe you some stories, yes? :)

• On the post: Ross Pruden's Favorites Of The Week: Hand Me The Keys (Or I'll Take Them)

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 15 Dec, 2012 @ 01:30pm

  Typo. Errrr...

  Heh. You got me! :)

• On the post: Taliban Spokesman Accidentally Copies Mailing List On Press Release Email

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 17 Nov, 2012 @ 12:58am

  Dear Qari,
  
  I've constantly asked you to remove my name from your mailing list, and now every Afghan Warlord, jihadi nutjob and newbie activist knows my name and email. In the world of Google search, that's all most people need to drop a smart bomb through my doggy door (poor little puppy). With friends like you...
  
  Even though it's too late for me, remember: http://bccplease.com/
  
  Hugs and kisses from my afterlife compound of 72 Virgins,
  
  Ohjes al-Dyesoon

• On the post: The Public Apparently Isn't Interested In Sound Economics

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 05 Nov, 2012 @ 11:44pm

  The Upside

  The public isn't interested in economics... yet.
  
  People aren't interested in something until they can see a tangible use in their lives, which is why things like Schoolhouse Rock work so well by mixing abstract idea and history into musical memes.
  
  So, while it's unfortunate there isn't more interest in economics, I can't help but get excited?this is a huge opportunity to educate the public.
  
  For example, make a series of entertaining (read: viral) short videos explaining the nuances of economic theory. With the right person at the helm, a well-crafted video could make a significant impact over the long-term. I mean, who doesn't remember Schoolhouse Rock? Why not do something similar, a more adult version (meaning, without the music), but for economics?
  
  (I'd help crowdfund that.)

• On the post: Copyright: The New Mercantilism

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2012 @ 10:41pm

  Nice

  I like how The Broken Window Fallacy was mentioned in the last of Lunney's quotes... but not by name. :)

• On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 15 Oct, 2012 @ 07:45am

  Re: Re: Whoops! Let me add something here...

  Since you're knocking down my ice cream in the playground, I'll give you just one example instead of my usual long-in-the-tooth response.
  
  Convenience?this has always been a value add, sure, but convenience has shot to critical importance in the Digital Age where we all want instant access to everything. Thus, artists who position their work as stupid easy to download, use, and share will see their fan base grow faster than artists who lock up content with egregious DRM and myopic paywalls.
  
  As for the other scarcities, I'd suggest reading Techdirt for a while. We talk about it some.

• On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 15 Oct, 2012 @ 07:38am

  Re: Re:

  Thanks, Ninja! You absolutely will enjoy it. This is a golden age for the polymath and I feel like I'm just getting started... :)

• On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 15 Oct, 2012 @ 07:36am

  The Writing Fishbowl

  @art Geurilla:
  
  My plan is doing a mix between short videos reviewing over my notes and outline, talking about inspirations, how stories are created from all that, and then longer videos where I do some of the actual writing. I won't do many of the long videos, but enough to sustain interest.
  
  I did something like this as a test run for the Dimeword telethon?you can watch me talking about story creation at 55 minutes and see me writing at 58 minutes.
  
  The video series should be educational for aspiring writers, and fun for all. Stay tuned! :)

• On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 15 Oct, 2012 @ 07:25am

  Re: Re:

  Obvi! :)

• On the post: Next Time Someone Suggests Piracy Will Kill Music, Remind Them That Music Survived The Last Ice Age

  

  rosspruden ( profile ), 12 Oct, 2012 @ 10:49pm

  ...and btw: THANKS!

  Forgot to say thank you for listing all the great places to torrent on your site... including handy hotlinks. I'm sure all my torrenting friends will bookmark it for easy reference.

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