This topic is very interesting to me (much to friends dismay) and we have many heated conversations about it.
Ultimately, they have decided that there are no major differences between an "idea" and a "chair", and the two should be treated as the same.
They literally told me that the only difference between a song and a chair is that you can make infinite copies of the song cheaply. Else, they are the same (property of an owner) and should be treated as such.
My view is that difference IS the point! My friends trivialize this amazing property of a song/idea/text and miss how this makes them fundamentally different from a physical, tangible good.
The disagreement is a fundamental differing view based on how an individual sees the world. Much like a faith based belief, it is nearly impossible to change someones mind once they start building their arguments/model around these assumptions. They simply have too much intellectual investment in their view to change it regardless of the data.
It's interesting because the argument will typically come back to: "An artist deserves to get paid", "How else will people make money?", or "We need to protect the little guy ... without a patent, what stops a big company from stealing from you?" .... it amazes me the cognitive dissonance in these statements, because it ignores all the data that disputes their belief. Like most, they choose to only look at the data that supports their position.
It's frustrating because what seems like pretty concrete evidence gets dismissed outright simply because it doesn't mesh with their belief on the topic.
So Mike, it's more like your trying to convert people to a new Religion than teaching them Geometry. Which is probably why logic and facts don't get you very far. You are literally turning their world upside down.
Knowing its a religious debate, how might you change your tactics?
My theory - this is just crony takeover just like killing other disruptive technology/early adopters.
This is just the 1st step to bleeding off the existing market share of the current players.
Next, congress will make online poker legal, but you must use state/federally approved services.
Those services will be provided by the large lobbying casino firms that are currently behind in the game.
In return for the gift of killing the existing businesses uncle sam will be rewarded with campaign contributions and any and all other kickbacks under then sun. Wink wink, nudge nudge, thanks for helping your buddy out!
One full-time exempt headcount making ~80k a year will cost a company between $150-200k a year including additional taxes and depending on benefits, medical plans, required computer hardware/software licenses, office space, overhead.
So - think about a 'team' assembled to go make this happen.
1 "Director" w/ base annual compensation ~200k (costing the company up to 400k per year)
4-5 Senior level reports to the director each making 100-150k per year in base salary (finance, purchasing, marketing, legal, product) $250-$350k per year each.
400k+(300k x 5) = 1.9M
15-25 full time employees reporting to the senior level. They make anywhere from 35k -> 100k themselves depending on job function. Company cost between $60-250k per person.
1.9M + (20x150k) = 4.9M
Who knows how big the team was that was assigned to 'go figure this out' but it looks like they staffed up around 40-50 full time employees to make it happen.
In a company with a 1.5B market cap and over 7,500 employees world wide ... $40M isn't that surprising for a corporate entity.
"It would be interesting if a Nobel Prize winning economist... such as Paul Krugman... decided to make that point to the geniuses in upper management at the NY Times."
Ha! Krugman stopped being a serious economist a long time ago - now hes just a sellout for a fat paycheck and writes to defend whatever position the times wants him too .... which, is his choice and I don't really blame him. mmmmm fat paycheck.
I agree with Mike, in the short term the pirate party has a fun ring to it - however I'd also be concerned about the long term name recognition ... have you seen the news recently about the real pirates off Somalia? While obviously completely unaffiliated ... the connotation remains. Real Pirates are not people fighting for freedom or standing up for their rights - they are thieves and cold blooded murderers. It sounds more like a movie gimmick than a serious political party.
I see no relevant distinction between American vs Non-American innovation. Regardless of borders, innovation improves our quality of life through additional efficiency and/or adding new products for us to consume. This is more apparent today than at any time in history due to the global information network, interconnected economies, and transportation infrastructure.
The biggest obstacles I see are:
1) Future uncertainty with respect to legislative compliance
2) Governmental restrictions affecting resource management
Specifically, obstacle #1 directly addresses a host of legislative measures that make it very difficult for businesses to plan for the future. From tax structure to worker compensation, with what new laws or regulations must they comply? The bureaucratic nightmare to start and operate a business must be addressed.
Obstacle #2 encompasses all forms of barriers. Trade tariffs, hiring restrictions (H1-B visas, for example), patent system failures, government granted subsidies (state picked winners and losers), and outdated / unintended consequences of poor legislation are examples.
To address these concerns we need both strong leadership and principled, results driven decision making from Congress. "The Government that governs least governs best" is a good analogy. Let the men and women who run our businesses make the best decisions they can, unencumbered by Government intervention.
We need to remove all forms of government granted subsidies and tax breaks and set an even rate. We need to remove the barriers for US companies to hire the best and brightest from around the globe, and we need to address the broken patent system that all too often is used to hinder to new development, not to promote progress.
But Mike, think of the children! Obviously the right thing to do is for Congress to hold a special session and legislate software timer locks for all video game systems that only allow 60minutes of playtime per day.
#1 -- It is not just about receiving a cash payment, I believe they have a direct financial stake (control) in blockbuster (and/or other 'instant view' services), and this is the way they are trying to differentiate themselves in the market place to try and unseat Redbox. Just offering a 'blockbuster' version of Redbox probably wouldn't unseat their customer base ... but giving them a 'RtB' may, and by making Redbox less convenient to the consumer they don't have to innovate, just copy the existing model.
Redbox was a wildcard, managed by people outside the fold, with incentives that don't match up with the traditional corporate efforts of the studios. The whole 28day release was a strategic move by the studios to kill Redbox.
Talk about not understanding your audience ... or just truly not caring. I guess if they are still pulling in 20mill+ a year from touring, it isn't like they were 'punished' at all. As stated, what does he care if they sell 10 albums or 10 million in the store - that doesn't really hurt the band.
I also stopped listening to them for a long time as a boycott -- but then decided that was counter productive because I really liked some of their songs -- S&M album in particular. Why deny myself that joy?
I still refuse to see them in concert or give them a dime of my money because they acted very stupidly and hypocritically (see Ima Fish comment above).
I would expect our government uses more advanced security than simple public keys ... so basically the threat described above is zero if the right precautions are taken.
however if lazy Field Agent A is pissed that his secure network is running too slow and decides to email sensitive files via gmail .... well all bets are off. or move files to his thumbstick and plug it in at an internet cafe...
There is no corporate tax, there is only consumer tax.
A lower tax bill for a company means:
A) more money to reinvest in their business (buildings, more employees, better employee compensation, etc)
B) more profits to pass along to shareholders (dividends, rising share price, etc)
C) lower prices of their goods and/or services
It seems like people view corporations as these big pits that money goes into but doesn't come out. It also doesn't seem like we think critically about who actually pays for the taxes imposed on businesses. They simply build it into their cost structure and it is the consumer that ultimately pays that tax, not some entity called 'a corporation' ... essentially they're turned into a shadow tax collector.
I wonder what the implications are of them setting a 'floor' of $0.01, and a brief survey. Simply by stating a minimum offering could skew the results because it gives people the mental-out.
How might it turn out differently if it was a true donate system? Or perhaps allow entrance and exit free, but offer a tiered gift based upon your donation level at the exit?
Lots of not-for-profit agencies have 'levels' of Donor giving (0-$50, $51-$200, $201-$1000, etc) ... and these levels impart increasing levels of benefit to the donor.
It goes back to a common theme discussed here on techdirt ... give the customer a reason to buy!
It's for the same reason people will buy a Prius or a Volt. They want to feel like they're doing something without actually having to do anything difficult.
Simply put, it is much easier to blame craigslist and then feel good about yourself for taking action than spending time and energy figuring out how to do something truly effective.
I myself was excited reading the article ... with 'at last / how cool is this?' type of thoughts.
When I finished the article though I realized exactly what you assert, that it is still essentially a donation.
If I do a 'mental game' and picture myself with two options, a $10 credit in a bank account where I have to manually allocate (and track) my outpayemts ($0.01) at a time it feels very different vs setting the amount I want to pay per month, and then allocating it equally via my selections.
I can see how the latter is much less emotionally 'costly', as it is much easier to pass out payments because I already consider that $10 "gone" ... so, in the end, it is very likely that as a consumer in this system I end up spending MORE than I would have had I been required to make decisions $0.01 at a time. This is why it is an ingenious innovation.
Which I think helps me be more clear on my point: This has the potential to completely change the way online payments are made to content creators -- or maybe a better way to describe it would be to say it has the potential to create a significantly large new revenue stream. But, they still need to convince me why I need to pay $10 a month, or $20, or $50. Give me an additional RTB and I'll gladly pay it. Simply asking for donations isn't going to be a game changer.
(untitled comment)
"owngrade will bully policy makers into even more deflationary, contractionary policies"
Seems unlikely considering the massive spending binge our government is on ... the problem is the debt... you don't get out of debt by spending more.
For all the talk about "cuts" the plan is to spend more money this year than last, and more money next year than this year.
Cuts are when you spend less money than you did prior. So far they haven't suggested trying that action.
They won't allow deflation to happen because of our debt load. My money is on the coming inflation.
duh
"Why can't these two companies just focus on competing in the marketplace, and letting the best company win based on who's buying what?"
Because there is a *shitload* of money involved, that's why.
born this way?
This topic is very interesting to me (much to friends dismay) and we have many heated conversations about it.
Ultimately, they have decided that there are no major differences between an "idea" and a "chair", and the two should be treated as the same.
They literally told me that the only difference between a song and a chair is that you can make infinite copies of the song cheaply. Else, they are the same (property of an owner) and should be treated as such.
My view is that difference IS the point! My friends trivialize this amazing property of a song/idea/text and miss how this makes them fundamentally different from a physical, tangible good.
The disagreement is a fundamental differing view based on how an individual sees the world. Much like a faith based belief, it is nearly impossible to change someones mind once they start building their arguments/model around these assumptions. They simply have too much intellectual investment in their view to change it regardless of the data.
It's interesting because the argument will typically come back to: "An artist deserves to get paid", "How else will people make money?", or "We need to protect the little guy ... without a patent, what stops a big company from stealing from you?" .... it amazes me the cognitive dissonance in these statements, because it ignores all the data that disputes their belief. Like most, they choose to only look at the data that supports their position.
It's frustrating because what seems like pretty concrete evidence gets dismissed outright simply because it doesn't mesh with their belief on the topic.
So Mike, it's more like your trying to convert people to a new Religion than teaching them Geometry. Which is probably why logic and facts don't get you very far. You are literally turning their world upside down.
Knowing its a religious debate, how might you change your tactics?
duh
My theory - this is just crony takeover just like killing other disruptive technology/early adopters.
This is just the 1st step to bleeding off the existing market share of the current players.
Next, congress will make online poker legal, but you must use state/federally approved services.
Those services will be provided by the large lobbying casino firms that are currently behind in the game.
In return for the gift of killing the existing businesses uncle sam will be rewarded with campaign contributions and any and all other kickbacks under then sun. Wink wink, nudge nudge, thanks for helping your buddy out!
that is all.
(untitled comment)
Headcount.
One full-time exempt headcount making ~80k a year will cost a company between $150-200k a year including additional taxes and depending on benefits, medical plans, required computer hardware/software licenses, office space, overhead.
So - think about a 'team' assembled to go make this happen.
1 "Director" w/ base annual compensation ~200k (costing the company up to 400k per year)
4-5 Senior level reports to the director each making 100-150k per year in base salary (finance, purchasing, marketing, legal, product) $250-$350k per year each.
400k+(300k x 5) = 1.9M
15-25 full time employees reporting to the senior level. They make anywhere from 35k -> 100k themselves depending on job function. Company cost between $60-250k per person.
1.9M + (20x150k) = 4.9M
Who knows how big the team was that was assigned to 'go figure this out' but it looks like they staffed up around 40-50 full time employees to make it happen.
In a company with a 1.5B market cap and over 7,500 employees world wide ... $40M isn't that surprising for a corporate entity.
(untitled comment)
eh - i think you are overblowing the issue. the phone call hasn't died, communication has just become more efficient.
its more efficient to text someone 'be there in 5', etc.
but the voice call won't die - after all, sometimes it's just nice to hear someone elses voice.
(untitled comment)
"It would be interesting if a Nobel Prize winning economist... such as Paul Krugman... decided to make that point to the geniuses in upper management at the NY Times."
Ha! Krugman stopped being a serious economist a long time ago - now hes just a sellout for a fat paycheck and writes to defend whatever position the times wants him too .... which, is his choice and I don't really blame him. mmmmm fat paycheck.
(untitled comment)
Wait - so this little lunch box has:
1) A skull and cross bones on its cover
2) A red LED, possibly blinking
3) Is full of wires and electronics
4) Has protruding antenna
$10 says the 1st person to carry this through an airport gets a free body cavity exam...
(untitled comment)
I agree with Mike, in the short term the pirate party has a fun ring to it - however I'd also be concerned about the long term name recognition ... have you seen the news recently about the real pirates off Somalia? While obviously completely unaffiliated ... the connotation remains. Real Pirates are not people fighting for freedom or standing up for their rights - they are thieves and cold blooded murderers. It sounds more like a movie gimmick than a serious political party.
My submission
I see no relevant distinction between American vs Non-American innovation. Regardless of borders, innovation improves our quality of life through additional efficiency and/or adding new products for us to consume. This is more apparent today than at any time in history due to the global information network, interconnected economies, and transportation infrastructure.
The biggest obstacles I see are:
1) Future uncertainty with respect to legislative compliance
2) Governmental restrictions affecting resource management
Specifically, obstacle #1 directly addresses a host of legislative measures that make it very difficult for businesses to plan for the future. From tax structure to worker compensation, with what new laws or regulations must they comply? The bureaucratic nightmare to start and operate a business must be addressed.
Obstacle #2 encompasses all forms of barriers. Trade tariffs, hiring restrictions (H1-B visas, for example), patent system failures, government granted subsidies (state picked winners and losers), and outdated / unintended consequences of poor legislation are examples.
To address these concerns we need both strong leadership and principled, results driven decision making from Congress. "The Government that governs least governs best" is a good analogy. Let the men and women who run our businesses make the best decisions they can, unencumbered by Government intervention.
We need to remove all forms of government granted subsidies and tax breaks and set an even rate. We need to remove the barriers for US companies to hire the best and brightest from around the globe, and we need to address the broken patent system that all too often is used to hinder to new development, not to promote progress.
thoughtless
But Mike, think of the children! Obviously the right thing to do is for Congress to hold a special session and legislate software timer locks for all video game systems that only allow 60minutes of playtime per day.
Re: Lots of reasons
#1 -- It is not just about receiving a cash payment, I believe they have a direct financial stake (control) in blockbuster (and/or other 'instant view' services), and this is the way they are trying to differentiate themselves in the market place to try and unseat Redbox. Just offering a 'blockbuster' version of Redbox probably wouldn't unseat their customer base ... but giving them a 'RtB' may, and by making Redbox less convenient to the consumer they don't have to innovate, just copy the existing model.
Redbox was a wildcard, managed by people outside the fold, with incentives that don't match up with the traditional corporate efforts of the studios. The whole 28day release was a strategic move by the studios to kill Redbox.
(untitled comment)
"How can experts working at the TSA be so incredibly misinformed and misguided..."
Uh ... they work for the TSA? What part of their track record would hint at informative, thoughtful, and appropriate decisions?
Let's see:
1) Vague and impossible directives
2) Zero accountability
3) Nearly unlimited budget
4) Nearly unlimited power
....sounds like a recipe for success...
(untitled comment)
Talk about not understanding your audience ... or just truly not caring. I guess if they are still pulling in 20mill+ a year from touring, it isn't like they were 'punished' at all. As stated, what does he care if they sell 10 albums or 10 million in the store - that doesn't really hurt the band.
I also stopped listening to them for a long time as a boycott -- but then decided that was counter productive because I really liked some of their songs -- S&M album in particular. Why deny myself that joy?
I still refuse to see them in concert or give them a dime of my money because they acted very stupidly and hypocritically (see Ima Fish comment above).
(untitled comment)
Nope. But as we know, this has nothing to do with safety.
is our government smarter than a college sophomore?
I would expect our government uses more advanced security than simple public keys ... so basically the threat described above is zero if the right precautions are taken.
however if lazy Field Agent A is pissed that his secure network is running too slow and decides to email sensitive files via gmail .... well all bets are off. or move files to his thumbstick and plug it in at an internet cafe...
corporate tax
There is no corporate tax, there is only consumer tax.
A lower tax bill for a company means:
A) more money to reinvest in their business (buildings, more employees, better employee compensation, etc)
B) more profits to pass along to shareholders (dividends, rising share price, etc)
C) lower prices of their goods and/or services
It seems like people view corporations as these big pits that money goes into but doesn't come out. It also doesn't seem like we think critically about who actually pays for the taxes imposed on businesses. They simply build it into their cost structure and it is the consumer that ultimately pays that tax, not some entity called 'a corporation' ... essentially they're turned into a shadow tax collector.
(untitled comment)
I wonder what the implications are of them setting a 'floor' of $0.01, and a brief survey. Simply by stating a minimum offering could skew the results because it gives people the mental-out.
How might it turn out differently if it was a true donate system? Or perhaps allow entrance and exit free, but offer a tiered gift based upon your donation level at the exit?
Lots of not-for-profit agencies have 'levels' of Donor giving (0-$50, $51-$200, $201-$1000, etc) ... and these levels impart increasing levels of benefit to the donor.
It goes back to a common theme discussed here on techdirt ... give the customer a reason to buy!
duh
It's for the same reason people will buy a Prius or a Volt. They want to feel like they're doing something without actually having to do anything difficult.
Simply put, it is much easier to blame craigslist and then feel good about yourself for taking action than spending time and energy figuring out how to do something truly effective.
Re: Re: Re: Re: RTB?
I agree with you.
I myself was excited reading the article ... with 'at last / how cool is this?' type of thoughts.
When I finished the article though I realized exactly what you assert, that it is still essentially a donation.
If I do a 'mental game' and picture myself with two options, a $10 credit in a bank account where I have to manually allocate (and track) my outpayemts ($0.01) at a time it feels very different vs setting the amount I want to pay per month, and then allocating it equally via my selections.
I can see how the latter is much less emotionally 'costly', as it is much easier to pass out payments because I already consider that $10 "gone" ... so, in the end, it is very likely that as a consumer in this system I end up spending MORE than I would have had I been required to make decisions $0.01 at a time. This is why it is an ingenious innovation.
Which I think helps me be more clear on my point: This has the potential to completely change the way online payments are made to content creators -- or maybe a better way to describe it would be to say it has the potential to create a significantly large new revenue stream. But, they still need to convince me why I need to pay $10 a month, or $20, or $50. Give me an additional RTB and I'll gladly pay it. Simply asking for donations isn't going to be a game changer.