kyle clements 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (234) comment rss

  • On the post: Content Creators: Control Is An Illusion And That's A Good Thing

    kyle clements ( profile ), 26 Mar, 2012 @ 02:03pm

    I think once you publish something, you lose control of it. At worst, you inspire mockery and parody. At best, you become material for future work


    No.

    At worst, you are ignored.

    Mockery and parody are good things. It shows that you have made enough of an impact for someone to respond to your work. That's culture.


    As a content creator, I can understand the desire for keeping a tight grip on control, since a few early teasers can greatly influence how later work is perceived, and lies spread so much faster than truth. But I believe there are right ways and wrong ways to do this.


    Please forgive me the shameless self promotion that follows:

    I'm working on such an art project myself right now, called the "DRM Box" which is an example where control over how the art is seen is extremely important.

    The project is elaborate box that sits over a photograph and only lets you view the art after putting in money, promising to give you a minute of view time, but randomly crapping out some time after 30 seconds.

    From this kind of a description, I probably sound like a greedy money-grubbing artzy douchebag, and it sounds like something you'd rather not see.

    But if it is presented to you under a different tone, (something more like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig31PXn_AfI ) the whole thing seems like a different project. Having some control over the presentation is important for the success or failure of what I'm doing.


    The wrong way to control how I set this tone would be write nasty letters to everyone who took me seriously and wrote about this in a dry, humourless way.
    The right way (I hope) is to release the tone-setting videos first, then present the objects once that foundation has been set.

    In the case of software, if you want to keep it private, then keep it private, don't share it with others. And if someone else is able to replicate what you've done without seeing the source, and they can do this for free, then what you've done can't be all that special and you have no right to complain. And if people start using the other platform and ignoring yours, that's the penalty you pay for locking up culture.

  • On the post: We Don't Want Everything For Free. We Just Want Everything

    kyle clements ( profile ), 23 Mar, 2012 @ 08:16pm

    Re:

    "Nina, isn't it time to move on and make a new movie? You have been milking this one for years."

    Could you imagine how terrible it would be if there was some sort of legal mechanism allowing artists to create just one good thing and milk it for the rest of their lives?

    *shudder*

  • On the post: What To Do When Facebook Suggests You Become Friends With Your Husband's Other Wife

    kyle clements ( profile ), 15 Mar, 2012 @ 04:39pm

    Facing charges? Wouldn't the nagging of two wives be punishment enough. He'll never be hearing the end of this one...

  • On the post: Court Finds Copyright Trolling Lawyer Evan Stone In Contempt; Orders Him To Pay Attorneys' Fees

    kyle clements ( profile ), 26 Jan, 2012 @ 03:38pm

    good news on techdirt?

    Wait a sec...

    Good news...coming out of the American legal system?

    Checks the ground...Yep, it's cold. Hell very possibly has frozen over...
    (either that or January in Canada are cold, but for now I'll go with the hell-froze-over hypothesis.)

  • On the post: Lamar Smith & MPAA Brush Off Wikipedia Blackout As Just A Publicity Stunt

    kyle clements ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2012 @ 04:08pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Here's an idea: why doesn't one of the -AA's crowdsource some ideas for fighting piracy via an open system like Wales


    What?
    You expect big media to try profiting off of the hard work of other people, most of whom having no hope of ever being paid?

  • On the post: DailyDirt: Computers Talking Back

    kyle clements ( profile ), 04 Jan, 2012 @ 06:55pm

    Re: Is Stephen Hawking robo voice actually his voice?

    Nope.

    Also: in one of his books, he complains that the synthetic voice has an American accent, but since he's had the robot voice longer than his real voice, he's gotten used to it by now.

  • On the post: Oh Look, I've Done 40,000 Techdirt Blog Posts

    kyle clements ( profile ), 13 Dec, 2011 @ 07:29pm

    I wish I had something insightful or heartfelt to add here, but I can't think of anything at the moment. Congratulations on your milestone.

    I've struggled to get to 100 posts on my own blog, I don't know HOW anyone could possibly get to 40,000.

    Any ideas for marking this milestone? Perhaps printing up a "best of techdirt" anthology - the top 10,000 posts?

  • On the post: Good Content Doesn't Get Buried By Bad Content

    kyle clements ( profile ), 04 Nov, 2011 @ 06:56pm

    Re: Um, yeah. It's all so clear now.

    "Okay, how do you know you're not ignoring "good content" and "following" what's actually crap if you just knew where the real good stuff was"

    "the world just needs good filters, and we keep seeing more and more of those showing up every day. In the music world, there's a ton of new music being produced all the time -- and much of it isn't to my liking. But at the same time I feel like I'm living in renaissance of wonderful music, because I'm able to find fantastic new music all the time via a variety of tools: friends, blogs, Spotify, Turntable.fm, Pandora, and even a few cool (small) record labels who I follow because they release a ton of music I like."


    Perhaps your anti-Mike filter is doing a good job of blocking out the relevant bits of his articles.

    if you aren't happy with the filters that are currently out there (I'm not), make your own and people will likely flock to it.

  • On the post: Nintendo Fans Hijack Twitter Hash Tag Meant For Nintendo Of America CEO And Are Promptly Ignored

    kyle clements ( profile ), 24 Oct, 2011 @ 09:57am

    Re: Re:

    "I think that nintendo truly believes that it's primary user base is aged 8-14"

    Nintendo's target market: kids too young to have any disposable income.

    Not exactly the greatest business decision if you ask me...

  • On the post: Transparency Is Not A Zero-Sum Game… But Neither Is Intellectual Property

    kyle clements ( profile ), 21 Oct, 2011 @ 08:30pm

    "As you are free to own a house, you are free to own an idea."

    As you are required to pay property taxes on a house, you are required to pay creativity taxes on your ideas...wait...no you don't....I guess they aren't the same after all.

  • On the post: Warner Bros. Buys Story That Was Written In The Reddit Comments; Then Tells Author To Stop Redditing

    kyle clements ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2011 @ 02:31pm

    The Anti TechDirt Approach.

    It seems like Warner Bros are going for a bit of an Anti-TechDirt approach on this project:

    Disconnect with fans + Reason to buy

  • On the post: How Quickly We Forget: Google's Competitors Falsely Claim Google Dominates Because It Was 'First'

    kyle clements ( profile ), 21 Sep, 2011 @ 04:49pm

    Re: Re:

    I thought that was the whole point of "plus one". Humans upvote valid content and ignore link-spam.

    WE are tweaking the engine.

  • On the post: More Evidence That If You Give People A Reason To Buy, They'll Spend More

    kyle clements ( profile ), 20 Sep, 2011 @ 08:32pm

    Re:

    Bands are already rejecting labels .

    I personally know several musicians who have been offered contracts and refused to sign, because they were smart enough to read the fine print, do the math, and realize how much better they have it doing it on their own.

    If labels want to survive, they need to adapt and become publicity agents and filters. There is far more music out there than I could ever listen to in 10 life-times. How do I find the good stuff? Solve that, and you've got the future of music.

  • On the post: If A Kid Grabs Your Camera In The Street And Snaps Some Photos, Who Owns The Copyright

    kyle clements ( profile ), 09 Sep, 2011 @ 08:19pm

    Re:

    "...photographs are image records of external conditions, ergo they are NOT a creation of the photographer"

    As a photographer, and more importantly, as a fan of photography, I can say that this claim is dead-wrong.

    Spend 10 minutes looking through some random facebook photo albums, then look through a great photographer's portfolio and tell me there's no difference.

    Composition, exposure, aperture, lens selection, colour balance, lighting, posing, etc. all have a significant effect on the final image. Each of these factors involves a creative decision that alters the scene in some way to create the photograph.

    Saying a photograph is undeserving of protection is like saying a realistic painting is undeserving of protection, because like a photograph, realism also just an un-manipulated image.

  • On the post: EU Officially Seizes The Public Domain, Retroactively Extends Copyright

    kyle clements ( profile ), 08 Sep, 2011 @ 09:51pm

    Re: Copyright vs Reality

    It's not about consuming works in the public domain. It's about re-using them. Sure, I can listen to any song or watch any movie for free. But I can't include music from the 1950's in my own videos. I can't have old AM radio classics in the background of a scene. A character or poster in the background might lead to a legal headache if the estate is packed with douches.

    My view: If they can steal from the public domain, we can steal from copyright owners guilt-free.

  • On the post: British MP Calls On RIM To Shut Down Messenger Services To Stop Riots; Because Pissing Off Rioters Calms Them Down?

    kyle clements ( profile ), 09 Aug, 2011 @ 07:30pm

    Re:

    "Isn't the first sign of tyranny when the government shuts down public communications?"

    It's only tyranny when 'they' do it.
    When we do it, it's to 'protect the children' or 'stop terrorists'.

  • On the post: No, Google Is Not Rewiring How We Remember

    kyle clements ( profile ), 20 Jul, 2011 @ 01:10am

    disconnected from the source

    I think I might be just young enough that remembering a source rather than a detail has always seemed normal to me.

    I've had older people criticise my outsourcing of memory and calculation abilities to electronic devices. They often say, "What if you are cut off from the internet? Then what will you do? What if your phone is dead? These are basic skills that everyone should have-just in case you find myself without your fancy toys"

    I respond by asking them if they know how to start a fire by rubbing sticks together, or if they can make a spear head by banging rocks, or if they know how to chase down and hunt animals using hand tools. "No? but these are skills everyone should have, just in case you find yourself without your fancy toys!"

    Why do people only take issue with how brand new technology affects us?

    to paraphrase a quote from Douglas Adams:
    Everything invented before you were born is normal. Everything invented before you are 30 is new and exciting.
    Everything invented after you are 30 is unnatural and scary.

  • On the post: Connecting With Fans: Paul Simon Invites Fan On Stage To Play Song After She Yells That She Learned Guitar To It

    kyle clements ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2011 @ 10:21pm

    connecting with fans.

    Several years ago, I was at an 'ohGr' show in Toronto.

    One fan was holding up a camera and was snapping away. Ogre (the front man) took the camera, walked around the stage, and began taking close-ups of each of the band mates before returning the camera.

    The reaction from the fans was overwhelming. Even though it wasn't my camera, even though I didn't have the photos, seeing the singer do something cool like that just made me like him even more.

    For him, it's just a little thing. For the fans, it's huge.

  • On the post: Pro-IP Blogger Feels Raising The Level Of Debate Means Locking Up Your Comments And Throwing Around The Word 'Freetard'

    kyle clements ( profile ), 13 Jul, 2011 @ 11:05am

    cc tags

    "...Fight against CC and the Lessigites..."
    "...These people, the freetards, the anti-strong-copyright people are tough enemies. They hide often behind anonymity..."

    In response to these comments, this anonymous freetard (who hides behind his own name and portrait) is going to add a "creative commons" blurb to the bottom of his website's image gallery.

    I'm getting sick of middlemen and hacks claiming that all artists need strong protections.

    1. Getting noticed is hard
    2. Ideas that spread win.

    How does copyright help with either of these?

  • On the post: It's The Experience That Makes Music Valuable; Not The Legal Rights

    kyle clements ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2011 @ 03:43pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    CDs benefit from economies of scale. Printing 100 copies means a high unit cost, while printing 1000 copies is a lot cheaper in the long run. Plus, the designer and photographer only have to be paid once, so more copies means more money in the end. The risk is, of course, vastly overestimating the size and passion of your fanbase.

    While decent recording gear has gotten cheap, performance gear is still quite expensive. It can easily cost a few grand for the speakers, mics, cables, instruments, and mixers. While touring does bring in a good amount of money, it can take a while to recoup those initial losses. And if they bought it all at once, and they aren't playing often enough, the interest on their debts may be growing faster than their tour income flows in. Either way, they should be playing more often, and only buying gear when they can afford it.

    Sounds like they need a manager.

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