A breakup, bowiechick, webcams and Logitech’s increased sales

I am currently at the F-Secure partners conference in Vienna, Austria, and have been listening to Richard Gatarski speak about a passion for social media. One incredible story illustrates the power that new social media forms have to influence brands, and how little many established companies (even those who sell products and services that are designed for this new world) know about this.

In March 2006, Melody, a teenager better known by her YouTube name, “Bowiechick”, was feeling pretty depressed. She had just broken up with her boyfriend. So, she decided to record a vlog (a video blog entry). In order to cheer herself up, she experimented with some cool software that came with her webcam. By the end of the 75 second video, she had had a bit of fun and was feeling better. She posted the result at YouTube (see it here). This clip has now been viewed nearly 2 million times!

As you could anticipate, a few of her friends saw it, and wrote notes to her, encouraging her to cheer up and move on. But then people started asking her about the software she used to make the video itself. More and more people asked, so she created a little video to explain how her Logitech webcam and software worked. This 2 minute video has been viewed over 3 million times. Watch it here.

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3-d TV is here

This weekend, Sky TV in the UK will become the first to broadcast a live sports event in 3-d. This is a preview of regular channel that will be launched by Sky in April. It will be available at no extra cost to anyone with an HD box.

Read the press release here.

The way we access data and engage with media is changing rapidly. The (horribly named) iPad was launched yesterday, amidst much hype (Apple knows how to do this, don’t they?). Small, portable, handheld devices, with unbelievable resolution and engaging visuals are the way of the future. 3-d images form a big part of that, too, I am sure.

Hollywood, explain this… (Avatar breaks two very different records)

In almost every country it is being shown, James Cameron’s latest movie, Avatar is breaking box office records. It has already made over $ 1 billion, and is well on its way to being the best selling movie of all time.

It is already listed in IMDB’s top 50 greatest movies of all time.

But, in its first week, it was also the most pirated movie of all time with 980,000 illegal downloads of the movie. Hollywood (and the music industry) claim that illegal downloads will destroy their industry and steal money from producers.

So, Hollywood, explain Avatar!

The problem is not with illegal downloads. The problem for you is that quality is now judged more democratically – and more brutally. Good films, and good music, will still sell well. James Cameron is proof of that! Stop whining and fix your industry.

Which movie does that come from? (Wonder know more!)

I picked up a tweet recently which talked of a great new resource called MovieClips. Simple concept – you can remember a line from a movie, but cannot for the life of you remember which movie it’s from. You could search the Internet Movie Database or Google, of course, and find a text reference to it.

But why not search a movie database where the output is both the movie AND the clip you were looking for? That’s what Movie Clips does – 3 minute clips from movies with an exciting search feature. They have kicked off with about 12,000 clips, so you won’t find everything you’re looking for. But hopefully it will be supported and will grow. What a great idea!

But, I want to say more about this. When I checked it out, it told me that the content was only available in the USA and Canada, and that I should email them (link was provided) if I was from another country and wanted access. I was disappointed, but sent the email anyway. I expected very little. The next day, I received an email (from a real human being) saying that they had just switched on the functionality for the UK and that I had access. Oh, and could I comment on the speed and usability, too, please. They’re phasing in different countries, so as not to overwhelm their servers. Good thinking! Great service! Excellent connection! Superb product!

I’m already a huge fan! Long live MovieClips. Check them out.

After Shock: the five trends disrupting business in the next 5 years

Updated in March 2010 (now with an added Executive summary in the PDF format)

Download a copy of this article in PDF format – right click here. The contents of this article can be presented as a keynote or a workshop for your team. Contact our UK or South African offices to find out how.

As the world slowly emerges out of recession over the next few years, it will become increasingly clear that this was more than just an economic downturn. Disruptive forces are significantly reshaping the world of work. Some of these changes have been brewing for a decade or more – and now this recession has exacerbated their influence and speeded up their effects. Companies that have survived the downturn need to shift their focus to surviving the upturn. We are not ever going to “get back to normal” – a new normal is emerging for everyone, everywhere.

Understanding the forces that are driving this disruptive change will give an organisation the insights needed to adjust their systems, structures and methods and gain a significant competitive advantage in the next 3 to 5 years. It will also set them up for longer term success in the next few decades. It is therefore essential to provide not just senior leaders, but all staff throughout your company, with a framework of thinking about this “new normal”. You want them to work together to take advantage of the opportunities that will emerge.

There are at least five key drivers of disruptive change that every organisation in every industry and sector needs to track. These are the T.I.D.E.S. of change. (It’s a corny acronym, I know, but hopefully it will help with both remembering the framework, as well as making it easy to use on a regular basis in team meetings and informal conversations throughout your organisation). Here then are the key drivers of disruptive change in the next decade, and some questions to ask yourself and your teams as you plan to respond to them:

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Now it gets interesting – music industry, file sharing, Lily Allen and Dan Bull

For a while now, we’ve been using the music industry as an example of an industry that has not understood the radical shifts taking place in the new world of work. Our new presentation, After Shock, focuses on the five drivers of disruptive change every industry needs to face. The music industry has to especially deal with new technology, institutional changes and shifts in societal values.

Up until now this has been a backroom boardroom (and courtroom) battle. But it has increasingly been making its way to the frontline. Most recently, Lily Allen, UK’s fresh faced young music phenom, has stated that she is “quitting music” because of of downloads of her songs. Read The Sydney Morning Herald’s reporting of this. (No-one really believes her, of course). Funnily enough, the blog she made the announcement on was taken down within days because she was accused of copying an article without attribution (talk about an own goal).

Now, another musician has used the tune of Lily Allen’s chart topping “22″ to support his own take on the subject. Rapper, Dan Bull, has cleverly summed up how many rational thinkers see the issues in a song he released on YouTube. (See the lyrics and the video below).

Now, it gets interesting. Front line artists are entering the debate – and not all of them have understood they’re standing on shifting sand. They may alienate their fans. It’s time to be careful and to understand the TIDES of change…

I don’t think I have much to add to Dan Bull’s lyrics – I’ve highlighted the bits below I think are the most important. Enjoy.

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The world is changing cell phones

Once upon a time cell phones changed the world. They arrived when we didn’t expect them, and allowed us to do things we never imagined possible. We can quite safely say that our world today (where cell phones have had an influence) bares scant resemblance to the world of 15 years ago.

But people, being who they are, mastered the new opportunities cell phones created and we have individually and collectively pushed cell phone manufacturers and network operators into spaces they once never imagined possible. It’s a lovely example of what we’re capable of with opportunity, resources and a little time to tinker.

FastCompany recently published an article focussed on one cell phone manufacturer, the world’s largest, Nokia. If the article is to be believed then I am incorrect calling them a cell phone manufacturer. They no longer see themselves in that category. As to who they are, not even Nokia is certain?

“Just three years ago, we were competing against Motorola, Sony Ericsson, some Korean players, even Siemens,” he says from his office in Espoo, Finland, just outside of Helsinki. “The competitive environment in the industry at large has changed, and I sometimes struggle to define what industry we are in at the moment and what are the boundaries. But remember, I spoke in 2001 about putting the Internet in your pocket. And now consumers are realizing that these devices are not just for communicating by voice: It is all about information.”

While cell phone companies once significantly impacted how we saw the world, their new task is to take our post-cellphone worldview and re-imagine themselves for the future. That is if they’d like to stay in business.

This article is a great read. One worth sitting through to get a glimpse of a global leader finding their way in a world they’ve had a large role in influencing.

The increasing bankruptcy of 24 hour news media

I enjoy Jon Stewart’s Daily Show – the satirical news program from the States. Sometimes puerile, sometimes just dumb, but quite often genius, it is an (irreverent) look into US politics, culture and media. This past week, Stewart once again poked fun at the US media giants and the dumbing down of mainstream news media.

If it wasn’t so sad, it would be hysterical. Mainly, it’s just sad that the people we’re supposed to trust to report on what’s happening in our world have descended to these depths.

Watch the video below, or go here if you can’t see it.
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Don’t mess with your customers

My good mate, Steve Simpson, creator of UGRs (unwritten ground rules – still one of the cleverest management tools I’ve ever seen!), just posted this story on his blog. The new world of work is going to filled with this type of story – especially, I fear to say, in the airline industry where everyone blames everyone else for everything…

Remarkable development in the voice of the unhappy customer

Technology has just enabled a remarkable shift in the voice of the unhappy customer.

In March 2008, the musical group ‘Sons of Maxwell’ were travelling on United Airlines to Nebraska for a one week tour. Just prior to departure, one of the band members heard a woman seated behind them say ‘My God, they’re throwing guitars around’. Sure enough, as they looked out the window, they could see the baggage handlers literally throwing the band’s equipment.

On arrival, the band discovered that a $3500 Taylor guitar had indeed been broken.

That was the beginning of a long saga of buck passing and avoidance. After nine months, an employee from United provided one too many ‘no’s’ in response to accepting responsibility for the damage. On hearing this, band member Dave Carroll promised to make three songs about the experience and post them on the internet.

As I write this, the song ‘United Breaks Guitars’ has been viewed by over 3 million people. Yes, you read correctly, over 3 million views!!

You can view the video on YouTube by clicking here
There’s even a blog that explains the whole saga which is here.

This is a remarkable example of how unhappy customers can now be heard!

Source

Mind the Gap when it comes to Social Networking Technologies

It has recently incurred to me that the fundamental difference between Boomers and Gen Xers when it comes to social networking technologies is a fundamental difference in interpretation. Boomers see such technologies as bringing them a flood of information that needs to be managed. “Why would you want to know that?”; “What will you do with that information?”; “Who cares?” are the standard responses that reveal such a stance.

However, Gen X sees this ‘information’ as the means to ‘relationship’. The filtering and processing that occurs as a result of this fundamental difference is pronounced. YouTube, FaceBook, Twittering and the like do not provide information, they are the portals to relationship.

Therein lies the difference…and it is significant as it is applied to the why, what and how of these social networking technologies.

iTunes lists our PodCast Service

Last week TomorrowToday re-launched our PodCast service. Historically it was something we did out of our South African office, and we took a few months off to re-look at our strategy along with our UK office.

From now on the PodCast will have a distinctly ‘global’ feel to it as we get TomorrowToday thoughts from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Of course it’s still a thin slice of the world, but nothing that time wont change as we find ways to include a larger network.

We’ve also got a listing on the iTunes store and you can click here to subscribe to our PodCast with iTunes.

If you want to go directly to the RSS feed, click here.

Put that in your iPod and er, listen to it

Here’s an interesting battle going on in the music industry, with Apple ‘threatening’ to close doors to iTunes, the dominant force in sales of digital music. (BBC has the full story)

If word gets out that music publishers are trying to stick it to consumers, and Apple is fighting to keep prices down on their behalf, well, there’s liable to be public backlash against the labels.

Free games

At TomorrowToday, we are great fans of games, and especially of the learnings we can get from games. We are also keen observers of the gaming industry, which often picks up on shifting values and economic models before other industries do (compare them, for example, to the music industry – especially on the issue of pricing I’m about to talk about!).

Here is a small feature from the latest Economist magazine on a new financial model for games. Give them away for free!

FOR millions of East Asians, online gaming is not so much a hobby as a way of life. “Massively multiplayer” online games such as “Legend of Mir 3” and “MapleStory” have legions of devoted fans who spend an alarming proportion of their waking hours sitting in front of their PCs, at home or in internet cafés, doing battle with elves, wizards and mythological beasts. Some players take their parallel gaming lives very seriously: one man murdered a friend in a dispute over a stolen virtual sword (GC: this happened a few years ago, and is the only known extreme incident – but it is still much quoted).

Many of these games rely on a business model that is different from the way the video-games industry works in the West. Rather than selling games as shrink-wrapped retail products which can then be played on a PC or games console, the Asian industry often gives away the software as a free download and lets users play for nothing. Revenue comes instead from small payments made by more avid players to buy extras for their in-game characters, from weapons to haircuts. In this way, a minority of paying customers subsidise the game for everyone else.

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“There’s a problem with Facebook”

At least, that’s what my favourite Talk Radio station (Radio 702) said during their half hourly news reports throughout today. As a regular facebook user (see my profile here, and challenge me to Rock, Paper, Scissors here, if you have nerves of steel), I was intrigued. Read the story here (not sure how long their archives last, so I have copied it in full below).

Now the story itself is a fairly newsworthy one – especially at this time of year, when final year High School students are writing final exams, and some are trying to find illegal shortcuts to success. BUT, to headline the piece, and add commentary to it, indicating that this is a Facebook problem is ridiculous. And that’s what the news readers did this morning.

What a load of rubbish!! This is such typical media hype. The type that breeds dangerous attitudes in parents, and really does more harm than good.

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MP3 stethoscopes

Earlier this month, researchers at a medical conference on respiratory diseases in Stockholm, reported that MP3 players with built in microphones are better than traditional stethoscopes.

In addition to picking up many respiratory noises better than the stethoscope, they have the added advantage of being able to record the sounds they’re listening to. These digital sound files can then be scrutinised and sent to others for a second opinion, as well as stored for later reference or comparison.

If this is accepted by the medical fraternity, it won’t be long before computer programmes are written to do the analysis of the breathing sounds automatically (similar to how blood tests are now done by machine, and not by lab coated technicians peering into microscopes). This is one step closer to complete home diagnosis, and just another reason why doctors need to understand (like everyone else in every other industry) that these days your value lies less and less in what you sell (or what you do), and more and more in who you are, the connections you make, and how you do what you do.

A camera for the blogger generation

Face_it, Beam_it, Blog_it! This is the phrase used to launch Fuji’s latest camera, the Z10fd, which will be focussed on the 13- to 26-year-old demographic – a generation they call “Generation Z”. They have realised that this group uses cameras for social networking, blogging and interactions.

The Fujifilm Z10fd is a 7.2 megapixel digital camera with a a Fujinon 3x optical Zoom lens and 2.5” LCD screen. It offers Face Detection, infrared sharing of photos and a special Blog Mode – which quickly resizes any image into VGA or QVGA sizes. “Fujifilm recognized that today’s younger generation wants to be connected with their friends at all times and that there wasn’t a digital camera manufacturer that really addressed this.” said David Troy, Senior Product Manager, Consumer Digital Cameras, Electronic Imaging Division, FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. Fujifilm’s acclaimed Face Detection technology seeks out faces in the darkness of a party to give perfectly focused and exposed pictures every time. An ISO 1600 option means pictures can be taken in the poor light of parties or gigs, with no need for flash, so preserving the atmosphere and producing much more flattering portraits.

It will be available in 5 different colours – Wave Blue, Wasabi Green, Hot Pink, Sunset Orange, and Midnight Black.

The Fujifilm Z10fd will debut in late September for $199.95.

Further catering to the Internet-savvy generation, the F10fd has a corresponding destination website – offZhook.com – where users can submit photos for competition and download displays. This site launches on 1 August.

Prince for Free

This Sunday, the Mail on Sunday newspaper in England will hand out free copies of Prince’s (The artist previously known as Symbol, previously known as Prince, etc) new album, Planet Earth. The album was self produced by Prince, and the Mail on Sunday hopes to sell in excess of 2.5 million copies of their newspaper on Sunday – the paper is sold for less than £ 1.50. As far as I can tell, they are not increasing the cover price for this week’s edition – this is a genuine free CD.

Prince stated that he wanted to send a message to the music industry – and this one is loud and clear. The album is a full album, and will not be carried in shops in the UK (not for now anyway). See the promo poster here.

It isn’t as altruistic as it sounds, and there is some solid economics behind the deal. Prince has been paid £ 500,000 by the Mail on Sunday. To earn that level of revenue in England, he would have had to sell about 5 million albums – and with all due respect the ageing rocker was unlikely to do that in England. So, he is winning. The paper should score from it. Everyone is smiling. Or are they?

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Live Earth – great and not so great

I am on the mailing list of TGIF, a network of small discussion groups in Gauteng, South Africa, that meet ridiculously early every Friday morning. The promotional emails are usually thought provoking, and this week’s is no different.

Saturday’s 07/07/07 Live Earth concert series is claimed to have been the largest global entertainment event in history. About 150 musical acts performed over a 24-hour period on all continents (including Antarctica) to draw attention to the global climate crisis. The event was broadcast to a mass global audience through radio, television and the internet. Broadcasts were interspersed with practical tips illustrating how small improvements in consumer behaviour can have a noticeable impact.

Criticisms were many and included the environmental impact of the event itself (littering at the venues, stars leaving in private jets, etc.), the possible political undertones (some dubbed it “Gore Aid”), and scepticism about the extent of global warming itself. In South Africa, we may be tempted to add that we have much more pressing problems such as poverty, HIV/AIDS and crime. However, we shouldn’t let ourselves off the hook too easily. As responsible citizens, we should do our realistic best on all fronts, including both the societal and the environmental ones. Granted, there are trade-offs, but caring for ourselves & others cannot exclude caring for the world we live in.

Nice one, guys!

Can I suggest checking out TreeHugger.com’s tips for going green? Everything from greening your office and gym, to greening your wedding, your pet and your sex life (I kid you not!).

War Games for Business

In the May 31, 2007 edition of The Economist, there was a great article on a topic one of our team, Raymond de Villiers, is doing post graduate studies on: the issue of using gaming techniques to assist business development. The full article is available here (may require subscription).

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In flight education – consumer value shifts

A nice innovation is being experimented with by Air France, JAL, Singapore and Virgin airlines. They will now be offering in-flight language tutorials on selected routes, helping passengers to learn a few key words and phrases of the language of the country of their destination. This is based on an interactive audiovisual language program developed by Berlitz, the company that supplies many in-flight entertainment screens. The system currently supports 23 languages.

This is an example of a massive trend – consumers are demonstrating a value shift from passive consumption to mastering skills. The smartest companies are offering their customers the opportunity to add to their skill set, not just consume a service or product.

Second Life? Get a First Life first…

If you don’t know what Second Life is, check it out here first. Its an online, virtual reality game that has created a completely online world. You select a character, buy into the game, and start “living” a life in the game. You can run a shop, be an explorer, run for political office, or do anything you could do in “real life”. There are some people who have made Second Life a profession, selling “land”, “clothes” for characters (called avatars) and just living this “second life”.

At TomorrowToday.biz, we’re really interested in game theory, and how gamer culture is influencing the world and business culture. See some of our previous blog entries: Lessons from the gamer generation, and The Gamers are coming.

But, I stumbled on a magnificent site recently. Its mainly a bit of fun, but there’s a very important and serious message behind the site. Its “Get a First Life” – http://www.getafirstlife.com/. Its a brilliant parody of the Second Life site, and you’ll laugh out loud at the cleverness of the look alike site. Great message, too — some gamers need to get out more!!

Enjoy. And, PS, get a first life!

NOT always better on the big screen

South Africa’s top cinema chain, Ster Kinekor, uses the tagline, “Always better on our big screen” in their advertising. Well, the last few times I’ve gone out to a cinema, I’ve had exactly the opposite experience.

I have previously complained on this blog about the way in which cinemas lie to us. They don’t let us take in food and drinks bought outside of their own concession stands, and they make up all sorts of stupid reasons for this. The real reason, of course, is that they charge a small fortune for their food and drink, and make a hefty chunk of their profit there.

But last night’s issue was that in a 16 rated movie (The Last King of Scotland), a woman came in with her husband/boyfriend, another female friend and a toddler who couldn’t have been more than 2 years old. The guy went to sit down near the middle of the theatre, and the women sat at the back. As the movie started, the woman walked down, and dumped the child on the guy’s lap and then went back to her seat. The child was niggling, crying and chirping all the way through the movie. The guy was disinterested, then just allowed the toddler to wander around the cinema. The child was friendly enough – climbing onto people and talking to everyone.

Meanwhile the mother was taking phone calls on her mobile!! What chaos and distraction! My wife actually went out to call cinema staff, but they did nothing.

If cinemas want people to flock to their venues, they are going to have to create an envrionment where it is better on their big screens. At the moment, it is not!

Batteries not included

As my three daughters eagerly opened their Christmas presents, my heart sank further and further to the floor. There are two things that stirke fear into the soul of any self-respecting Dad (at least, those with the limited handyman skills that I have).

The first is the euphemism emblazoned on some of the more serious toys: “some assembly required”. This invariably requires about 5 different screw drivers sizes (only one of which I might have somewhere back here in my rusting and dusty toolbox), a ratchet set (are there really people who actually have a complete ratchet set neatly laid out in their shed?) and other tools I don’t even know how to pronounce, let alone use. And, of course, all the “English” assembly instructions were written by the rural supervisor in the Chinese factory, having first translated them from the Russian translation of the hand scribbled notes of the original engineer (who designed version 1, but not this version you’re trying to assemble in front of your increasingly less adoring tribe of juvenile female sapiens).

The second is: “batteries not included”. I mean, really, why not? The adrenaline rush of wripping the paper off is followed by the endorphin rush of recognising the very electronic gizmo the advertisers so cleverly convinced them they could not live without. Loud shrieks, arms aloft and shrill screams (I told you I had three daughters) are rapidly followed by waves of disappointment and frustrated little arms crashing down to their sides, as they realise that their darling daddy did not have the foresight to stock up on a carton of AA and AAA size batteries. And it’s Christmas today, and the shops are closed, and we can only get batteries tomorrow. And, yes dears, I know you’re disappointed – believe me, with all your whining and complaining, I’m as disappointed as you are!

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Weeping, by Josh Groban (errr, actually Bright Blue)

I am a big Josh Groban fan – have been ever since he made that remarkable debut on the Ally McBeal show. “You Lift Me Up” (which he sang on the show) still gives me goosebumps and brings tears to the eyes. So, it was with delight that I opened a Christmas present this year to discover his latest album, “Awake” inside the wrappings (buy a copy for yourself at Kalahari.net or Amazon.com).

This blog is not the place for an album review, but suffice to say that it’s his standard mix of songs. After listening to it a few times, I actually think it might be a touch weaker than the other two albums – not his fault, but maybe just the songs being a little less powerful than I would have hoped.

Track 12 was a surprise, though – “Weeping”. This song is actually one of the legends of South African music history, a personal favourite of mine, and a deeply meaningful protest song from my home country’s dark apartheid past. The first time I listened to Josh singing it, I felt betrayed – I don’t think he does justice to it. I’ve softened that view with further listening. But more of that in a moment. It’s a real pity he didn’t put the background to the song in the album sleeve.
Here are the words of this great song:

WEEPING
by Bright Blue
Recorded by Bright Blue (1987), by Vusi Mahlasela (1994), Soweto String Quartet (1999), Soweto Gospel Choir (2005), Josh Groban (2006) – these are the most well known version (a full list available at the official song website: weeping.info)

I knew a man who lived in fear
It was huge, it was angry, it was drawing near
Behind his house, a secret place
Was the shadow of the demon he could never face
He built a wall of steel and flame
And men with guns, to keep it tame
Then standing back, he made it plain
That the nightmare would never ever rise again
But the fear and the fire and the guns remain

It doesn’t matter now
It’s over anyhow
He tells the world that it’s sleeping
But as the night came round
I heard its lonely sound
It wasn’t roaring, it was weeping

And then one day the neighbors came
They were curious to know about the smoke and flame
They stood around outside the wall
But of course there was nothing to be heard at all
“My friends,” he said, “We’ve reached our goal
The threat is under firm control
As long as peace and order reign
I’ll be damned if I can see a reason to explain
Why the fear and the fire and the guns remain”

It doesn’t matter now
It’s over anyhow
He tells the world that it’s sleeping
But as the night came round
I heard its lonely sound
It wasn’t roaring, it was weeping

Copyright: Heymann/ Fox/ Cohen/ Cohen.
First Recorded and released by Bright Blue in 1987

Listen to an extract by Soweto Gospel Choir or an extract by Soweto String Quartet – maybe not as slick as Josh’s, but certainly more plaintive, which is how I believe the original was intended. I cannot find an online version of the original by Bright Blue. In a few days’ time, I’ll rip and post an extract here (but you won’t regret buying their best of album at Kalahari.net anyway). This is not just a song. It’s not a lullaby, its a protest song.

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Cyber Bullying?

There is increasing work being done looking into the effect games have in the real world. One one level it seems like a waste of time, effort and money. The stuff of Hollywood.

Aparently not. South Korea is the most connected country in the world, and online gaming and social networks are presenting a dark side. A very dark side. Gamers, whose task it is to destroy fellow online gamers in the virtual world are finding their antics ‘bleeding’ through to the real world, sometimes unconsciously, and sometimes very deliberately.

 See here for full article.

“They are very serious. They said ‘I’m going to kill you’, that they’d pray for me. It was a kind of curse. It was the worst day I’ve ever had.”

The spiteful comments and threats continued for 12 months. This is a mild case of a growing phenomenon Koreans call cyber violence.

Larson not laughing

Gary Larson, creator and cartoonist of The Far Side © recently sent me an email. Now, under normal circumstances, I would have been ecstatically thrilled at this. The man is one of my heroes, and his self-imposed retirement from drawing Far Side cartoons a few years ago left my world that little bit emptier. I’ll be honest and say that I am still kept up at night trying to figure out a few of his cartoons I still don’t get. Before I die, I’ll work them out. But this obsession is testament to his skill! I have all his books, and most of the reprints and best of’s as well. I have had numerous desk calendars, bought a veritable pile of Far Side greeting cards, and may have even had Far Side branded underpants at some stage…

My point – I not only am a fan, I have also contributed to what I assume is a fairly wealthy man’s fortune.

So, it surprised me to receive a letter from him. Or, more precisely, from his lawyer (see the letter below). A website I own hosts a number of talks that can be used in youth groups. The site hasn’t been updated in about 7 years. One of the talks was about how to use Gary Larson’s cartoons to teach young people about God. It was a fun talk, and it included some examples of his cartoons. It was written by a friend of mine.

Now, Gary Larson, in a nice enough way, has asked us to remove the page. What I don’t get is his logic. His argument is all about his emotional attachment to his cartoons, his desire to exercise control over their usage and the fact that they are “his children”. Sure. But what about the 20 Larson books I have in my library? Why isn’t he concerned about them? I’ll be honest and say I don’t think I’ve dusted them in over a year, and one or two may have torn pages. Does that make him sad?

Why can’t he just be honest and say, “Hey punk, if you didn’t pay for the pictures, you can’t use them”. I did actually pay for them – the pics on the site were all scanned from legal copies of his books that I own.

Anyway, you read his letter, and let me know if I am being unreasonable to be just a little bit disappointed. If he had said, “Go to PayPal and make a donation”, I would have done that immediately. But I must say there is a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. But maybe I am just too much of an Internet idealist that believes there comes a time when what you’ve put “out there” just has to be trusted to the universe. As an author and presenter myself, I accept that people use my work, and I don’t pursue the copyright I own and am entitled to. Is that just me? I’d like your opinion.
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Gamer stats – They’re not what you’d expect

A recent survey published by the Entertainment Software Association entitled “Essential Facts” deals with sales, demographic, and usage data within the gaming industry. The full report can be downloaded from 2005 Essential facts. Some of the numbers the report returned are not what you would expect.

- 75% of heads of households play games

- The average age of gamers is 30

- 19% of Americans over 50 play games

- The male / female ratio is 55% male & 43% female [allowing a 2% error margin in the survey]
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From Generation X to baby boomers – why more mature audiences are flocking to the cinema

By Nick Roddick, in the Scotsman – read it here.

NEXT time you go to the movies, ask yourself the following questions. Does the cinema have (a) a bar that wouldn’t look out of place in a posh hotel, or (b) an easy-wipe counter with hot-dog and popcorn machines? Is there (a) lots of glass, chrome and recessed lighting, or (b) miles of stained carpet beneath acres of polystyrene roof panels? And, finally, do your fellow movie-goers look (a) as if they’ve just left a Virgin Megastore with an armful of classic rock albums, or (b) like all their music comes from downloads?

If the answer to all questions is a, then welcome to the world of the MBA – the Movie Buff Adult, the fastest-growing section of the cinemagoing audience.

The Hollywood trade paper Variety recently noted a major surge in the number of 40 to 60-year-olds going to the cinema. But Michael Barker of Sony Pictures Classics thinks Variety is understating things: “I’d say 40 and upwards – no upper limit,” he insists. “Senior citizens are now going back to the movies in big numbers.”

Geoff Gilmore, the director of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, agrees. “These are the people who have made our kind of movies possible,” he says.

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Microsoft Uses Firefox

At least some of their developers do….

An absolute classic. I was trying to download Microsoft Media Player 10 (to reinstall it, because ONCE AGAIN, MS Windows and MS Media Management and MS PowerPoint are not all talking to each other when it comes to multimedia!!), and on the instructions page to get Windows Authentication, I saw an interesting thing… an image of the Firefox download manager.

OK, so follow me here. In order to download MS Media Player, I must authenticate that I am using genuine Microsoft software. In order to do that, I must download a plug-in. The guy who designed and tested this at Microsoft does not use Internet Explorer, however, he uses Firefox, and took a screenshot of his own download for the official Microsoft help page. Check it out here (if you can get in).

As Nuf Sed would say, “Beeooootifull”

Se screenshot below.
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John Cusack turns 40

John Cusack is one of my favourite movie stars, and he turned 40 on 28 June. OK, so’s he’s not quite A-list, and I don’t think he’s ever got a big payday role ($ 10 million or more). But he’s an amazing presence in the psyche of Generation X. His roles have mirrored our lives and our own development. You can see his bio and entire 51 credit filmography at his IMDB page (that include 5 unreleased movies that he’s working on or in post production now).

Cusack has been a steadfast presence in movies that my generation has used to define itself. He’s probably the defining Generation X actor, and his onscreen development, with passages from teen angst into young adulthood and now looming middle age have just slightly pre-empted our own journeys, and even been somewhat prophetic, or at least echoed our fears and desires.

Think about it. John Cusack has a defining film, or two, for every era of our lives:

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