I don’t know about you, but here’s something that irks me to no end.

Just yesterday, I was watching some show about classical music bits (Mozart, Bach, etc) making their way into popular French variety tracks. Those 70s/80s artist tapped into the global musical pool to produce some more awesome songs. Just like Disney took strong inspiration in the Grimms Brother bibliography to produce classical pieces.

And then – fucking then – those players turn around and extend copyright protection to 70 years, in a modern world where everything goes faster than before. They do it to prevent others to build upon their work, knowing full well they have done it themselves. And they have the nerve to say piracy is dangerous for creation!

But hey, just like Einstein said, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing”

So Dead Space 2 outsells the original game 2-to-1.

And I remember a time when EA executives weren’t too sure they’d bother with a Dead Space 2. Or a Mirror’s Edge 2, for that matter, displeased that they were with the sales.

And yet, what’s happening with Dead Space 2 is nothing to be puzzled over. Think about it:

1. Both Dead Space and Mirror’s Edge were surprises, fresh franchises that no one was expecting or too sure of. I’m quite sure they were both downloaded widely.
2. Because the quality was definitely there, however, each games created a solid following of gamers wanting more.
3. Then EA opted to not move forward with a Mirror’s Edge sequel, and hesitated on a Dead Space sequel.

Why? It sure as hell wasn’t the right time to hesitate, with fans out there wanting more. If a sequel had tanked, then sure, it would have been time to call it a day.

Throwing in the towel after wetting people’s appetite can’t be a good strategy.

I’m currently reading a book that does have some interesting to say, but which is FILLED with examples. Most of them don’t add to the mix as other examples made the same point before. I’m applying fast reading techniques, and I’m finding myself flipping entire pages that don’t teach me or illustrate anything new.

My guess? The author wanted a book that looked like the others on the shelf. Maybe the publisher agreed “Can’t put out a 150-page book,” he might have said. I’m not going to name the book or the author, because the truth is, I have absolutely no idea if this is how it went down in this particular case, but I can definitely see this happening all over.

The thing is, now that we have eBooks and the Net, nobody cares how big your book is.

That’s shelf space thinking.
That’s physical world thinking.
That’s old thinking.

If you have something to say, say it in the best possible medium. If your message is short enough, it’s a blog post. If it’s really long, then it’s a book. But if your message can come across 100 pages, then price it right and make it an 100-page eBook, not a 50%-filler, 200-pages book.

Amazon knows I have Richard Morgan’s whole bibliography.

Amazon knows I just bought a Kindle.

So why do I have to fork over more than $10 per book I already own?

The only sensible way to go here, is to sent customers their Kindle already preloaded with all the books they’ve ever ordered on Amazon. There simply is no other alternative.

As I’ve been aching for a dislike button in Facebook for some time, this article seductively titled “Should Facebook add a dislike button?” instantly caught my attention; after all, why would anyone doubt that?

And mostly, I agree with the Pete, in that companies certainly wouldn’t want anybody to comparatively weight the Likes versus the Dislikes on their page. In a way, I think it’s somewhat short-sighted of them (as getting feedback from consumers is the golden rule to improving how you are perceived), but on the other hand, simple Likes/Dislikes don’t give out much information, and I’m pretty sure Facebook comments cannot be considered as constructive feedback.

To sum up, a Dislike button may or may not be in Facebook’s and in advertiser’s interests, from a business perspective.

But how about the user perspective? Here’s a quote that I strongly disagree with:

Like buttons are about connection; Dislike buttons are about division.

No they’re not.

Disliking something is just as connecting a statement as liking something. Electric car activists are not connected to one another by their fondness of electrons flowing through copper wire: they are because they dislike fossil fuel cars. The Wikipedia team brought hundreds of thousands of contributors together because of their collective distaste of the old way of doing things (too restrictive, not evolving fast enough, etc).

And this is how social signaling works, too: who we are is defined by what we dislike just as much as it is by what we do like.

Facebook is still about social interactions, right? Or has it morphed into an advertising platform already?

As a follow-up to Seth Godin’s Linchpin, I’ve been probing my life for linchpin moments I might have had. If you’re not familiar with the book, I can only advise you to order it: It will most likely change you in a subtle but strong way. If you need a little bit more convincing, go read the the manifesto (okay, if you really need more convincing, go to Amazon and check out the raving reviews, or head over to Seth’s blog to know more about what the Man is about).

Anyway, there was this one time I was at the movie theater:

I was definitely late, and my movie was about to start. Only one register opened, maybe 30 people ahead of me, this wasn’t looking good. As I was (not-so-patiently) waiting, I checked out the schedule: 3 movies were starting in the next few minutes, while the rest didn’t start for another half-hour. Based on people’s attitude, you could definitely tell the ones in line for a movie that was about to start apart from the ones who weren’t in a hurry.

And then this clerk came up the line, asking people if they intended to pay by card; if they did, he’d take them away to another counter and would speed things up, which was a good idea (whether if was a spontaneous one or not). However, using the means of payment seemed like a somewhat irrelevant criteria. What he could/should have done, is simply walk up to people and ask them what movies they were about to see; if it wasn’t about to start, politely ask them if they’d mind waiting 10 minutes to help expedite things for those in a hurry.

And you know what, I could have done it, too. But we’re not used to putting ourselves on the line like this, and I just waited, hoping the situation would somehow fix itself. It didn’t, and I missed my movie. And this is an important shortcoming: to put it in Seth’s own words, a linchpin doesn’t simply think outside of the box, he acts out of the damn box.

Guess I’ll have to wait for the next occasion to pin an orange lizard to my chest.

It’s always been one of Seth Godin’s argument that handling properly the discontents was the key to good public relations, and I couldn’t agree more.

During my upcoming trip,  I’m going to make a half-dozen hops across North America. That’s as many flights to book. I went and used the portal I regularly go to (fast and clear interface, and, up to now, no problems). I started with the 2 flights with fixed dates. I got the reservation for the first flight immediately, and a mail regarding the other one: the fare I had selected wasn’t available anymore, and so I was supposed to call myself (and pay for the call) to fix the problem.

So I called, and the person on the other end asked me if she could call me back 10 minutes later, so they’d have time to recalculate the price of the fare (hum?). So I waited. And finally she called back.

Turns out the fare had increased by a steep 69€, so I promptly canceled the flight. It got me thinking, though: had the fare increase been only a couple of euros, what would have happened? Probably the same hassle, and only for a couple of euros!

I’ve been using this website for some time now, a fact they have to know because I log in every time. Out of good faith, this intermediary could pay the difference (with a limit of course) and just notify me. How I wish they’d sent this type of mail:

“Wow, just in time!

As you were making your reservation, the price of your flight went up by X€, but we’re covering that charge for you. Consider it a gift from our part. Please enjoy your trip to Y for us!”

This situation is probably a rare occurrence; not much money would be lost in the process, and wow! would that make a great impression! I’d be a customer for life, as opposed to the present situation, where I’m going to finish my bookings on a website with up-to-date pricing.

As a follow-up on my internet access in hotels/hostels post, here’s a thought:

When access to the Internet is free, most people regulate themselves: they’ll check their mails and facebook, maybe have a whiff of what’s going on in the world, and that’s about it. If someone is waiting around, the current user will let them take over.

When people are paying for their Internet access though, it’s different. You don’t want to throw money away (after all ,you paid for that time), so you want to make the most of it, and end up checking the special offers on Amazon. While others are waiting.

Take me for instance: I’m smack in the middle of a 3-week vacation in Japan, and here I am blogging about internet access and hostels, just to make sure I’m not throwing 20￥away.

Forget about bank robbers, serial killers and international terrorists; the guy at the top of the Most Wanted list is the poor schmuck that a court will manage to hold accountable for the world changing around us. If you find him, the RIAA and MPAA want him. Major actors in the software industry want a shot at him. Everyone in the newspaper industry wants him, too.

That fucker, how dare he?

Following the settlement of an absurd lawsuit against them (filled by their production company for failing to deliver a 3rd album on time), 30 Seconds to Mars probably decided that it was good time to take matters  into their own hands. Heavily community-oriented from the get-go with their “Echelon” fanbase, the band pulled out all the stops for their 3rd album “This is War”: right along with Techdirt/Floor64′s motto “Connect with fans”, 30STM organized “The Summit”, a gathering of fans in the LA area, where recordings were made for some tracks on their upcoming album. Several summits were subsequently organized throughout the world (although the band couldn’t attend).

Far from stopping here, 30 Seconds to Mars announced “The Ride”:

This Sunday night, October 11th and Monday night, October 12th we will be filming a one of a kind night time mass bicycle ride through the streets of Los Angeles as part of the short film for Thirty Seconds to Mars’ new single “KINGS + QUEENS”.

We would love to invite you to join us for The Ride.

Its a one of a kind adventure and we will be shutting down streets, tunnels, bridges, Santa Monica Pier and even Hollywood Blvd.

[...]

If you’ve never experienced a night ride with hundreds of people it is sure to be a night you will not soon forget!

Let’s take back the city for a night, or two.

That’s right. The band will close some of the most popular avenues and places in LA, delivering a unique experience to their fans. Just wish they’d wait for next year, so I could have joined.