As of Thursday morning in Australia, Facebook has blocked all news content from around the world to be shared on its social media platform! There was an Australian law set to go into effect where Facebook, and other social media platforms, would have to pay fees to news publishers for news content shared on their platforms, either in deals directly with the publishers, or directly to the Australian government. Google has complied, as described in this BBC article with Robert Murdoch’s News Corporation, among others. Facebook, meanwhile, has opted to go the other way, which, as far as I’m concerned, is bad news for Facebook unless it changes because I don’t think it’s going to win this one… and this could be the first step in likely many, to Facebook’s demise. I’m not saying that demise will happen fast or anything, as they’ll go down fighting, but if they stick to this mentality, they’ll be going down because unlike other big tech giants, they don’t have a lot of other revenue sources than advertising. That was partly why I proposed Apple build its own privacy-enhanced social media platform, because they have other revenue streams and can “starve out” Facebook. But beyond all that, here are some other consequences to Facebook’s decision.
consequences
What’s Your SUBJECTIVE Age?
The innovation discussed
Using how you feel, and really live, to accurately gauge your age, rather than what your birth documents would say, as shown by science. There are real consequences pending your subjective age. This isn’t just some feel good talk about how age is just a state of mind so you can just pretend it to feel younger and better. Age is definitely a state of mind, but one that really exists with you and your lifestyle rather than one you pretend to be for some short time.
What YOU can do with this innovation
Change your lifestyle to be more like that of someone of the subjective age you want to be, and can realistically be. You can extend it to lives over which you have a strong influence.
What’s Your Biggest Resolution for 2013?
Happy New Year, everyone!
It’s that time of year again, of course, for resolutions. The secret to making them happen tends to be gradual, habitual changes that you can sustain, or improve upon, over time, rather than drastic and dramatic changes. You should also have a plan to monitor progress. It’s more in the details than concept, essentially. So with that in mind, I want to know what is your biggest resolution for 2013, and how are you realistically planning to achieve this?
If this is news to you, well, just because it’s January 1st, 2nd or whatever, doesn’t mean it’s too late to reformulate. I’ve given my resolution below, and how I intend to achieve it, as an example to illustrate my points above.
Stephen Harper Succeeds Osama bin Laden on 5/2/11
Just one day after Osama bin Laden was killed, a surprise successor has taken over his role in Stephen Harper’s majority government from the Canadian election.
Well, at least in Canada he has, thanks to all the 40% Tory voters who will help to destroy what is a really great country.
I’ve Boycotted Most Canadian TV Channels for Replacing Good American Ads
Here in Canada, for a lot of American sport events, the American commercials are replaced with terrible Canadian ones. This is true even on cable on the American channel itself, not just the simultaneous broadcast on the local network. In Nova Scotia, where I am located, the commercials are even sub Canadian standards. They’re so awful I will often skip watching a show or an event, or go out to a place where I can watch it without those commercials. Or I’ll get what I’m looking for from another source, like news from CBC NewsWorld or MSNBC instead of CNN that’s now proliferated with ghetto budget local business ads when I’m there to be thinking globally.
Do these Canadian ad buyers think they’re getting their money’s worth for those prime spots?
I know there are some rules about rights across the borders, and Canadian content rules and such, but that’s for the channels to worry about. The ad buyers don’t have to buy in to this, and without them, the channels don’t have commercials to run. The channels probably offer ad time with events like the Super Bowl as a bonus to a package rather than selling ad time during the event like it’s done in the US. Still, I would decline it if I were a Canadian ad buyer cause I don’t think people think of those spots fondly.
This comes to a point with the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is as well known for its ads as the game itself. Just observe the chatter the day after the Super Bowl. To watch the Super Bowl with local commercials is like to watch the Super Bowl with one real team and one team of local substitute players. I resent having to watch the Super Bowl with crappy Canadian commercials so much I watch the event on broadcasts with American commercials now, I have blocked the Canadian channels overriding American signals. That means CTV for this Super Bowl, and Global and ASN from previous other offences.
Now, those channels don’t even have a chance that I might surf by and catch something I like when channel surfing. I get local news from the CBC solely now, and you know what? I’m doing just fine without those other channels. I’m not even losing Canadian content, cause it’s not like they show much Canadian content anyway. Why bother with Canadian commercials on prime events, or even just for the Super Bowl, if resentment like this, with some people turning it into action, is what you get?
For events less prime than the Super Bowl, where I might put up with Canadian ads on overridden American shows, I take note of some of the advertising companies and occasionally put them on my “no buy” list. It’s not that I end up watching the commercials to do this. Usually, they annoy me enough from what I’m doing to distract me, and then it’s an easy choice. Eastlink was the first on my list.
I wonder if some of these companies ever imagined their advertising strategies to lead to this?
Oh, and here’s a great example why I go the extra distance for the Super Bowl with the real ads. 🙂
Digital Citizen 