Is Bit Torrent really a threat for Old Media ?

Whilst on the surface the Bit torrent application using Peer to Peer technology has the capacity to do harm , again I look at the response to this in a productive viewpoint, how can the studios benefit from this obvious market potential …

For software applications, it is only a threat if the license key operates with the software –  this comes back to the software providers own encryption and licensing software system.

For Video, it is obvious, from the numbers of users, it is well proven point that there is a market for TV shows and Movies … this can be shown by the number of Torrent participants in the data stream … why isn’t it an option to pursue, that the content producers offer a legal stream of product, such as the Australian ABC does when product is broadcast within Australia, OK it is downgraded and in Mp4 Video format, but for those who have missed the show, or want to keep it for their amusement, what is the harm ? – it is a domestic only quality. Alternatively I can view the content in high quality using the i-View program replay service … for a limited time ?  Excellent interactive relationship for a transparent relationship with your customer.

For those outside of the studios primary market, which is primarily that of the continental USA, it is impossible to gain access to the content legally –  due to the Networks own licensing restrictions, people outside the studio zone, cannot view the product on-line … so the Bit torrent Software was born and is used as a response to this limitation. I am speaking primarily here of TV programs, the software allows someone to upload a program that was in the Public Domain, as it has been broadcast, so they can viewed in another geographic zone … In Australia none of the Video Streaming services allow access to the content for users in Australia, due to licensing issues, why is this ? Surely if I was subscribing to a US content provider –  streaming content, my own internet id (Geo location) would identify what geographic zone I was in, and thus my licensing region, and thus the content licensee for this zone … in my view the money I pay for access could be quite easily sent to the applicable country license holder for a particular content, by the i/p address as a subscriber … you guys need to start thinking outside of the box, and there is a substantial  increase in income that will flow once you do something so simple, for no appreciable increase in costs, as well as the increase in net due to increases in good will and lack of a confrontation relationship and the lack of a divisive enforcement arm – which lacks any credibility.

Stripping of a DVD to obtain the Video Stream is something that is another kettle of fish all together, as it was a licensed program, for one viewer only (household) –  I can see the harm here, all though it is no way to take as credible the loss of income the studio pundits claim, you cannot view the numbers and directly equate them to lost profits. However I do not agree with the commercial use of the Bit Torrent service where people pirate these streams to produce pirate copies to DVD’s …. however from the research I have undertaken, talking to users past and present, for a single user .. I have been told by many people I have spoken to actually go onto to buy legitimate licensed products, using the downloaded product as a trial if you like.

The content creators themselves have used the Bit Torrent facility, in the recent past and continue to do so. Recently there was the much heralded release of almost the final installment of a major franchise – (one more to go) … a program full topped and tailed (a teaser .. less than 40 minutes long) was released onto the Bit torrent before the theatrical release date … I have written about this as a use by the studios, when it suited them as a “legitimate marketing channel”, they used the Bit torrent facility, that obviously created interest and did make a positive difference at the box office.

However, by creating scarcity, the studios, the content creators / providers have created a secondary market that is so substantial –  what is their response, instead of being constructive and transparent, and working with the internet, to provide a access channel to provide access to this content, they go to these facilitator organisations that further exacerbate the situation, they troll the internet for alleged offenders. I have been so informed that the content providers / studios supposedly farm out their enforcement to self styled cowboys who I have been told send out unsubstantiated claims of infringement … for which they have no way of gaining anything positive from, except that it creates distance between the two parties and a them and us mentality. Nothing will be resolved … hopefully though, we are looking for a solution here … right ?

Surely if the studios, created a way whereby people could legitimately download a copy of the content, a downgraded quality for free or via something like an i-store or similar content provider at a reasonable cost of say $1 per TV episode (bear in mind there is no medium and the user pays for the data downloaded), the problem would essentially evaporate ….. or provide a encryption licensed video feed on something like a i-View format file, to provide the content …. or invest in a new Video file format that could not be hacked with a one user only encryption key.

Further to these claims of loss that is put forward by the license holders and their cowboys, this is substantially a fallacy, as it looks at the numbers of downloads and equates them to sold product at a sell price, this is such manipulation, as those downloads will not transfer to income unless the studio actually puts a 21st century procedure in to capitalise on this … if those that are seeking content could legitimately source product from the studios, free for a lower quality downloaded copy of pay for it at a reasonable price for a quality product then I believe the problem, much of these I am a victim mentality the content providers, particularly the spin the TV studios are pushing, is substantially a beat up and the problem would essentially evaporate.

If we view the actual financial performance of studio licensing, in context of the United States Balance of payments for 2008, 2009 and now in 2010 –  you can see increases in licensing income for overseas content sales which has increased over these years.

Incidentally there is only one major TV network in the USA that gets it … and coincidentally only one in Australia … that is making an attempt to provide access .. unfortunately the worst network is someone who should know better and I thought that they did

I wrote about this and other aspects of the affect of the internet on Old Media models in a white paper as far back as 2008 … with different ways to re-structure their business models even then, it is obvious that no one is yet ready to see a solution here and start thinking outside of the box now or then.

My view of the Internet and Older business models, is a couple of things, (1) The internet user demands a different relationship with content providers & (2) Use the internet to form communities, and build a sustainable interactive relationship – this is its strength (3) Please think outside the box … you cannot win this – make some money by approaching it another way … and what you can do best, that is to produce excellent content .

My advice to the studios, capitalise on the opportunity …. focus on your craft instead of sending all your profits to the lawyers.

Tags: Is+Bit+Torrent+an+issue+?, Bit+Torrent+is+it+a+solvable+issue+-+Yes+it+is

Halla Tomasdottir: on Ted

This women makes sense…. lets try to take the testosterone and the good old boys club out of making investment decisions or perhaps business decisions in general.

Her profile is here

She follows simple and sound business rules as follows:-

1.     Risk Awareness –  won’t engage if they don’t understand the deal, I ask you who could understand those “securities” the basis of the sub-prime disaster

2.     Straight Talking –  Simple language and explain the upside and the downside …  ethics, honour, integrity and transparency to me

3.     Emotional Capital –  note that people make money and use money

4.     Profit with principle –  decisions made based on these clear principle, and less based on the male herd mentality (she didn’t say testosterone, I did)

Makes sense guys –  how about we all listen to this –  make a long term commitment to a sustainable investment, and stop worrying about this 3 month reporting cycle.

Perhaps the idea of making investments in line with the triple bottom line, economic, social and environmental could be a lesson we all could learn , even some so called sustainable banks we all know.

Tags: Halla+Tomasdottir+makes+sense

A thought for you …

I like to wander around book stores, especially second hand book stores –  its amazing what you can find … for me it is a good way for the Universe to lead me in a new direction.  Once when I was there I was muddling around and a book literally jumped out at me, it is a book that has and continues to have a marked impact on me…

Its old, but worth the hunt… so please check out the following book if you can find it…

Three Magic Words
U.S. Anderson
Copyright 1954
ISBN 0–87980–165–4

Good hunting … its really worth the experience, and it will if you are able to relate to it… it may take you in a new direction, and open up your spiritual world.

Remember, when you find something that perhaps sparks your interest and curiosity, it will be the right book for you to read then… perhaps not this book, but another –  so why don’t you go for an explore with the Universe and see where it takes you.

Bonuses – Banking and others

Now with the European Union likely to legislate to specify how bonuses will be paid, for instance a large benefit is only able to have a 20% cash bonus… I am sure the affected people are even now re-structuring their pay to counteract this… perhaps by increasing the fixed component of the pay package…

In the United States it seems is not going to legislate, but issue guidelines… which I am sure that they will be bent, sidestepped and outright broken as a result.

However staying in the USA for a moment, something new has come to my attention…. a new basis for paying bonuses… as we know once of the companies, formerly a major casualty of the sub-prime fiasco and their own corporate greed at that time, has come up with what I believe is a solution… that Compensation for those who receive bonuses should be tied more closely to corporate debt rather than equity… what a resounding good idea, as well as responsible one… how unlike a Corporation.!

I am speaking here of AIG (American International Group) who announced that it will link incentive pay to the value of their insurer’s bonds.

This makes cowboy activities less likely, especially as a short term tactical strategy, and I hope this will turn the train around and move it back to responsibility not only to the company, the industry but also the shareholders – but also to the Corporate world in general.  I believe that these types of incentives protect the interest of bondholders and the ultimate value of the company… this will come to be a good strategy especially in uncertain times, and more particularly when a company’s solvency is in question.

Perhaps the rest of the world, particularly The European Union as well as all markets affected by this disease should take notice

Dell Computer quality is in question !

After the Mathematics department at the University of Texas noticed some of its Dell computers failing, Dell examined the machines. The company came up with an unusual reason for the computers’ demise: the school had overtaxed the machines by making them perform difficult math calculations.

Please see the New Times article here… New York times article

Political reality – Australia

The fact that Julia Gillard is now the first Australian Women Prime Minister is a momentous event for Australia… one that I predicted all the while Rudd & Swan kept on shooting themselves in the feet through their non-consultative approach to leading the country – with the final nail being the RSPT. Even today Rudd seemed to be in shock.

Julia Gillard maybe if she and more pertinently the Labour party does not self-destruct between now and the next election the first elected woman Prime Minister. That would be great, that Australia could elect a Prime Minister, representative of the majority of Australians (by sex). 

Now if only they could find a decent treasurer who had some practical knowledge of Macro and Micro Economics with some out of the box original thoughts and the gravitas to deliver them Labour might have a good team.

So Political reality is here… hopefully the Coalition may take the opportunity to refresh their current loosing team, but they won’t… they need to lose the election first …. lose the opportunity again … before they try and sort through the the very few quality leaders they have to choose from. 

 

RSPT Changes – is this Government having a Blonde Moment?

The RSPT… I of course do not cast any slight against blonde’s in general who are far more intelligent than the players in question, namely Rudd and Swan

From Rueters (with a staff reporter)

Swan says country will unite behind RSPT

Meanwhile, Treasurer Wayne Swan says Australians will come to support the RSPT, given the need to boost super, build new infrastructure and help small business.

“The country united behind stimulus and we’re confident that in the fullness of time – despite all the argy bargy of recent weeks – they will get behind these plans for a stronger economy as well,” Mr Swan said in a speech in Brisbane.

“I’m not going to pretend this debate has been easy, but it’s a debate I welcome because it goes to the core of our prosperity in the Asian Century.

“It’s really important we have this national debate and every view gets aired as we work towards the final detail of the policy.”

Like I said …  I keep saying this about Swan and Rudd… are their any lights on in Canberra… blonds as well as being more fun, have considerably more intelligence that these soon to be “former” members of the Australian Government..

Swan and Rudd … will be the first players at their level… I was going to say calibre (wrong), to shoot themselves in both feet …. I wonder if Labour wants to get re-elected… if they do … some tough choices by the back room boys need to be done and done quickly…. it proves again that the Labour party has NO concept of Business or their irresponsible rantings into the market.  Changing the sovereign playing field after miners have made their investment is the worst form of governance… retrospective taxation is a totally cowardly and irresponsible way for governing … of course if they had made these changes only for future projects they would have earnt nothing as no future money would role in as the International miners including Australia’s own will look for greener pastures – including moving Billions of dollars out of the Australia market … to a more amenable legislative and tax structure… I wonder if there is any room in Monaco..? and there are plenty of countries out there who would welcome the miners with open arms – the other downside from this as all the employees in those countries everywhere but Australia will not be paying their taxes to Australia…. dumb.

Now all that needs to happen is for the Sword of Damocles to fall on Rudd and Swan and Australia can move back to reality – without the RSPT  …. do that or Labour could spend the next 13 years in the wilderness.

If it doesn’t and they get this legislation through the house, it will not hopefully get through the Senate …  however… Bob Brown also has been known to have his blonde moments.  They won’t use this for a trigger for an early election as they , the Labour party will lose.

If they don’t come back to reality, then Julia Gillard would be hopefully be the first Australian woman Prime Minister… who hopefully can think without testosterone and ego getting in her way… so long as she remembers that she is governing for all of Australia, and not just those of the Labour persuasion… the “Them and Us” attitude is the biggest single reason why this world is not pulling together…. The only down side of the alternative option is that if we have a new government, then perhaps Abbott may be the new Prime Minister… hmmmm…. the man who said in Public not to believe what he said.. sometimes… please define sometimes… can you put up a sign please.

Tags: RSPT+Australia, A+Blonde+moment

Copier Security

Since 2002, many of the “normal” office photo copiers, sometimes printer, scanner & fax machines as well keep images of everything that is processed through the machine during its lifetime.

I think it is worthwhile viewing the Video (via the link) as broadcast by CBS News in the USA, to become familiar with the risks and the process that we should go through when a copier you own, rent or lease is sold or returned to the lease company and removed from your office.

The sound is not really great, but stick with it – as the message is important.

Copier Security

A brief view of the USA

Currently with all the necessary hype, the compromises and the deal making, the United States Senate looks as though they will pass the unemployment support and Health assistant bills as per the following link from USA today… but again we come back to the essential problem that we have with the USA, if they were a person they would be accused of a felony as they are writing unfunded cheques.

Who owes the US debt ?  China, Saudi, Japan..!  I guess I have said enough.

With the disclosed long term liability of the USA sitting at in excess of Ten(10) Trillion dollars and the Un-disclosed amount , probably ten times this. The USA is in all sorts of a mess.

Currently instead of an lessening of the unemployment rate, we have the USA getting worse, see the figures below (an extract) and the link to the Wikipedia information here

European Union 9.3 %

Burma 9.40 %

India 9.50 %

Croatia 9.60 %

Hungary 9.7 %

United Kingdom 7.80%

United States 9.70%

Russia 9.9%

France 10.0 %

So much for the USA doing something constructive to resolve their problems, instead of concentrating of the income issue and increasing the amount of money coming into the coffers by putting people back to work – they have spent untold billions writing cheques for programs they have no way of funding without going further into debt… and making the strategic policy of the USA subject to influences from Beijing, Tokyo and Riyadh.  Meanwhile, those people that have traditionally supported free enterprise (I am not talking about the Republicans here) and are working all the hours that are possible to create a income, find themselves being taxed into oblivion..

Not only now, has main street paid the money to support the generosity to banks and corporate America (without it seems, any conditions) – now the disposable income, increasing the likely hood of unemployment becomes real to millions of Americans – but what are the consequences on the children… do they get the vocational or scholastic education they need to drive the USA back to a semblance of their former self, or will the USA make the mistake (if they haven’t already) of becoming a third world country.  The one measure of this in my view is the focus of the country on educating its citizens – currently too many people world wide have few prospects of employment. However at least it may stop the movement of jobs overseas to China and India… Yes I know, I don’t really believe that myself.

Because the real issue in the USA is the short term focus of the corporate culture, that they only think in 3 month chunks, they have no long terms view, therefore they are not investing in the future, by investing now.

More to come soon… or why there will be another financial crisis…  unless we actually do something to regulate the banking and finance sector.. many countries have, those that did, do not feel the effects of this ongoing financial crisis that we are experiencing…

A New World…

There is no point postulating why we are here… we all know why…In the commercial and corporate world there needs to be changes in the basic way we judge performance… and this will mean we need to change the underlying motivations (this will require a huge paradigm shift… this kind of shift usually only comes about after a dramatic event) … and the laws and regulations that are built on them….however the whole structure we call civilisation is in grave danger of blowing in the wind… by just running around putting out fires… the usual response from Governments, the people who have little original thought…. these people are great at spin, and putting a positive face on something that has no positive aspect… the US and many others Economies are in a deep almost irrevocable situation – the only positive aspect there is that is will pave the way for a new world order…. this will happen by revolution unless somebody takes the leadership…  but I do not think any form of leaderships has the balls to do what is needed…. and so all this political spin and noise (which will not change anything) -  which is in essence is inactivity is going to be the death knell of the financial commercial world (which underlies our whole way of life) as we know it. There is huge anger brewing in the population, after denial in the grief process we then have anger…   it is a basic part of our make up… and it is something that cannot be diminished by spin…   I think the depth of this anger is being undervalued…

I published an article about a scenario of dramatic civil unrest in the world, particularly the USA (due to the easy availability of weapons) .. and right now I see only negatives.. no positives… for instance… no matter how much the USA needs a Universal Health system (and it does need one), now is not the time to bring one in… (due to the debt burden it will manifest) soon the national underlying debt of the US economy and many others including my own… will reach those of a banana republic…. and once that stage is reached ….its only a matter of when, not if there will be civil unrest… big time… the rule of law will be on the line … and we will have a revolution… maybe not a full drawn out Civil war type but it will be real (it will be the end of the status quo at the very least)… with one side (the government) using everything in their power to maintain a self destructive status quo, the rights and values that the founding fathers hold dear… those underlying the US constitution will be revoked… and the other side… normal people will be trying to get some say over their own lives…. and some quality of life for themselves and their families.

Also remember, now a large sector of the population have little if not nothing to lose. So is civil unrest an possibility…. I have spoken about this before … here http://ozroamer.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/civil-war-in-the-usa/

The end result, especially if Government’s use the Army or National guards against their own citizens is a foregone conclusion.

Then we will have a great period of anarchy…. but after all this and the feeling our way in the dark a new basis for the world will put up its hand… it will be different… and we will need to try and come to terms with it… because in the end, it may not be based on individual or corporate greed, the problem now is the majority of people are in financial servitude to their Feudal Lord… their bank, their boss or their governments. This cannot go on.

We are on incredibly dangerous ground, so before 2013, we will see prominent signs… goodness u can see them now.

I am confident that the necessary changes to stop this or at least postpone it will NOT be made within the current financial and political system… I see little hope of anything that could make a difference being done – so we are all in for a new experience…. I am not diminishing the seriousness of such changes, especially on our own personal freedoms and safety…. but when the smoke clears… until the message and the morals are again corrupted .. there will a new moral paradigm.

I hope I am wrong… but I don’t think I am.

Tags: Imminent+future, Revolution+is+when+not+if