Go forth and fill your libraries with media.
Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.
I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.
I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.
Cheers,
Bad news. As many of you have probably noticed, the Amazon Conduit was not fixed in the last week's release. Unfortunately, there was an undetected bug that is preventing the conduit from working.
We are working on this bug fix and hope to have the Conduit back up and running this week.
I will keep you posted.
Thank you for being so patient.
Blog Action Day is every October 15th, when blogger are asked to post something about a single issue to show our strength and conviction as an online community. It's a great way to feel connected to the greater good, and the participation of so many bloggers to support the world's leading non-profit organizations is something you can do to help, right now. By blogging today, you're supporting some of the world's leading non-profits and sharing your voice for change.
This year's topic is climate change, and we'd love to read your thoughts on the topic. If you participate, leave us a link to your post in the comments, so we know to check out your post!
Go to www.blogactionday.org to learn more, get a badge for your blog showing your participation, and see some ideas for your post on climate change.
Can't wait to read your posts!
~ daisy
The Amazon Conduit will be working again on October 15, 2009. Thank you to everyone for your patience.
Have a great weekend,
daisy, Team Vox
In my last Team Vox post, I let you know that we're aware that the Amazon conduit is broken and that we're working to fix it. Many of you want to know when it's going to be fixed and I'm so sorry I haven't gotten back to you about that sooner.
Unfortunately, I don't have an exact date to give you, but rest assured, the Amazon conduit will be fixed in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, I'm about to finish my latest book and I could use a few suggestions as to what to read next, so... if you don't mind, let me know in the comments what's on your nightstand and/or what book you think I absolutely must read next.
Thanks! :)
Some of you may have noticed that right now you cannot add books from Amazon to your Vox library. Giving people a glimpse into what's on your night stand is important to many of you, so I just wanted to reassure you that we are doing our best to get this bug fixed. I'll keep you posted.
So sorry for the inconvenience.
Hope you have a great weekend!
daisy
In advance of the release of Chris Anderson’s new book “Free: the Future of a Radical Price,” a debate has erupted on the value of free in today’s marketplace. Anderson has been blogging about the tenants of “Free” over the past year to get feedback and solidify his premise. He postulates that in this digital economy pricing will gravitate toward free – YouTube (free entertainment & community); News outlets (free news); Open Source software, music, social computing, etc. This presents a major challenge (and many opportunities) for content creators who have built their success on charging for resources. Particularly for those resources that are becoming more readily available for free online and in the cloud. Understanding these concepts will help you better compete, coexist and thrive.
Here are four articles that frame the conversation. The debate is interesting since it provides several viewpoints.
Chris Anderson’s Blog
Malcolm Gladwell’s criticism to the Free concept
Seth Godin’s response to Malcolm Gladwell criticism
Marc Cuban’s response – Free vs. Freely Distributed
As we look to week three of the class, you can use this conversation to ponder these new questions about a “Free” economy:
· How do you monetize your resources – will your pricing model be relevant in the future?
· What are your competitors’ pricing and value strategies?
· How can you build value into your work so people are willing to pay for it?
· What are the disruptive technologies in the future, based on this free model? How will you engage users/viewers to stay competitive and engage your audience?
My personal favorite line in the articles is Gladwell’s assertion that, “YouTube will lose close to half a billion dollars this year. If it were a bank, it would be eligible for TARP funds.”
For your Week 3 blog Post, analyze the arguments of Marc, Chris, Seth, Malcolm, et. al. and tell us if you think Anderson is right. Most importantly, what is the impact on web-based storytelling? Blog your answer and post it by Tuesday Midnight July 7.
The feed aggregator is now up and running. For how long I am uncertain. I am having a difficult time getting FeedRaider to send me a confirmation email, and I fear they will crash the site after 48 hours. What do you expect for free? You can find the list of blogs here.
http://feedraider.com/page/252505/COM597C-Summer-2009-Class-Feeds
Just in case
the feed breaks, I have posted a list of enrolled students linked to their blogs on the class website. You can check there for easy navigation to the blogs.
Kick Start the Class
OK, here we go. This is the central meeting site for the 2009 class. This site will have the schedule, grades and resource information. The class blog site is our content repository. I will start it off with a few optional articles to read. The first is more in the pop culture realm than academic, but I found it an interesting analysis of how changing the way we deliver the media changes the message. The medium is the message, and all that. This is a Vanity Fair article (albeit dated) from two years ago on the politics of YouTube. I won't claim to agree or disagree; only that it is a perspective worth noting.
Also, I will need your e-mail addresses and blog urls sent to me so I can get the list coordinated. Please get it done by midnight, Sunday June 28.
If in your academic travels you bump into something we might want to review please pass it on to me or post it in your blog. I think we learn more from each other than we do from the book. Besides, it is critical that we stay current on the shifting technology of web delivered media.
The Syllabus is posted as a word document in the file section, if you need it.
This is where I will post articles, links and resources that I bump into that I feel might be helpful to you. Additionally, I will use the class hash-tag on Twitter to let you know I've found something. None of these resources are required reading unless I clearly say so. They are just things I think you will enjoy or find enlightening. The first two are two survey presentations by the Edison Research Group. They were specifically created for radio executives but the information is very pertinent to the discussions in our class. The first is titled "The Infinite Dial" and is the research I have referenced in tonight's class. The second is I a nice report on podcasting. As if you don't have enough to read, I have provided two additional files for you. One is a great (and insanely dense) "bible" that will give you clear insights and definitions on the technology of video and television. Consider yourself warned, this is a major gear-head paper and most will find it rather arcane. But there are always a few folks in class who are seeking a deeper technical knowledge on the topic and I will continue to do my best to provide that information. This paper is published by the Quantel Corporation and can be downloaded from their site. I have parked it here to make it a little easier to find. I was doing some research on Brightcove (you will hear more about them as we explore syndicated video distribution models) and I came across this article in PC Magazine (not exactly the last bastion of academic rigor, but hey, you take the information where you find it.) This article is a nice quick review of a few of the exploding video distribution sites on the web.
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
