Random Culture

PopSecret Fan Site? Nope.

PopSecretMountain.com is just a fan site, right? I know so because in the "about" section of the site, it says the following:

Who made this stuff?

People who love Pop Secret popcorn that's who.

Pop Secret paid you to do this...

No, they didn't. We're not making a dime off of this.

I love a cat wearing a pirate suit just like anyone else, but in the first 2 seconds on this site, I could smell the "fake" user generated content from a mile away...

After the folks at AdLand received a strange email trying to spread the word about the site, someone pointed them to a little company called Your Media Coverage. If you check out their "projects" page, you can clearly see  "Pop Secret Mountain" right there. Way to go, guys!

When are marketers going to learn? You can't fake this stuff.

Update: It seems that one possible explanation is that these folks basically create everything as "spec" or as a part of contests and "user generated" submissions. The Toyota Yaris work they talk about on their site, for example, was created as a part of the "user generated" advertising that Current TV accepts. I could go on, but I'd rather not give publicity to a company that does bad spec work.

PopSecret Fan Site? Nope.

PopSecretMountain.com is just a fan site, right? I know so because in the "about" section of the site, it says the following:

Who made this stuff?
People who love Pop Secret popcorn that's who.

Pop Secret paid you to do this...
No, they didn't. We're not making a dime off of this.

I love a cat wearing a pirate suit just like anyone else, but in the first 2 seconds on this site, I could smell the "fake" user generated content from a mile away...

After the folks at AdLand received a strange email trying to spread the word about the site, someone pointed them to a little company called Your Media Coverage. If you check out their "projects" page, you can clearly see  "Pop Secret Mountain" right there. Way to go, guys!

When are marketers going to learn? You can't fake this stuff.

Update: It seems that one possible explanation is that these folks basically create everything as "spec" or as a part of contests and "user generated" submissions. The Toyota Yaris work they talk about on their site, for example, was created as a part of the "user generated" advertising that Current TV accepts. I could go on, but I'd rather not give publicity to a company that does bad spec work.

Goverment and Social Networking Don't Mix

Once again, we're offered proof that our government, even with the best intentions, doesn't understand technology. The example? House Resolution 5319, The Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA). This resolution, if it becomes law, will require schools and libraries to block social networking sites and chat rooms. If they do not, they could lose federal Internet subsidies. The law might also have an impact on a far larger array of websites using social networking features. Some folks, such as social networking expert Danah Boyd, see this as an erosion of our freedoms more than a protection for minors.

I'm all for protecting minors against online predators. Like I said, I think our elected officials in the house have the best intentions. However, technology has clearly outpaced the tech skills of our representatives in Washington. What we need is more Internet savvy politicians. I think the chances are pretty high that in coming elections, we will see MySpace profiles being used as campaigning tools.

Link via TechCrunch.

Goverment and Social Networking Don't Mix

Once again, we're offered proof that our government, even with the best intentions, doesn't understand technology. The example? House Resolution 5319, The Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA). This resolution, if it becomes law, will require schools and libraries to block social networking sites and chat rooms. If they do not, they could lose federal Internet subsidies. The law might also have an impact on a far larger array of websites using social networking features. Some folks, such as social networking expert Danah Boyd, see this as an erosion of our freedoms more than a protection for minors.

I'm all for protecting minors against online predators. Like I said, I think our elected officials in the house have the best intentions. However, technology has clearly outpaced the tech skills of our representatives in Washington. What we need is more Internet savvy politicians. I think the chances are pretty high that in coming elections, we will see MySpace profiles being used as campaigning tools.

Link via TechCrunch.

Save the Internet!

Hopefully you've heard about the Net Neutrality debate happening right now. Net Neutrality suffered a defeat when the House Energy and Commerce
Committee voted down the proposal, but now, Net Neutrality is moving to the Senate. Net Neutrality is being called the Internet's "First Amendment", and we should all be pushing our senators to back the Net Neutrality proposal, and educating them about what it means. If we don't it could mean giving telcos ridiculous power over how we use the web.

You can learn more about what could happen if Net Neutrality fails in the Senate by watching this video from savetheinternet.com:

Everyone should be contacting their senator about this issue. I don't often post about this type of thing, but I felt it was important enough to bring up.

Save the Internet!

Hopefully you've heard about the Net Neutrality debate happening right now. Net Neutrality suffered a defeat when the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted down the proposal, but now, Net Neutrality is moving to the Senate. Net Neutrality is being called the Internet's "First Amendment", and we should all be pushing our senators to back the Net Neutrality proposal, and educating them about what it means. If we don't it could mean giving telcos ridiculous power over how we use the web.

You can learn more about what could happen if Net Neutrality fails in the Senate by watching this video from savetheinternet.com:

Everyone should be contacting their senator about this issue. I don't often post about this type of thing, but I felt it was important enough to bring up.

Universal Pictures' Big Mistake

Just last week, I was griping about Apple's indication that they might charge $10 for a movie download... That was nothing. News is now circulating that Universal Pictures will have movies available for download in the UK at a whopping $35.

I'm speechless.

Why the high price tag? According to this CNN article, it looks like that $35 price gets you a download of the movie for a laptop, one for a portable device and a DVD in the mail. The initial batch of movies available is limited to around 30, including titles like "The Bourne Supremacy", "Nanny McPhee" and "Bridget Jones Diary."

I'm not convinced that people are going to find this worth the money. You can buy "The Bourne Supremacy" DVD on Amazon for $13.99, and have everything Universal is offering. And when you look at that price point, I still think $9.99 is too much to pay for a movie on iTunes.

Come on Universal... just give Apple a call.

Universal Pictures' Big Mistake

Just last week, I was griping about Apple's indication that they might charge $10 for a movie download... That was nothing. News is now circulating that Universal Pictures will have movies available for download in the UK at a whopping $35.

I'm speechless.

Why the high price tag? According to this CNN article, it looks like that $35 price gets you a download of the movie for a laptop, one for a portable device and a DVD in the mail. The initial batch of movies available is limited to around 30, including titles like "The Bourne Supremacy", "Nanny McPhee" and "Bridget Jones Diary."

I'm not convinced that people are going to find this worth the money. You can buy "The Bourne Supremacy" DVD on Amazon for $13.99, and have everything Universal is offering. And when you look at that price point, I still think $9.99 is too much to pay for a movie on iTunes.

Come on Universal... just give Apple a call.

ABC iTunes Blunder?

Podcasting News points out that ABC is in hot water with the Screen Actor's Guild for selling episodes of their TV shows on iTunes. The Screen Actor's Guild has issued a statement about their intent to pursue arbitration against ABC. According to a statement from SAG president Alan Rosenberg:

"In violation of our collective bargaining agreements, ABC recently began selling Lost and Desperate Housewives for digital download to iPods without first bargaining with Screen Actors Guild. Today ABC advised the Guild that it intends to pay residuals to performers based on the videocassette formula - a formula that does not apply to this new platform."

This is something you need to pay attention to, particularly if you're repurposing content. As an example, if you are an agency releasing commercials and "behind the scenes" video on iTunes as a podcast, you need to secure the rights to do so.

ABC iTunes Blunder?

Podcasting News points out that ABC is in hot water with the Screen Actor's Guild for selling episodes of their TV shows on iTunes. The Screen Actor's Guild has issued a statement about their intent to pursue arbitration against ABC. According to a statement from SAG president Alan Rosenberg:

"In violation of our collective bargaining agreements, ABC recently
began selling Lost and Desperate Housewives for digital download to
iPods without first bargaining with Screen Actors Guild. Today ABC
advised the Guild that it intends to pay residuals to performers based
on the videocassette formula - a formula that does not apply to this
new platform."

This is something you need to pay attention to, particularly if you're repurposing content. As an example, if you are an agency releasing commercials and "behind the scenes" video on iTunes as a podcast, you need to secure the rights to do so.