SOPA? First redefine piracy

I've talked about this subject before. I've sat in a music industry discussion and heard the concerns of the damage piracy is doing to new artists and new music. But enough about X Factor.

I thought maybe it was worth going back to basics. What is piracy? Well the good old Oxford Dictionary says:
1 [mass noun] the practice of attacking and robbing ships at sea.a practice similar to piracy but in other contexts, especially hijacking:air piracy
2 the unauthorized use or reproduction of another’s work:software piracy

In principle it does sound like a bad thing, especially the stuff at sea. And when we were at school we were all taught that copying (stealing someone else's idea) was wrong - maybe not so much if you grew up in China.Trouble is, this isn't really at the heart of the music and media industry war on piracy. The issue is the alleged link between online piracy and falling or lost revenue. Or put another way, the view that if users could not get hold of that book, film, tv programme or album on that pirate website, they would be forced to go to a legit site, or better yet, an actual store, and buy it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this premise cannot possibly be true, at least not in most cases, and not to the extent that the content owners believe.The real issue is that these dinosaur industries just cannot get their heads around what the Internet means for them and their content. Newspaper online subscriptions - really? Who would bother in this day and age. If you want the 'news' just go on twitter. And herein lies the problem. The dinosaurs cannot figure out how they will adapt sufficiently to survive this online Ice Age. The balance of power has shifted to users and consumers and they can't get their heads round it.

And finally, forget SOPA, what about the fake Apple stores in China??? They can't stop that but they want to stop online piracy??!!

Winds of Change

Is it just me or does this January seem different? Yes I know this is the month where people make and break resolutions, get divorced, are made redundant or quit their jobs, but this year there seems to be even more change afoot.

Maybe there is a backlog of change because of the economic cloud that's been hovering for the past few years. Not being able to sell a house can make a person feel very much tied to their current set of circumstances - marriage, job, location, for example. Maybe we are about to see a few years worth of change suddenly unleashed.

For the second January in as many years I have a new boss. No, I haven't changed jobs, I just have a new boss due to the latest round of musical chairs. The last time this happened I was feeling very apprehensive about my new modus operandihttp://millermuses.blogspot.com/2011/01/every-days-school-day.html

As it turned out it was probably with good reason, as I had a tough time re-establishing myself in the 'new camp' - some of which was probably my own doing, as at times it may have appeared as if I had taken my toys home and decided not to play, coupled with my inability to flex my style sufficiently for my new 'accountant-shaped' bosses. Yes I am an accountant, a Chartered Accountant at that, but I am shaped more like a.... a creative, people-person with accountant-like leanings;-) Not so this year - no frickin way. For one thing, I am feeling more positive about the change. I have gotten to know these new accountants and I quite like them... now. And for another I am clearer about my own personal and professional agenda, what I want to achieve ths year - no more passive meandering, waiting for things to happen.

I keep saying this and I'll say it again, this year is going to be a BIG year for people in the UK. I can feel the winds of change.

When is it ok to cry in public?

Can you Adam 'n' Eve it? There I was, sitting in a trendy coffee bar/lounge drinking lemon and ginger tea with friends and then it happened. I cried...in public. This is me we're talking about, you know? The hard-nosed accountant who is adept at the most uber-professional face. Not some fake Hollywood actress gushing crocodile tears at the Oscars, or Gilly what's her face in the jungle, this was me. Yep, I did it. I blubbed. Surprisingly, at the time I didn't actually feel that embarrassed. And in hindsight I actually feel blessed to have friends who it's ok to cry in front of. When I got home and texted my BFF to tell her what had happened that day she said 'don't worry, I cry all the time now'. By this I assume she means post-baby. My Aunt died this week and although I saw her in hospital on Christmas Eve, all I can feel is guilt that I hadn't spent more time with her, or visited or called more. How come death puts life so into perspective.

Mobile me!

Ah...the frustration. In the pursuit of getting connected I am increasingly reliant on using LinkedIn, twitter, Facebook and other social media on the go. But the functionality is so bad on some of these mobile versions and apps.

In technology terms i am probably a bit of a laggard, figured i was coming to the party fashionably late as usual, and that this mobile thing would be all sewn up, seamless, childsplay even. Not so, it seems. Why is it so difficult to get things done on my iPhone or iPad?

I'm no techie (maybe that's the problem) so when basic tasks become too difficult to complete, eventually I just give up and go spend my time more productively. Blogger, I love you, but your app is ... well, let's just say its very rudimentary (polite British phraseology).

In the last few days I have come across site after site where the mobile functionality is so bare, you can do nothing but view content. There are blogs that default to mobile view, and by hook or by crook I can't flip them back to classic, even on my iPad, so i literally cannot do anything to interact with, or follow the content. Maybe that's how they want it to be! If anyone knows a workaround for the mobile vs classic view on iPad please share it with me!

So for the moment I am still wedded to three devices, including laptop. Funny that isn't it? And when more TVs go touch screen, what then? Technology/device convergence has been mooted for years and there are going to be plenty of losers in that brave new world. Maybe that's why there is little incentive to fix these things in a hurry.

And have they fixed Skype yet?http://millermuses.blogspot.com/2010/08/thing-about-skype.html

Who ISN'T Penelope Trunk?

If you've read my first 2012 post you'll know that one of my New Year's Revolutions is to get seriously connected.  Ok its not that revolutionary, but in particular I've been working on my online presence.  So, I've pretty much done everything you're supposed to - set up twitter, sort-out my linkedin profile, follow the good and the great of the blogosphere yada yada.

And this is where Penelope Trunk comes in.  She is like blogger royalty, and you know how I love the Royals (long live Kate and Wills!)  So in the last few weeks I subscribed to her blog and feeds etc (still don't really understand RSS or feeds!).  Then comes today's post
 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2012/01/01/zero-tolerance-for-domestic-violence-is-wrong/

Happy New Year anyone!!??  I'm not even going to get into the rights and wrongs of domestic violence and whether the partner should stick around, but it did make me question whether you should take relationship advice, heck any advice, from someone who thinks its ok to stay in a violent relationship.

The accountant (former auditor) in me then thought, who is this Penelope Trunk anyway? What are her credentials?  Is she at the top of the blog tree just because she is controversial and over-dramatic, with very little actual or informed conent - a bit like reality TV? And then after a bit of googling I spotted the miscarriage post - oooooooohhhhhhhhhh!!!! the penny dropped.  I think I blogged about that too!
http://millermuses.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html

When all is said and done, we all lead crazy lives, and no-one knows what goes on behind closed doors, unless that closed door is Penelope Trunk, of course.  My point is this - we all make judgements in aspects of our lives that others wouldn't agree with.  That does not necessarily invalidate every single opinion, or piece of advice that we dole out does it?  In reality, who isn't Penelope Trunk?

Happy New Year!

Phew... Survived another year! I don't know about you but I have enjoyed a lovely two week break over the Christmas hols and it has been simply marvellous.

2011 seems to have whizzed by in a blur and we're on the precipice of another year already.

Last year I resolved to not make certain types of resolutions eg. ones that involve stopping one thing or giving up another. And I'm sticking to the same tack, as it seems to have worked pretty well last year. So I'm focusing on what new things I can do, or continue.

This year I am sorting out my online presence - all part of getting connected, properly. And this time It means more than just clicking on the 'people you may know' buttons on LinkedIn.

I'm also going public with my image on the web. This means my mug on LinkedIn and twitter etc. This picture sums up how I feel about that. To be honest it's a bit daunting and I have usually kept photos to my facebook profile, which is and will always be private.

Anyway, my challenge will be finding the time to keep all of these plates spinning as well as building up my real world network through Stilettos & SOS. Wish me luck guys, it's gonna be a busy year!

Do you have wifi?

Is it just me, or is there now an innate expectation that most pubs, restaurants, hotels and anywhere else you have to spend a fair amount of time, will have wifi? Even my hairdresser has wifi.

And yet there are still those quaint businesses who are determined not to buy into this new-fangled technology of the twenty-first century. When you ask the owners of such establishments whether they have wifi they almost seem proud of the fact that they don't. However, approach the staff, who are probably asked several times a day, and they are somewhat more contrite at this obvious oversight.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a big fan of being 'on' at all times. By this I mean the inability to ever switch off, be still and be out of touch once in a while. However, this has very little to do with wifi or not to wifi. Wifi is now the ubiquitous medium for us to access our 'stuff' be that newspapers, magazines, books, music, film, ideas and notes. Increasingly, as more of our 'stuff' is stored in fluffy clouds, we will need wifi to access it. Businesses that don't get this will simply be left behind.

I was in the pub today at a 'business-cum-christmas-catch-up' meeting and there was no wifi! I guarantee you we will not be meeting there again, nor would we consider it to be a viable venue for future events, because without wifi it is simply sub par and most definitely behind the curve.

Unless BT Openzone fills in the gap, I predict that businesses that do not get with the programme will simply be left behind. Love it or loathe it, Wifi is going to be more important than having a telephone.