Category: News & Entertainment

Moby’s new CD drops today

Moby’s new CD Last Night dropped today. Great stuff.

You can do like I did and download the entire album in Mp3 format (aka no digital file management malarkey like iTunes or Zune) for $9.49 from Amazon.com. Awesome! Who would have thought we’d reach a point where I could listen to a podcast from NPR on my computer at work, and within a few clicks have a brand new album delivered to my computer and my Zune? Awesome.

Or if you’d prefer, you can purchase a CD copy of the album for $9.99 from Amazon (plus shipping & handling):

animoto

Have you checked out animoto.com yet?

Very cool. They take your photos (you can upload them yourself or import them from another online service like Flickr), add music and make an impressive looking video. No more lame picture slideshows for you. You’ll have the coolest slideshow on the block.

You can build a 30-sec video for free, or pay for their premium service that gives you unlimited time.

A New Law

Everytime I listen to Derek Webb’s Mockingbird album something else grabs me.

don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for
don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music

don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law

i don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me

i want a new law
i want a new law
gimme that new law

don’t teach me about moderation and liberty
i prefer a shot of grape juice
don’t teach me about loving my enemies
don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit
just give me a new law

what’s the use in trading a law you can never keep
for one you can that cannot get you anything
do not be afraid
do not be afraid
do not be afraid

The economics of free

I’m a big fan of things that are free. Isn’t everyone?

Chris Anderson, editor and chief of Wired Magazine was on Charlie Rose’s show discussing his book, Long Tail (hat tip to John for the original tip).

Very interesting ideas about the economics of the web, along with his latest cover story from Wired Magazine.

Common Craft also had some interesting thoughts on Anderson’s ideas:

I want to talk a bit about how “Free” has impacted Common Craft…

Being a small company, we need to keep costs down, and the free economy has been a huge help…

  • Bandwidth: We pay zero bandwidth costs to serve our videos online.
  • Web hosting: Our web site is essentially free to us thanks to the fine folks at RainCity Studios.
  • Marketing: We spend little, if anything on traditional marketing.
  • Communication/Collaboration: We’re heavy users of Google’s free business services
  • At the same time, we’ve oriented our business around freeness.

Let’s pretend that we started making videos like RSS in Plain English with the purpose of making money from them directly, perhaps by charging for access. Here’s what wouldn’t have happened:

  • We wouldn’t have put the videos on You Tube, Blip.tv, etc.
  • The videos would have never been spread across the Web via bloggers.
  • We would not have a popular blog or videos with lots of views.
  • There would not be demand for our custom services
  • We would not have worked for Google, H&R Block, Redfin, etc.
  • We wouldn’t have a recognizable brand.
  • We would not be so happy right now

In case you didn’t know, every Charlie Rose interview is also available for free on the Interweb.