Movies I Watched in January 2015

Movies I Watched in January 2015

I’ve decided to take an analytical look at the movies I watch in 2015. This means that I am not just keeping track of the movies, but how I watch them (services and technology), whether or not they were new to me, when they were released and what genres they were in.

Leaving the Copyright 2.0 Show

Leaving the Copyright 2.0 Show

After 5 years, 10 months and 2 days of co-hosting, I will be leaving the Copyright 2.0 Show on September 12, when episode 342 is released. We announced my departure on episode 340, which was released yesterday. I joined the show officially on November 10, 2008 for episode 84.

On 259 occasions, I will have sat down with Jonathan Bailey for an hour to talk about the latest copyright news. It’s been an amazing run and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on it.

Kindle Unlimited, the “Netflix for Books” Model, and What Authors and Publishers Can Do to Stop It

Kindle Unlimited, the “Netflix for Books” Model, and What Authors and Publishers Can Do to Stop It

Amazon launched Kindle Unlimited today, a “Netflix for books” style service which gives you access to more than 600,000 ebooks.

Before we go any further, I want to disclose that I am a published author with an agency that represents me. For my first book, I signed a traditional publishing contract with a good sized published. My second book was released for free via sponsorship. Finally, I am an Amazon shareholder.

I’m Hungry for Change

For anyone reading this who might not be familiar with my background, and would like to know more about me, please view my LinkedIn profile or the about page on ManagingCommunities.com.

From an outward perspective, it may seem like I haven’t been up to much. I get asked a lot of the same questions. Any new books coming out? Any new sites launching soon? Are you speaking anywhere? No new sites, no new books, less travel.

I want to tell you what I’ve been up to.

Hachette is Not the Good Guy in Dispute With Amazon

Hachette is Not the Good Guy in Dispute With Amazon

It is amazing that some people are treating book publisher Hachette as the good guy in their dispute with Amazon. They are not.

Two years ago, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued them because they were colluding with Apple – and other publishers – on pricing. Specifically, they were trying to force Amazon to raise prices. One publishing executive is quoted as saying that he wished “to screw Amazon.” Hachette settled with the DOJ immediately. They didn’t even put up a fight.

Amazon Arbitrage: Buy from a Third Party Seller, Receive a Box from Sam’s Club

Amazon Arbitrage: Buy from a Third Party Seller, Receive a Box from Sam’s Club

Last week, I purchased some binders from Amazon. I’m re-organizing my life right now and part of that is going through all of the stuff I have in my archives. Over the years, I have collected a lot of memorabilia and have a big sports card collection from when I was younger. To keep everything uniform and easily stackable, I’ve been buying the same binder over and over again.

You Can’t Hug a Rolling Stone

The Lonely Island just dropped the music video for “Hugs,” featuring Pharrell. It’s the spiritual follow-up to Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.”

A Place With No Name

A Place With No Name

Michael Jackson’s second posthumous album was released today. Xscape is an 8 song set, but the deluxe edition is 17 songs, featureing the original versions of those 8 songs, plus the edit of “Love Never Felt So Good” with Justin Timberlake. The deluxe edition is what you want.

Not because you will necessarily prefer the original versions, but because it allows you to see where the song was and where it ended up.

Twitter Introduces a Block Feature I Can Actually Use: Mute

Twitter Introduces a Block Feature I Can Actually Use: Mute

The only time that I have ever used Twitter’s block function is when reporting spam (because they force you to block the person you are reporting). Beyond that, I have never used it.

The reason is simple: if your block feature tells people that I’ve blocked them, I’m not using it.

MoonQuest: An Epic Journey

If your Monday needs a boost, watch this. My brother Trent showed it to me.