Congratulations America! You're Not #1 in the Fat Country Contest Yet - WWED Reporting for The Morton Report

But we've captured #3 with a firm vision to overtake the rest of the world in overweight people. Stay tuned.. Read all about it here at TMR

D a v i d E v e r i t t - C a r l s o n

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Find me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Read my other blog: A Suspension of Disbeliefs

"Steal This Book": Part II - Steal This Blog Post

Steal This Book: Part II - Steal This Blog Post 

(This post originally appeared in A Suspension of Disbeliefs.)

A driving force behind the social revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, Abbie Hoffman inspired a generation to challenge the status quo. Meant as a practical guide for the aspiring hippie, Steal This Book (1970) captures Hoffman's puckish tone and became a cult classic with over 200,000 copies sold. Outrageously illustrated by R. Crumb, it nevertheless conveys a serious message to all would-be revolutionaries: You don't have to take it anymore. "All Power to the Imagination was his credo. Abbie was the best." 
— Studs Terkel. 

Fast forward 41 years and everyone wants you to steal their book or CD or idea. They want that because then you will distribute it and in turn, they will sell more whatever. A few years ago the bandRadiohead released their album, In Rainbows, on the Internet with a 'Pay what you like' format that allowed you to either pay, or download the album for free. 1.2 millions copies were downloaded the first day and although the record company has never released sales numbers, it was a PR coup. Permitted, encouraged  stealing has now become a distribution method. After all, if nobody wants to steal your stuff, then it can't be any good, can it?

Seth Godin recently considered selling a DVD of his latest speaking series and then opted for an 'honor system' method that allows you to watch it on Vimeo - then he gives you the password. Free. This way he gets attention, and then sells DVD boxed sets. And this has become the Internet business model of choice: Give something away for free, use that to gain attention, and then sell a hard copy of whatever it is you have to make money. Hugh MacLeod has used this method for years to distribute his cartoons and ideas - now he will happily sell you a framed print from his online gallery or a book. Hugh is doing very well.

This blog is free but I do it to gain attention and then sell consulting services. What can you give away, or let people steal that will then endear them to you enough to buy whatever is is you have to sell? Steal this blog post please. 

D a v i d E v e r i t t - C a r l s o n

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Find me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Read my new blog: A Suspension of Disbeliefs.

WikiLeaks Censored in the United States

The land of the free has decided that freedom of speech has it's limits and in this case the limits say that WikiLeaks must host its website out of Switzerland instead of the US. Backup servers are located in Sweden after a series of 'denial of service' attacks last week by black-ops hackers that crippled WikiLeaks in America. See WikiLeaks defense strategy by clicking on this link. I wonder how things would have worked out had Paul Revere had his Twitter account suspended?

Technorati had this to say:

"WikiLeaks didn't create these documents, nor did it allow them to fall into the wrong hands. These were the actions of our own government agencies. If those responsible for publishing this material are criminals, what does it make those who were so careless with sensitive documents? If a bunch of amateur snoops at WikiLeaks can get hold of our secrets, imagine how easy it must be for foreign security agencies. One advantage of publishing these “secrets,” is that every country has access to them, and we know it. It creates a level playing field, and in a weird sort of way is more secure than one foreign power being privy to our secrets, and us not being aware of it".

Desperate Measures

Remember that.

I'm finding way too much complacency in Vietnam today. Because of a protected economy and people just loving even the worst of jobs and situations entirely too much, just because they're afraid of wanting better - they don't work hard enough. It makes them lazy. It makes them boring. Even some of the expats who work here. I liked Korea after the Asian economic crisis of 97. They were hurt. They were hungry. They were fucked. But in the end, it made them better. It made them what they are today. Wealthy, confident and kicking ass and taking names. Like America used to be.

America: The illusion continues

I've been a fan of Jonathan Harris' work since long before I met him at the DLD conference in Munich this year. This year he's been on a quest to post one photo a day, every day, from everywhere he has been from Munich to Davos to New Mexico, Iceland, Italy and more. Today's post is about America and I like his take on New York, after his having been in Iceland for the past long few months. "Because when an illusion gets too big, the damage it would cause by collapsing is far more terrible than the damage of keeping it going. It's a simple and sensible trade-off — kind of like trading a car crash for cancer." - Jonathan Harris. That's America alright.

Will the illusion survive for our children - or be passed to the Chinese? Rich over at RCNevada reports that the official unemployment rate in Las Vegas is 14.8%. Wonder what the Chairman of the Board would think of that?