Obviously I’m not the only one concerned about the HD DRM issue. My boycott editorial has gotten some significant attention and the server’s straining under the load. I hope it doesn’t melt down.
Update – Feb 25, 9:00 AM
The past two days were the highest traffic ever for the site. The server seems to have held up OK.
Perhaps you should consider asking people who linkback to you to use the coral cache URL:
http://writersblocklive.com.nyud.net:8090/part-156
I’ve loaded it using that URL, so anyone else who uses it should get the cached version, sparing your server.
Here is a link to an outstanding presentation on “Free Culture” by Lawrence Lessig, Law professor at Stanford. Originally put on this website as an example of his presentation style, (which in itself is pretty cool) his message is very relevent to our discussion here. Thanks for leading out on this Mike. I urge others to do the same.
http://lessig.org/freeculture/free.html
One other thought guys. Listen through the “history stuff, the most relevant part is closer to the end, but it builds on what he says at the beginning.
Tim – thanks for that link. I duplicated your comment in the ‘Boycott’ segment, because this article will probably be hidden shortly (being just a temporary status update sort of thing.)
So, now are you starting to understand how people make money from blogs?
John – The experience confirms what I was saying before. Tons of traffic and the pay-per-click income was $3 for the two days.
I said “starting.” You just need to increase your traffic by 2-3 orders of magnitude. Simple, right?
The point is that the successful bloggers don’t live on $3 per day. They simply get enough traffic that their ads make them $300 to $3,000 per day. That’s basically all there is to it: traffic, traffic, traffic. Traffic dwarfing even your wildest Digg-induced dreams. More traffic begets higher ad rates, and so on; it all kind of snowballs.
Of course, to get this kind of traffic, it helps to choose a more broad subject like gossip or sex or even politics. Apple fans are enthusiastic, but unfortunately not too numerous in the grand scheme of things. Plus, there’s tons of competition in the Apple blog world.
Still, you’re doing pretty well for a young blog. Just keep plugging away.
It´s possible I heart you with this question, I don´t know, but what´s your relation wit SJ? Do you talk some time with him, or not? By email or any channel?
What do you think he thinks about this, I mean Apple in what part is?
Diego – Our relationship was limited to business.
First of all, the link you provided was fantastic and completely relevant to this whole AACS thing. Second: A boycott is a great idea from a moral perspective, however I strongly doubt that it can gain the necessary traction to cause the industry to change its ways. We live in an overly litigous society, however I think this has a legitimate basis for a class-action lawsuit. Proactive and retroactive circumvention of Fair Use by the entertainment industry is making an entire generation of existing — and very expensive — consumer electronics obsolete represents a clear financial loss to the consumer and gain for the industry. This is an issue that the Supreme Court (where such a suit would almost definitely end up) would have to take seriously.
OK, I had this little doubt, thanks for answer, Mike.
I am with Mark, like IBM first, AT&T later, and now Microsoft who is always under investigation, Federal Trade Commission you´ve got at States, (they will to say something about this) together with class-actions lawsuit do I don´t worry in excess.
By the way, do you know something about lawsuit agains Apple due the earphones volume? It´s hilarious.
In Spain yesterday SGAE, Spanish Authors General Society demand Apple too, trying to take its part in the market, trying impose a new canon for each Ipod sold, trying to compare with French. In my country all prizes raise, but our wages, if I had to make boycott for all I shoudn´t buy anything.
Mike, just out of curiosity, what kind of visitor counts are we talking here? Because unless you’re on an ancient server (Pentium 1 era) or are talking 500.000 visitors, there’s really not much you have to worry about.