will the last sailing journalist turn out the light

[Babylon]

Dylan

I wonder whether you'd met with the same digital myopia amongst the next generation if you'd given your talk at UCL or Kings or some other non-techie London college.

 

[dylanwinter]

I think so

Dylan

I wonder whether you'd met with the same digital myopia amongst the next generation if you'd given your talk at UCL or Kings or some other non-techie London college.

I am sure that it would be the same

although I am far from convinced that it is myopia

these kids are absorbing information at a fantastic rate


some things will be lost - others will be gained

in short digital freedom to copy anything is not a zero sum game even for the producers of content like me

but is is not just the way media is distributed and consumed that is changing

media is changing to suit the new world


this from Bilals email

Dear Dylan,

Thank you so very much for coming yesterday - it was really good to hear from you (and meet everyone you brought with you!). Shame we couldn't get the technical stuff sorted but everyone really enjoyed it. Can I pass on the ktl link and username/password you gave to me to the folk who came?



Interesting thoughts about copyright. I think those of us from sailing'ish families have PBO and YM but most of the people who learnt to sail with the club as undergraduates don't tend to know about it...I'll pass on the message from Peter to Louise, I think we have people who're interested.

The club really exists not just to sail as friends but also to introduce new people to sailing. Every year we take out at least 30-40 completely new people who've never sailed before...and convince them it's worth doing! Sailing has an image of being expensive and difficult to get into so that if you don't catch them during university we'll never get them! And Louise and the other commodores in the last few years have really turned the club around in terms of getting beginners into sailing.

Could I also have the set of DVD's? Is paypal okay to send you the money?


give away 20 free views and sell one dvd set

and two of them said they were going to buy some disks for their dads

works for me

D

 

[Lakesailor]

I think that online content is going to change so much (for the better) over the next few years that we'll wonder exactly why we bought magazines.

There are plenty of publishers failing but there are also plenty who are flourishing. Ad revenue is not the only way to make money online. I'm sure we're going to see some cool business models, even in the world of sailing!

D

The people who are miles ahead of the game in internet business models are the porn providers.
They are operating the equivalent of derivative markets and hedge funds with their traffic sales.

 

[prv]

The people who are miles ahead of the game in internet business models are the porn providers.

Well, I guess they have a head start in having been pretty much the first mass commercial (ie directly making money online) use of the Internet.

Pete

 

[Koeketiene]

The people who are miles ahead of the game in internet business models are the porn providers.
They are operating the equivalent of derivative markets and hedge funds with their traffic sales.

Judging by the time a box of tissues lasts at our place, my youngest has found a way to get that for free on the internet too.

 

[Lakesailor]

The porn providers have moved into paper pulp products as well

Actually, that is the amazing thing. They make money on trading traffic. Loads of content is available for nothing. It may be a virtual Ponzi scheme.

 

[timbartlett]

...However, if you want to see real pandering, read any of the reviews of boats and boat tests. Irrespective of what the journalists really think, they never say how horrible some boats are. Makes no sense when the boat builder has spent £2k to get the back cover....

Admittedy it is some years ago, now, but I did a review of a McGregor for a magazine.

As soon as it was published the phones started ringing and the emails came flooding in.

Some were from people accusing me of pandering to the advertisers by promoting a death trap.

Some were from people accusing me of pandering to the advertisers by slagging off the finest boat that had ever been created in order to prop up the ailing sales of inferior vessels.

None of them seemed to consider the possibility that maybe I had taken a long hard look at a boat which will suit some people but not others, in some waters but not others, and had written an honest review of its good and bad points.

 

[toad_oftoadhall]

Wow Toad, that's like amazing man, reeeeeeesssppeectt dude...

My proudest and most shameful moment in one event.

(only next time, keep your coat bottoned up, the flashing could land you in a spot of bother)

 

[dylanwinter]

classic

Admittedy it is some years ago, now, but I did a review of a McGregor for a magazine.

As soon as it was published the phones started ringing and the emails came flooding in.

Some were from people accusing me of pandering to the advertisers by promoting a death trap.

Some were from people accusing me of pandering to the advertisers by slagging off the finest boat that had ever been created in order to prop up the ailing sales of inferior vessels.

None of them seemed to consider the possibility that maybe I had taken a long hard look at a boat which will suit some people but not others, in some waters but not others, and had written an honest review of its good and bad points.

The Greeks and Romans were very keen on killing messengers

attacking hacks is a sport enjoyed by many people

including YBW forumites

but writing about macs was very brave as well

they do seem to arouse passions

I think one would be great for what I am doing

D

 

[Lakesailor]

I seem to remember that Car magazine (when James May was a columnist) lost the Fiat advertising after rubbishing a Fiat in a test.
Car didn't apologise or retract their comments.

 

[r_h]

I seem to remember that Car magazine (when James May was a columnist) lost the Fiat advertising after rubbishing a Fiat in a test.
Car didn't apologise or retract their comments.

That doesn't surprise me - the link between advertising and editorial is a lot more tenuous than many outside the industry assume.

A magazine with few readers will not be able to sell many adverts, nor charge a decent rate for them. Therefore, in the long term the most useful way in which the editorial team can help with maximising advertising revenue is by producing a magazine with a strong readership. Endless pandering to advertisers won't achieve that.

 

[Blueboatman]

Here is a different approach. http://www.practical-sailor.com/

 

[Gerry]

There is an interesting article here Dylan http://www.digitaltonto.com/2012/the-future-of-publishing/
no reason to think that the sailing comics can't be included in that too....

Maybe the outlook isn't as grim as you think!

 

[haydude]

Sadly they are probably doomed when my/our generation dies or forgets where their glasses are because the magazines will plain run out of readers.

[...]

Sadly getting their generation to pay for journalism, music making or storytelling of any sort is going to be an uphill struggle - not sure where that leaves me and the other sailing hacks.

Indeed! The publishing sector need to change, but fighting their customers like the entertainment sector is doing will only alienate them and thus accelerate the revolution process in course. Publishers do need to find different ways to make their activities sustainable or otherwise disappear.

On the other end there is the risk that this new attitude will eventually make unviable producing any form of entertainment or publication.

I could foresee a day when writers, singers and actors will work for Google for a monthly salary as everyone else just to provide the Internet search engine Empire with something to search for, to make sense of their search engine and business.

 

[Boomshanka]

Another one bites the dust...

Users warned as RnBXclusive.com shut down by police

... and greeted with the following message:

 

[haydude]

Another one bites the dust...

Users warned as RnBXclusive.com shut down by police

... and greeted with the following message:

It feels a lot like the DARK AGES ...

 

[dylanwinter]

ths Spanish Inquisition

It feels a lot like the DARK AGES ...

despite the tough talking.....

too little.....

too late

all that will happen is that these sites will move abroadd where the Americans can't reach them.

I already work for google for free

in fact I give them £250 a year to allow me to use Google Earth pro

Having said that I have sent off five sets of KTL DVds today.

Dylan

 

[dk]

I have a confession.

I am a habitual reader of mags in the supermarket.

Yesterday there was an article in PBO I was interested in. I didn't really wanna buy the mag since I'd already bought an IPC title this month. I found to my amazement I had the brass neck to photograph the article to re-read later. With flash.

About sums it up! That's the reason specialist mags won't exist in the not so distant future. Can we all work for free? No, so what you'll end up with is Sailapaedia - the make it up as you go along online sailing mag.

What do you do for a living?

 

[dylanwinter]

Inevitable

I met a chap the other day who used the moral argument as a reason as to why copyright should be enforced

and he was dead right

but technology makes copying things cost free and, here is the clincher, impossible to police

so all journalism - written, spoken and filmed will be free at the point of delivery.

Any that exists will either be done for the love of it - by bloggers

or paid for purely by the advertising

advert blockers are chipping away at advertising revenue from the written word

listening to spoken audio is a dying art

In line adverts are currently hard to block

so I earn around 35 cents per thousand views

unsustainably small amount of revenue unless I can widen the audience

of course with copying so easy the only thing that is stopping people from copying my films is that there is not enough money in it to be worthwhile

But if I can persuade some of the people who have watched the films for free to buy DVDs for their technophobe dads then I am ahead.

What happens once their dads fall off their perches the market for bought DVds will die with them

then what.....

people do pay a lot of money for access to sky

Dylan

 

[Koeketiene]

so all journalism - written, spoken and filmed will be free at the point of delivery.

Any that exists will either be done for the love of it - by bloggers

or paid for purely by the advertising

You say that like you feel that's a bad thing