Sunday, May 03, 2015

This Week in EID - Episode 52



The papers on the EID site this week covered some interesting topics.

On Innovation Monday, I discussed a few new ways that were suggested to fund the news industry.  Clearly, something needs to be done.  Music found streaming and app stores.  What is in the future for the news? The public radio model?  Foundations? Banner ads? Subscriptions? All of the above?

On Tuesday I covered the idea of upcycling. I love this one because it is largely about making high end product out of what would otherwise be waste.  As a freeganist, I can really appreciate the idea of making something from nothing.

On Wednesday we shameless plugged the Ergo-X conference.  It is a great conference so it deserves our praise.  It is also part of the HFES family, so we want it to be successful.

But my favorite topic was Thursday’s article on getting around the broadcasters to get Netflix content in New Zealand.  Unlike here in the US, the NZ broadcasters cut a deal with Netflix to include it in their offerings rather than direct subscriptions through the web.  I am a cord cutter so philosophically, I think the deal sucks.  Normally I am against loopholes on principle.  So my principles conflict on this one. Since I have a problem with the extortionist business practices of the telecom monopolies, I definitely like this exception.

No comments: