Tor has put together a teachers’ guide for FOR THE WIN, Q&A and supplementary material to make it easy to put together lesson-plans based on the book. It covers issues related to economics, justice, gaming, and global culture.
My latest Guardian column, “Viacom v YouTube is a microcosm of the entertainment industry,” examines the way that copyright law has encouraged Viacm to stop making and promoting programs in favor of making lawsuits:
Could it be that Viacom is suing YouTube for depriving it of revenue by allowing short clips from its properties to be viewed online, even as its production people are desperately trying to get as much of their video as possible on to YouTube?
I don’t think it would be that hard to understand.
What if Viacom’s frontline production people and even its mid-level execs have a theory about how to maximize shareholder value: they will produce things, make them well known, and stick ads on them to gain profits? They will seek out every conceivable opportunity to make their productions well-known, because though it may be hard to make money from popularity, it’s impossible to make money from obscurity.
What if Viacom’s senior execs have a different theory about how to maximize shareholder value: they will move against YouTube and other tech companies, using legal threats to extract maximum cash, even if this comes at the expense of popularity and income to the things that the company produces?
So if Levine is right, Viacom has two factions: one that wants to create and profit from television; and another that wants to create and profit from lawsuits.
Viacom v YouTube is a microcosm of the entertainment industry
Jeannie Harrell, a student at Emerson College, was assigned to create a book jacket and interior for a course on book design. Because my novel Little Brother is available under a Creative Commons license, she was able to grab the text and do a new interior, as well as designing and publishing her own (outstanding!) cover. I really like what she came up with. Even if CC didn’t sell more books for me (which it seems to be doing!), I’d still use the licenses, because this kind of thing really, really makes me happy.
Choose Privacy Week Video from 20K Films on Vimeo.
The American Library Association’s “Choose Privacy” week kicks off with a ~20 minute video featuring writers and thinkers talking about the value of privacy in simple, accessible, thought-provoking terms. Included are me, Neil Gaiman, and many others. Produced by Laura Zinger and 20K films, it’s a really fine little introduction to subject from the towering heroes of the information revolution: the librarians.
Choose Privacy Week Video from 20K Films on Vimeo.
The American Library Association’s “Choose Privacy” week kicks off with a ~20 minute video featuring writers and thinkers talking about the value of privacy in simple, accessible, thought-provoking terms. Included are me, Neil Gaiman, and many others. Produced by Laura Zinger and 20K films, it’s a really fine little introduction to subject from the towering heroes of the information revolution: the librarians.
Hey, Londoners! I’m giving a talk on May 8 at 7PM at the Nettlefold Hall in West Norwood (SE27). The library there has asked me to come in and talk about how I use technology to write and publish my work. It’s free, but seats are limited, so they’re asking you to RSVP. Hope to see you there!
Review:
Booklist review
Doctorow is indispensable. It’s hard to imagine any other author taking on youth and technology with such passion, intelligence, and understanding.
Once again Doctorow has taken denigrated youth behavior (this time, gaming) and recast it into something heroic. He can’t resist occasional lecture—sometimes breaking away from the plot to do so—but thankfully his lessons are riveting. With its eye-opening humanity and revolutionary zeal, this ambitious epic is well worth the considerable challenge.
Daniel Kraus, Booklist
Hey, Bostonians! Reminder that I’ll be at the Harvard Coop bookstore in Cambridge tonight from 1900h-2000h. I’ll be signing books and reading a little from my next one, *For the Win*. Hope to see you!
Kotaku’s Brian Ashcraft followed up last week’s interview about my upcoming novel FOR THE WIN with this piece on the China-zation of gold farming:
According to Doctorow, gold farming is viewed as somewhat of a get rich quick scheme. The idea of getting ten gamers in a room and having them play through some MMO gives the illusion of fast and easy cash. A lot of these fly-by-night, start-up gold farms don’t make it as business acumen and an expansive network (see above) is needed to make the enterprise work. Doctorow notes that in 2008, many gold farms were being set up in rural parts of China, because all that is needed are computers and an internet connection.
One reason online game companies have players play on different servers is to cutdown on things like gold farming; however, Doctorow points out that game companies, in a way, do need gold farming. Over time the game gets harder and harder in order to challenge experienced players. The example Doctorow gives is that, say, a wife has been playing a game for two years. Her noob husband wouldn’t be able to play with her per se.
Review:
Kotaku Review
Forget Doctorow’s outspoken politics, this guy can tell a story. The pacing keeps things moving, and for a book about unions (and virtual unions at that!), it zips by page after page. What really makes the book work is that so much of the action is externalized in the real world. They don’t just battle with keyboards, but with their fists. The stakes are high, and there is so much more to win and lose — it’s not just video game lives they are fighting for, but their very own existence! And since they are fighting against such brutal conditions, organizing and striking can cost them not just their livelihoods, but their lives. There are the occasional sidetracks Doctorow takes to explain things like gold farming, virtual economics and even inflation and deflation. While interesting, these were not my favorite parts of the book. I kept wanting to get back to the story and the characters.
