drewmack.com - Latest Comments

Re: Why Coasters Should Go To #mesh09

Drew — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:48:30 -0000

That explains the awesomeness then!

Re: Why Coasters Should Go To #mesh09

Stuart MacDonald — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:31:25 -0000

Dude, I'm from Halifax. Just sayin' :)

Re: New Oldish Blog

Jill — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:06:19 -0000

It's gorgeous! Just like you!

Re: Are Newspapers Being Killed by Accountability?

Jamie Cranford — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:24:37 -0000

I cannot see the newspaper industry rebounding - the internet has taken over and readership will continue to dwindle. I have gone from 7 days a week subscription to 0. Why? Because the newspaper is old news now, the internet provides us with up-to-the-minute updates, something the papers cannot.

As an advertiser I see no value in newspaper advertising. The average person spends more time on Facebook that reading a newspaper, so that is where my advertising dollars will go.

Re: CRTC Brings a Fork to a Knife Fight

Serge — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:09:48 -0000

Generally the ability to create great web content is a function of creative talent and not production budget.

Exactly! Cut all funding to the CBC. We no longer need to pay directors, screenwriters, camerapeople, video editors, and so on. Now any kid in his basement can write, produce, and edit webisodes. "24" may have been backed by major Hollywood studios which invested millions in it. But the next "24" could well be produced on no budget, with no paid actors, as a part time hobby. And be even better!

End funding. Let market forces rule. Production has no cost anymore.

Re: CRTC Brings a Fork to a Knife Fight

Drew — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:12:47 -0000

We're already funding the CBC, getting rid of content restrictions on every network while continuing to support the CBC doesn't have to be difficult. I don't count Canadian Idol as being a good way of preserving Canadian culture, but it counts as part of CTV's requirement. This whole thing is ridiculous and needlessly protectionist and bureaucratic.

CBC can survive (and probably even thrive) as a niche provider of news, sports and Canadian content without regulations forcing its competitors to also provide token Canadian content.

There's no way for the CRTC to regulate quality, so it shouldn't be regulating quantity.

Re: CRTC Brings a Fork to a Knife Fight

Derek Hatchard — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:29:01 -0000

Generally the ability to create great web content is a function of creative talent and not production budget. My fear is that the fund would produce mediocre content just barely palatable for Canadians and globally irrelevant.

On the other hand, I appreciate Canadian content. Not jokes about moose, toques, poutine, and 'eh' but the good stuff. I am a huge fan of CBC, especially CBC Radio. Q, The Point, The Vinyl Cafe, and The Age of Persuasion are gems of Can-con. And the first 3 in particular are wonderfully Canadian. And I'm not at all convinced that any of them would exist without government funds.

Currently the CBC has many shows available as podcasts, downloads, or streams. And there's Q TV which is distributed via YouTube. So there are some examples of well done, government funded web content. But I don't think that's what is imagined with this tax.

There are two types of Canadian content: content for Canadians and content by Canadians for the world. I am in favour of using some public funds to support content for Canadians but the CRTC is the last place I would entrust it to. And a tax on Internet service is a terrible way to collect the money. We should be striving to make it EASIER for people to get online, to create a more connected nation. This kind of tax is hardest on low income earners and the unemployed - people who potentially stand to gain the most from participating online.

(Stephen Harper should create the Ministry of Awesomeness to do this kind of thing and fund it with rounding errors from oil sands projects. Now there's an idea for ya!)

As for content by Canadians for the world, that should be treated far more like a business venture. It's risky and easy money won't inspire artists to take the risks necesary to stand out. Paper pushers in some CRTC office certainly won't have any clue as to what ideas
are truly worth funding. Committees and regulations will only let the mundane, uninteresting, and cookie cutter ideas survive.

Some publicly funded Canadian content is good, but the CRTC is the wrong body and a tax on Internet service is the wrong way to fund it.

(BTW, isn't Legend of Neil backed by a major cable company?)

Re: Embedding Strict XHTML blip.tv Videos

kyrios — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:17:28 -0000

Very helpful article. Thanks a lot for sharing your mail conversation.

Re: Are Newspapers Being Killed by Accountability?

Drew — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:23:28 -0000

Years ago people looked to newspapers as their primary source for trusted information. Now they turn to the internet including sites like Wikipedia and Google.

At the same time, newspaper journalism has become more partisan and sensationalist.

The public has already abandoned newspapers for these reasons and more. Now, advertisers are as well. The fact that newspapers have no accountability for the prices they charge is an accelerant.

Re: Are Newspapers Being Killed by Accountability?

Mike — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:32:01 -0000

Well Drew as both a reader and advertiser I can see this from both sides.

First as a reader I enjoy the physical aspect of leafing through the paper. The problem with that is just that, I leaf through the paper. Scanning headlines looking for something interesting does not do well for advertisers nor the environment. Of the total paper I may read 3-5 stories and the comics each day. To be honest if not for the comics I probably would cancel it.

As an advertiser I can comment that I have had people respond directly to our advertising as well as mentioning that they read about this news or that news about PropertyGuys.com after they have appeared in the paper. The issue is the costs. To place an ad in our local daily it costs us about $2,000 and there is no way to measure it. Advertising on Facebook (as an example) costs me as little as $10 a week and only charges me when people actually click through to my website.

For $2,000 taken from a one time spend in the paper I can reach and pin-point my audience on specific websites with a large reach and multiple views giving me the ultimate for advertising (salience and repetition).

Seems like I just talked myself out of any further ads in the paper.....

Re: My Favourite iPhone Apps So Far

Drew — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:22:30 -0000

Hmmm I checked out Vringo but couldn't get it to work properly I don't think. Looked like it had been disconnected from Facebook.

Re: My Favourite iPhone Apps So Far

Shannon — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:40:28 -0000

Good choices! I like all these too although i do not have the Ocarina - the first time i saw it done i almost pissed myself with gutteral laughter.

Another free app i like is Vringo which matches up your contact list with your Facebook friends and syncs the profile pictures.

Re: 2008 In Wordle

Drew — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:37:22 -0000

We don't have to hug or anything do we?

Re: 2008 In Wordle

Mike Shanks — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:42:10 -0000

You know, we may just get along.....

Re: How to Kill a Popular Web Show

Drew — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:50:49 -0000

Absolutely Josh. I agree. I think if I had to break down this wordy post to just a sentence it would be:

Don't cut yourself off from the community that made you popular, just because another community offers you money.

YouTube is a huge community but there are plenty of other smaller niche video platforms also supporting great shows.

Re: How to Kill a Popular Web Show

Josh Cohen — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:41:05 -0000

Hey Andrew - Great post. In terms of where to post your content, I think it depends on a few things.

If you're looking for pure exposure, then definitely try to be anywhere and everywhere. But if you want to really invest in your community, I'd suggest only making your show available in a few places where you can really invest some time.

Also, money's an issue. Mr. Deity and The Guild are getting (presumably) good deals from being exclusive to those sites (or at least an exclusive window).

It's important for content producers to maintain control of their brand and get the show out to as many potential viewers as possible, but it's also good when they get paid. :)

Re: How to Get Rid of the YouTube Search Bar

Drew — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:39:16 -0000

Happy to help. Take that YouTube.

Re: How to Get Rid of the YouTube Search Bar

Blaise Alleyne — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:37:35 -0000

Thanks!

Re: How to Get Rid of the YouTube Search Bar

nathan — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:11:41 -0000

Thanks. This is a big inconvenience more millions of people. I can't imagine why youtube, aka google, would do something like this.

Thanks for the code.

Re: The Real Secret to SEO

Drew — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:21:16 -0000

Ironically those SEO "experts" will find me via a search engine so it's in their best interest not to comment here because it would prove my point further :)

Re: The Real Secret to SEO

Rich Gould — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:11:38 -0000

OOOOOH. Controversial. I like it! You're absolutely right tho.

Just watch your back... lots of SEO "experts" out there are gonna be pissed you called them out.

Re: Landlord Who?

Drew — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:33:21 -0000

I've ran into several people who have said that they've had him as a landlord in Halifax. I'm pretty sure that Hal was one of them. It wouldn't be the first (or last time) that Media In Canada got a detail in a story mixed up.

Re: Landlord Who?

Chris — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 10:11:29 -0000

Sorry to say he's not real.

"was created to showcase three hilariously over-the-top vignettes about a fictitious landlord named Lou"

http://www.mediaincanada.co...

Re: Needs a Penis Joke

Drew — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:39:00 -0000

Thanks Phil! I will think of you and your team the next time I am wasted with friends.

Re: Needs a Penis Joke

Phil Swinney — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:04:31 -0000

Hey Drew,

Just to clarify on the purpose of the Facebook group and its effectiveness in the campaign. During the month of September 46% of the site's traffic was referred from the Facebook group. The biggest spikes in video views occur when we giveaway a prize. Our primary objective in the early stages of the campaign was to drive people to the site. The Facebook group surpassed our expectations in this category. In my opinion it was a very successful way of creating a list of viewers in the target demographic.

With regards to the dysfunctional junk, believe me we thought about it!