By Justin Sanders
Images courtesy of The Brothers Buoy. So, you want to be an Instagram influencer… First of all, you’re not alone. In a recent study of Americans age 13 to 38, 86% of participants professed to a willingness to post sponsored content on Instagram for money. And 54% would be happy to become... Read more
Consider the word “use.” It can mean both to “take, hold, or deploy (something) as a means of accomplishing a purpose” or to “exploit (a person or situation) for one’s own advantage.” There’s a latent hostility to the word “use” (use drugs, use other people, use up your remaining karma),... Read more
With streaming entrenched as the dominant form of video consumption online, it’s easy to forget that piracy via the illegal downloading of actual files (AKA the old-fashioned way), remains alive and well. In fact, according to digital piracy data firm MUSO, torrent-based digital theft makes up around 20 percent of all... Read more
By Justin Sanders
Let’s be clear – it’s difficult to make a living in any creative pursuit. However, it’s especially difficult to make a living as an author. Say you have the temerity to actually, against all odds, write a book – which, for most people, takes years of toil and strife. Now, you actually have to... Read more
By Justin Sanders
Think of the last time you went on a ride, or strolled through a museum exhibition, or visited an aquarium, zoo, or some other location that was built to be interacted with. You probably remember the way the experience made you feel – thrilled perhaps, or intrigued, or delighted, or bored. But... Read more
By Ruth Vitale
Here’s a direct plea to Google and Facebook. For too long, you’ve dragged your feet on harmful online conduct. It’s obvious that you don’t feel there are sufficient incentives (financial, legal, or PR) to make the systemic changes necessary to stop the spew of hate speech, fake news, foreign election meddling,... Read more
By Mark Leibowitz
Originally published in Morning Consult. Image by Todd M. LeMieux. As a commercial photographer and director, I’ve had the opportunity to shoot all over the world for the world’s largest companies. I love my job, and the travel, but sometimes I wish my photos didn’t travel quite so well. The... Read more
By Ruth Vitale
“To take from an artist is to take greatness from this world.” So says Matthew Cuban in the following video from a group of Los Angeles street poets about copyright and its importance to creativity and innovation in America. We are thrilled to partner with Macmillan Learning and a group... Read more
Advice for mainstream publications writing articles about streaming piracy: It is a crime. Treat it as such. It is a crime that impacts millions of creative livelihoods. Acknowledge them. Did we mention that it is a crime? Maybe don’t implicitly endorse it? On Monday, December 16, 2019, one of the... Read more
By Justin Sanders
“Black Belts vs. Pirates” is the last of our three-part series about what it takes to build a successful content platform in the age of streaming piracy. In Part 1, “The Black Belt,” we dug into the life and times of entrepreneur Jimmy Kane, and learned how a grainy YouTube... Read more