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Unless you’ve been under a rock today, two things are being talked about online. First, it’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day, so ’tis a fine day to bring out ye ol’ grog and get yer yarrrr on.

Secondly, the Netflix CEO made another blog post about the direction of their company and the internets are on fire…again. The post explains a lot, but let me give you the Cliff Notes version. Strategically, they want to split the streaming business and their DVD delivery business. They want to do this so they can focus their efforts and expand their offerings on each side with more streaming options on one side and adding video games and other items to their DVD side. The CEO apologizes for not communicating enough to his customers the strategy they had to pursue.

Apparently that wasn’t enough for raging internet users. “Screw you”, the users scream. They complain about a company out of touch with its users. They complain about the price increase. They complain that there will be two queues they’ll need to check. They’re also horribly misinformed about why this is happening.

Yup, most people failed to see that this summer, studios decided they were going to squeeze Netflix. God forbid that Netflix had found a profitable avenue the studios hadn’t forecast in some executive back-patting meeting. When they were the only game in town, the studios let them have access to their catalogs for probably less than they were worth, but still not cheap at five to ten million dollars per year. All of those contracts cost Netflix $180 million a year.

Those contracts are expiring and instead of renegotiating for something that makes more sense, in 2012, those contracts are going to increase to $1.98 billion dollars. That’s a ten fold increase. So what did Netflix do? Their hands were forced to impose a 60% increase on the lowest plans, splitting the old $9.99 for one DVD and unlimited streaming. Now if you wanted streaming only or one DVD at a time, it would cost $7.99. If you wanted both, it would cost $15.98. Customers howled that they had to pay an extra six bucks a month. “How dare they!” the customers shouted. A bunch of people cancelled their accounts and the stock plunged.

But it’s not like the CEO can come out and say “the studios are screwing us” because it’s bad business to mention that your suppliers are being jerks. That would truly be killing off their business because then the studios take the proverbial high road and not offer contracts to Netflix and effectively killing them anyway.

Splitting the business is the only avenue left to Netflix. The DVD business is fading and is competing with vendor machine businesses like Redbox. The DVD side can still deliver a huge catalog of films, but it can do so with a different contract strategy. This is just a guess, but adding streaming was complicating these contracts. Now, the DVD side named Qwikster (not a great name really, but who cares) can concentrate their efforts in DVD delivery and add things like video games to the mix. Netflix will be the streaming company and can focus it’s efforts in that direction.

The problem is that if Netflix fails, the studios win. Consumers can expect their outsized pricing on everything. It’s truly baffling to me to see on my PS3 that I can “rent” a movie for $2.99 and someone considers that a good deal. But that’s the price point that Sony decided they can best squeeze their customers. If Netflix fails, prepare for two things to happen. Amazon further fills this void and becomes more and more the arbiter of all things internet. Secondly, even if the studios reduce their pricing to something more palatable, you’re not going to get a wide variety of movies, just the stuff they studio can provide. The offerings get more segmented and convoluted. And get ready to see more and more unskippable commercials.

If Netflix fails, it’s partially because the studios put a gun to their head, but mostly because people balk at paying sixteen dollars a month for a DVD and streaming movie service.

No posts lately. Been busy at das Einfamilienhaus Boerger (probably just slaughtered that translation) which has meant little time for the blog. Good news is that I’m actually writing more often, just not on the blog.

But I do have stuff coming up, once I can shoehorn some time to get it published on the blog. It’s rather game centric. I looked at why Earthrise has some big problems. I have written down my thoughts on a great game from 2007 called Batman: Arkham Asylum. Just need to capture some screenshots and it’s good to go. I’d like to post up some thoughts on the indie hit Minecraft.

Also, just out this week was Portal 2. I may do a couple of posts on this as it’s so far a really good game. Expect a first impressions blog sometime soon.

I promised my mom I’d have something special on the blog tonight. Here it is without further comment.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMaMA_O0RFI

This week I’ve seen not one, but two separate articles about authors who went the self publishing route through digital channels and have made it big. These are people who publish e-books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other sites which sell electronic books. These novels are often sold for under $2.99 and sometimes as low as $0.99. For every sale, the author gets roughly 30%.

To the few authors who have managed to do this and sell hundreds of thousands of books, congratulations. You’ve written something the public is interested in reading and are reaping the rewards for your talent.

For those authors thinking of doing the same, hang on a sec. Let’s talk.

Before you start dreaming about the millions of dollars that you will rake in by providing your words to thousands of people for mere pennies, I’d like you to take a look at various websites like Amazon and the digital offerings on Barnes and Noble. Take a good steamy gawk at all of the books offered for $0.99 cents. There’s a handful there of some authors who have multiple books and they are selling well. Now please look at all of the other $0.99 offerings. There’s a lot of them, trust me. They likely don’t sell as well.

Welcome to the 21st century’s version of pulp writing. Much like the golden age of pulp, a couple of writers have sold a lot of books and are doing quite well; however, those books are just a couple drops in a sea of other offerings that are lucky to sell even a fraction of the number. When you buy an  e-book for $0.99, there’s no guarantee of quality, no promise that an editor has even glanced at it, no assurances that the thing is even properly typeset in a font that doesn’t hurt your eyes.

The people who sell well, they are the outliers, the one’s who have ultimately beaten the traditional way of selling a book. They surely accomplished it through working hard, clever marketing, and maybe knowing the right people. They also had a heaping helping of luck and/or being at the right place at the right time. In terms of luck, it’s a lot like traditional publishing.

I’ve seen the people who champion these success stories as underdogs who beat the system and avoided the evil publishing giants, those dastardly people who likely take home all of the profits of the books they sell and stuff their beds with rolls of money, sleeping soundly on the hard work of the authors slaving away at their dead end word factory. No, those people are probably thinking of James Frey (this one, not that one). Are there disreputable publishing houses out there? Yes, but with the right market research, you can avoid them. But what can a publisher do for an author?

How about editing for one. No matter how good an editor you think you are of your own work, there’s still a bit of blindness about your writing. For example, I had a small excerpt run through a workshop which I knew needed work but I thought had solid bones to build the story. The very first comment on the story pointed out a massive logical flaw. I was completely blind to it, even though I revised it a couple of times and even read it aloud to see if I could catch anything. Still, I missed this major problem which made no sense in the timeline of the story. Having a good eye catch it was absolute gold to me. But what if I tried to publish it without anyone looking at it? I’ve seen my drafts and I’m not comfortable with having utter shit published, especially when it’s mine. Having an editor is critical.

Other advantages are the things I listed earlier: typesetting, promotion, cover work/art, other things that go into a book which are done by a professional trained for that sort of thing. On a published book, yes the publisher takes their profit, but other people get paid along the way too, not just the writer. It’s not a blind money grab by them and there’s enough competition on all levels of the business to insist on high quality. I’ve seen a few self published books and I can sum nearly all of them up this way; really good idea, shame there wasn’t more editing and it would have been nice if it were typeset properly.

If this hasn’t convinced you to slow down and rethink the whole self publishing thing, I wish you luck. I hope you are as successful as the top people in the field.

Hi folks. Long time, no blog. Again, there’s a reason for that.

You’d have to be living under a rock lately to not realize that a lot of shit has been happening in the last couple of months. Personal stuff. Big stuff. Newsworthy stuff. A bunch of stuff that really gets my blood pressure up.

And there’s the problem. It’s difficult for me to be writing about games I like (Minecraft, EVE) and games I had a hard time liking (Earthrise), babbling on about my struggles writing, chatting about the lattes I make when there’s serious events happening in my life and in the world itself.

Part of me wants to write those little fluff pieces anyway. Part of me wants to rage against the world I’m seeing unfold before me. In the end, my mind poses the question “there’s so many issues out there that need addressing, serious issues and you’re going to write about what exactly?”

I don’t fool myself. I don’t have a large audience. February was an emotionally brutal month, March isn’t looking that much better and beyond some cathartic relief, I’m not sure what I can accomplish by wailing against the wall, yelling at cyberspace for someone to listen. The largest drivers I’ve had to the site have been where I said I don’t like something rather than the positive articles.

So I freeze. I completely lock up shop and take a hiatus without word one to anyone who might be watching the site. I’ve never quite been sure that I want this site to be just an online diary, I’d like it to be something more. What that is, I’m not sure. I don’t want it to be where I log on and bitch about stuff I don’t like, because who is that helping?

If you’ve read this far, it may sound like I’m stepping back. I’m not. I had to get this off my chest to get back to blogging. Somehow, I realized today that this small corner of the net is my voice and either I have to keep on doing my thing or pick up the soapbox and head home…and I’m not ready to head home yet.

Was this a bit of a diary entry? Maybe. But that’s what you’re going to get sometimes. It’s just who I am.

So the Grammy Awards were Sunday. I didn’t watch them (y’know, no TV and all) but I heard about everyone going all aflutter yesterday about the winners. Arcade Fire winning album of the year? Yes, please. I’m not a massive fan of theirs, but I do like their sound. I’m also glad that they beat some other, much bigger names out there. It’s not because I traditionally root for the underdog, but in this case, I just like their sound much better than Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Eminem or Lady Antebellum.

Also, Bieberites were up in arms their little manufactured teen dream lost to Esperanza Spalding. Here’s the thing with best new artist…Bieber is lucky to be in the category as the other nominees are supremely more talented than he is. Spalding herself is an amazing talent. I had not heard of her before the Grammys, but I’ve seen a few clips since then and I am just blown away. I’m flabbergasted that not only a jazz player/singer was nominated but won the category. Justin Bieber winning the category would have been a huge mistake, a snub of some very talented people.

Here’s a clip of Esperanza Spalding. She’s really, really good.

Our friend, John Brian, died this morning. J.B. was one of my wife’s closest friends, one who was a Kleiss family friend and a man she knew for many years.

I can really only speak from the short time I knew him, but I miss him dearly. On a recent post I made, he commented about the priorities in my life and to not let things get me down. He had a way of doing that, even when he didn’t say anything, a way of letting people know that life is meant for living and not getting down about the insignificant details.

When Melanie and I first started seeing each other, J.B. was so supportive, so fun, I was very glad that we soon became friends. We shared a lot of the same interests: video games, board games, similar TV shows we liked…and we both loved Melanie. At that time, he was a cancer survivor. When Melanie and I moved away, on our visits back to the city, we always took time to visit J.B. and Jason.

But the cancer came back. J.B. fought it, God did he fight. It was different this time and the cancer spread and metasized. In the end, it was too much for his body to handle. Too short a life for someone like J.B.

In selfish way, I’m not posting this to eulogize him, but trying to get my own feelings in order. Life is so quick, I’m not sure any of us are prepared for when people you love move from our present to our memories.

J.B. knew this day would come. Indeed, he urged on his website for friends and family to not waste time.

Family and friends do not take for granted my presence here, it will not last. I will go with a seasonal change in the winds, and then the full moon will shine down only upon the ashes that once bore my smile. I say this not to invoke tears or to be cruel, but to wake you from any illusion you may have that I will succeed in my struggle for years and years in this rapidly weakening shell. Pay attention. Coming winds may catch you off guard.

On this day, the wind is an agreeable northern breeze, so subtle you wouldn’t notice it unless you were outside for too long and felt the gentle sting on your cheek. It’s a typical cold February day, and for the first time in the past weeks, the sun shines bright on a cloudless day. J.B. was right, I was caught by surprise by his passing. J.B. in his wisdom would remind me to not dwell on this, but celebrate the life we have with the people we love.

My wife arrived home and started sharing stories about J.B. Good, funny stories, ones that had big belly laughs. I think he would appreciate the fact what we’re reflecting on are not the last days, but the wonderful shared times.

God speed, John Brian.