@slim

Flashtopia: Going Digital

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:00:05 -0500

My belief is that in some years all DC Comics comic books will be available in Comixology. I know that for guys of my generation this can sound strange and sometime we tend to feel a little hurt of see our beloved #1 issues available for everybody.

This must be seen as an evolution where information can be accessed by anybody for a few bucks. It happened with music, it is happening with regular books (and newspapers) and will happen with comic books.

In a few years, many of the low-selling titles to be available digitally. Who knows how long it takes until all of the production of comics be available exclusively in digital media?

So, my advice to you is: Clear your mind and embark on this train while it is in the station. We cannot stop the progress.

Good advice.

"I think it’s important to have a good, hard failure when you’re young."

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:59:00 -0500

“I think it’s important to have a good, hard failure when you’re young.”

- Walt Disney

Photo

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:12:52 -0500

#tech

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:05:53 -0500

Paris Lemon

Just testing this out. I’m not MG Siegler, but I have a theory that the #tech editors, upon seeing the name “Paris Lemon”, instantly choose the post for viewing in the #tech tag category.

Let’s just see what happens.

Paris Lemon. MG Siegler. Test.

Digital Tip Jar.

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:00:05 -0500

(republished from Paperkeg)

I like to think of myself as a hip cat. I’m with it.

I use some pretty cool and nerdy apps. One of which is Instapaper. There are many like it these days, but this was the first I tried. Often, you’ll find yourself coming to an article you’d like to read, but would prefer to read it later, so I’d used Instapaper to save that URL, and I could read it later at my leisure. Not only that, but it would just save the text and get rid of all the crap. It makes it look like I’m reading an eBook, essentially.

I have a point here, don’t worry.

The developer of this app, Marco Arment, left Tumblr to make Instapaper his full time job. The app was $4, if I recall, so once I paid that, I didn’t really have to give him any more money. However, he created a subscription service. If you signed up, this fee allowed you to remove the ads from Instapaper’s website if you so chose while also giving him about $3 a month.

More than that, it gave you piece of mind that you were supporting Marco while he continued expanding his fantastic service. At one point, I even stopped using Instapaper as a daily, or even as weekly app, but I felt strongly enough that its development was worth my chipping in a few bucks a month to help out.

If your favorite comic book creator had a monthly or even tri-monthly subscription/donation system, would you sign up?

Let’s say the boys from Atomic Robo had a button on their sign marked “VIP”. That sets you up to pay them $3/month. You get emailed some cool sketches and maybe even some peeks at new covers.

Sure, you buy Atomic Robo each month, but feel like you want to do as much as you can so they can keep doing what they’re doing. Is it worth going above and beyond the cost of a monthly comic?

And on the other side, maybe you’re a guy that just pirated Atomic Robo V1-4. Maybe you want to send a little cheddar their way because you have some oddball reason of not wanting to pay full price for a creator-owned book.

This brings up a whole host of questions since comic books are obviously not the same as Instapaper. Mainly, pirates paying the creators straight out kind of skips offer Red 5 along with other junk I don’t really feel like expanding on.

However, paying for their monthly books and wanting to show direct appreciation with a sort of digital tip jar is kind of new, right?

I’m a guy that doesn’t often buy shirts, or even sketches at cons, so this kind of lazy digital tip jar appeals to me. Anything where I don’t have to get out of bed to support creators is A-OK in my book.

See, I told you I had a point. Maybe.

(This post was inspired in small part by PKW host, @JMStump.)

7th. (Taken with instagram)

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:06:00 -0500

7th. (Taken with instagram)

"I don’t read anyone consistently aside from Gruber. I see and read so much stuff that even..."

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:18:00 -0500

“I don’t read anyone consistently aside from Gruber. I see and read so much stuff that even with great engaging writers, there’s a sameness to much of their work that doesn’t interest me…until they really knock something out of the park, and then I’ll hear about from someone I follow on Twitter or Stellar.”

- Kottke on what writers he reads daily.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

His entire interview is pretty spot on as well with regards to ditching RSS. Aside from less time to dedicate to stand-alone reader, I find most stuff, if at all, via Twitter anymore.

Name 5 better X-Men comics. Stop, you can’t.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:06 -0500

Name 5 better X-Men comics.

Stop, you can’t.

My friends and I talked about Rob Liefeld, the books we’ve...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:01:35 -0500

My friends and I talked about Rob Liefeld, the books we’ve been reading, Gladstone’s, and your letters. Join us, won’t you?

Jake and I sat down via satellite with Sam Humphries to talk...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:58:05 -0500

Jake and I sat down via satellite with Sam Humphries to talk about creator-owned books Our Love is Real, Sacrifice, and John Carter!

There was some cursing, so I got creative with how to present that to our family friendly audience.

Drool. iPad-ready mixer from Behringer. Of course, you could...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:00:06 -0500

Drool.

iPad-ready mixer from Behringer.

Of course, you could go my route and use a USB attachment to connect to your iPad and record podcasts.

Snap. It’s this week’s comiXology podcast and just...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:47:00 -0500

Snap. It’s this week’s comiXology podcast and just 25 minutes long.

How Much of Tumblr is Spam?

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0500

Honestly?

The site I started with friends over at Paperkeg just crossed 7,000 followers.

Huzzah!

I know that 7,000 followers does not mean that 7,000 people will be willing to interact with you in any fashion. I mean, just look at the top Twitter users. When they post a photo to TwitPic, click on the photo to see how many views it has. Often, it does not correlate at all with how many followers they have. (That visible disconnect is solved now with Twitter using their own photo upload service.)

Even if you throw up some amazing post, it’s very rare that it would be Reblogged and then posted in that dopey Comics tag area and underneath Batman & Robin making out and then becoming popular.

However, you would think that something WOULD get Liked, or even Reblogged by at least a small fraction of that number, right?

We get many new followers a day on that page, and most accounts have some awful hyphenation in their name and just look plain fake.

When we do get reblogged, it’s more often than not a Tumblr page that has Reblogged 50 other posts in about 30 minutes. Is that Spam? Is it a 15 year old girl that we can still consider spam in the grand scheme of things?

I often read posts where Tumblr throws out stats about just how active their users are. Well, who gives a shit how active they are if it’s just one reblog circle-jerk of possible Spam accounts?

Wouldn’t that create the same inflated statistics?

Speaking of comics, my friends and I got together to chat about...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:22:00 -0500

Speaking of comics, my friends and I got together to chat about Jeff Lemire’s Old Dogs.

We had our dear friend Beth Corto in on this one.

The Evolution Of The New Marvel Comics Fan

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:42:37 -0500

The Evolution Of The New Marvel Comics Fan:

valerierosegallaher:

Me and my husband happened to sit next to a father and son at a restaurant the other day. The dad was reading comics on his iPad, and the 9-year-old boy was quite a fan of the X-Men. Here, in a nutshell, is the chain of events that led to both currently reading comics.

The father, a school-teacher, used to read comic books when he was a kid. You would think that it was he who introduced comics to his son. But no:

paperkeg: Hello! Let’s end the week on a high note, shall...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:04:26 -0500

paperkeg:

Hello!

Let’s end the week on a high note, shall we?

Monday we’ll be recording the hotly anticipated PK40 | LemireKeg with none other than special guest host @b_corto! (She’s a girl!)

We’ll be discussing Lost Dogs towards the end of the show. OMG IT SHOULD BE GOOD. Did I mention we’ll also be reading the first volume of Transmetropolitan for PK41? I just did, bro.

Will Jonesy be able to make it through the recording without making awkward sexual comments? Will Mark make it through two shows without becoming overtly bored? Will Dale find the time to read anything worthwhile?

Get your letters in, stat.

OK, so we’re recording it tonight, but still. Get your letters in if you want your name read LIVE on the show.

FailTube.

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:35:00 -0500

Is YouTube the biggest failure in media delivery history?

How many people use YouTube daily? It’s on iPhones, iPads, Androids, Xboxs, PS3s, Rokus, and whatever the hell else.

Why have they never made a major push for a rental service for movies like Xbox has with the Zune Marketplace or even iTunes? The YouTube app for 360 is better looking the then the damn website.

Everyone knows and uses YouTube. Why not rent movies from YouTube?

Edit: Yes, I know you can rent movies from YouTube. So, what movies have you rented on your Xbox YouTube app? Did you rent The Dark Knight and watch it on YouTube on your computer? Not happening.

Taken with Instagram at Son of Matthew’s House

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:46:54 -0500

Taken with Instagram at Son of Matthew’s House

Fucking do it.

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:09:25 -0500

I have immense respect for those that just do their own thing and create.

Be arrogant thinking you can do it better than others.

Make 2012 the year you go out there and just fucking do it.

Parallels

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:01:00 -0500

Parallels :

jeffrock:

There’s no technical reason that all movies can’t be delivered on their release date to your display device of choice. This is another case of the messenger getting in the way of the message. Movie theaters were invented because there was no other way to show movies. That problem has long been solved. The Megaplex only exists because people keep going there. You can enjoy a blockbuster summer movie just as much (probably more) in the comfort of your own home in just a few short months from its release. If enough of us make that decision the industry will get the message and close the gap, just like they always do.

You shouldn’t have to go to the movies. They should have to come to you.