Morning Thoughts

Moving to Seattle, Catching Up, and Being Copied

Well, I've finally made my move here (to Seattle), and have been enjoying each day. I feel so relieved being away from the hell that is Las Vegas. I haven't been writing any blogs, nor in my journal for that matter - just been too busy. Coming up this next week:

• First on the list is the final part of my Hyperlocal series. This week I have received a few emails asking if or when I will post the last part of my Hyperlocal series. I'm going to work on that this weekend, and have it posted Monday or Tuesday. For the last part, I asked Shields Bialasik for his input on where he thinks Hyperlocal is going. He started Locals Guide, a Hyperlocal Media Machine in Ashland, Oregon - a truly hyperlocal community. The site is great, they have an accompanying magazine, and it continually gets better and better. 

• Web 2.0 is great, but companies aren't making much (if any) money in it. Everyone is jumping on the 2.0 bandwagon, but no one has come up with a viable formula for creating profits. 2.0 is cool, but Web 3.0 is what I'm more interested in. I'm hoping Justin Says will fit in with the 3.0 model. 

• Justin Says is my new startup, and the biggest reason for coming back to the Northwest. According to a few friends, there are some people trying to copy my idea and launch a business of their own both here and back in Las Vegas. Sounds fun, I can forward my business plan if needed.... More on this later.

Those are some of my upcoming posts, but today I'm doing work right now and for the next few weeks on Local Discount Cards, one of my companies. Currently, I help youth programs with fundraising opportunities that benefits the kids, local businesses, and the local community in general. The business has been going for nearly two years, and now I'm looking into the next stage of growth - working with corporations. The idea is still in its infancy, and I only have one client so far, but you need to start somewhere! I'm also looking for a web designer/developer to update my Discount Card website. I created the current one, which was a fun learning experience, but I'm looking for a professional now. If you know anyone, send them my way!

I need to get back to work, there are people out there that need my ideas!

- Justin

Grand Theft Auto IV Breaks All Entertainment Records

The Financial Times today reported that Grand Theft Auto IV has broken all entertainment records during its first week of sales, raking in about $500m. The previous record was for the release of Halo 3 at $300m for its opening week.

The game's US publisher, Take-Two Games, has been in talks with Electronic Arts over a $2bn EA buyout, which, like the Yahoo-Microsoft talks, have gone nowhere due to Take-Two's belief of EA undervaluing the company, which may change with the release of these numbers. But this isn't what most interests me about GTA's release. I'm more interested in what I've seen on the news about the game destroying kids' lives.

One Mean Executive

I came across this today and thought I would share it with everyone. The audio company Monster Cables has demanded that the Blue Jeans Cable company cease and desist selling, advertising, and basically anything that "violates the intellectual property rights" of Monster. In addition, Monster "insists" that all such products are recalled and all accounting records from these sales be turned over to Monster. I don't know much about audio cables, but they all seem to be pretty similar to me.

The beauty of all this is, Blue Jeans Cable's owner is a lawyer by trade, and judging by the name of his cable company, he is a pretty laid back guy. Not only did he post the official cease and desist letter on his website, he also released his response to Audioholics, an online A/V magazine for everyone to see (and pasted below). I found it pretty funny, but it's long. I say read the first 2-3 paragraphs, then the final 3. That will give you a good overview of the tone, as well as Mr. Denke. : (taken from an Audioholics blog)