This article represents some thoughts on how copy-left and permissive licences create value. It uses the story of Bioware and it’s use of the D&D™ and Forgotten Realms™ games & mythos as an example. There are two recent news items that make this current: that the community repository for Neverwinter Nights has just shut, and that Wizards of the Coast have just released Dungeons & Dragons V5 rules as a free to use .pdf, a small but significant step to a freemium business model. The story shows how an initially traditional author-publisher business model, leveraged a pre-made community, grew it and latterly enabled it. The point of this story is the way in which community and value grew, becoming significant author contributors and the way in which Bioware responded and learnt although some might say not as quickly or as generously as they might. …
Make it something interesting for a change
Is the Cluetrain Manifesto, “a spectre haunting the Internet?” Some of it is very funny, some of it bloody obvious. Its only the retards that thought the ’80s would last forever and that Gordon Gecko was a philosopher that will find some of this hard or revolutionary – the fact it’s all in one place is very good though, and its clearly written in a language that “entrepreneurs” can get! …
Back to the day job! Disruption & Optimisation
Been to Betfair and one of Accenture’s project teams recently, and following sensible advice from colleagues, while I can’t reflect what they said, I can repeat what I said, or observed. …
Cluetrain Manifesto
My copy of the Cluetrain Manifesto arrived last Friday, I’m about half way through. I bought a copy because when considering whether to start a blog last summer, Danese Cooper, recommended it as the best source to understand how and why Sun (and other employers) need us to do this, and why we should. I’ve not finished yet but some of the basics are spot on as far as I’m concerned, and often written in a direct & funny fashion. Best finish it before I say more. …
Blogs, Ally or Adversary
There is a bit of storm about blogging going on at the moment. Tim Bray started it here, with a sharp manifesto for its goodness, but you may have missed Claire Giordano’s contribution, which apart from making the business argument, lists a bunch of links from both the blogosphere and more traditional media outlets and usefully checkpoints the debate. In summary, businesses that want to tell the truth, benefit from authentic knowledgeable spokespeople. …