An interesting piece about how tiering is going the way of the dodo since it's a much too simplistic way of looking at pigeon-holing people and their needs/wants.

frog Design Mind - Gizmodo

The reviews for Memoirs of a Geisha are rolling in. The movie seems to be visually stunning, but devoid of any soul due to Hollywood's narrow world view and stereotypes of Asians in general. And then I find this load of Geisha crap. Talk about milking the Japanese cow for all that it is worth (and to no benefit of the Japanese farmers no less).

Of course, we'll most likeley see the movie. It was one of Hongyun's first English language books that she's read (twice now I think). I also have read and enjoyed the book, but now, I only fear the worst since the original story has been treated with such little respect by the Hollywood machine eager to make a buck in light of their profits sagging a couple percent lower (the industry is still a multi-billion dollar one so I'm not sure what they're crying about).

dodoskido says...

Some of you may know that I've been pining for my own Quizno's or restaurant franchise of some sort, but lack the necessary funds to light that fire. Anyway, here's a tidbit to aid me on my quest for sandwichy goodness

Originally from Business Opportunities Weblog...

MSNBC:

When evaluating restaurant franchises, you must focus on the characteristics of the business from a franchisee's perspective to determine whether this industry is the right one for you. There are some wonderful advantages to having a food business, but there are also some challenges you need to be aware of before proceeding in this industry.

od business, the main advantages are typically considered to be:

• Built-in Demand
• Ease in Financing
• Track Record of Success
• Prestige
• High Initial Investment
• Zoning and Code Compliance
• Labor Challenges
• Relatively Low Margins
• Relatively Low Margins

Read more.

dodoskido says:

An interesting read on the Long Tail and how it's bringing an end to the the stranglehold content distributors and filters (think: RIAA) have on our ability to entertain ourselves (get your mind out of the gutter).

Originally from game girl advance...

Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, wrote an article called "The Long Tail" for the October 2004 issue which argues the commercial viability of non-hits. He's currently maintaining a blog on the topic while he works on a book-length version.

Anderson has some great examples, like how Netflix has allowed documentary films to undergo a commercial renaissance, and how more than 50% of Amazon's top sales come from outside its top 130,000 titles. He makes a pretty convincing argument that an internet-based distributer can make good money on non-hits by offering a couple thousand different titles, priced fairly.

Of course, videogames are quite famously not music, books or movies. Can this distribution model work for them? I say why not? Again, don't think about how to shoehorn Halo into this distribution model. Halo is a hit, and the industry already knows how to sell hits. The long tail model requires a flood of content with limited appeal. Think Katamari Damacy clones, PopCap, curling simulators, Indie Game Jam entries. Think all the videogames with reviews that caution "unless you're a die-hard fan, pass this one over," because the die-hard fans, the niche markets, are the territory of the long tail.

The long tail isn't "the end of hits." Anderson is happy to point out that the long tail isn't a lot of things. The long tail could be a way to bring back the commercial garage game, and it might very well be the best way to save the point 'n' click adventure game. As long as I keep working at Electronic Arts, I'll probably never get anywhere near it, but I think almost every developer here would love to see this kind of market emerge, if only so we can play what comes out of it.

Some useful stuff with minimal ads (unlike some people we know). A Guide to Starting a Business

dodoskido says:

Man, I haven't gotten a chance to try ClearContext yet, but I'm already starting to like their product (well, their business model really). These guys play poker online to finance their startup. But really, if I could earn $120 per hour playing poker, would I really be trying to start another business? (My heart tells me yes, but my gut says, "no way Jose")

CNET News.com:

Brad Meador's in luck. The virtual dealer at Eurobetpoker.com has just dealt him a jack and an ace of hearts. A few seconds and clicks of the mouse later, he wins the $62 pot.

ld'em, to be precise -- is his game, and he nets an average of $100 to $120 an hour at it.

"As a consultant -- a job that required frequent travel to Austin -- I made about that much," Meador says.

Sitting at his desk in a small, stuffy office in a gritty corner of San Francisco's South of Market district, Meador is nonchalant about the win. It's just another Wednesday morning at ClearContext, a software start-up that's keeping the lights on and the servers running with the aid of its founders' online poker winnings.

Meador, who is head of operations at ClearContext, and Deva Hazarika, the chief executive officer, have been playing poker in lieu of collecting paychecks for the past year while working to get their three-person company off the ground. After logging 50 or more hours a week at the office, each one spends another 10 to 15 hours, usually on weekends and evenings, at their favorite poker sites -- mainly Partypoker.com, Ultimatebet.com and Pokerstars.