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October 30, 2005
New Family Photos and the Second Child Syndrome
When Jacob was born, I built him a personal website for photos and the occasional video. I lovingly edited the photos to capture the best ones of the bunch and provided my summaries (sometimes with my attempt at wry humor).
Dina is 2 months old, but she doesn't have her own website yet. If I don't get my act together, she may never get her own website. For now, the best we have is some hastily-loaded photos of Dina and the family at Kodak's EasyShare. Among the highlights--a trip to the pumpkin patch, various shots of passed-out Dina, fall colors at Schlitz Audubon, and a little trick-or-treating. However, Lisa didn't do any badly-needed editing of the uploaded photos, so enjoy the good ones and ignore the crummy ones.
Posted by Eric at 09:02 PM | Family & Friends
October 25, 2005
Should I Blog? (Part 2 of a 3 Part Series on Blogs)
This is the second of a three part series about blogging based on my presentation at a Minnesota IP CLE last month. Today's question: should I blog?
The answer is purely based on cost-benefit. What does blogging cost, and what are its benefits? Let me recap some of the advantages and costs of blogging:
Advantages:
1) Blogging helps build a personal brand. Blogging is a form of content production, and content is the best form of marketing. Blogging allows me to demonstrate my expertise, either through my words or through my sheer repetition on a particular topic. Personal brand-building creates all kinds of opportunities for academic pursuits, policy-making and, in some cases, profit.
2) Blogging allows me to learn a little more about who is reading my work. Bloggers tend to be pretty stat-obsessed, and our desire for information about our readers is generally unfulfilled through most traditional media. Even electronic publishing tools like SSRN, which give us some download counts, don't give any insights beyond the raw download numbers.
With blogging, I can see all kinds of stats about my readers--where they are located geographically, who is linking to my work, what pages are popular. All of this gives helpful feedback to me as a writer, and incidentally allows for much better quantitative benchmarking of success.
3) Blogging is a way of organizing data for my own future retrieval. For example, for the last 2 years, John Ottaviani and I have published a list of the top 10 cyberlaw/IP cases of the prior year. With the blog, it's very easy to see what I've blogged about and pick the top cases from that.
4) Blogging is fun. I like to write and I have a lot to say (or, at least, I think I do). Having a platform to weigh in with my thoughts about issues is rewarding and enjoyable. Not everyone likes to write, and not everyone finds it fun. I do.
5) Blogging can generate revenues. I wouldn't say it's profitable, but still, there can be cash from blogging.
Disadvantages:
1) Blogs are very time-consuming. It's tempting to think that blogging is strictly about posting new content, but that's only a modest fraction of the work. In addition to generating new content, the time requirements include:
* setting up the blog's infrastructure
* maintaining the infrastructure
* responding to public comments and private emails
* dealing with trackback and comment spam (if you enable to those features)
* marketing the blog to build readership (getting indexed, emailing other bloggers to let them know of a posting)
* lining up guests (if applicable)
In addition, many bloggers choose to subscribe a wide variety of other blogs so that they can feel like part of the conversation. And many bloggers also obsess about the stats. While neither of these is required for blogging, these activities also take a significant amount of time.
2) I have all of the legal risks of being a publisher, including the risk of being sued for copyright infringement, defamation, etc.
3) I have non-legal risks from publishing content. In my case, I have the risk that my blog could be held against me for tenure, promotion or compensation purposes. In a typical lawyer case, a lawyer may have limits on their ability to blog about client matters, either expressly under the Rules of Professional Conduct or implicitly under concerns about strategic conflicts (i.e., ticking off an important client). Certainly any public position I take on the blog has the risk of being cited back against me in future negotiations or evaluations. And, to the extent that I try to work quickly, many of my blog posts lack the same degree of polish as other publications; but increasing their precision also increases my time investment.
Net conclusion:
Whether the time invested in blogging justifies the benefits is a question that can be answered only by each person looking at their situation. However, there's no question that blogging can be very beneficial. There's also no question that those benefits come at a significant opportunity cost--in the latter case, blogging can come at the expense of time that could be spent writing articles, speaking, networking, playing with the kids or doing a hobby. Is blogging the best allocation of that time? Before you begin, make sure it’s worth it.
In the next part, I'll talk about how to get started if you decide to join in the fun.
This post is part of a three-part series:
Part 1 of 3: How I decide which blogs to read?
Part 2 of 3: Should I blog?
Part 3 of 3: If I decide I want to blog, how do I get started?
Posted by Eric at 03:35 PM | Blogosphere Issues
October 19, 2005
eBay Removes Auction for Right to Hunt Deer
eBay Britain removed an auction offering the right to bag a specifically-identified "21 point farmed master stag," which is probably a "semi-tame" deer. eBay responded to a complaint from an animal rights activist group about the auction, even though print periodicals regularly run similar ads--the only difference being that the eBay auction specificially identified the target with a photo. eBay's rationale? Advertising to kill a live animal violated eBay's policy against auctioning live animals. This rationale is a joke--the point of the live animals auction ban is that the shipment of animals is heavily regulated and, in the case of certain types of animals like ferrets, sometimes outright illegal. As the article points out, there's nothing illegal about advertising a hunt.
So what's eBay's real reason, and what's causing the animal rights group to target eBay and not the print publications? I see strong analogies to the silliness over the Toby the Rabbit extortion flap and the irrational dichotomy between Internet hunting (bad) and physical-space hunting (tolerated). In all cases, the Internet appears to be clouding clear thinking. What is it about the Internet mediation that makes killing animals worse than the offline analogues???
Posted by Eric at 04:09 PM | Vegetarian
October 17, 2005
How I Decide Which Blogs to Read (Part 1 of a 3 Part Series on Blogs)
Last month, I gave a talk at a Minnesota CLE program about law blogging (along with Marty Schwimmer of Trademark Blog and John Welch of TTABlog). We discussed some rather basic points, like:
* what is a blog? (Answer: just another form of electronic-mediated human communication, with certain structural conventions/norms like putting the latest posting at the top of a page)
* how should I read blogs? (Answer: use an aggregator, either a client-side aggregator like SharpReader or a web service like Bloglines...forget bookmarking or trying to sign up by email).
I'm going to discuss some additional points from the presentation in a three-part series. Today's topic: how I pick blogs to read. I use the following criteria to decide if I'm going to add a blog to my aggregator:
Topical Relevance
This is the most important factor--am I interested in the blog's topical focus? I have tightly defined interests, and my subscriptions hew to those interests pretty closely.
I know that many "general interest" and topically-expansive blogs are popular, but not with me. I subscribe to a few, but usually there's a personal relationship behind that subscription. A little topical diversity is fine, but too much diffuseness and the signal-to-noise ratio gets out of whack. Also, I avoid blogs where the blogger is a troll for controversy. Life's too short.
Recency of Updating
I don't expect blogs to update daily, but I usually avoid (or drop) dormant blogs. If the blogger hasn't blogged in a few months, I figure the blogger is out of business.
Author Identity
A number of my subscriptions are attributable to some out-of-the-blogosphere personal relationship. In many cases, the blog becomes part of our relationship, and we might communicate via blog posts, email or offline. At the same time, as I've explained earlier, I rarely subscribe to anonymous blogs. I need to know the blogger's life experiences and biases before I can give them full credibility.
Volume of Posts
There can be too much of a good thing. High-volume blogs are tough to keep up with.
Post Uniqueness
There are several styles of blogs:
* personal diaries
* clipping services (i.e., links to news reports with little commentary)
* policy rants
* commentary on recent developments
* true news reporting (some blogs break news)
I tend not to be interested in personal diaries (unless the blogger is a close friend) or policy rants (especially political ones).
I do subscribe to some clipping services, but only if I think the person is monitoring sources I wouldn't otherwise track. At this point, when something interesting happens, I usually see multiple blog posts through redundant sources, so I definitely don't need more of the same.
I like blogs that provide some personalized commentary on recent developments. I think of these blogs as a way of capturing the word of mouth--"hey, X just lost a lawsuit, what do you think?"
I also like blogs that break news or originate content. At this level, it's hard to distinguish blogs from traditional news media.
If you're interested, my blogroll.
This post is part of a three-part series:
Part 1 of 3: How I decide which blogs to read?
Part 2 of 3: Should I blog?
Part 3 of 3: If I decide I want to blog, how do I get started?
Posted by Eric at 05:22 PM | Blogosphere Issues
October 16, 2005
Blog About Working Moms
Marianna Moss is a friend (as well as the wife of my colleague Scott). She and some of her colleagues are running an interesting blog about working mothers that I recommend you check out if you're in the target audience. Keep up the great work, Marianna!
Posted by Eric at 10:43 AM | Blogosphere Issues , Family & Friends
October 13, 2005
Study: Journalists Use Blogs Heavily
A study reveals that "51% of journalists consult blogs for story ideas while 28% of them relied on blogs to provide them with day-to-day information," numbers that are well above-average for blog usage by the general population.
My own experience on this front may be revealing. I've been called about a dozen times by reporters who found me because of my blog posts on a topic related to their story. And, about a half-dozen times, reporters have "quoted" me by lifting statements from my blog without speaking with me or confirming the quote. I don't mind this but, given the number of spoof blogs (like the fake Harriett Miers blog), I'd like to think that reporters would be reluctant to pull content off the Internet without validation.
Posted by Eric at 08:01 PM | Blogosphere Issues
October 12, 2005
Internet Addictions and Role Modeling for My Son
As a parent, my actions have the effect of modeling behavior for my 3 year old son. For example, my son requests his own section of the newspaper to read during breakfast because that's what Daddy does.
I'm cognizant of this influence, so some of my vices (like watching TV or drinking soda) wait until after his bedtime. However, there's no way that I can avoid Internet time during his waking hours. First, I'm an addict; second, there are times when I try (mostly unsuccessfully) to work at home for the day; third, I am a workaholic, so all of my "hobbies" invariably involve using the computer. Consequently, my son sees me in front of the computer a lot.
This may not be a good thing. On Sunday, I tried to do some work at home and my son stood behind me, watching me as I worked on the computer. Every time I looked away (or even tried to interact with him), he told me "Keep reading" or "Keep going, Daddy." Then, this morning as we were sitting at the breakfast table, he spontaneously ordered me (as only a 3 year old can): "Daddy, read at the computer!" In fact, he wanted me to get up from the table and go use the computer--and when I did so, he giggled with delight. What have I done???
Posted by Eric at 02:21 PM | Family & Friends | Comments (1)
October 10, 2005
Calendar of Law School IP Conferences/Presentations
Mike Madison has undertaken the public service of providing a one-stop central repository for upcoming conferences and presentations by IP academics. The desperate need for this calendar was demonstrated by the multiple mid-air collisions of this weekend, when there were at least 5 attractive IP-related events scheduled:
* State of Play in New York
* Third Party Intermediary Liability conference at Santa Clara
* Work-in-Progress event at St. Louis University
* IP Conference at Univ. of Houston
* Association of Internet Researchers annual meeting in Chicago
This made for an extremely busy weekend for many professors! I flew from Santa Clara to Chicago very early Saturday morning to make a 3:30 Central time presentation on Saturday. I know several other professors, including my colleague Irene, who took red-eye flights from Santa Clara on Friday to other events. I'm hoping Mike's calendar function will help minimize these overlaps so we can participate in all of these great events. Thanks for doing this, Mike.
Posted by Eric at 06:11 PM | Life as a Law Professor
October 09, 2005
Sit Back, Relax and Enjoy Putting Your Head in Someone Else's Lap
I previously blogged about how airlines fail to consider the attention consumption consequences of their repeated communications with passengers. I had a great example of this on a flight this weekend. The flight left at 6:20 am, so all of us were pretty groggy. About 1/2 hour into the flight, when I would estimate 2/3 of the passengers were dozing or asleep, the lead flight attendant got on the loudspeaker and said:
"We're going to begin our beverage service. If you are asleep, we don't want to disturb you. So if you're asleep but want a beverage, just put your tray down."
Gee, thanks for being so considerate of sleeping passengers. However, did it occur that your announcement would wake up many passengers, so most of the people who want to sleep won't need to rely on the tray-trick? Next time, if you really want to help sleeping passengers continue sleeping, maybe the loudspeaker isn't the smartest way to declare that intent.
But the announcement that irritates me the most is the "Sit back, relax and enjoy the flight" mantra that virtually every pilot invokes. Passenger response is virtually Pavlovian. When the pilot sends us that friendly wish, several dozen seats on the airplane immediately recline to the max.
I don't understand why airplane seats are designed to recline at all. Maybe there's some medical reason. Perhaps consumers demand it, although given the Pavlovian response to the pilot's well-wishes, I think a lot of passengers don't really think about it until prompted.
All I know is that passengers get a pretty small volume of space to begin with (maybe 18" x 20" x 5 ft), so allowing another passenger to make a couple inch incursion into that space is pretty material. Accordingly, when a passenger reclines his/her seat, it typically triggers a cascade of reclined seats behind that person as each passenger tries to reclaim a few extra inches of volume from the passenger behind them.
If I'm trying to work on my laptop, even reclining my own seat isn't sufficient. I've had times when I simply can't get the laptop screen open enough to see it. United's Economy Plus solves this problem somewhat, but it's still a problem.
My preference would be to eliminate the ability of airplane seats to recline at all. But if that's too severe, then pilots could and should simply retire the "sit back" mantra/Pavlovian trigger. Or perhaps pilots could modify it to remind people to sit up straight.
Posted by Eric at 04:31 PM | Travel
October 02, 2005
NY Enacts Anti-Internet Hunting Law
I've lost track of most state initiatives to outlaw Internet hunting, but this article from Michael Gormley at the Associated Press caught my attention because of all of the rhetorical posturing/intellectual dishonesty. Consider the following quotes:
NY Gov. George Pataki: "Hunters play an important role in environmental conservation, but these remote hunting games serve no useful purpose."
[Eric's comment: it would be great to unpack how hunters play an important role in environmental conservation. Note, of course, that offline hunters are allowed to hunt on game farms just like online hunters. Also, I wonder why providing physically-challenged individuals the opportunity to engage in hunting isn't a "useful purpose."]
Sen. Carl Marcellino: "The practice of making road kill out of living animals via the information superhighway should be stopped now."
[Eric's comment: there are many ways to riff on this quote, but I think it speaks for itself.]
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm: "Using computer technology to shoot at caged animals from a distance is a corruption of our proud hunting traditions."
[Eric's comment: who said anything about caged animals? Maybe she thinks of game farms with potentially thousands of acres as a "cage"...but offline hunting is legal there too. Also, what makes our hunting tradition "proud"?]
One final point: the "safety" concerns about Internet hunting are a joke. Which one gives you more concern?
* a controlled access game farm where a mounted gun is monitored by a real person who can override any commands from the hunter (as is the case with Live-shot.com), or
* arming thousands of people--who might have limited gun safety training and who may be drinking while hunting--and setting them loose to blast at anything that moves (even if it's wearing an orange blaze vest).
Consider some empirical data.
FWIW, I simply will not go hiking in Wisconsin during deer hunting season. I don't consider it safe regardless of any precautions I might take. As a result, if we're really concerned about hunting safety, I think Internet hunting would not be our top priority.
Posted by Eric at 01:01 PM | Vegetarian | Comments (3)