One of the big questions in the discussion of online entertainment video economics has been how to effectively and efficiently protect premium content. The prevailing theory held that by definition, digital content couldn’t be protected. You can’t stop the proliferation of pirated versions of your copyrighted material. You can only hope to contain it by playing nonstop whack-a-mole armed with take down notices. (more…)

The current market volatility presents an interesting canvas on which to examine the value of certainty in digital entertainment and how that translates to the myth of the expert.

At a recent panel discussion, Paradigm’s Joel Wright mentioned that one of the major hindrances in establishing a sustainable model for digital distribution is the absence of predictability. This isn’t the case with traditional media. With movies, you have bankable stars and franchises. A Will Smith summer movie will open to $50MM. Any installment in the Saw franchise will open to $30MM. A TV show that airs at 8:30pm on NBC on Thursday can count on a lead in audience. Experts pick winners and place bets based on historical precedent.

But digital doesn’t have those precedents. There is no predictability. There are no experts. (more…)

In reading Teresa Darklady Reed’s didactic op/ed piece on PG Porn in the Huffington Post I’m reminded of the ancient Navajo truism:

He who laughs last…didn’t get the joke.

PG Porn isn’t for everyone, but anyone who watches it and doesn’t recognize that it’s a parody can’t reasonably be expected to offer a sociological analysis of value. Especially if the basis of your argument comes down to morality contest. Arguing morality against satire is like calling professional wresting a real sport, then enforcing mandatory steroid-testing.

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Nailing Your Wife

PG Porn Official Site

PG Porn Superfan Trivia: (more…)

James Gunn’s PG Porn is about to get a great plug from the best tabloid fish wrap in the country, The National Enquirer.

It looks like the issue will hit grocery store check-out lines on October 13th, one week following PG Porn’s debut on Spike.com on the 8th.

Click on the image for the full-size, readable version. See the top of the second paragraph on the bottom clipping for the mention.

Scandalous!

Yes. You can call me Blog.

In fact, according to Liz Gannes and the good folks at Newteevee, you can call me one of the Five New Media Blogs Worth Reading.

Nice. Even more nice is the fact that jakezim.com is the first one listed, which despite the reality that there’s probably no particular value attributable to the order, is a big win for a guy who’s last name has always put him at the end of the line.

I really appreciate the support from the community, the readers, my sources and the Safran Digital squad who help make the pixels shine. Much thanks.

Keep on rocking in a free world.

I remember in my high school psychology class an assignment in which we had to write and present an essay that analyzed an author’s perspective on a certain moral theory. While my classmates vacillated between Kafka and Proust, I saw the opportunity to enlighten and impress by going off the beaten reading list. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen was my favorite book. Watchmen had blown my mind the first (and every) time I’d read it. Its depiction of an alternative future dystopia where the ends justifies the means had a heavy quotient in my teenage development. The moral theme I focused on was Consequentialism. I don’t think I’d ever been so excited to tackle a school project. I banged out my report in a night and went to to class eager to illuminate the world. (more…)

Next Thursday is Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish Holidays.

What better way to atone for your sins than to observe the debut episode of James Gunn’s PG Porn starring Dr. Horrible’s Nathan Fillion and superstar adult model Aria Giovanni?

The first episode, Nailing Your Wife, debuts on Spike.com on Wednesday, October 8th.

Just be sure to watch it before sundown! (more…)