Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2

Watch Out! There are Mobs on the Internet

Yes, there are mobs on the Internet. Watch out. They cause pain. They can occasionally exhibit humor in doing so, and they pile on. Why should the Internet be any different than any other facet of life on this planet that humans engage in? Some folks are examining their own behavior in the context of mobs (or trolls, or whatever) and (kudos to them) looking for their own ways to try and stem the behavior of others.

I find their efforts noble and well meaning, hope they will makes some difference, but have my doubts. Humans historically screw up everything they touch and create. Some do it under the self delusion that they know better. Some do it to score points in some game they perceive we are all playing. Some do it simply because it is fun. It is always easier to tear down something than it is to build it, even when you don’t realize that’s what you are doing. Robert Scoble suggests we have two choices in our Internet lives. Hurt or help. He’s right as far as that goes. But the history of all of this (and it goes back long before the Internet) is that those who are intelligent and empathetic enough to make the better choice, leave the playing field as the mob shows signs of taking over. 

The still young Internet already has a graveyard as littered with the victims of mob-like behavior as any other form of human endeavor.  Mike Arrington sees a similar fate for Friendfeed. He needn’t have limited it to Friendfeed. Without using the same language, but expressing similar concerns, those that are debating this issue have themselves said similar things recently about Twitter once the celebrities and spammers found it. The list of services spoiled by mobs and trolls include forums, newsgroups, blog commenting systems, and services that started as exciting and crucial new forms of communication and then faded away as the trolls, spammers, and malcontents came. Arrington points out that Friendfeed comes close to erasing the anonymity factor that allowed Internet bullying and mobs to propagate in other venues. But does it really? While some (not all) use their real names or identifiable identities, they still get to hide in the comfort of a crowd, only that comfort (cold as it may be) comes from the glow of a monitor and the click of a keyboard.

Arrington suggests that the system is breaking under its own weight and is not sustainable, and although he has bigger aims than just the danger he senses with Friendfeed, he stops short of where the real problem lies, our own failings as human beings. It would be a great thing if the Internet, or any facet of it, could change that within us, but I just don’t see that, even as some try to alter their own behavior to try.

Dumb Idea #281 to Save Newspapers: Change the Copyright Laws

So some fellas named Marburger think that the way to save newspapers from the profit-killing aggregators is to change the copyright laws so that:

• Aggregators would reimburse newspapers for ad revenues associated with their news reports.
• Injunctions would bar aggregators' profiting from newspapers' content for the first 24 hours after stories are posted.

This is being reported on the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s online site, Cleveland.com. Perhaps they don’t go far enough. Why not force all the barber shops, beauty parlors, coffee shops, libraries, etc…. that make newspapers available for their customers, collect a fee from any customer who picks up the paper? Do the same for every medical waiting room where magazines are kept. Do the same for any office where the periodicals are brought in and circulated. Yeah, sure the paper or magazine is paid for once (or for however many copies they have lying around), but why should that stop them from collecting again? The customers are reading the material are they not? C’mon take a cue from the music biz and charge every time an article is read.

Of course I’m being facetious with the above. This entire argument is starting to become a parody of itself as it swirls around and around, and here’s an interesting kick. You won’t find a newspaper in the country who will break it down and give you an analysis of the facts.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Write something we’re interested in reading and maybe we’ll buy the papers. I know this is unscientific, but it is my observation, and I think there is some truth in it somewhere. It used to be (7, 8, 9 years ago) that when I made my morning stop at the local convenience store on the way to work that about the same number of newspapers were always available each morning. That started changing and over the last two years or so not only is the number of papers available higher on average, but more to the point, when a story of local interest appears on the front page (instead of wire service stories) you’ll see that number decline drastically.  Again, unscientific, but I think telling.

Web Site Story: Yet Another Internet Musical

I love it when two of the worlds I fly through, Theatre and the Internet collide. Check out College Humor’s Web Site Story. Yep, its all about the Internet a la West Side Story. Poor Leonard Bernstein.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Via Neatorama

Homecoming Weekend at Wayside Theatre

Boy, it sure seemed like homecoming atWayside Theatre this weekend. Quite a few familiar faces made it in to see the sensational production of Man of La Mancha, and it was great to see everyone. First up on Friday night, Larry Dahlke, came in to see the show and it was good to see him again. I was off picking up another of our many alumni, John Alcott, who was in for the next day's press event about John Brown. We managed to get back in to hook up after the show.

Then on Saturday night, John got to see the show and sit along side another fan favorite James Laster, who is gearing up to start rehearsals for The Gin Game tomorrow. (That's out next show.)

Then Sunday the dam broke. Four of last season's Interns, and one from a few seasons ago, all descended on the theatre for the show and some socializing afterwards. Leah Raulerson, Dacica Dick, Denim Petit, Matt Baldoni, and Emily Rossi all came in. Lots of hugs and 'how are you's' flying around.

All in all it was a special weekend, getting reacquainted, and watching various actors meet various other actors from different seasons. The intersection lines are really intriguing at times, and proves once again just how connected we all are in this business of show.

You can check out some photos of the weekend here, here, and here.

Sign of the Times in Iran

Amazing photo.

John and John: Beginning to Revisit Robert E. Lee and John Brown: Lighting the Fuse

In 2004 I wrote (actually finished writing) an original play (with music by Steve Przybylski) about a fascinating period of American History. The play, Robert E. Lee and John Brown: Lighting the Fuse focused on the intersection of the careers of those two American icons at Harpers Ferry when Robert E. Lee was sent to put down John Brown's rebellion. The play had a successful run and audience really were intrigued by it. I was particularly grateful that the historians who came to see it, felt like the play measured up to the history that it was based on.

As a part of the John Brown Sesquicentennial that is kicking off this year to mark the 150th anniversary of John Brown's raid, we're remounting the play as the third play in our season. (The Gin Game is actually next up for us, following the season opener, Man of La Mancha.) I'm just getting back into the groove with the piece, with the history, and with the myriad of meanings the play opens up, and I guess that's a great thing as tomorrow morning (Saturday, 26th) we have a press conference to kick off Sesquicentennial events here locally in our area.

Tonight I head to the airport to pick up good friend and great actor, John Alcott, who will be reprising the role of John Brown. He's coming in for the weekend's festivities and will be heading back to Chicago after that. He'll be back in August for rehearsals. John and I haven't worked together in awhile so it will be great to get back into that groove. (He's also playing Sherlock Holmes for us in the show following Lee & Brown.)

I'm really looking forward to getting back into this play as the spark points still intrigue me. When we were bringing it to life in 2004, so much of the context (beyond the historical) was centered around terrorism. I kept protesting back then that that wasn't my intent. But often a writer's intent is usurped by events. I'm not sure how events in the intervening years will affect my or the audience's context this time around, but I'm anxious to find out. 

The preface to the title of this post could have multiple meanings as the actor playing Robert E. Lee also is named John.

Michael Jackson R.I.P.

I wasn't a big fan, but show biz lost a big one today with Michael Jackson's death. Coming on the same day as Farrah Fawcett's death, and right after Ed McMahon's. It always comes in threes.

Let the Earth Bear Witness

Via Andrew Sullivan The Daily Dish

The Case of the Disappearing App Store Porn

After months of trying to figure out what sort of taste/prude meter Apple's App Store used to approve apps, Apple shifts its policies and decides to allow adult content in the App Store. Hey, that's the American way. There's money to be made in porn and adult themed apps and I'm sure Apple wants a piece of that pie.

They just need to figure some things out. Or maybe today's episode will give them a big clue.

Apparently an app that had existed before, Hottest Girls, got an update that included some partial nudity. It got the adult rating. But then it got pulled. First the reaction to this was a bit shock and awe like as some were upset Apple would allow these kind of apps, and of course those who think this is just fine had their reactions as well.

Then it was reported that Apple pulled the app. Given recent history, no one seemed surprised and of course the blog posts about Apple pulling the app started pouring in.

Then MG Siegler of TechCrunch reported that the app's developers pulled the app saying it was "sold out." Interesting euphemism there, but basically they said that the demand had crushed their servers. I'm guessing they were in no position to make a quick upgrade, so they pulled the plug. Siegler also pointed out that there is another app featuring partial nudity available as well.

I can only imagine what all of this will lead to and I'm sure this is only the beginning. But keep in mind, there's money to be made here and where there is a will, (and a demand) there's a way. Somewhere there has to be an app that will figure all of this out.

Google a 'Digital Vampire' Says WSJ Publisher

Trying to lead the way with paid content in attempts to stop the downward spiral that is enveloping the media world, Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton continues to point the blame at the Internet and Google for sucking the blood out of the newspaper business. He says Google wasn't always a digital vampire but "the newspaper industry gave Google’s fangs a great place to bite."

Hinton works for Rupert Murdoch who owns it all, would like to own more, and makes no secret of his distaste of the way things have evolved. From where I sit, there is plenty of blame to go around.

I may be ultimately proven wrong here, (I doubt it) but I think history will probably prove that Murdoch's crass and vulgar approach to 'news' and selling it (in a variety of mediums) had more to do with the decline of big media than the Internet or Google ever did.

But then vampires don't see their own reflections in the mirror now do they.