Julianna Yau’s blog

At copycamp, I met MCM, author of the well-known (at least by most copyright geeks) The Pig and the Box. I had actually read the book when it first was released, but didn’t remember it until I saw the cover. It’s a great commentary on the shift in how some creative works (like music and literature) can be distributed, and challenges our traditional concepts of where the value of something exists. What threw a wrench into my though process was the use of physical objects to represent intangible copies. Although I understand the necessity for that to make the concept easier to understand, it did make me temporarily uneasy because it’s already becoming increasingly difficult for sculptors and other artists who make tactile objects to explain that there is still a very real (and, often, steep) cost to production (not to mention our desire to make one-of-a-kind or limited-edition works).

MCM now has a new book, Panda Apples. He explained the life of this book as being something of a counter experiment to The Pig and the Box. With The Pig and the Box, he invested almost no marketing time or money, and didn’t start to offer the option of donations or actual purchases of paper books until he was actually asked for them. Unlike The Pig and the Box, Panda Apples is not merely a collaboration (with Len Peralta), but also being supported by marketing which The Pig and the Box didn’t have. A few days ago, MCM told me that:

Again, with very little marketing [...] we’ve had about 2,500 downloads and 250 purchases. So already, in this first 24 hour period, I’ve technically earned more than I did on the Pig book after a year

Panda Apples is probably also benefiting from MCM’s past exposure from The Pig and the Box. It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out!

Following closely on the heels of CopyCamp is the Technology in the Arts conference, being held at University of Waterloo. And although I find the barcamp model to be very exciting, I must admit that I like knowing ahead of time what the schedule shall be so I can plan my time (I’m a perpetual planner). There’s a fantastic session lineup at the TIA conference, and trying to decide which ones I want to attend was as difficult as it was for CopyCamp. I was surprised by my initial desire to attend sessions which would present familiar topics (like their session on CMSs or session on copyright law, technology and cultural management).

I reasoned myself into sessions where I would be exposed to information which I don’t already have or can’t get through my contacts. For example, I’m very interested to hear about The Evolution of Technology at the Canadian Music Centre, but I know people who know people at the CMC and can probably get that information outside of the conference. However, I’m not as connected to the museum world or b-boying movement.

This will be an interesting conference to attend following CopyCamp. I’ll be unencumbered by my full-sized laptop, and hopefully be able to take more notes with my Eee. I’m not sure whether I’ll have internet access, actually. I sent the organizers an email about that yesterday, so we’ll see what they come back with when the traditional work-week resumes. Based on what I could gather from the UWaterloo website, I don’t think I could get access to the university network even as an alumna. I don’t expect to be able to connect to the network, which will be a delicious piece of irony. I’ll probably more easily be able to connect at one of the Williams coffee pubs near campus than trying to finagle access from the university itself. Of course, I could always just go home for lunch instead…