This blog is 100% DRM free...

I just downloaded the new album from NIN album "Slip". This is a privilege afforded to me as a registered member of NIN.com. Great, I say, I registered to have the opportunity to buy tickets to future nails tickets.

The downloads are offered as MP3, CD Quality, loss less Waves...great options for everyone from the casual listener who can operate iTunes to the audiophile with a home studio. Then, right there at the bottom was the tag:

"All files are 100% DRM free"

We have certainly come a long way in a short time...haven't we? I remember attending a conference 5 years ago where this was all they were talking about. A close friend and colleague actually co-wrote the book on this topic which is still quite relevant.

DRM, for the uninitiated reader, stands for Digital Rights Management. Originally this technology was supposed to protect and serve the interests of artists who wanted to control the rights and distribution of their original content.

Now that iTunes, Microsoft and any number of other music sharing programs have sufficiently irritated the public with their own application of the technology the artists leading the charge to turn the recording industry on its head seem to be faced with an interesting decision...swear off the technology and just...share?

As a rabid consumer of music I say great. But I am also not known for thinking it through carefully when I am faced with the option to immediately gratify myself in some way...like with free music. While this will be great PR for a wildly successful and established artist like Trent Reznor...what does it mean for the little guys? Will the recording and distribution industries catch up?

In any case, I applaud Radiohead and NIN for breaking new ground. Unlike the ridiculous battle between Pearl Jam and ticket master years ago...these artists are willing to take significant financial hits in order to restore the balance of rights to the artists. How this will all look in 5 years is anybodies guess...but that is the excitement of living in the 21st century!!

Palms open...

I am sending this post from the new Treo. Old news to many...Exciting beyond imagination for me.

In our nation's capitol...

I am on a pretty fun assignment this week filming interviews with various members of the cable TV industry in Washington D.C. My room is on the 9th floor of the Sheraton National and from my window I can clearly see the Capitol, Washington Monument, Air Force memorial, Pentagon and part of Arlington Cemetery.

Interestingly, directly outside my hotel seems to literally be a small neighborhood with inhabitants of very limited means, tucked between the cemetery, Route 395 and the Pentagon. I guess what they say is true, you need not travel very far in D.C. to find poverty.

I was able to visit a good old friend last night, he is stationed here in the Capitol with the US Army. He grilled us up some steaks last night and we caught up. I have one more day of work here and then I am back to Boston for a couple weeks without travel.

Peace!

What to say, what to say?

I am in the middle of an incredibly challening but rewarding project at work. Another once in a lifetime opportunity...I am having a lot of those lately. Although my decision to rejoin and old coworker at his new business has meant a life of long hours and high stress...it has some very big rewards.

We learned today we are advancing to the next round on potential project which will change our lives if we land it. It was incredibly well received news at the office. There is a party tomorrow to recognize us for our hard work on the project I am handling right now. Should be a nice day...

When I was in High School, if someone told me I was going to have a succesful career in sports advertising and marketing...I am sure I would have laughed pretty damn hard.

Some days are cooler than others...

Today was one of them. I had the pleasant opportunity to go to a Bruins game with a client tonight. The client is the International Paralympic Committee. My company has been hired to help them produce the World Sledge Hockey championships next week in Marlborough.

Sledge Hockey, for those who don't know, is an incredibly fast paced league for people with physical disabilities which force them to sit down in a 'sledge', which to me just looks like a sled. I am really proud to be part of this. Given my history of growing up with a severely disabled mother...it makes me feel good to work with this organization and go above and beyond wherever possible.

Tonight we were there to cover the opening ceremonies. I had an all access media pass at the Garden. At one point my boss took me up to the control room. A 60 second commercial my team produced was presented on the big screens during the opening ceremonies...Right there in front of 10's of thousands of Bruins fans!! I was beaming with pride for my crew.

Anyhow...Now I have to sleep. The coming 10 days are going to be madness. Each day the videos we produce will be broadcast on TV networks around the globe. We have to tape and edit 3 games every 24 hours for a week...

Responding

I have been working on a lot of large scale RFP's lately. I find the work interesting because it allows me to really think through the project life cycle and imagine how my team will best respond to the potential client's needs. My approach is to read the RFP two or three times and then basically plan the entire project in a pretty detailed way. Once I have the entire project plan established I then write an approach document which adapts my process to the specific requirements as defined in the RFP.

When an organization has gone through the process of developing an RFP they will often have well thought out ideas about how to approach the project. This does not always align with my own theories. For instance, the discovery process may already be mostly complete. If an RFP has detailed requirements this means I do not have to tease them out later on.

For the type and scale of projects which I typically respond there is usually a team of people involved. This is another interesting dimension I like to explore. I have found it very useful to treat the response like any other project, with a timeline and deliverables which address pre-defined requirements and expectations.

Something as simple as defining the styles used in the documents which are authored by different contributors before they are written and then assembled into the final 'book' will save the team a great deal of time. For this I use a tool I call a content deck template. I also share this with clients who will be delivering content for integration with their new CMS during real development projects.

The further I get the more appealing planning and good communication becomes...

Kevin Smith sighting...

I met Kevin Smith last night while eating dinner with coworkers and clients in Pittsburgh. Read all about it on Peter Wilt's blog!