Pre-order Bitcoin Magazine - Quality control, final revisions on proofs

[phorensic]

I like how I sparked this whole conversation about free or not free, DRM, piracy, etc.  Dude, you put a photo of an Anonymous member on the cover and you are now trying to justify charging for it and locking it down.

[Matthew N. Wright]

I like how I sparked this whole conversation about free or not free, DRM, piracy, etc.  Dude, you put a photo of an Anonymous member on the cover and you are now trying to justify charging for it and locking it down.

I'm having trouble understanding if this is meant to be a joke or not. I don't think anyone judges a magazine's business model off of the cover for a story.

EDIT: Got a word down from marketing. It seems that if we are basing our income model off of advertisers such as the big boys do, releasing the digital copy for absolutely free won't be an issue, but I have been reminded that at least for the first month our entire business plan seems to be more related to individual sales.

I hope we can bring the volume up to the point that we can safely switch models. I am grateful for getting this far and I know we will only get bigger so I suppose it's only a matter of time.

[phillipsjk]

The fact is, I don't understand enough what "DRM" actually is. If you consider releasing the magazine as a downloadable app "DRM" just because Apple and Android could potentially control it, then I don't really know what to say, and I'll gladly stop commenting on it and let our Marketing manager Mihai Alisie give his thoughts.

If however we are talking about an issue where someone wants to download the PDF and only the PDF, and no other form will suffice, I think I'd have to give them a warm "No thank you" to their business at this particular moment. We're barely 2 weeks old as a business and I'd hate to crush us before we even start.

Everyone already knows my viewpoints, but more important than viewpoints, they know that I am willing to meet needs, adapt and adopt new strategies. I just need in put into a way that makes sense to me. As someone who just bought an Android app and an iPhone app, as well as some stock images the other day, I don't really the arguments and I am clearly in a different school of thought.

Anyone want to help me on this wild and wacky transition?

The problem is that "Digital Restrictions Management" is not a well-defined term. In general, e-books on the Apple or Kindle platform will have some kind of DRM. I don't even know if it is possible for the publisher author to opt-out. DRM is used to force device lock-in, so that the publisher can make money on other titles sold through the same platform.

An open format such as an older, DRM free, version of PDF will allow the file to be read in any e-reader.

I agree that "digital" formats are scary for publishers. They allow lossless copying; sometimes with forward error correction, negating the need for re-transmission. That is why I suggested the compromise of having only back-issues available in a machine readable format.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

This is awesome!

The easter-egg idea is inspired as well.

Unfortunately, the easter-egg idea, while great from a promotional standpoint, doesn't put bitcoins into the hands of very many people.

I think the best way to convince people of the power of bitcoin is to let them play with it, like the old bitcoin faucet did.  The bitcoin faucet failed primarily because it was too easy for jerks to automate requests for bitcoins and suck the faucet dry.  But, if you are actually charging people money for a product, and give them a small amount of BTC as an added bonus, you shouldn't have to worry too much about chargebacks.  You can make the monetary value of the BTC to be small enough that it wouldn't be worth the hassle of actually ordering a subscription just to grab the bitcoins. Rather, their only real worth would be the entertainment value of trying out something new and different.

As such, I think it would be really cool if every magazine subscription was associated with a unique private key from which a person could claim a small amount of bitcoins, say ฿0.01 every month.  For example, you could generate a private key from the subsciber's name and address.  Or, you could print a QR code with a private key on the address label.  Alternately, you might find it easier to have them log into the magazine's website with their subscription ID, and have the site send them some BTC directly.

It is a good idea. One of our colleagues has already recommended something similar-- wrapping the magazines in plastic, placing a small bitcoin code sticker on the inside and having that be a small bitcoin reward. I believe this kind of bonus should be considered mandatory to a cryptocurrency magazine. The real problem then lies in our pricing. We have just sold over 100 issues at $6. If adding the plastics, the stickers, etc, raises the price to $7 per issue, would that still be worth it to those 100 readers? How about the other 1,900 we are marketing to?

I'm all ears to ideas, and I pride myself on being a solution maker-- but this one is a no-go for February in the least. I look forward to the day when we have 50,000+ issues being sold regularly and the cost of doing so is so low that we can give away anything we like.

Help us get there!

This thread is long and I'm behind. Forgive me if I double post. My posts will only consist of ideas as they pop into my head.

wrapping the magazines in plastic

Place ads on the plastic. That should help offset the cost. Consider doing it in such a way that the plastic is apt to be saved, thereby making the plastic as valuable as the mag. You can even print on both sides of the plastic, as you already well know. Ad advertiser could pay to have a QR-Code on the reverse, only readable once opened, linked to a special offer.

[Matthew N. Wright]

Place ads on the plastic. That should help offset the cost. Consider doing it in such a way that the plastic is apt to be saved, thereby making the plastic as valuable as the mag. You can even print on both sides of the plastic, as you already well know. Ad advertiser could pay to have a QR-Code on the reverse, only readable once opened, linked to a special offer.

Not currently feasible. I'll keep it in mind for the future though. I'd like to remind people who keep throwing around "just charge advertising to offset the cost"-- you need people willing to advertise first!

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I just saw the Page One movie about the New York Times and print media in general being slowly but surely destroyed by the internet and social media. It's a great irony that the cryptocurrency of the future is staking out space in media's past. I look forward to reading the magazine if and when it gets down to my local B&N. Would it help if I call the store and demand that they carry it?

IF a B&N B&M store stocks it, it's safe to say you'll be able to purchase it off their website via fiat.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

...

All perfectly good viewpoints that have been discussed thoroughly in our team. We recognize that in Brazil for example, this particular issue may never see a store window for obvious reasons. On the other hand, if I were new to bitcoin, I'd still pick this up on the front cover alone, and that was the main reasoning behind choosing such a provocative and well known image-- not to mention Bitcoin, Satoshi, Pirate Party and Anonymous all pretty much have a lot to do with each other anyway as far as I'm concerned.

Please make next issue focus on the positive sides that are accepted by the public.

It can feature ... Hitler

I appreciate your advice and I am a very outspoken person without fear of repercussions, but as long as I am Editor of the magazine, I'd prefer an Anonymous cover over Hitler anyday.

And is that an interview with Satoshi?

You'll have to wait and see!

We recognize that in Brazil for example, this particular issue may never see a store window for obvious reasons.

Put a different cover on it for the Brazilian market, or any other that that cover won't work.

[teflone]

Im assuming there will be a page on bitcoin 101, and its simple basics?

I just want a bunch of copies to stick places, gorilla advertising.

Barber shops, dentists, waiting rooms of all types, left at a coffee shops, libraries.

All the sudden, bitcoin will be everywhere..

Kill them with kindness!

[Phinnaeus Gage]

In for 12 months. Good luck.

Need a few dentists out there to subscribe for their waiting room.

When I was a Junior in high school back in '78, I went door-to-door selling magazines, raising funds for the Senior/Junior prom. I'm just throwing this out there without any further input. You get the gist.

[Matthew N. Wright]

p.s. the mere mention of DRM turns me off the entire project.

If I were half the troll people thought I was I'd just never release a digital copy LOL.

[chrisrico]

you're only thinking about what benefits you without thinking about the horrible consequences to the magazine's future.

I already purchased a 12 month subscription...

I don't really care either way. I know enough so that I can strip any DRM off of a digital copy, and will do so in order to use it on the device of my choosing (thinking my new Nook Simple Touch).

I guess I can see your side of things, that it will either be a game of cat and mouse or an all-out massive surrender. Either way is fine by me-- I'm just the founder and editor. All I care about is:

If a magazine gives up DRM or simply doesn't offer the digital copy for free-- how does it provide income to cover the costs of printing the physical copies?


Everyone here understands that we're losing money the first month, right? Does everyone here know how much it actually costs to print even 200 issues of a magazine by our specifications and at 64 pages? I literally would need to be charging $40 per issue at this point to break even. Releasing a free issue is not really on the top of my mind right now. Volume is. If that volume is in the form of more free issues, that's the wrong kind of volume. lol

I think you're misunderstanding me. I'm not suggesting you give away the digital copy for free. I'm suggesting that for those who purchase it, you don't restrict which devices they can read it on by using only specific content marketplaces or DRM laden formats.

Anyway, it's your magazine, do whatever you want. I just think your perception of the benefits of DRM and copying restrictions are flawed.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

*Putting my paranoid hat on*

What if this is all a big nothing, conspired by Matthew to steal all our coins?  He gets BTC from advertisers, and from people pre-ordering the magazine.  It's fairly easy to make good-looking headlines and cover pages if one knows their way around photoshop.  It could be one very elaborate scam!

*Takes paranoid hat off*

BUT, I don't believe it is.  Just something interesting to think about, especially given the history of various Bitcoin entrepreneurs.

Wait! What? There's an APP hat for that?

[Phinnaeus Gage]

What if this is all a big nothing, conspired by Matthew to steal all our coins? 

well,  someone with 2876 postings of experience should be able to judge someone with 2444 postings, or not?

 

Unless we're all in this together.

[SgtSpike]

The fact is, I don't understand enough what "DRM" actually is. If you consider releasing the magazine as a downloadable app "DRM" just because Apple and Android could potentially control it, then I don't really know what to say, and I'll gladly stop commenting on it and let our Marketing manager Mihai Alisie give his thoughts.

By DRM, I just mean a protected format.  Anything that you have to be logged in to view, or jump through similar hoops to get to.

If however we are talking about an issue where someone wants to download the PDF and only the PDF, and no other form will suffice, I think I'd have to give them a warm "No thank you" to their business at this particular moment. We're barely 2 weeks old as a business and I'd hate to crush us before we even start.

My fear is that many people here will just say "no thank you" right back.  I believe you would actually lose volume if you stuck with a protected format.  That is why I am advocating an unprotected PDF format.  Yes, people will pirate it, but many of those people would pirate it anyway (they will find a way around it very quickly).  But people here are generally good about supporting businesses that aim to further Bitcoin's cause, and a dedicated magazine would go straight to the top of that list as long as it's not in a protected format, since that is another big point of contention among this crowd.

Also, an unprotected format is something that would get sent around to family and friends via email.  While you might think this is a bad thing at first, the exposure to your magazine would be incredible.  For those who then become interested in the magazine at that point, you'll garner more subscriptions.  For everyone else, no revenue was lost (those friends and family members wouldn't have randomly subscribed to your magazine).  So in that sense, you have a gain to volume due to an open format, not a loss.

EDIT: Got a word down from marketing. It seems that if we are basing our income model off of advertisers such as the big boys do, releasing the digital copy for absolutely free won't be an issue, but I have been reminded that at least for the first month our entire business plan seems to be more related to individual sales.

I hope we can bring the volume up to the point that we can safely switch models. I am grateful for getting this far and I know we will only get bigger so I suppose it's only a matter of time.

I don't think it's unreasonable to release the first volume protected, then subsequent volumes unprotected.  Those who want unprotected volumes can wait a month, and knowing that an unprotected release is coming should be adequate for most of them.  In fact, that might not be a bad model to go by for future releases.  Give the magazine to the subscribers in a protected format for the first month, then give it to those same subscribers in an unprotected format afterward.  I wouldn't say give it away free to non-subscribers, as you'll miss out on sales from people who don't want to torrent things, but don't mind paying for them.  But you should be able to make all sides happy with that sort of arrangement.

I guess I can see your side of things, that it will either be a game of cat and mouse or an all-out massive surrender. Either way is fine by me-- I'm just the founder and editor. All I care about is:

If a magazine gives up DRM or simply doesn't offer the digital copy for free-- how does it provide income to cover the costs of printing the physical copies?


Everyone here understands that we're losing money the first month, right? Does everyone here know how much it actually costs to print even 200 issues of a magazine by our specifications and at 64 pages? I literally would need to be charging $40 per issue at this point to break even. Releasing a free issue is not really on the top of my mind right now. Volume is. If that volume is in the form of more free issues, that's the wrong kind of volume. lol

Yikes... $80,000 sunk in to the magazine?  That IS a lot.

Anyway, like I said above, it's all about pandering to the crowd you are targeting.  This particular crowd loves free-format files, so to avoid alienating them, you need to provide them with such.  That doesn't mean that none of them will buy it.  In fact, I believe it will be quite the opposite - you will have a lot more support, and more volume, if you offer it in an unprotected format.

Think of it like archive.org.  Likely, very few people here donated to them before they started accepting Bitcoins as donations.  When they did start accepting Bitcoin donations, they had a ton of support from folks here, to the tune of several thousand dollars worth of BTC.  Your magazine could be the same way - you won't have much support on the digital front from this crowd, unless you release an unprotected format, which people would support just because it's an unprotected format and that is rare these days.

Ok, I'm done with my soap box speeches.  I think I've said more than enough for you to understand why I think this is important.  

[notme]

p.s. the mere mention of DRM turns me off the entire project.

+100

If your company chooses to go that route, it proves you are more afraid of loss than confident in your abilities.  If I can read this for free on my linux desktop, as well as my barnes & noble nook without special software, I may do so.  And I may choose to compensate whoever provides it to me, whether it is you or a pirate.  Get over yourself, and quit hiding behind feeble locks a competent locksmith can open with a bobby pin.  If your shit is good, you will be rewarded beyond your imagination.  If not, best to fail spectacularly and move on.

Edit:
Digital costs you nothing to distribute other than a choice.  And it will drive physical sales by building your audience.

[Matthew N. Wright]

I think you're misunderstanding me. I'm not suggesting you give away the digital copy for free.

Oh! I'm sorry then. That's my own ignorance probably. So you mean charge people, but give it out as a PDF or something?

[Matthew N. Wright]

The fact is, I don't understand enough what "DRM" actually is. If you consider releasing the magazine as a downloadable app "DRM" just because Apple and Android could potentially control it, then I don't really know what to say, and I'll gladly stop commenting on it and let our Marketing manager Mihai Alisie give his thoughts.

By DRM, I just mean a protected format.  Anything that you have to be logged in to view, or jump through similar hoops to get to.

If however we are talking about an issue where someone wants to download the PDF and only the PDF, and no other form will suffice, I think I'd have to give them a warm "No thank you" to their business at this particular moment. We're barely 2 weeks old as a business and I'd hate to crush us before we even start.

My fear is that many people here will just say "no thank you" right back.  I believe you would actually lose volume if you stuck with a protected format.  That is why I am advocating an unprotected PDF format.  Yes, people will pirate it, but many of those people would pirate it anyway (they will find a way around it very quickly).  But people here are generally good about supporting businesses that aim to further Bitcoin's cause, and a dedicated magazine would go straight to the top of that list as long as it's not in a protected format, since that is another big point of contention among this crowd.

Also, an unprotected format is something that would get sent around to family and friends via email.  While you might think this is a bad thing at first, the exposure to your magazine would be incredible.  For those who then become interested in the magazine at that point, you'll garner more subscriptions.  For everyone else, no revenue was lost (those friends and family members wouldn't have randomly subscribed to your magazine).  So in that sense, you have a gain to volume due to an open format, not a loss.

EDIT: Got a word down from marketing. It seems that if we are basing our income model off of advertisers such as the big boys do, releasing the digital copy for absolutely free won't be an issue, but I have been reminded that at least for the first month our entire business plan seems to be more related to individual sales.

I hope we can bring the volume up to the point that we can safely switch models. I am grateful for getting this far and I know we will only get bigger so I suppose it's only a matter of time.

I don't think it's unreasonable to release the first volume protected, then subsequent volumes unprotected.  Those who want unprotected volumes can wait a month, and knowing that an unprotected release is coming should be adequate for most of them.  In fact, that might not be a bad model to go by for future releases.  Give the magazine to the subscribers in a protected format for the first month, then give it to those same subscribers in an unprotected format afterward.  I wouldn't say give it away free to non-subscribers, as you'll miss out on sales from people who don't want to torrent things, but don't mind paying for them.  But you should be able to make all sides happy with that sort of arrangement.

I guess I can see your side of things, that it will either be a game of cat and mouse or an all-out massive surrender. Either way is fine by me-- I'm just the founder and editor. All I care about is:

If a magazine gives up DRM or simply doesn't offer the digital copy for free-- how does it provide income to cover the costs of printing the physical copies?


Everyone here understands that we're losing money the first month, right? Does everyone here know how much it actually costs to print even 200 issues of a magazine by our specifications and at 64 pages? I literally would need to be charging $40 per issue at this point to break even. Releasing a free issue is not really on the top of my mind right now. Volume is. If that volume is in the form of more free issues, that's the wrong kind of volume. lol

Yikes... $80,000 sunk in to the magazine?  That IS a lot.

Anyway, like I said above, it's all about pandering to the crowd you are targeting.  This particular crowd loves free-format files, so to avoid alienating them, you need to provide them with such.  That doesn't mean that none of them will buy it.  In fact, I believe it will be quite the opposite - you will have a lot more support, and more volume, if you offer it in an unprotected format.

Think of it like archive.org.  Likely, very few people here donated to them before they started accepting Bitcoins as donations.  When they did start accepting Bitcoin donations, they had a ton of support from folks here, to the tune of several thousand dollars worth of BTC.  Your magazine could be the same way - you won't have much support on the digital front from this crowd, unless you release an unprotected format, which people would support just because it's an unprotected format and that is rare these days.

Ok, I'm done with my soap box speeches.  I think I've said more than enough for you to understand why I think this is important.  

This made a lot of sense to me. I'm sure everyone else has been saying something similar, I'm just hearing it better the way you put it. Let me sit on this for a while and think.

[SgtSpike]

I think you're misunderstanding me. I'm not suggesting you give away the digital copy for free.

Oh! I'm sorry then. That's my own ignorance probably. So you mean charge people, but give it out as a PDF or something?

Exactly that.  You'll still get sales from people who feel morally obligated to compensate others for their work (as I do), but you won't alienate support from the crowd who "uses first, then compensates based on how much they liked it".  The pirates will pirate whether it is protected or not.

[Matthew N. Wright]

p.s. the mere mention of DRM turns me off the entire project.

+100

If your company chooses to go that route, it proves you are more afraid of loss than confident in your abilities.  If I can read this for free on my linux desktop, as well as my barnes & noble nook without special software, I may do so.  And I may choose to compensate whoever provides it to me, whether it is you or a pirate.  Get over yourself, and quit hiding behind feeble locks a competent locksmith can open with a bobby pin.  If your shit is good, you will be rewarded beyond your imagination.  If not, best to fail spectacularly and move on.

Edit:
Digital costs you nothing to distribute other than a choice.  And it will drive physical sales by building your audience.

FYI This is the correct way to talk to me, although SgtSpike's explanation made me want to believe a bit more in the "community backing it". I'm not 100% clear on that at the moment but it will become more clear when we're breaking even.

[notme]

I think you're misunderstanding me. I'm not suggesting you give away the digital copy for free.

Oh! I'm sorry then. That's my own ignorance probably. So you mean charge people, but give it out as a PDF or something?

Exactly that.  You'll still get sales from people who feel morally obligated to compensate others for their work (as I do), but you won't alienate support from the crowd who "uses first, then compensates based on how much they liked it".  The pirates will pirate whether it is protected or not.

+100