Search Engine Optimization

The artist I chose for this particular assignment is Prince Cat-Eyez. One of the reasons I chose this particular artist is because he happens to be a great friend of mine, and because he is a self-made public figure. Prince Cat-Eyes has, in my opinion, successfully uses social media to promote his material, and give continuous updates on his tours, and new releases.
Some of the channels he utilizes include Face Book, and Twitter.
When any of his fans visit his profiles they will be able to read his biography, accomplishments, new material, and upcoming events. Prince Cat-Eyez has successfully used these channels to put his name out in the industry, and booked many gigs in different events.
It is very important to mention also that another social media channel he uses is YouTube. If any of his fans type his name they will find some of his most recent videos. He has created an image and a style that stand out. This particular channel is by far the most effective because this is the finalized product. This is what the public ultimately sees, and what gives him the name and reputations he made for himself. In addition, his My Space profile gives his fans access to pictures, bio, and free music.
Aside from social media, Prince Cat-Eyez also resorts to networking channels as part of his marketing efforts. He has different contacts with recording studios, and booking agents he has worked with in the past. Prince Cat-Eyes is on the right path by combining social media with a networking channel because this is crucial to any artist or business that want their name to be known. By creating a social media network you can reduce your social networking efforts significantly and still get the best results from it. By integrating the 2 you not only can monitor the outcome your efforts produced but also how others in the industry are achieving their goals and hitting target markets (virtualsocialmedia.com, 2010).
I would suggest that this artist run his own website with all his information from Bio, pictures, music, downloads and such. He can use his existing channels to promote it, for example he can include a Twitter or Face Book button on the website. He can also look into different SEO options to drive traffic to his website (i.e. pay-per-click, and such) and increase his brand awareness.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Prince-Cat-Eyez/111361905542802

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfVAxSIKaRs

the Fashion Industry and Digital Media

The fashion world has always interested me, ever since I was a child. I have some favorite designers and models, and sketch many looks including, ready-to-wear looks, costumes, different decades and eras, and more. This will be couple with my brushing up my sewing, and constructing skills. A head of costumes job for a major film company is on my list of possibilities. 

This article shows us that the fashion industry has not only discovered digital media but has embraced it. I must admit that before I read this article I had no idea of how much the fashion industry has come to depend on digital channels. On reading the article you will find that top designers like Gucci sell tickets online for online viewing of runway shows (Kramer, 2011). 

Another example is Ralph Lauren who created several apps around his products and audiences. According to the article its latest application is the RLX app. The application is name RLX because one can see athletes wearing RLX clothing. The app is meant to give the public a clear idea of what the product is about and what is meant to do (Kramer, 2011). 

I strongly believe that today is easy to realize how digital media has taken over the fashion industry, entertainment industry, and many others. For example, every reality TV shows such, as Top Model, and Project Runway are available online. Many of this shows can even involve the public by allowing viewers to pick favorites and sometimes either text or visit a website to cast a vote for a favorite contestant in the show. 

In the case of shows such as American Idol the final decision on a winner comes directly from the viewers of the show. In recent years, each contestant was assigned a code a viewer can use to vote for his or her favorite contestant by simply texting the code.  I really believe the digital media will continue to play a part in how industries reach their target markets. The new generations have grown up to know nothing but digital media. This article has shown readers the even the must successful people realize the importance of digital media. Below is a link to the article. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-fashion-industry-embraces-and-becomes-digital-media-2011-2

Kramer, L. (2011). The fashion industry embraces and becomes digital media. Retrieved May 07, 2011, from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-fashion-industry-embraces-and-becomes-digital-media-2011-2

Website reviews

For this blog I chose to review some websites I found on our collaboration assignment posted by Mandy Chenoweth.  The reason I decided to review these websites is because on that particular posting Mandy mentioned that she is dyslexic.  This really hit home for me because I have a dear friend from college who was also dyslexic and I know how hard she had to work to overcome this disability, and get good grades on both individual, and team papers.

If memory serves me she always was concerned with the proofreading part of the assignments, and would always request a neighbor friend to proofread for her. I was very grateful to her because her disability made me work harder, and commit more to our work together right down to the day we graduated.

To begin with, I visited a website called www.Arborservices.co/editing.php. This website offers such services as editing, proofreading, line editing, and more.  The websites offers a detailed explanation of how each service works, and also a price rate attached to each product. For example, comprehensive editing cost 0.04 to 0.14 cents a word, line editing cost 0.04 to 0.08 cents a word, and book read cost $500 per 20,000 words.  While the services offered are excellent I find the prices a bit exorbitant.  For instance, if you go with the book read option you have to figure that 1,000 words will fit in 2 pages (depending on size of print) so 20,000 words will fit in 40 pages. This mean you will pay $500 for a 40-page book. Imagine if you have a 200-page book, this would not be an option for someone trying to self-publish.

Next I visited www.editing-writing.com/book-editing.shtml. This website was not as straightforward as the one above, and certainly did not have as much detail on the main page; the pricing was not there, and you need to navigate through different links to learn about services offered. One thing this website did have was some reviews from users, and their comments on the editor who helped them with their work. Reading the reviews shows you that the work is very personal, and the author has direct contact with the editor, which makes it more personal.

Overall I found both websites useful but different in many levels. I was pleasantly surprise to learn that many services exist out there to help authors make their material known to the public.  This was definitely a great learning experience. 

Is self-publishing right for me?

Throughout this class we have learned all about self-publishing. My personal focus lay on book self-publishing. Although all the information provided was most helpful the question still remains whether or not self-publishing is the right option for any given author. Something I found very interesting is the fact that authors face the same quandary but for different reasons based on genre, market, resources, and such.

The research I conducted on the Internet lead me to a website that provides a very generic checklist that anyone can use to determine if self-publishing is right for him or her. The fact that is generic in nature makes it easy for any author to make good use of it no matter the genre.

Of course one advantage of self-publishing is that you get to keep the rights to the book if you choose to do so and get 100% royalties. These facts alone make it very appealing to the average author who is trying to put his or her work out there.

The website’s checklist appears very simple but in my opinion the questions it poses really put things in perspective. It basically helps you analyze each factor independently. For instance, you have to consider the market and ask yourself, is the market narrow and easily targeted? If you have a marketing strategy ask yourself if you have the time and energy to set things in motion and keep them going? If you do self-publish are you setting realistic goals in terms of profit and time marketing will take? In addition, you have to ask yourself some hard questions and try to be as objective as possible. For instance, you need to do some soul-searching and look at your work as the average reader would and ask whether or not you would read this material? If a professional opinion regards your work as average and not excellent ask yourself if you are considering self-publishing for egotistic reasons (writeservices.com, n.d.)?

Previously I have mentioned how important is to have a strong foundation when developing a business plan. Self-publishing is no exception. I strongly believe you have to have a well-thought out plan before even searching for the means to self-publish

           

Writer Services. (2003). Writerservices.com. Retrieved April 14, 2011

               From http://www.writersservices.com/wps/s_for_you.htm

An Interview with Jason Miller

Jason Miller Esq. has been practicing law for years. Being a close friend of mine I thought he is the logical choice for this assignment. I approached Jason with my business idea and asked him a few questions about intellectual property (IP), company structure, and such. His professional point of view gave me some interesting pointers on intellectual property, and also about the business idea itself, and some areas of opportunity?

Jason what can you tell me about the company structure?
Each business entity has different tax implications. The best example I can give you would be an S-Corporation. This type of structure falls under different tax brackets. For instance, any income between $75,000 and $100,000 will have a tax rate structure of about 34% plus 13.750.
On a different note, for a small business owner a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) is the best option for a many reasons; the main reason, and also the simplest if that you can't get sued if you have limited liability.

What's your take on the business name?
Ideally you will have dba (doing business as) on the name. For instance, you can be "Friendly Corp. dba Home Novelties and Decor. Depending on the structure the name will have variations and you have to make sure not to use the wrong words when spelling out the acronym. For example if you say Limited Liability Company instead of Limited Liability Corporation it could change the whole meaning on a contract. This is a common mistake.

What is the best way to protect copyrighted material? And how can you make sure is not being used by someone else?
It is extremely difficult to monitor such action. For an online business the best thing to do is to come up with a unique logo that is so unusual no one will be able to impugn on it. For example, no one could trademark a domain name such as EBay1 or AmazonX.

What is your professional opinion about the business idea?
When you seek legal advise from a professional they will want to know what you want to do? Why do you think your business idea is unique and innovative? Thousands of online businesses fail and only the strongest survive by virtue of incorporating a catchy name (i.e. Amazon).  Your business name is too long and wordy. Think about another business with a long name such as Bed Bath & Beyond and you will see your business name does not have the same tone. Ask yourself why. If you do not have a catchy name you will spend thousands of dollars on marketing just to have a degree of brand awareness.

I would like to thank Jason for this opportunity. He was kind enough to provide me with a link to his Linked In profile, as he is not allowed to use his law office on any pro bono work.

Jason Miller | LinkedIn

Industry Liabilities

Hello Teammates. Below are the articles and cases I chose to discuss today:
The first one is entitled "The Sophia Stewart wins the Matrix copyright infringement case"
I know the title is pretty self explanatory but I chose to comment on this one is because it is amazing to me that a multi-million dollar production such as the Matrix Saga would have copyright issues. The Plaintiff claims that the movie was based on her a manuscript called "The third Eye" which she copyrighted back in the early 80's (Bhatt, 2009). What I find so amazing about this case is that one would think studios such as Warner Bros would have a set of amazing entertainment law attorneys looking after important details like this. The court obviously concurred with the woman claim since there was a judgment in her favor but this comes to show you this type of litigation can last for years. Our reading show that the court decision will boil down (in many cases) to whether or not there are enough similarities between the original and alleged infringed material.

Bhatt, A. (2009). Sophia Stuart wins the matrix copyright infringement case. Retrieved March 01,2011 from http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/sophia-stewart-wins-the-copyright-infringement-case_100273392.html

This video clip is called "Chris Knight's Copyright Infringement Case Resolved". According to this video clip a man by the name Chris Knight received a copyright infringement for posting a You Tube videoThe man produced a video for a school campaign and posted it on You Tube. He received a copyright infringement take down notice for posting a clip of his commercial from the VH1 show. This was after seeing his commercial on the VH1 web job 2.0. According to the video he responded to these claims with a counter notice and did some research as to what he needed to do on a situation like this. His video was restored and no further charges where filed by either party. The action by You Tube turned out to be a mistake since they thought that this man took a video a company produced and uploaded it to You Tube when it was the other way around (Anonymous, 2007). Now litigation for infringement can lead to all kinds of penalties and restitution and Chris Knight chose not to pursue and added he did not mind them using his material. I think in this case the fact the he did not press any charges was very lucky because if he can prove this is his own material he could be in for a hefty settlement.

Anonymous. (2007). Chris Knight’s copyright infringement case. Retrieved March 1, 2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5R9ZFDielc

The last article is a trademark infringement Red Bull sued a company that produced an energy drink call bull fighter. Red bull claimed that the similar packaging and similar logo was misleading customers into believing the product was manufactured by Red Bull and therefore it offers same benefits as a Red Bull product. The court ruled in favor of Red Bull concluding the other competitor intentionally took advantage of Red Bull image for profit (Ameinfo, 2010). In my opinion, this is a perfect example of how trademarks can protect your business from infringement. The company was able to win this case because it took the time protect its intellectual property and now it may be entitle to a huge amount of royalties depending on the court’s ruling.

Ameinfo. (2010). Ameinfo.com. Retrieved March 1, 2011, from http://www.livenation.com/h/about_us.html