In exciting news, I have made my first deck: this involved a lot of research, writing, re-writing, then a Sunday spent tinkering with transparencies and making pictures line up with other pictures. There’s certainly a real art to it – no more fade-in transitions, alas, nor clip-art, nor comic sans – which I have only just begun to get my head round.

In fact, things have shifted gear slightly, as I’ve made progress with large projects and brought mini-tasks to a close. There’s a sense that the pace of life here fluctuates with whatever the work requires – which is obvious, perhaps, but nice to experience in practise.

Oh, and I claimed my
own wall and begun filling it with post-its (which more fun than you might
think).

And I learnt about
about a miraculous kid who made a nuclear fusion reactor by himself when he was 14.

Which is nuts.

—–

(Thoughts courtesy of Planning Placement newbie James.)

The particulars of this film and TV service
are as follows. You sign up for the account, as you might for Netflix or LoveFilm. But rather than setting up a monthly direct debit, you watch adverts to accrue credit and then use
that to ‘pay’ for the film or TV show itself. Simple as pie.

(For those who think you’ve spotted a flaw:
there's no option to go and make a cup of tea while the ad is on
because you have to periodically click a message box to make sure you are really watching. Sneaky!)

What’s interesting lies in the fact
that you tell Hitbliss what ads to show you. According to the site:

Don't like a brand or its message? Skip
it at any time. In the mood for just certain brand categories, like Electronics
or Auto? Change the channel. HitBliss Earn gives you total freedom over your
earning experience.

Hitbliss’s payment model introduces market
dynamics to advertising. Ads must be relevant and good to watch, otherwise no-one will
choose them for purposes of accruing credit. The most enjoyable ads should
survive; the worst ones are ignored and perish. Death to the annoying slogan! Death to the mediocre campaign!

Hitbliss is an example of the way
democratic, internet-type thinking has the potential to shift
certain aspects of the world, like advertising, in totally unexpected ways.

Well, you know. Maybe not. The idea might be ignored by the general public, or it might become one of a number of different (legal) ways to watch stuff online.  Nevertheless, it
raises the question: why should we be forced to watch all advertising, when we
could chose to watch only the good stuff?

—–

(Thoughts courtesy of Planning Placement newbie James.)