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Year: 2014
Fake It Show #6 – The Pentatoque
+Mike Attrell and +Nick Maddox from +Future Chat joined me to chat in lieu of talking about science and technology this week. We learned a little bit about the old testament, talked about where our energy goes, and shamed people who shoot vertical videos.
6: The PentatoqueThe Problem with Blackmail – Thought of the Day
This Sony hack and media frenzy around the un-release of The Interview this Christmas Day has got me thinking.
The hackers have now sent Sony a new message thanking them for cancelling the release of their movie “The Interview” and saying that they will keep all of Sony’s stolen intellectual property to themselves unless the movie is “leaked, released or distributed”.
There are countless occasions when stolen property is held “ransom” unless certain demands are met, and in the movies the thieves always take precautions to ensure that they aren’t caught (like no police involvement). However, in instances like this, all Sony (and theatre chains) are doing is kowtowing to ANY future demand these hackers might have.
With this stolen intellectual property, not only will Sony lose money on this film’s release, but it will not be able to make any project that these hackers don’t agree should be released. Because in cases of blackmail like this, when somebody knows a secret about you, they OWN you.
If Sony really has secret information, they had better think long and hard about whether it is worth losing control over any future endeavours for any executives or employees involved. I always say, it’s better to come out ahead of your secrets and be up front, that way the thieves lose all leverage in any situation.
Obviously, this isn’t a simple issue, but when it comes to getting blackmailed, the sanest way out is typically doing the best you can to bring criminals to justice, and airing any dirty laundry you might have. If it turns out this is really the doing of the North Korean government, they have made much worse threats than the ones they made this week, and we have never taken them seriously.
If you’re going to take a stand, at least stand with the rational among us, or you will forever be beholden to those with your worst interests at heart.
Attrell Update – Back to the Future & the Instagram Experiment
This week on +Attrell Update, we discuss the future of the Update. I also talk about starting my Instagram experiment. You can find me there at robattrell. If you have any feedback about our videos, leave us a comment and let me know!
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Here’s Steph from earlier this week talking about her side of Attrell Update.
Ottawhat #31 – Samantha Ingram
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Future Chat #42 – Happy Saturnalia, Everyone!
This week on +Future Chat, it’s the end of the year, Mike gets throat punched, and we discuss the usefulness of Watson beyond Jeopardy-winning.
Future Chat #42: Happy Saturnalia, Everyone! Subscribe via RSS, on iTunes, or on Stitcher Radio to check it out.East Meets West #1 – Toronto, the Great Unifier
Check out episode 1 of a brand new podcast on Unwind Media! It’s East Meets West! We talked about beer, milk and what to bring with you when you move across the country.Attrell Update – This is Unwind Media!
This week on +Attrell Update, I introduce my media enterprise, UnwindMedia.com! This is also a chance for a year-in-review media empire-wise. Exciting stuff!
You can join the Unwind Media Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/unwindmedia or follow us on Twitter @UnwindMedia.
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Ottawhat #30 – Cait O’Malley
Check out this week’s episode of the Ottawhat? podcast. New every Thursday!