I was sitting here pondering...being the IT guy that I am I was thinking about training and open source/intellectual property law. I've seen a ton of different places offer training dvds and the like for sale. I'd like to check some out, but we're talking something that quite expensive on a per hour basis, and often there is little or not preview available. I honestly don't know what I'm getting or from who. As a result, I wind up buying none.
I'd love to see some of the training groups/people consider more progressive distribution ideas. Instead of the typical copyright perhaps release a dvd under the Creative Commons license. http://creativecommons.org/ With this license you could keep ownership of the material, but allow others to freely distibute and copy it provided they give you credit. You can also set stipulations such as if you'll allow or disallow commerial use of your work, and if it can be modified and reused or not.
You're probably thinking why would you give away a video for free? I think it would be a fantastic way to get people hooked on your material and get them to buy more. There is a surprising amount of content released in this fashion today that does quite well http://www.abc.net.au/news/arts/articulate/200604/s1616389.htm Personally I think showing the new people such as myself an indepth look at what you have to offer is going to make them less hesitant to drive and take your weekend class, or buy your advanced topics dvd.
Cost is really nothing, there are several ways to distribute large files such as a dvd's worth of video on the internet today cost free. Most noteable you'd probably use bittorrent where the users will be the ones supporting the file and uploading it to each other.
I typically don't think the gun business is all that interested in tech or the social issues that tech people like myself are concerned with but I thought I'd point out a potential method to reach a new audience that no one in this area seems to be taking advantage of. If you produce such videos and have questions, feel free to ask.
I'd love to see some of the training groups/people consider more progressive distribution ideas. Instead of the typical copyright perhaps release a dvd under the Creative Commons license. http://creativecommons.org/ With this license you could keep ownership of the material, but allow others to freely distibute and copy it provided they give you credit. You can also set stipulations such as if you'll allow or disallow commerial use of your work, and if it can be modified and reused or not.
You're probably thinking why would you give away a video for free? I think it would be a fantastic way to get people hooked on your material and get them to buy more. There is a surprising amount of content released in this fashion today that does quite well http://www.abc.net.au/news/arts/articulate/200604/s1616389.htm Personally I think showing the new people such as myself an indepth look at what you have to offer is going to make them less hesitant to drive and take your weekend class, or buy your advanced topics dvd.
Cost is really nothing, there are several ways to distribute large files such as a dvd's worth of video on the internet today cost free. Most noteable you'd probably use bittorrent where the users will be the ones supporting the file and uploading it to each other.
I typically don't think the gun business is all that interested in tech or the social issues that tech people like myself are concerned with but I thought I'd point out a potential method to reach a new audience that no one in this area seems to be taking advantage of. If you produce such videos and have questions, feel free to ask.