Or not. As become clear in about two minutes, the vast majority of folks who took the time to respond to our question would like nothing more than for Ford to resign. That would be quite the act of altruism, wouldn't it? Working under the assumption that our mayor isn't about to throw in the towel just yet, the list of suggestions below has been edited to place emphasis on some of the other ideas tossed in the ring.
Happy holidays, Rob.
View the story "A #TOwishlist for Rob Ford" on Storify]
I purchase and watch a lot of streaming content, tv shows and movies, be it on Netflix, AppleTV and iPad (which I use at the gym and while traveling). This week, ABC launched a promotion allowing users to download all 9-episodes of Pan-Am for free. The move is a desperate last chance attempt to drive interest in the series, which is on the edge of cancellation. Will it work? I’m not sure — it could be too late. But it is a smart move and it got me thinking. Why don’t networks offer the first episode of every television series for free?
Everyone loves free stuff. People will even flock to free stuff when the free stuff is actually junk. Free stuff can be great marketing — and unlike a lot of marketing promos, it actually works.
I remember when Best Buy would give out free DVDs of the first two episodes of each upcoming season of 24. I use to joke that it was like Fox was like a drug dealer, giving everyone their first hit for free, to get you hooked. So many friends found the series because of these free DVDs. I’m surprised that the same gimmick isn’t being used more often with digital media.
Sure, you see a promotion like the Pan-Am freebie pop up every once in a while, usually when a network is forced to do something drastic. But why not make it a regular thing? If the content is good, people will spend their money on it. Its why HBO and Showtime give free previews every once in a while.
As a digital buying consumer, I would love to try out some tv shows I wouldn’t normally consider purchasing. iTunes currently has a “Free Episodes” section, but it’s filled mostly with free featurettes, trailers, sneak peeks. It’s actually hard to find television episodes in the “Free Episode” section. I find that a little sad.
It would be great if Apple iTunes offered the first episode of every television series for download in HD for FREE. If people end up liking the pilot episode, they’ll want more. The problem is that Networks are resistant to offer up their content for free on digital devices — so I think it would take a powerhouse like Apple to force this deal. And I could see such a feature as a part of the long rumored Apple television.
Do you wanna get it? (Image: Gizelle Lau)
Walking down Spadina past the old home of Ackee Tree the other day, mourning the jerk chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries of yore, we spotted this cryptic sign. The building, 170 Spadina Avenue, was recently bought out by a condo developer, but the shop will apparently be the site of a very temporary pop-up taking place in January 2012. Their Twitter account drops precious few hints, although apparently there’s already a new graffiti-inspired façade. We’ll be watching for more clues.
Move over, Tina Fey — Amazon has just released the list of their ten best-selling books of the year, and Walter Isaacson’s thoughtful biography of Steve Jobs has come out on top.
The biography’s appearance at the top of the list is a bit of a surprise considering its relatively late publication this year, but the book’s impressive sales performance was fueled by the huge show of fan support after the Apple co-founder’s untimely passing in October.
Amazon culled these rankings from both their traditional book sales figures and Kindle eBook downloads, and this year two titles submitted through Amazon’s Direct Publishing program have made the top 10: Darcie Chan’s “The Mill River Recluse,” and Chris Culver’s “The Abbey”.
While Isaacson’s take on the life of Jobs took Amazon’s top honors, it doesn’t seem to have fared as well over at Barnes and Noble. According to their list of the year’s best-sellers (which to be fair only runs through November 21), Jobs’s biography rounds out the top five. It’s performance as a eBook in Nook’s line-up is even less impressive: it lands at #33 on the nookbook bestseller list, behind the compiled Hunger Games trilogy and something called “Mail-Order Christmas Brides.”
Here’s the full list of Amazon’s best-sellers, in case you’re looking to finish up your holiday shopping with a few good books.
