It's Time For Squee and Expensive Handbag Squee Harshing

Arcade Fire!!! is offering their new album preordered for 7.99. Bravely, they are releasing the digital with an option to have just plain MP3s. I prefer plain MP3s- the use of them is a big reason I use emusic, I wonder if they are worried about piracy, especially among young people who aren't used to actually paying for entertainment.

I think they are hoping enough people pay for extras like the vinyl to make up for folks who don't think humping your behind to make an album deserves the less than $10 it costs to actually pay for it. At least Arcade Fire is big enough to have licensing deals for commercials to make up the revenue as well

[Here's a perspective on this for the manga market] I admit to being part of the manga after market, as I like used books to catch up to older out of print series, but I realize that I'm not entitled to free manga. Manga is actually extremely labor intensive- story boarding, writing, drawing, translation, the creation of the design of the book. It's amazing that manga is so cheap, when American comics are selling $4 for 30 pages, I'm seeing 8.99 for 200.


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I look with suspicion on $1000 bags, especially from large companies. If I'm getting the same cheap labor and cheap materials, but with a flashier name, why shouldn't I just go to a thrift store and get a perfectly fine bag for way cheaper? Heck, if I'm desperate for new, I could just go to etsy and pick up a bag.

Is Louis Vuitton handmade? Well, designer companies are certainly using sweatshops, even in Italy. People blame the Chinese workers, but many are sold a bill of goods- you'll pay off your debt quick! You'll be back and successful before long! The subcontractors all the way down model helps big companies have plausible denialbilty for ripping off labor.

HeyMichelle Speaks

Words in bold are hers:

HeyMichelle
Etsy Admin
HeyMichelle says:
Hmmm, this is a question I've been pondering over all day. I think it's a definition that we will have to hone to be right for the Etsy market. There are many precedents set by other companies though as to how to handle mature content - ebay, google, and flickr come to mind.

My impression- I feel that there should be a way for the average person to browse Etsy freely with their child on their lap, and for the average conservative or middle of the road person to easily avoid content they don't want to see. Yes, there are always extremes on either side, but I'm thinking about the middle, say, 80-90% of people or so.

For example, if Etsy is featured on a show like Good Morning America (as we were recently), will there be a good number of new visitors who might not leave and not come back if the content is displayed prominently?

The Dos and Don'ts uses the term "general audiences" as well:

Etsy aims to maintain a marketplace appropriate for general audiences, therefore the use of mature content must comply with the following policies. Mature content is defined as: visual depiction of male or female genitalia, sexual activity or content, profane language or graphic violence. Mature content listings will remain in all Etsy searches by default; users can restrict results by using the exclusionary search term "NOT mature" ("opt-out" search status).

* Item listings containing mature content must be tagged with "mature" and include the word "mature" in the item title.
* Mature content and/or profane language or images are not allowed in your username, Public Profile, item titles, tags, avatar, banner, Shop Announcement and/or shop section titles.
* The first thumbnail image in your item listing should be kept appropriate for general audiences; additional images in the listing may show the item in its entirety. Mature content and/or profane language or images are only allowed in the second, third, fourth and fifth photos of an item listing and the description text of a listing.
* Pornography is prohibited on Etsy.

Is etsy shifting audiences with its popularity? Although this does not *personally* affect me[despite the depictions of plant genitalia in my jewelry, they are all work safe], I'm still thinking about what to think on this issue.

Mature Treasuries on Etsy

There's apparently a huge furor about mature items in Treasury East, apparently the listings will be filtered out or something and there are petitions on the internet about this.

BTW: admin announcement post.

My brain is fogging up, and so I haven't really taken a position. I'm not sure etsy really makes it clear to people that it's an adult site. On the other hand, treasuries are 'beneath the fold' so to speak, and aren't in people's personal log in areas...

ETA:Etsybitch takes a side. A pet peeve I have is people saying I'm not a prude, but... We're all prudes to someone, and saying I'm not a prude isn't going to convince anyway. I'm a prude, and proud of it. I find things are more exciting when there's something that can shock you.

The upshot of this thread is...

run your shop as a business. Even if you're doing it just for fun, with the recession on, it's important not to lose money on each sale. The web of small business is such that with our sales we buy other things and move money around. If you lose money on each sale, you can't move any money, can you?

And BTW: it seems that school trips are fraught with peril. That said, we all have different beliefs, and yes, all beliefs come with a risk of not being business friendly. I curse a lot, and of course, most people wouldn't want to expose their kids to my blue streak, and many people want to tell their children about their own beliefs and not have some beliefs seemingly endorsed by the school, and others ignored.

It's Happy Black Girl Day

but I'm exhausted. So I link you to this black love tumblr., and a headband I wish I had from etsy. Oh yea, and the award winning game Portal is now avaliable for free! I have a cool new toy, and you will see the amazing results soon. *wiggles eyebrow mysteriously*

One more "soup nazi" comparison & I'll scream. Yes, we're small & limited on what we can do. No, I don't think this makes us "nazis" :(less than a minute ago via webMuddy's Bake Shop
muddysbakeshop

Don't call hard working local bakers cupcake nazis. Of course, there's the issue that unless they are making cupcakes with swaztikas on them, or burning crosses or something, I don't want to hear about who is a 'nazi'. Their shop has gotten very popular because of how delicious the cupcakes are, but it really is a small shop. It's smaller than your average Starbucks,and they have to bake all of their items themselves so of course they aren't going to be able to keep up with demand. I'm not sure if they'll be able to expand or not. Real estate in Memphis is cheap, but there's a terrible recession on. I don't go up to Sanderlin as often I want as it is.

On The Advertising Mix

I find it hard to really have much of an advertising mix as I must rely on free or very low cost advertising. I use twitter, facebook, etsy forums[renewing was costing a lot for little return], online classified ads, livejournal postings, etc.

Also, there's much controversy over a new etsy feature. Folks are getting tired of new geegaws to show us popular shops. I myself have already seen most of these shops and I'd like to see new shops. In my suggested shops, I have shops that I already have faved and bought from, which is not any help to me at all.

Happy Mother's Day

to all who support us, to all who teach us, to all who do the under recognized work that keeps the world spinning, regardless of whether they are our biological mothers, our adoptive mothers, our friends, our teachers, or anyone else who mothers.

Should Work Hours Be Reduced to Increase Employment?

An interesting idea. The problem that many part timers have today is a lack of insurance, ability to pay housing and food costs, etc. Shorter work weeks would be better for our health and probably our environment, but there's also the cultural issue that Americans tend to equate having time off with being a horrible person, and of course, if the government got involved, people would be howling that someone spent an extra penny on food they didn't approve of or didn't look downtrodden enough or something.

I think the part time revolution has already come. Full time employment is getting harder to find. A lot of people are scraping by. You can downsize consumerism, but you can't downsize the need to live indoors.

The Grow Memphis Plant Sale

It's been extended!


The photo above is a squash plant that I bought from the plant sale on Sunday, and which is growing quite well. On Sunday, they had helpful service, explaining to me what say..an Anaheim pepper is. [Don't laugh! I'm a novice!] They had some good varieties there, including some green zebra tomatoes, which they were selling for a $1 each.

There's nothing like a garden- no gatekeepers, all you need is a plant, a trowel, and some water. If you get stumped, there's the public library! I'm hoping for some good fruits this year, and the answer to the mystery of what is eating the basil!

A Lack of Oversight Kills Small Businesses...

BP didn't plan properly, and now their oversight is killing fisheries in America. People don't ask people to say...actually use the equipment needed to drill oil at that depth safely just to be mean. We do it since we're all connected. The men who died when the rig exploded, the fishermen who will suffer from the oil spill, and even the wildlife that will suffer are connected. It's not just grab all the cash you can without regard for everything else. We need to find ways of living that are sustainable for everyone.