On this episode of Spark: Bee Furniture, Fan Subbing, and The Smartphone Wallet. Click below to listen to the whole show, or download the MP3 (runs 54:00).
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:25 — 49.9MB)
You can also listen to individual stories below.
Making Our Money Mobile
The recent launch of Google Wallet in the U.S has got us thinking about mobile money again, the idea of using your smartphone to pay for things – no cash, no plastic. This may be a new idea for the western world, but mobile money systems are already operating in other parts of the world where cell phones are the way to pay for goods and services. A couple of months ago we took a look at the already functioning system of M-Pesa in Kenya, and had David Schropfer on the show to talk about the prospect of it ever becoming a reality here. David is the author of The Smartphone Wallet – Understanding the Disruption Ahead, and in light of the latest developments, we decided to call him up again on Skype. (Runs 13:51)
Play audio:
- Google Wallet
- David Schropfer
- The Smartphone Wallet – Understanding the Disruption Ahead
- Full uncut version of interview with David Schropfer
- Spark 139: Kaj Hasselriis on Mobile Money in Kenya, and David Schropfer on if it could catch on in Canada
- Spark 130: Femi Akinde on African E-commerce
Inter-species Collaboration
These days we see all kinds of human-machine collaboration around us. But how about a little inter-species collaboration? That’s what Canadian concept designer Vanessa Harden’s been thinking about. Vanessa is currently in London, England developing a new design process that fosters a collaboration between honeybees and humans to create bespoke furnishings. Yup, right now in London, bees are working with humans to make furniture. Vanessa, along with project co-designer Kevin Hill and beekeeper Angela Dougall, take Nora on a tour of their project. (Runs 9:21)
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The Art and Commerce of Fan Love
What happens when you bring together the internet, a niche international fan base, and an obscure German soap opera? Quite possibly, the future of television. Hand aufs Herz fan Clare Lawlor and digital strategist Xiaochang Li tell us all about the world of fan subbers – people who painstakingly do their own translations and subtitles on programs they love, and then put them up on the Web on places like YouTube. It sounds harmless and probably good for publicity, right? Well, the broadcasters aren’t always so keen. Copyright, dontcha know. But could it make good business sense to allow your fans to do it? (Runs 16:14)
Play audio:
- Hand aufs Herz
- Jemma International (where you can find the transcripts)
- Jenny and Emma International (where you find the subtitles)
- SAT1′s official Jemma page (where you find the broadcaster’s clips)
- More on the Jemma storyline at afterellen.com
- Xiaochang Li’s blog
The Domino Project
Author and entrepreneur Seth Godin is known for harnessing the disruptive power of the internet. Now, he has set his sights on publishing. His latest venture is called The Domino Project, and the model is simple: get rid of the middlemen, and try to create direct connections between authors and readers. That means publishing books without the help of agents, publicists, or even bookstores, and working with tight turnaround times and very little capital. (Runs 9:19)
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It's sooo amazing how Jemma faszinates the whole world. It makes them even more special. Thank you so so much for the potcast. Really pretty good. I hope Germany takes this as an ideal and reports about Jemma much more, as well.
<3 A German Jemma Freak
Thank you very much for this interesting podcast and for featuring Hand aufs Herz as an example for global Fan Love. I am from Germany too, and I'm just overwhelmed by the international impact of this lovely little couple. It's so amazing how much effort people from all over the world spend on this to spread the love! This really shows that the world is on the move and growing together.
(Yesterday we just surfed the Internet – today we ride the Jemma-Wave!
Best wishes to Canada!
Hello. Thank you very much for the report about Hand aufs Herz. It was really exciting and impressive something of Hand aufs Herz listen on the radio. It's amazing how Jemma the whole world enchanted.
It was a good idea to do this. Thank you! I just say: I like it! Best wishes from Germany!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. We thought it was a fascinating story. I'm pleased that Hand aufs Herz fans have found us!
And we are pleased that you (and Clare) have found Hand aufs Herz
Thank you.
Fantastic show – Fan-subbing episode was hilarious and right on the money regarding the struggles and untapped opportunity in these subcultures. Clare Lawlor made me lolzor.
She really is very funny, isn't she?
I just listened to it. The "giant lesbian tsunami searching the internet" made me lol most embarrassingly
Fansubbing, ar? Certainly brings back some memories. I was tangentially involved with a rather heavy-duty fansubbing operation back in my KRR days. Still, it's one of the topics I thought Spark would never even think of touching.
What Xiaochang Li said about piracy being an economic force trying to satisfy needs normal market forces won't allow for certainly rings true. However, there are times when I wonder if the things in question aren't quite as niche as we are led to think.
For instance, Nintendo of America decided whole-heartedly against releasing a video game called MOTHER3 in English. They thought the audience would be simply too small. So a group of dedicated fans and hackers decided to take matters into their own hands and made an IPS Patch that could be applied to the game's ROM image – a feat which took them about two years. When the patch was finally released, it was only about three months for it to reach 100,000 downloads. Considering the game probably would've retailed at 50 CDN, that's a lot of lost profit on Nintendo's part.
I know there's a lot of Hand auts Herz talk here, but I highly recommend MOTHER3 too. It's probably one of the few video games to come that close to high literature in ages.
Nora – it would have interesting to have Seth Godin describe how his Domino Project differs from a vanity press. Being published by a real publisher has some cachet (especially in academia). I think of the iUniverse sorts of ads for poorly written, poorly edited tomes that interest no one outside of the author's family.
You're right. I should have asked him that. I think the idea with Domino is to publish people who already have a lot of credibility and profile, and that Domino selecting them would be its own stamp of approval. I do wonder whether the self-published/vanity press stigma will fade though, in the same way that it's no longer problematic to self-publish your own music without the imprimatur of a record label.
Hello Clare and Nora!
Sorry that I'm this late with commenting. Thanks a lot for doing this spot on podcast about fan-subbing and being a supportive voice with it! It really touched my heart – I felt so grateful listening to this beautifully done and humorous piece and that you added an interview with an expert…. Take care!
One of the subbers
We have no privacy. Get over it.
My sincere appreciation to Clare for a beautiful piece on the Jemma phenomenon and fan subbing. Thanks to Nora for bringing so much value to the radio universe. Heart as big as the world.