Tretakoff Musings

As regular readers of this blog know, I am a big fan of two things: comic books and the transition from dead tree publishing to digital. Even in my post on why I was not a big fan of the iPad , I mentioned that one area it could potentially dominate is the digital transition of comics, something that Kindles and iPhones simply cannot really capture. In the months since, ComiXology has released several versions of their digital comics app, including the "Big Two" of DC and Marvel. I have happily purchased many a comic since this way, and read them on my iPhone (and yes, it does make me yearn for the tablet size). But yet, maddeningly, the offerings consisted of a microscopic sampling of the titles published by both. Why? This month's Wired magazine answers it very well . In essence, comic book publishing is a razor-thin symbiotic affair, with the slightest threat to the retail stores having a disastrous effect that becomes a maelstrom that pulls down the whole industry t...

AT&T recently touted they were adding deals to AT&T Wireless subscribers. Thanks to the slightly creepy feature that the network knows where your phone is, they would helpfully send texts with deals at retailers "nearby." I signed up, figuring this would be a good experience, one that companies like Groupon (or even TownHog ) would love to offer. The first offer came in, for a Best Buy 15% off deal. Ok, so it was a few miles from me when it came in, but basically in the ballpark. Not an amazing deal, either, but hey. Not bad. The next was further away...and further away...until the one you see here. Yes, AT&T's version of a local deal was a message about chocolate milk. Not nearby, but just a plug for milk. Seriously. As you can see, that was the last straw: I unsubscribed. Now, you could take this as a lesson: offer local deals, and the deals better be good, and local. These were neither; they were embarrassing.  I hope they do better with YP.com's n...