4.12.2010

My Second Tool Choice

Hi all.
My second choice was "Content." Initially I looked into Smak.ly, a site to increase traffic to one's blog, but after repeated attempts to watch the instructional video not working, and a page of the workers suspiciously (maybe it was meant to be humorously) showing 8 pictures of the same man with the the same title, I decided not to give personal information.
So I actually wound up working with Yudu.com. It's a site that allows free downloads and uploads of printed materials. It seems as though it winds up being a file-sharing site, as I'm not certain that everything that people are uploading are their own original material (although I could be wrong and it could be in the public domain). I chose this site because it has a direct correlation to my E Commerce idea (my other class - I know some of you are in there, too). The site is fairly easy to use with crisp graphics and a nice-looking instructional video. It was pretty self-explanatory. The e-books were displayed in Adobe Flash, which was nice for me since I already know how to interface with that software, but the site would be unusable for someone with a low bandwidth (too much downloading).
I could see possibly using it professionally, as I like to keep track of chances for students to find materials free (eg. there was some Dickens and Shakespeare available on there), but I don't think I will continue to use it on my own. I have very strong views on Intellectual Property rights, and it really seems as though there is abuse happening on the site (which Yudu probably regularly goes in and cleans up, but still).
The site is free, but it promotes its (very reasonably priced) upgrade subscriptions all over the place. I understand that businesses are there to make money, and I don't know that I wouldn't do the same thing in their place, but I really dislike feeling like I'm being upsold. That is the other reason that I likely will not return to the site.

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