Toy Store Fill-Ins & Unsure Sonic Birthday
As you know...
It was Sonic's birthday on the 23rd of June...and usually SonicGear is doing something big to celebrate. Extra updates, a big update...something really unusual, etc. But this year, that didn't happen. It was a normal update (which is fine) but due to Net Neutrality getting lost everything's on unsure footing--even gear.
Why no problems yet?
Because now that the rule is gone, everyone is paranoid & unsure. What will happen? Will Comcast come knocking for more money out of Blogger (where this is hosted) and force it to shut down if they don't get it? Questions like that are on the ISPs minds as well, and they know not to act while everyone is vigilant & still really salty at the public's loss.
Example:
They just spent millions & millions to get a law that says "Stabbing people is ok"
Everyone is now worried about being stabbed.
If they start stabbing now, there will be a big outcry & maybe their rule could be undone.
It's better to start picking on small fry & stabbing them slowly later, when the focus is off. Start with tiny sites no one cares about by the millions. Stuff with no lawyer. Erosion is the name of the game. "See, no one I know is being stabbed...nothings REALLY happening" so that by the time they get to extorting places enough people use (Pay for Facebook! Pay to see Ebay! Pay a fee to load Paypal! Pay to use Skype/Discord! Pay extra to play your Xbox! Fee for Nintendo Switch! Playstation fees) there won't be anywhere to go to try to organize against that kind of thing.
Who is a small fry?
SonicGear. Blogger. Probably stuff like etsy & ecrater. Ebay isn't, they have at least 1 lawyer so they're not a good first target. But, if they start picking (and they WILL, you don't just spend millions to get a "stabbing is fine now" law to NOT stab) they'll pick at those first, and then the places where anyone could go to protest about something like "all our forums are being extinguished by huge fees", so that no one can complain any more.
So understandable for this year, if Gear is basically waiting for at least 4 companies to come knocking around looking for an additional 100 dollars each per month to even PERMIT the site to be shown to their customers...it is basically waiting to get shut down. Unhappy Birthday, I guess.*
Toy Store Fill Ins:
You may have seen some Walmart ads recently bragging about their 'better toy aisles' in the wake of the loss of Toys R Us. But what you may not know is that Party City (the party supply store & known Sonic items carrier) is planning Pop-Up Toy Shops starting in September till 'Xmas this year. It's a trial run to see if they want to get into toys too. Big brands are confirmed (Hasbro, etc) but will anything Sonic be there? Time to wait and see--but it is good news for toy fans that they will make the attempt.
*SonicGear isn't giving up. It will update until the very day that someone comes and shuts it down. And it will have to be forced down, and there should be plenty of warning and explanation first...if it ever comes to that.
Next week: Some odd blankets, a look at the new Tomy plush 'in the wild' and hopefully a return to being rather on schedule again.
It was Sonic's birthday on the 23rd of June...and usually SonicGear is doing something big to celebrate. Extra updates, a big update...something really unusual, etc. But this year, that didn't happen. It was a normal update (which is fine) but due to Net Neutrality getting lost everything's on unsure footing--even gear.
Why no problems yet?
Because now that the rule is gone, everyone is paranoid & unsure. What will happen? Will Comcast come knocking for more money out of Blogger (where this is hosted) and force it to shut down if they don't get it? Questions like that are on the ISPs minds as well, and they know not to act while everyone is vigilant & still really salty at the public's loss.
Example:
They just spent millions & millions to get a law that says "Stabbing people is ok"
Everyone is now worried about being stabbed.
If they start stabbing now, there will be a big outcry & maybe their rule could be undone.
It's better to start picking on small fry & stabbing them slowly later, when the focus is off. Start with tiny sites no one cares about by the millions. Stuff with no lawyer. Erosion is the name of the game. "See, no one I know is being stabbed...nothings REALLY happening" so that by the time they get to extorting places enough people use (Pay for Facebook! Pay to see Ebay! Pay a fee to load Paypal! Pay to use Skype/Discord! Pay extra to play your Xbox! Fee for Nintendo Switch! Playstation fees) there won't be anywhere to go to try to organize against that kind of thing.
Who is a small fry?
SonicGear. Blogger. Probably stuff like etsy & ecrater. Ebay isn't, they have at least 1 lawyer so they're not a good first target. But, if they start picking (and they WILL, you don't just spend millions to get a "stabbing is fine now" law to NOT stab) they'll pick at those first, and then the places where anyone could go to protest about something like "all our forums are being extinguished by huge fees", so that no one can complain any more.
So understandable for this year, if Gear is basically waiting for at least 4 companies to come knocking around looking for an additional 100 dollars each per month to even PERMIT the site to be shown to their customers...it is basically waiting to get shut down. Unhappy Birthday, I guess.*
Toy Store Fill Ins:
You may have seen some Walmart ads recently bragging about their 'better toy aisles' in the wake of the loss of Toys R Us. But what you may not know is that Party City (the party supply store & known Sonic items carrier) is planning Pop-Up Toy Shops starting in September till 'Xmas this year. It's a trial run to see if they want to get into toys too. Big brands are confirmed (Hasbro, etc) but will anything Sonic be there? Time to wait and see--but it is good news for toy fans that they will make the attempt.
*SonicGear isn't giving up. It will update until the very day that someone comes and shuts it down. And it will have to be forced down, and there should be plenty of warning and explanation first...if it ever comes to that.
Next week: Some odd blankets, a look at the new Tomy plush 'in the wild' and hopefully a return to being rather on schedule again.
posted by AzureBlaze at 3:49 PM
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