Topic Site meta

Let’s end this damn year already

Look, if I have to be honest, my year was fine. I don’t know if you heard how important the internet was this year, but it was. And that tends to work in favour of people in the internet business, like me! Besides a lot of inconvenience like everyone else, my close family and I were not really affected by COVID. So I can’t complain.

I hope all four of my readers (Steve, Massimo, Commissioner Miner and Mom) are safe and healthy, and are having a wonderful holiday season. I know every year I say “this internet thing could really take off next year” but given I was right last year (finally!) I’ll just say “to a much better 2021”. I’ll take having a worse year business-wise if it means we can all get back to more normal times.

See you in 2021.

Happy new year!

And belated Happy Holidays I guess? I was so busy writing actual posts over the holidays I forgot to post my annual holiday card. Though the theme this year is about the new year so it kind of makes sense to post it in the new year, right? Let’s go with that.

I just don’t like to end a year (or start one I guess) without thanking my readers (Steve and mom) and predicting, like I do every year, that I am sure this internet thingy will take off in 2020.

To 2020! To the internet!

Please join me for a holiday beverage!

Hopefully you are not stuck at your desk this Christmas Day and you are enjoying the delicious beverage of your choice. Or at least if you are at your desk, you have the type of office where you can still enjoy a beverage.

From all of us here at AM.com – me, Editor Mom, Comment Mainstay Steve, and, uh, all the rest – a very very very very Happy Holidays, and all the best for 2019. As I say every year, I predict this internet dealie will really take off next year! It’s bound to be true sooner or later…

Happy holidays AM.com readers! Let’s get the F away from this year already

Look, I personally had a decent year in 2017. I taught Cybersecurity and Privacy at McGill’s Faculty of Law for the first time, I had plenty of work, I had a few good whiskeys, and all in all I can’t complain. But holy fuck those poor kids down below the 49th stuck in Trump hell. And SO MUCH sexual harassment. Not to mention some very sad passings, like Gord Downie, Tom Petty, Berry, Benson, a Batman and a Bond.

But fuck it. We’re still here, life goes on, and it can’t get much worse than this. As I predict every year, I am sure this internet thingy will take off in 2018. With net neutrality FFS.

Anyway, thanks for reading Steve. Thanks mom for editing. Thanks to the rest of you for popping in from time to time.

Happy holidays!

Happy Holidays and Goodbye 2016

OK I’ll say it, 2016 sucked. Well it was fine for me personally and professionally, but that was one ugly US election and we lost a lot of good people. Thank goodness it’s almost over.

You readers were great though! On behalf of the whole AM.com team, thanks so much for sticking with us and making this law blogging thingy all sorts of fun! As I predict every year, I am sure this internet thingamajig will take off in 2017. Sooner or later that will come true.

Happy holidays!

Happy Holidays and all that jazz

Debate thisThanks so much to steve and the rest of you readers who make blogging about this law stuff a lot of fun. As I predict every year, I am sure this internet thingamajig will take off in 2016. Sooner or later that will come true.

Happy holidays!

Internet law expert says things on TV

canada am screen shot3This morning noted internet law expert Allen Mendelsohn (who?) appeared on CTV’s Canada AM to opine about the update to the Copyright Act that came into effect today. It’s called the “notice and notice regime” and I’ve written about it before. Wow, 3 years ago! Everything I wrote is still valid though, as the government did not change or add one word to the law since then. Lazy government.

Anyway, god forbid CTV should have an embeddable video player, so here are some links:

Just the video

Actual news story with quotes from somebody you know (plus the video)

My new year’s resolution is to media whore like it’s 1999. So far so good. I’ll be on CJAD tomorrow at 7:10 AM, CKNW on Sunday at 4:30 PM (EST) and on other radio stations Monday morning. Just waiting on The National. Call me, CBC!

Happy Holidays and Goodbye 2014

AM_colbert_card2014Wow, 2014 is coming to end quickly! I barely had time to stop writing 2013 on my checks. I’ll always remember 2014 as the year spam disappeared forever, thanks to the Canadian government.

This here is my annual Happy Holidays post, wherein I thank all of you awesome loyal (and semi-loyal, and disloyal) readers for being there, for reading, for commenting, and for generally being awesome while I wish you the religious or secular Happy Holidays of your choice. So, uh, done I guess.

See you in 2015. I hope the internet will still be around.

Happy 25th, World Wide Web!

The World Wide Web turns 25 years old today. Holy crap! I remember when he was just a young teenager.

The video above is a special message for today from Tim Berners-Lee, the genius who invented the thing. Do you remember the internet before the magical WWW letters? No you don’t. I’ll tell you, it was a nightmare. You had to go to alt.binaries newsgroups for your porn. Now you can just go to https://www.nu-bay.com/ instead. You kids today don’t know how good you have it.

And really, without the web, I’d be stuck as a boring corporate lawyer somewhere. Ugh. I owe my career to Tim Berners-Lee. Thanks Tim. I’ll send you your cut via snail mail. I’m sure it won’t get lost.

Happy Holidays, Mad Men-style

Best holidya party EVAH

Thanks to all of you for reading the blog this year. Without you, I’d really just be writing a diary. And maybe be in therapy.

Happy Holidays to you. Please enjoy a delicious beverage.

Here’s to a healthy and happy and prosperous 2014 for all. I predict internet law will be important in 2014. This internet technology thingy is going places I tells ya.