BIF-3 Storyteller Update: The Pirate's Dilemma has Launched

Our friend and BIF-3 storyteller Matt Mason is having a big day. His book The Pirate's Dilemma has officially hit the bookstore. Matt is a fan favorite from our summit last October. There's something so intrinsically appealing about a business book about pirate's and Matt was an exceptional speaker. This ex-pirate radio DJ turned business entrepreneur and now social advocate has chronicled our youth culture’s ability to drive innovation through any means necessary – often times treading in illegal waters along the way.

Ideas that started within punk, disco, hip-hop, rave, graffiti and gaming have been combined with new technologies and taken to new heights by the generations that grew up under their influence. His book draws from a cast of characters that includes The Ramones, Andy Warhol, Madonna, Russell Simmons, and 50 Cent and uncovers the trends that transformed underground scenes into burgeoning global industries and movements.

Through it all, Matt persistently pursues the questions: How should we respond? Do we fight pirates, or do we learn from them? Should piracy be treated as a problem, or a solution? All companies and artists he says are challenged on how they develop, share and consume information. There's obviously more than one answer, but Matt demonstrates that piracy is indeed a business model that can prove to be useful in other industries.

Hats off to Matt for a most interesting book - it's already received a 9 out of 10 review in Wired and was named one of Fast Company's top five 'Smart Books of 2008'.

For a sneak peak, you can check out Matt's video from our summit here and my profile of Matt here.

Outbound Links
Jeff DeCagna of Principled Innovation has posted a new podcast with Matt Mason on his site. You can check it out here.

Posted January 9, 2008 10:02 AM by Chris Flanagan | Permalink