Brian Jackson
Brian Jackson is a staff writer for ITBusiness.ca. The team’s newcomer, Brian is responsible for writing stories, revising the newsletter lineup, and tracking traffic statistics. He also contributes as a video journalist, providing videography and video editing for the site’s original streaming video. Prior to joining the team, Brian worked as a freelance journalist. He co-produced a live science-themed Web cast series for a major Canadian broadcaster and spent two months in Rwanda on a volunteer stint at a daily newspaper as a writer and photographer. Brian graduated from Carleton University in 2006 with a double-major bachelor degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. In his free time, he enjoys outdoor adventure activities, reading and video gaming.
Homepage: http://www.itbusiness.ca/
Posts by Brian Jackson
This anti-piracy battle may nearly be won, but the war isn’t over
January 19, 2012 - 5:39 pm
Tags: anti-piracy, App Store, Apple, business model, freemium, iTunes, lawmakers, minecraft, netflix, PIPA, SOPA, U.S., white house, wikipedia
Posted in Leadership, Opinion | 3 comments
So the question remains, how are content developers supposed to make a dollar these days? While SOPA and PIPA were overly broad pieces of legislation that threatened to break the Internet and censor free speech, they were at least attempts to protect the value of digital content – content that people used to happily take money out of their wallets to pay for, but no longer.
Toasters hit with tariff to reflect bread’s value
December 21, 2011 - 3:01 pm
Tags: bread, Canada, Conservatives, copyright, levy, microwaves, music, opinion, satire, tariff, tax, toasters
Posted in Leadership, Opinion | 7 comments
How Canadians are consuming their bread became a minor election issue earlier this year when the Conservative Party came out against a proposed levy on microwaves. Calling the tariff a “Microwave tax,” the party campaigned on the promise that Canadians would not have to pay an additional fee on microwaves they buy, just because they will probably use it to warm up bread at some point.
Companies exposing Canadians’ personal information face no penalty
December 9, 2011 - 7:16 am
Tags: advertising, behavioural, breach, buzz, data, Facebook, Google, Jennifer Stoddart, online, opinion, personal information, privacy, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, StreetView, tracking
Posted in Opinion, Privacy and Security | 2 comments
This week, it once again looks like Facebook will once again escape penalty for breaching user privacy as a class-action lawsuit representing Canadian members of the social network is halted in its tracks with a settlement agreement. To escape any liability for changing its default privacy settings to expose more user information around the beginning of 2010, Facebook only had to agree to pay a paltry $76,000 and commit to keeping its current privacy policy “substantially the same” for three years.
Every startup needs a video ‘elevator pitch’
November 25, 2011 - 1:05 am
Tags: elevator pitch, exposure, herobox, startup, video, weekend
Posted in Managing Business, Opinion | 1 comment
My response is that every startup is “niche.” That’s the mark of a good idea these days. But all the more reason that you need to gain as much exposure for your business as possible, in order to reach the right people that will actually care about what you’re trying to do. All it takes is making that one connection with an investor that will seed your startup with the capital it needs, or that advisor that can help you overcome specific challenges.
Canadians prove wise on creating healthy tech startup atmosphere
November 18, 2011 - 7:00 am
Tags: C100, economy, ICT, opinion, startup, technicity, technology, toronto, VC, venture capital
Posted in Leadership, Opinion | 2 comments
So in brief, most Canadians think we’re somewhere in the middle of the pack, and they’re right. According to the Technology in Toronto Region: Regional Innovation Cluster report conducted by the Toronto Region Research Alliance (and represented in awesome infographic form on our site), Canada does fall somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to providing the proper environment for tech startups to thrive.
Tricky social media puzzle makes audience feel smart
November 2, 2011 - 2:00 pm
Tags: david fincher, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, marketing, puzzle, social media, Trent Reznor, tweetdeck, Twitter
Posted in Managing Business, Opinion | No comments
The step-by-step puzzle was tricky enough to trip up the casual observer, but solvable by anyone willing to think it through and with a basic knowledge of available Web services. It provided a real sense of discovery as you worked through it and succeeded at making those talking about it feel like they were “in” on something exclusive.
Supreme Court makes non-ridiculous ruling on hyperlinks
October 20, 2011 - 3:34 pm
Tags: defamation, Facebook, hyperlinks, social networks, supreme court of canada, tweet, viral
Posted in Opinion | 1 comment
Consider this scenario in a non-Internet context: there is a defamatory article printed in a daily newspaper that sits in a box on a street corner. You are talking to your friend and he tells you to go and pick it up so you can read the article because it is really juicy and controversial. You do so and are exposed to the defamatory article – has your friend now also committed defamation? Of course not, they haven’t published anything.
Steve Jobs’ greatest product the Apple II, Canadians say
October 17, 2011 - 6:00 am
Tags: Apple, Apple II, AskingCanadians, computer, death, eric schmidt, iPad, iPhone, Leadership, obituary, steve jobs, Tim Cook, visionary
Posted in Leadership, Opinion | 1 comment
While many associate the more-recent iDevices launched by Jobs at Apple as the pinnacle of his career, it appears most Canadians don’t consider that to be his greatest achievement. Instead, nearly one-third of Canadians consider the Apple II, credited as being the first personal computer, as having the most impact on society.
Canadians cautious about mobile payment security
October 6, 2011 - 7:00 am
Tags: convenience, google wallet, iPhone 4S, loyalty, mobile payment, near field communications, Nexus S, NFC, security
Posted in Mobility, Opinion | 4 comments
Any time technology has offered a new way to manage money, consumers are wary. Online banking has only in recent years really taken off as being used among a majority of Canadians, and online payment systems such as PayPal have also seen steady growth. Despite initial security concerns, the convenience offered by these tech-enhanced payment methods eventually won over consumers and security concerns subsided.
