Hayao Miyazaki’s Retirement

Famed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, 72, has announced his intention to retire from filmmaking.  Miyazaki, together with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1895, the studio has two projects currently in the works an no intentions of closing their doors.  Nor are they likely to, each project takes at a minimum of 5 years and can go up to 7 years to complete.  Miyazaki’s reasons for retirement include a hesitation to commit to a project that could go into his 80s.

That sounds like a very good reason to retire!  Though fans are still unsure how to take this retirement since Miyazaki has been in a perma-state of semi-ritirement since the completion of his film ‘Princess Mononoke’ in ’97.  In a recent press conference he has said:

Miley Cyrus Naked and crying, I get it

Miley Cyrus is naked and crying in her newest video. I get it!

Two quick Warnings!
1: The video contains adult content.
2: This is not directly related to webcomic,
but is a lesson in branding.

It is fair to say you have probably already seen Miley Cyrus’ video of her performing “We Can’t Stop” at the 2013 VMAs.

It was the video with a parade of giant bears dancing around her while she was wearing a skimpy outfit bearing a cartoon bear while she grinded on and licked everything in sight. If not, you can watch it below.

Well, she isn’t done!

Here is her newest music video. We see Miley Cyrus Naked, crying at times, and later riding a wrecking ball.

Indiegogo vs Kickstarter

Click this image to ask your twitter follower what they prefer.

Indiegogo vs Kickstarter

Who can join, and why?

While Kickstarter’s participants can only come from the U.S. or the U.K. Indiegogo has no such restrictions and accepts participants from all nations.  Indiegogo is the place to go if your family has lost everything in a flood or if you want to contribute to a cause like MS or AIDS research.  You can do things like that with Indiegogo, but not with Kickstarter.

Kickstarter is a strictly non-humanitarian format; mostly catering to small entrepreneurs, graphic artists or the budding technological innovators.

Costs

The average funded Kickstarter campaign takes in about $5,500.  If you make your goal Kickstarter then takes 5% processing fee and Amazon takes an extra 3%.  If you don’t make your goal you get nothing and pay nothing.

Indiegogo doesn’t require you to use the all or nothing model that Kickstarter does; although if you choose all or nothing funding and reach your goal Indiegogo takes only 4% +3% credit card fee = 7% of the project funding.  1% less than the fixed funding payment of Kickstarter.

If an Indiegogo project needs $5,500 but has only raised $500, that $500 does not automatically get sent back to the backers as it would with Kickstarter.  The Indiegogo project can choose to keep what they raise. However, if you choose to take an underfunded goal, Indiegogo will take a 12% cut of the project funds (9% fee + 3% for credit card payments).

Pricing Suggestions

NSJ 008 SEO images, being sketchy, and YouTube Channels

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

The Niche Site Journal Podcast documents the experience of three guys taking brand new niche sites from idea to profitable businesses. Join Jason, Lior, and Dennis as they share their unique processes and insights into the incredible opportunity of building niche websites.

In this episode we talk about SEO images, being sketchy, and YouTube Channels. Dennis also discusses his new way of  making money online. The idea is to rank a video relating to a specific service in a specific city in order to rent out the phone number to local businesses.

We would love to hear your thoughts on this business model.

Leave a Review

For those who would like to give us a review, just search Niche Site Journal on I-tunes, select our show, leave a rating and a review.

Or follow this link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/niche-site-journal/id668359516

Those in the Master Mind Group

Too Much Information Webcomic Review

Warning!
This WEBCOMIC in Inappropriate for Kids
And possibly some adults.

I was thumbing through various web comics (as much thumbing as one can do with a mouse, really) when I noticed that there was one comic that was not ‘drawn’, not in the traditional sense.  A completely computer generated comic titled ‘Too Much Information’.  I admit I was highly skeptical that CGI characters could pull off the affect needed to pull in a reader’s interest but they are surprisingly perfect for this comic.  While you might argue that this choice leaves the characters with a somewhat ‘plastic-ey’ look they are no less emotive for it.  Stylistically speaking, it’s winning me over.

No Vacation for WebComic creators and Online Entrepreneurs

I’m working on Labor Day to write this blog post.

Rarely will you find me trying to persuade anyone against creating art, webcomics, or an online business; this article will be the closest I get. Don’t take this article as an excuse not to get working on that project that you just need to complete. Instead I want you to be aware that following your dreams and creating things you can be proud of is a lot of work.

Want a Successful Online Business?

You’ll never have a Vacation Again

Want to make a living doing webcomics? Then you need to stop thinking of yourself as a cartoonist. You are now a business person, which means you need to think of your webcomic as a business and not just as something that brings you pleasure.

One of the draw backs to making webcomics your career is that you rarely get a vacation. Even when I do get a vacation I find myself constantly thinking about the work I could be getting done or even making time to do those things (which my wife really hates).

How to overcome this fate

Strays Online WebComic Review

NOTE: This article is a webcomic review by my wife, Leah Love. Who also runs a blog on maternity, pregnancy, and baby stuff at www.OnMaternityBelts.com

I’ve spent so much time flipping through so many sub-par comics that when I finally got to this little gem I almost didn’t believe that I liked it.  I like just about everything about this so far.

Why I love Strays Online

First things first, the artwork.  Beauty!  The joint work of creators Samantha Whitten and Stacey Pefferkor and featuring their darling main character, Meela.  Meela is a charming kid with wolf-like attributes and an unerring tenacity and sweetness of spirit.  You will love her immediately.  She’s on her own, reeling from the loss of her brother and barely surviving when our second main character, the bounty hunter called Feral, kicks his business right through her attempts at lonely survival.