According to the Vancouver Sun today (Vito Pilieci), the federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws, laws that could allow border guards to check private gadgets for material that infringes copyright.

I’d like to know how a border guard is going to determine if I’ve ripped a movie or not. If that’s all my music or not. Did I buy that ebook?

The article also says that the deal could “impose strict regulations on Internet service providers, forcing those companies to hand over customer information without a court order.”

What kind of police state is this? Aren’t their drugs and other things they should be paying attention to?

The agreement is called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval.

Quote: The deal would create a international regulator that could turn border guards and other public security personnel into copyright police. The security officials would be charged with checking laptops, iPods and even cellular phones for content that “infringes” on copyright laws, such as ripped CDs and movies.

The guards would also be responsible for determining what is infringing content and what is not.

The agreement proposes any content that may have been copied from a DVD or digital video recorder would be open for scrutiny by officials — even if the content was copied legally.

Apparently anyone with infringing content in their possession, or content that could be acquired illegally, regardless of whether it was acquired legally, will be questioned and open to a fine.

The leaked document also says that “they may also have their device confiscated or destroyed, according to the four-page document.”

Where do we live, again?

1. Some Mondays are just about the embed code.

2. Brand and message is out of your control.

Your brand is what people say it is. Check out Brand Tags.

3. Young at Heart

Young Me Old Me photo submissions. Recreate a photo of you taken as a child. This is worth checking out.

In my never-ending quest to find a good use for book trailers, I’ve discovered Johnny Bunko.

Johnny Bunko trailer from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.

Does this work?

Here’s what happened for me.

I like books and am always on the lookout for new books.

I subscribe to a bunch of email newsletters, in particular business newsletters and technology newsletters.

GrokDotCom is one of the newsletters and last week they wrote about the Johnny Bunko video.

I clicked on the link and watched the video, which is pretty cool.

Here’s what hooked me. I read and loved What Colour Is My Parachute? I religiously avoided Who Moved My Cheese? because it was the career book of business books for a time. The video nicely positions Johnny Bunko as THE career book of its time–the book for the new generation of employees entering the workforce.

Now I’m curious and want to read the book.

So mission accomplished. Effective video.

(Plus, I’m interested enough to write about the book and video here.)

What do you think of the video? Do you have another example of marketing unpacked?

Via TrendHunter.com: Secret Book Computers – The Future of Books Laptop

Kyle Bean is a very clever designer who has created a paper laptop to demonstrate how technology has changed the way we source information relate to books.

Quote: We are becoming a society that is more virtual. We download music rather than purchase CDs, we research on the net, rather than going to the library and reading books. According to Kyle, “Books also have personality – they have textures and smells which the internet can’t offer”. Kyle wanted to illustrate this issue by using a book turned into a laptop. The object is made from a book purchased at a discount bookstore for only £1.50, as well as a few electrical components to illuminate the screen.

Read the full TrendHunter article.

So Misguided has been awfully light on the book reviews this year. That’s because I have been quietly slaving away as a juror of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, part of the Manitoba Literary Awards. See the Manitoba Literary Awards announcement of winners.

The purpose of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award is to honour books that evoke the special character of Winnipeg and contribute to the appreciation and understanding of the City.

The Award is administered by the Association of Manitoba Book Publishers on behalf of the Winnipeg Arts Council, and carries a cash prize of $5,000 for the author of the winning book.

Congratulations to the 5 finalists, whose books I very much enjoyed. And to winner of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, Roland Penner.

Quote: Winner: A Glowing Dream: A Memoir by Roland Penner, published by J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing.

Other finalists for the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award:
* Influenza 1918: Disease, Death and Struggle in Winnipeg by Esyllt W. Jones, published by University of Toronto Press
* Holding My Breath by Sidura Ludwig, published by Key Porter Books
* The North End: Photographs by John Paskievich, introduction by Stephen Osborne, published by University of Manitoba Press
* The Winnipeg Jets: A Celebration of Professional Hockey in Winnipeg by Scott Taylor, published by Studio Publications.

A Glowing Dream: A Memoir by Roland Penner is a fascinating personal history of the Penner family in Winnipeg as well as a social and political history of Winnipeg, one which is not widely known. Roland’s father Jacob was a social and political activist who arrived in Winnipeg in 1904 from Southern Russia. Jacob Penner was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Canada in 1921 and later a Winnipeg City Councillor for 25 years. Roland become a litigation lawyer and academic. He grew up Red but left the Party and later became the Attorney General. The Penner family was an active part of political life in Manitoba for many, many years.

You can see more reviews of Winnipeg and Manitoba books here.