February 11, 2009
September 28, 2008
Royally early adopters
Evidently, the Queen sent her first email in 1976.
This week she's visiting the team at Google who made her YouTube channel
Worth a read if you like the archaelogy of the early consumer internet:
March 06, 2008
Link: March 05, 2008
February 23, 2008
February 21, 2008
February 12, 2008
Internet users could face disconnection for illegal downloads
As Withnail once said of Uncle Monte's cottage: "Free to those that can afford it. Very expensive to those that can't."
We're entering a new phase in the war between the creative industries and those who choose to use their bandwidth to find, play and share copyright materials. The government is under pressure to comply with legislation that will pass the problem to ISP's.
Link: Internet users could face disconnection for illegal downloads | Technology | The Guardian.
Internet users who illegally download music and films could lose their access to the web under legislation aimed at cracking down on those who flout piracy laws. Powers being drafted by the government will compel internet service providers to take action against customers who access pirated material.
Artists need to receive payment for their work, or they cannot survive. There needs to be a sensible course between reward and enjoyment, but this seems like the telcos trying to ban the internet because of Skype. The media environment has changes and consumer sensibilities have changed with it - businesses need to adapt, not stand Canute-like staring at the incoming tide.
Can history teach us a lesson? Do you remember "Home taping is killing music!". The problem with technology is that it is often the case that once the genie is out of the bottle it can't be put back. Given the slow and cumbersome reaction of the creative industries to date, the enduringly disruptive spirit of the internet and its users will simply see this new form of censorship as damage to the network and re-route around the problem. The internet was designed to withstand nuclear holocaust, I'm not sure that this measure will be more than a temporary blip in the great scheme of things. The Grateful Dead did a nice line in positively encouraging the sharing of tapes of their gigs, none of this is news.
The challenge for artists is to create value beyond the digital print of their work. We're in an experimental phase, witness Radiohead's recent decision to allow consumer to name their own price for a digital pre-release of an album. It seems the fans are still willing, en-masse, to pay for the added value of beautiful packaging. The people who aren't would not have paid rack-rates for it in the first place. I listen to a lot of music, even iTunes at 79p a track is a lousy way for me to indulge my catholic tastes. Eventually I find artists that I love and I am prepared to buy their music. There's a curious push me/pull you in the corporate response, as Walmart, Amazon and others give up the ridiculous, unworkable (and in my opinion borderline illegal) DRM schemes with the permission of the record labels (who are trying to grow volumes at any cost) the lawyers seem to be adrift on their own private ocean. It must be very lonely out there. To grasp the lunacy entirely you only need to think of Prince, who releases his last album for free and then embarks on a campaign of litigating against anyone who dares use an image, quote, video or audio clip of any of the work. Wise up, pick one or the other.
In the meantime, someone was kind enough to buy me a copy of Laura Marling's new album. It comes in a wonderful rich box, full of goodies including Song Books, Postcards, Posters and Stencils; all designed to both draw me into the music and to make me part of the marketing effort. The key component is a voucher that gets me access to one of 5 concerts, the ticket to be delivered by mobile.
Neil Gaiman is offering a book for free, to be decided by popular vote. Will I lose my internet connection if I download it.
Change the game, don't fight the 800lb gorilla on its own turf.
From Wiki :As copyright infringement and theft of property are legally distinct in all jurisdictions, the statement that "piracy is theft" is never literally true.
Hi, we are ID\TBWA and we don’t have a website.
Link: Hi, we are ID\TBWA and we don’t have a website..
Yes, in principle. No, just trying too hard.
We don't seem to have a copywriter either...
