Saragib’s Weblog

I have been thinking a lot about our discussion of IP and the internet. Since I am not the most tech savvy person, I decided to survey some friends (more in touch with these things) to find out what they thought about this question.

The consensus was that things are moving in the direction of greater sharing but that the big sticking point is how to monetize the sharing. A friend of mine is a futurist (yes, this is really his job tittle and it makes for a great business card!) He works for various companies helping them predict trends and adjust their products and marketing accordingly. He raised a couple of points that I hadn’t previously thought a lot about. First, he suggests the majority of people using digital technology are looking for ease and convienience; not necessarily free content.

Once an easy pay for music system was introduced, in the form of itunes, people have been pretty willing to pay for content. He pointed out another site, which was new to me but I’m sure others are aware of, www.hulu.com. It is owned by FOX and NBC and they offer free programs but there are commercials that you have to sit through. You can also tape and share parts of the program with others. I thought this was a pretty creative way of trying to combine benefits of digital technology, ease of use and sharing, with a more traditional way of generating revenue. It will be interesting to see if other industries, like Hollywood, find a way to integrate emerging technology and profit.

I can see both sides of the argument on this issue. The ability to share and easily access material is a huge benefit to individuals and society. I don’t know if many people can argue against greater collaboration and wider exposure to diverse ideas. On the other hand, it seems like there is an overwhelming number of ethical issues involved in using and/or profiting off others ideas. I guess the best I can say is that I will continue to think about this as I use more and more digital technology.