Bono Bloody Bono – Ten for the Next Ten – NYTimes.com

Intellectual Property Developers

Caution! The only thing protecting the movie and TV industries from the fate that has befallen music and indeed the newspaper business is the size of the files. The immutable laws of bandwidth tell us we’re just a few years away from being able to download an entire season of “24” in 24 seconds. Many will expect to get it free.

A decade’s worth of music file-sharing and swiping has made clear that the people it hurts are the creators — in this case, the young, fledgling songwriters who can’t live off ticket and T-shirt sales like the least sympathetic among us — and the people this reverse Robin Hooding benefits are rich service providers, whose swollen profits perfectly mirror the lost receipts of the music business.

We’re the post office, they tell us; who knows what’s in the brown-paper packages? But we know from America’s noble effort to stop child pornography, not to mention China’s ignoble effort to suppress online dissent, that it’s perfectly possible to track content. Perhaps movie moguls will succeed where musicians and their moguls have failed so far, and rally America to defend the most creative economy in the world, where music, film, TV and video games help to account for nearly 4 percent of gross domestic product. Note to self: Don’t get over-rewarded rock stars on this bully pulpit, or famous actors; find the next Cole Porter, if he/she hasn’t already left to write jingles.

Bono’s insinuation that content must be tagged, tracked, and protected in the interest of the creator is an uneven (if not borderline fascist) suggestion.

The biggest problem with this is that bandwidth regulation affects not just entertainment (whether downloaded, streamed, for pay or for free) but everything else that operates in the digital space.

Which includes education, charity, government, and most ironically, the development, production, and broadcast of creative content itself.

Read up on Net Neutrality Bono. The movie industry is booming (in spite of a relative abundance of poor content). But the service providers aren’t just stuffing their pockets with profit, they’re limiting both consumers and creators by throttling bandwidth.

Don’t wage war on the Internet, Bono. Talk about putting your back up against the wall… please don’t go singing that song.

Please comment at ADigitalAge.com

Posted via web from Welcome to the Digital Age

Barack Obama Declares; Techies are Amped

barack obama

Obama’s statements on broadband and net neutrality are being picked up appreciatively among the digerati:

Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. Let’s set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. Let’s recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. Let’s make college more affordable, and let’s invest in scientific research, and let’s lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America. We can do that.

Full transcript of the speech. Streaming video.

* BoingBoing
* SlashDot

See also:

Obama’s Remarks at TEchNet 2005

Obama Podcast on Net Neutrality

Also noted, Obama’s social networking concept at My.BarackObama.com

More here.

Nat’l Conference for Media Reform w/ Bill Moyers Video

More than 3,000 people came together for NCMR2007 in Memphis this weekend and though I wasn’t able to attend, I would like to channel the messages and motivation expressed at the conference. The Free Press Action Center, which organized the event, is hosting some video and audio of all sessions on its conference page. More on the conference blog

Additionally, they’ve released calls for action regarding stopping big media, saving the internet, and promoting media reform and justice.

Part two of the above video of Bill Moyers‘ opening plenary is available here.

More from Nieman Watchdog, BuzzMachine, Memphis Commercial Appeal, SavetheInternet. Photos here and here.

Mark at News Corpse provided a brief summary:

Continue reading “Nat’l Conference for Media Reform w/ Bill Moyers Video”

The Daily Show on Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality is a serious issue for those of us who love the Internet. Last night Jon Stewart did a wonderfully enjoyable piece on it. Watch below. For more on Net Neutrality and how it affects you, visit the Save the Internet Coalition.

Also, click here to listen to Sen. Barack Obama discuss the issue on his podcast.