Skip to main content

Some people gotta mess around





Michael Rogers, the "Practical Futurist", asks readers for their suggestions of a "business model" for the Internet. I have what I humbly think is a better question:



Why is the Internet in need of a business model?



It seems terribly clear to me, so maybe I'm blind. The Internet is an example of what can happen with a little government funding, a clear directive, and a bunch of eggheaded hackers. Poof, simple, direct, nearly indestructible communication between computers. Now, along come stomping a group that is collectively referred to as Big Business, and they are demanding a business model, damnit, right now, right quick, or they'll take their toys and go home.



Go.



My favorite "business model" to date is charging more for an e-book than for the same title in paperback -- despite the fact that the "production" costs have got to be close to nil. Certainly a publisher has to recover the cost of setting up the computer equipment, web programming, database, etc., but it looked (looks?) as though they want all their money back now and to heck with amortization.



Great "business model."



What's wrong with the current state of affairs? Seems that those businesses which prosper on the 'Net and doing so right now. Those that can't...don't. Oops, so sorry, so sad, ta-ta. I think that's called Free Enterprise and your good intentions to turn a profit aren't guaranteed to happen.



I would point anyone to Writing on Your Palm, especially if you're into using your PDA big time, but the site's owner/operator, Jeff Kirvin also is given to discussions of intellectual property rights and digital media. Cruise his column archive and you'll see what I mean.



I'm not completely thick headed, and I understand that some version of a business model needed for a company to survive on the Internet. After all, a "business model" is just a plan for generating profit from product. But these wholesale assaults on the Intenet and personal computer, where everyone pays for everything -- to one extent or another -- for the sole purpose that Major Players are guaranteed a profit is ridiculous.



I pay my ISP(s) a fee to jump on the 'Net. If you want to charge for an Internet service, then I get to decide if I'm willing to pay. If you want me to pay, make your service worth the $$$. If you're worried about piracy -- and I think too many people are too obsessed with piracy, to the point of wild exageration -- then don't put it online.



Meanwhile, blogs are a blossoming "business model" for the Internet which, tada, actually use the very nature of the system rather than spending millions fighting it. And that's a business model I can embrace.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Have I mentioned I saw Monsters vs. Aliens?

It’s possible that Pixar is becoming a blight on the world of animation. Yes, they do some really great work ( The Incredibles , Ratatouille ), but they’ve also done some clunkers ( Cars , Wall-E ). Their greatest sin, though, is that they apparently radiate a variation of the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field, so that any other animated film – especially if done with CG – is automatically judged inferior. There is some justification to this, but you don’t see every live action film being compared to, say, the films of Ingmar Bergman (well, except by brooding people wearing dark glasses sitting in dim coffee shops smoking clove cigarettes discussing cinema, damn you ). In the traditional film world, it’s accepted that different artists turn out different products. In the animated world, everyone is supposed to match or surpass Pixar, or so it seems. Needless to say, that’s just a crock. Monsters vs Aliens is to your typical Pixar production as Spielberg is to Scorsese. And I h...
2 comments
Read more

Rogan

The entire Joe Rogan controversy is an example of the kids being left in charge and the adults refusing to teach them any better. I’m not a regular consumer of podcasts. There are a couple I listen to from time to time, but nothing on a regular basis. While I’ve caught a few minutes of the Joe Rogan Experience on YouTube, I’ve never listened to his podcast. One of the primary reasons for that is that you have to subscribe to Spotify to do so, and I prefer Qobuz, Tidal, or even Amazon Music. Rogan is behind Spotify’s paywall and that’s that. But the nature of the fight is about more than who does or does not listen to Rogan. This fight goes to the very nature of the First Amendment and the fundamental concept of the United States. And yes, I understand that cuts both ways. What’s his name and Joni Mitchell are free to yank their creations from Spotify, no ifs, ands, or buts. I’m not denying their right, I’m questioning their reasons. Rogan talks to people. He does so largely unfiltered....
Post a Comment
Read more

Dune Part 2 (2024)

I have come not to praise Dune but to bury it. I am in a distinct minority. So be it. To explain why, there will be some minor spoilers ahead; sorry. The short version is #NotMyDune. Summary: Picking up where Dune Part 1 left off, we find the young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) hanging out with the Fremen. Plots to overthrow rival houses and empires ensue. Go here to see what I thought about Dune Part 1 (2021) . Overall, I found it to be technically brilliant, but lacking a human heart, an exercise in frenetic slow motion. D2 is more of the same, though with far more action. Acting-wise, everyone is doing a fine, more than adequate job. Absolutely no one or nothing stands out. The way the characters are written (adapted, actually), their back and forths and interactions, are all weak and unengaging. I generally hate when they speak. I've read the novel a ridiculous number of times, and these films are prompting me to read it again. I understand that trying to translate the n...
1 comment
Read more