“Turn Up The Music…No One Cares”

Music spans generations…and technology. Thus, music is easily shared and “stolen” through many internet mediums. Some people, such as computer nerds and the college students see this as a liberating way to get free music, while the music industry and government see this as a lingering problem. Recently however, music piracy has become a low priority, at least for the government and its agencies.

It seems that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI care very little about online music piracy these days. As suggested in an article about this very topic, the number of cases involving online music piracy is very few. The reason for this is that according to the DOJ, online music piracy and the protection of intellectual property, regarding music, is a low priority in relation to other things. Whether this is true or not, is yet to be seen however, a bill introduced in the Senate last year called the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act never got out of Senate debate. The bill would have given the government sweeping power to shut down U.S.-based pirate sites as well as the authority to order Internet service providers to cut off access to similar sites overseas. Opponents called the legislation censorship, and thus, the defeat of the bill.

The real issue is that artists believe that they are missing out on the potential profits they could be making. When music is shared, artists do not receive royalties on the shared music, as they only get money for purchased songs. Mediums such as iTunes and Amazon provide easy access to music at a price, but there are still people who receive their music for free and therefore artist do not receive that money.

This may be a basic example of economic utility. In order to provide the music to the public for free, a few people have to buy the music first. Therefore, the artists get their money and make enough to be happy. In return, the people who bought the music can now distribute the music to the public making everyone else happy that they can now receive free music. In terms of utility, it is maximized because everyone is satisfied with what they got. In this utopia, there is no concern that the artists aren’t making “all” their money, just that they are making some money. 

In the end, if we all try to obtain maximum utility we would create the exact system that we have now. Maybe the government understands this and hence why they see it as a low priority. With artists and music labels still making money, just not as much, and the public getting free music, everyone gets what they want. Maybe then this isn’t as big of a problem as everyone has made it out to be and it is now time for music to span technology even more. So turn up your music, because no one really cares anymore.

Article Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20027788-261.html

"Cookies Are Better When Served With Milk"

What other way would you want your cookies? Some people like cookies alone while others prefer dunking them in a refreshing beverage. Still, people also like the variety they come in such as chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin or sugar. However, there is a bigger problem that faces the cookie choice debacle.  The media has suggested that internet marketers and websites are stealing cookies from people. Short of calling this “the great cookie debacle,” the real crime is that we aren’t talking about the delicious treats which we are all familiar with. The cookies that we should be concerned about are the cookies that internet sites steal from our browsers in order to track our movements and preferences. 

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its recommendations on protecting consumer privacy when online. They proposed a “do not track” option that would allow users to opt out of being tracked while surfing the web. According to a Fox News article, the tool would most likely take the form of a browser setting that would apply across the board as consumers jump from site to site. It would clearly inform sites when tracking and targeted advertising are off limits for a particular browser. The concept is closely based on the already implemented “do not call” registry, which prohibits telemarketers from soliciting their services. 

For the consumer this could be both a blessing and a curse. The good news is that companies won’t be legally allowed to track you online. This would cut down on advertisements and spam that each of us gets when visiting sites. Websites wouldn’t know any information about us so essentially our privacy would be better protected. The bad news is that customized advertisements would be a thing of the past. By opting out of cookie tracking, personal ads that were specialized to your searches would no longer be there, giving way to more generalized advertisements. The biggest hit would come to internet websites that use cookie tracking. A lot of effort goes into understanding consumer trends and needs. If opting out of cookies becomes an option, then a lot of website will have to revert to generic internet marketing which is costly.  

This fantasy has already become a reality for some. Microsoft has recently added a feature to its newest versions of Internet Explorer. A user can now control whether they want to opt out of cookie tracking by clicking a button. Supporters are praising Microsoft’s commitment to its internet user’s privacy however, advertisers are firing back saying that users are not only opting out of cookie tracking but also advertising in general. 

So whether you like sharing cookies with friends or sharing cookies with websites, it seems that real soon you will have to make a choice. Some might choose to keep cookie tracking on so they can benefit from the customization that we are so used to right now, while others will choose to surf the internet without being tracked. My choice is easy…I think cookies are better when served with milk.  

Article Source: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/01/ftc-proposes-track-list-web-marketing & http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/12/09/131914019/microsoft-ads-do-not-track-option-to-internet-explorer-9

Social Media: The Beginning of Our End

Today, people are more connected to each other than ever. With the rise of social media, through applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and even blogs, social networks have expanded the reach of information for both the personal user as well as businesses. While many believe this to be a step forward in the evolution of human interaction, social media has only been destructive to the basic animal instinct of creating and sustaining relationships.

Social media has made the human race less sociable and thus has created 
an inevitable trend of decreased interactions with each other. It is agreeable to admit that with social media, we have been brought together as a race by digitalizing the degrees of separation between people. Individuals, whom were once strangers, are just a few clicks away to being acquaintances. More and more interactions between people come in the form of email, wall posts, tweets, and even pokes. In a recent article that scrutinized the lack of real social interactions, it was reported that the average time spent socializing as part of non-work leisure time by U.S. adults ages 18-64 has fallen more than half over the last five decades. Socializing has gone from 85 minutes per day in 1965 to 57 minutes in 1985, 45 minutes in 2005, and 42 minutes per day in 2009.

As our population continues to grow and innovate, social media will remain a strong component of social interactions between people. However, there has to be some concern for the potential degradation of our social structures. With less “face” time between people, technology will play a bigger role in our everyday lives. Advancement in such technology is a good thing, but not to the point where it takes over for our own lives. With social media’s simultaneous advancement into the future, we must respect the restrictions that social media presents and substitute that with our basic instincts of socializing.

Some may find this to be utterly ridiculous, while others will see this as a call to action, however social media could be the beginning to an even bigger end…With the human race diminished to anti-social beings, sitting at their computers to interact and conduct business, technology has advanced to do all our basic needs. These artificial intelligent humanoids are now left to walk in our streets and as a result a new world order has been created. Many believe that social media will peak in the year 2012. This is convenient, as some believe that this year corresponds to the end of the world as some ancient civilizations have predicted. Social media is this end. With people interacting less with each other, there will be no need for relationships and therefore, no need for people.

So before you go and write an email to your friend, or write on their wall, think about this. When all is said and done, have you enriched your life with friends and family, or is your real best friend the computer in front of you? Look beyond social media and its simplicities that substitute human interaction and go build relationships. If we start today, we might still have a tomorrow.

Article Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=139968

If You Build It, They Won't Come

This summer gave way to the biggest free agency signing period in any sport's history. The Miami Heat received the services of three of the NBA's biggest stars in Dwyane Wade, Lebron James, and Chris Bosh. However, Miami fans don't seem to care all that much. While 18,000+ packed the arena for the Heat's "Yes. We. Did." signing party, the team now only has an audience of a few bored fans who decide to show up on any given night. According to attendance records for this season thus far, the Heat should have a full house for every game. These numbers only reflect the amount of tickets sold, not how many people actually attend, so it is therefore easy to identify that people have tickets, they just don't wish to show up. The simple truth is that Miami, and the fans, don't deserve this all star team that the Heat has put together.

Recently, the team issued a series of public service announcements under the slogan "Fan Up" to try and resolve this issue. Their campaign to have fans in their seats before tip-off and to stay to the final buzzer falls short. It also has tied this into a marketing opportunity by giving passwords to fans that arrive early in order to receive discounts on food and merchandise. The problem isn't that fans are showing up late and leaving early, which most do anyways, or that the food is overpriced (which it is), the issue is that fans just don't care all that much about the team. It would probably be better if the heat started issuing maps to the arena so people knew where it was.

It is disappointing to see such a great team with such potential being disrespected by fans who don't understand what they have. Perhaps it’s a problem of entitlement or just arrogance; however I think that people just don't care. In the end, if this team doesn't win championships as promised by the players, the only person to blame is you. You weren't there when they needed you, because you didn't need them either.

The People Inside My Head

To think that people are "inside" my head knowing what I want and need, before I do, just scares me. These days personal privacy is a concern with everyone wanting to know everything about you. With the advent of digital mediums such as Facebook, it is hard to hide anywhere, let alone keep your thoughts to yourself (hence why we created blogs...to keep our thoughts to ourselves right?). However, now we have to be cognizant of scientists and marketers trying to get a look at our thoughts. What we once thought of the last frontier of our privacy, our own brains, is now being invaded by companies looking for information.

As the New York Times called it in a recent article, "mind mining," companies are starting to hook people up to electronic devices that measure brain activity. The result being, that when you see something that you like in an advertisement, your brain will show increased activity and thus marketers will know what products to present to you. I find this interesting because it is essentially mapping your thoughts, or "mining" for information, to gather which brands and items you like. This is only the first step to what could be a major leap in the direction of intelligent target marketing. In the future, ads will recognize us through iris scans or facial recognition (see: future marketing way too personal) and therefore, customize marketing to specific needs.

This could be potential good or bad...On the pro side, commercials and ads will be targeted to what we would like to view. However, contrary to this advantage, our minds will be accessed by other parties. For some, including myself, that is scary. It doesn't concern me that they will know what products I like or need, but I figure if they can find out that information, what else can they discover and reveal? I have reason to believe, and I am not alone when I say, that some of my thoughts are not to be publicized...ever.

Whatever the case, being good or bad, I leave you with this last thought. If marketers have a crystal ball to the thoughts inside your head, who else has that information and how will they use it? In the meantime while you ponder over the people that might be inside your head, let the following video educated you a little further. Enjoy.





Article Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/business/14stream.html?_r=1
YouTube Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUzo7fhRpFY&feature=player_embedded#!