Markmedia

Royalty claims could kill internet music radio

A wide array of broadcasters and online companies on Monday challenged a ruling from a panel of copyright judges that they say could cripple the emerging business of offering music broadcasts over the Internet.

In brief it would mean that the cost of streaming songs would be so prohibitive  that it would effectively kill internet-based music radio. 
See also:

http://blog.wired.com/music/2007/03/us_copyright_ro.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070319/internet_radio.html?.v=1

The Imperative of Proxies

Amongst the many things I learned during my latest stay in Ethiopia was that censorship is a real and present danger. The Ethiopian government has, despite its denials, enforced a draconian web censoring policy. Web sites that provide uncensored news and information, that could in any way be deemed regime critical or defend the "unacceptable" are routinely blocked in a growing number of countries.

Quite a few of these countries (here is one list, see CitizenLab for more, or view the updated list of arrested cyber dissidents from Reporters without Borders) receive aid in different forms. Donor nations and organizations need to apply pressure on these countries to ensure the free flow of information to their citizens.
We know this. They know this. Not a lot happens.
Donor countries say that they are talking to officials in each of these countries. Donor organizations say that they are talking to officials in these countries. The mill of diplomacy grinds slowly. The mill of oppression grinds frighteningly fast and is increasingly effective. When a proxy server ( a server at an unblocked URL that allows access through it to blocked sites: eg anonymouse.org) pops up it does not take a lot of time before it too joins the banned sites list.

There is however something that could be done immediately. By organizations that perceive themselves as standing for freedom of thought, exchange of ideas and unfettered curiosity. Universities.

If every university had a freely available proxy server (particularly universities that have a development or exchange program with countries like China, Vietnam, Syria, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe etc.) it would make it close to impossible to block them all.  Students could not access course material, teaching resources or professors web pages at the partner university. Not blocking the Universities web site could (and should) be a prerequisite for signing a contract.

We know that commercial companies have no morals other than those dictated by the bottom line.
Google, Skype, Murdoch, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cisco Systems- they all have agreements with China to censor their search-engines to filter out websites overcritical of the authorities.

Donor organizations like UNICEF talk the talk but lack the political will/muscle to implement.

But Universities - dependent as they are on their reputation as bastions of free and independent thought as well as excellence in teaching -  could be in the forefront of a global campaign to free speech.

Teacher and student unions - got to it.
Journalists with Universities in your area, ask them why not.
Alumni -put the pressure on. Start campaigns. Do it now.

WikiLeaks- helping anonomize whistle-blowers

At the campaigns by various governments (Ethiopia, China, Zimbabwe etc) to block internet access to sites deemed "unacceptable"  ramps up, any and all ways to help whistle-blowers and users locate and access each other are welcome.
Here is one initiative reported on by the New Scientist mag:

http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=mg19325865.500>

How to leak a secret and not get caught
By Paul Marks

[Excerpts]

Leaking a sensitive government document can mean risking a jail sentence -- but not for much longer if an online service called WikiLeaks <http://www.wikileaks.org/index.html> goes ahead. WikiLeaks is designed to allow anyone to post documents on the web without fear of being traced.

Normally an email or a document posted to a website can be traced back to its source because each data packet carries the IP address of the last server that it passed through. To prevent this, WikiLeaks will exploit an anonymising protocol known as The Onion Router (Tor), which
routes data through a network of servers that use cryptography to hide the path that the packets took.

There are however, fears that whistle-blowers might still be at risk. "I would not trust my life or even my liberty to Tor," says Ben Laurie, a London-based computer security expert. In the past, determined cryptographers have breached Tor's security, and though each breach has
led to improvements to Tor there is always a risk others will be discovered.

WikiLeaks will provide a forum for the entire global community to examine any document relentlessly for credibility," the site claims.

virtually news

Its starting:
In one of Vince's postings he says:

Once virtual worlds become markets the model for marketing, advertising and retail promotion will have to change from the current 2-D e-commerce model we have on the web to a combination of automated and mediated bodiless real-life interactions.

Now Reuters have started to do just that.
Adam Pasick, a Reuters’ media correspondent based in London, will serve as the news organization’s first virtual bureau chief in Second Life. He’ll be using a personal avatar, or animated character, and will be known as “Adam Reuters,” in keeping with the game’s naming system.

Starting virtual news agencies and/or newspapers in the digisphere will be a money making enterprise if handled with care and if informed by a real understanding of the informational needs of the citizenry of the virtual worlds.
Let the games begin :-)

go digital or die (again)

An interesting report [pdf version] from Deutsche Bank Research aimed at investors has the following points to make:

• Innovative technologies are changing the way the media industry operates.
• New electronic offers improve contact between media makers and media consumers.
• Despite personalization of programming, advertising will not be crowded out.
• Brand recognition will attract additional customers and foster further growth.

Nothing new here to close followers of the changing face of media markets, but worth looking at.
It may be that the pressure on media outlets to seriously go digital will come from savvy investors rather than from the journalistic leadership within the industry itself.

Thanks for the tip Eamon

The Use of the Internet by America's Newspapers

The Bivings Report is a very useful blog for anyone interested in following the growth of web 2.0 and its integration into American media markets.

They also have an interesting podcast.

Amongst its recent reports is:

A new study of the top 100 newspapers which highlights how newspapers are embracing the Internet. Among the findings:

• 80 of the nation's top 100 newspapers offered reporter blogs. On 63 of these blogs, readers could comment on posts written by reporters.
• 76 of the nation's top 100 newspapers offer RSS feeds on their websites. All of these feeds are partial feeds, and none included ads.
• Video is offered by 61 of the newspapers.

Firstly I wonder how long it will be till we start to get ads in RSS feeds - surely it can only be a matter of time.
Seccondly, and what I find surprising, is not that US newspapers are using the web to reach new markets (A bit of a no-brainer) but the 20% of the top 100 do not use these tools.
It would be interesting to read what the basis for this is: lack of insight or a planed strategy. And if the latter - what do they think they know that we don't?

SkypeCast with Chris Anderson of Wired

A  SkypeCast with Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired Magazine, and author of the best-selling book, The Long Tail is available and worth a listen.

Making Europe's online content market more competitive

Making Europe's online content market more competitive:
A public consultation on ways to stimulate the growth of a true EU single market for online digital content, such as films, music and games, has been launched by the European Commission. The Commission intends to encourage the development of innovative business models and to promote the cross-border delivery of diverse online content services. It is also keen to ascertain how European technologies and devices can be successful in the creative online content markets. Input to this consultation will help shape a Commission Communication on Content Online, due to be adopted at the end of the year. The deadline for replies is 13 October 2006.

See also Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on copyright clearance for online music services

Google Analytics

Google har just lanserat en webb/blogg- statistikprogram, Google Analytics.
Detta är, tror jag, slutet för tjänster som Site Meter mm.
Google har tidigare lanserat en RRS-läsare (Google Reader) som konkurent till tjänster som blogglines utan vidare framgång. Skillnaden är att denna gång bygger analystjänsten på en färdig program, urchin, som var en av de bättre icke-gratis program för webbanalys. En redan fungerande, testad programm med Googles namn och gratis dessutom [AdWords-användarna kommer därimot att få mer statistik än andra] kommer att vara nästintill ostoppbar.

significant victory for open source

The open source movement has had some mesure of sucess in the developing world but has met with resistance in corperate structures of the developed world.
This may be changing.
According to an article in todays Financial Times, the state of Massachusetts plans to switch all its workers away from Microsoft's Word, Excel and other desktop software applications, and to have them use open source based software instead.
According to the article;

the state also specified only two document types that could be used in the future - OpenDocument, which is used in open source applications like Open Office, and PDF, a widely used standard for electronic documents.

The switch to open formats like these was needed to ensure that the state could guarantee that citizens could open and read electronic documents in the future, according to the state - something that was not possible using closed formats.

The Commonwealths statement and some background documents are available.