New at Reason

Reporting from the Futures of Entertainment conference, Jesse Walker looks at the sometimes antagonistic relationship between viral marketing gurus and copyright lawyers.

Comments

Lamar | November 20, 2006, 3:05pm | #

"And while all the panelists agreed that you ultimately address piracy by outcompeting it, not by cracking down...."

I wouldn't put the RIAA or MPAA in this category. I would put them in the "sue everbody" category.

gaijin | November 20, 2006, 3:51pm | #

Interesting conference and reporting...I once read a quote in the context of user interface design..."A system whose benefits do not accrue to it's users will be circumvented." Always assumed it was intended beyond the context in which I read it.

Would seem that the traditional media/advertising business is learning this lesson right now.

I wonder if virtual worlds might not become a mechanism for circumventing certain other institutions that cease to benefit a subset of their users...welcome the new virtual tribalism!

scandalrag | November 20, 2006, 4:28pm | #

"Barrett noted that, while only a minority of the grassroots creations being generated might be 'good' by mainstream standards -- it's '99 percent ass,' he announced"

Am I the only one who saw this and thought, you know 99percent ass would be a great name for a garage band?

gaijin | November 20, 2006, 4:39pm | #

Am I the only one who saw this and thought, you know 99percent ass would be a great name for a garage band?

I had thought it would be a good description of the reason for J-Lo's mainstream popularity.