Wednesday, September 10, 2003

Updated: 754 PM EDT WED SEP 10 2003 74 °F Mostly Clear Humidity: 46% Wind Speed: NNW 6 MPH Barometer: 30.19 in. Dewpoint: 52°F Heat Index: 77°F Wind Chill: 74°F [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Weather] RSS weather feeds are a great idea. Web weather sites are cluttered with graphics and ads. Email weather updates never worked. My current subscriptions are Philadelphia, PA, and Alta, UT. 9:24:09 PM

Even more importantly, it ignores the essentially transitory nature of much or most file-sharing -- which music lovers use to sample music, to see whether they like it, and frequently just to listen once or a handful of times. [Scott Rosenberg's Links & Comment] Does it ignore that, really? Maybe the industry knows that very well and what it fears most is not lost sales from those who download a piece of music they love, but lost sales from those who sample a record and decide they don't care for it. The industry currently has a huge information advantage. They know exactly what's in a CD, we don't. Commercial radio does not provide much information, and webcasters have been choked by the DMCA to a drip. Anything that levels the informational playing field makes the music market more efficient and reduces their profit margin. The only existing channel that has this potential is sharing. 4:32:42 AM