Open letter to Neil Young: Why there are no protest songs

I will state plainly why there are not protest songs: the music business is much more of a business now than it was 40 years ago. By business, I mean it has consolidated itself into a coherent machine. There isn't the same chaos there was in the 60s when Atlantic and Motown could work as independents. Now there is just four "big" labels and the RIAA who must protect their interests at all costs.

That means not promoting anything that might upset the status quo. Music must be predictable and tailored to an audience that will consistently buy product. If you lose out on that 10% that might stop buying music, you have lost 10% of your product. In an age where the RIAA will do anything to protect its assets, that 10% is a lot.

Of course, one might ask why the RIAA still sues its customers. The RIAA only sues those customers that upset its business model. Music companies are too incompetent and too lazy to come up with a new business -- so they jealously guard their current one at all costs.

This is why there are no protest songs.

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Test drive challenge: Office 2007 vs. OpenOffice 2.0

Microsoft is now demoing Office 2007 on the web, and the immediate comparison is to OpenOffice. Of course, this is to be expected. Both suites are traditional desktop apps that are installed onto your hard drive. Sure, one is free -- but they basically do the same thing.

What people fail to note is that Microsoft is demoing Office on the web. They have never done this before. Many people will respond that there is always a first time for everything, but Microsoft never embraces new technology unless there is a damn good reason. The damn good reason in this case is the sluggish performance of AdCenter and the need to keep Office as the de facto market leader.

By offering Office on the web, they are keeping users away from using Writely, kickstarting AdCenter into a viable advertising platform, and staking their turf in the upcoming web app wars. It is a brilliant move on Microsoft's part. A demo doesn't require commitment. If nobody downloads the demo, they can just keep offering the standard Office suite. If the demo takes off, they might consider offering Office on the web for free.

And why not? Google is doing it.


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Full Featured Computer - Smaller than a Credit Card

Interesting. A computer that is the size of a credit card. Now, after the "gee whiz" factor goes away, what nobody seems to be answering is how this would be advantageous compared to a regular PDF or a laptop. Treos, as it is, are a pain to input information due to their keypad being so small. And what about display? Won't this wreak havoc on the eyes?

Of course, the attraction to this device isn't due to its functionality but to the fetishization of anything small. Small is sexy and big is hideous. A computer the size of a skyscraper, no matter the computing power, is seen as a step back. It doesn't matter that this computer may be more powerful than anything humankind has ever produced. Big is not sexy.

For this reason, I think a credit card-sized computer will sell units for the sheer novelty value. Geeks will take this PDA out of their pocket and amaze their friends. What they actually will do with this device won't really matter.

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The Digg Modification Project

Digg needs to be modified. My RSS feed no longer works the way it should. I use Thunderbird, which uses Firefox to render webpages. This means that in order to see old articles that are no longer on the first page, I have to be logged into my Digg account. Also, whereas in the old Digg, looking at who dugg and blogged an article was in the comments page, now it takes an extra click. If that's not enough, I feel the navigational bar should be on the right hand side since most people are right-handed.

With that said, I don't think the Digg Modification Project is the answer. Namely, I do not trust their instincts for design. Take a look at their website. Blue text on a blue background does not create readability. Further, replacing ads with whitespace only creates big gaping holes of space -- especially at the bottom of the page. My eye naturally wants to something -- anything -- in that whitespace. Yes, even if it's an ad.

The Digg Modification Project has its heart in the right place. It is unfortunate that the modifications it proposes doesn't improve my readibility and user experience.

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Rupert Murdoch Betting Big

Of course, I'm betting that Rupert Murdoch is going to lose this bet. Certainly, this will not be as bad as Time Warners' merge with AOL, but it will MySpace is still a sinking ship. Teenagers are a fickle bunch. I repeat: teenagers are a fickle bunch. In order for MySpace to work, it's going to have to do what no other website ever has done: perpetually evolve its content and consistently change its userbase. It will not only have to change with the times, it will have to define the times -- be the internet presentation of zeitgeist.

The nearest comparison I can think of is Netscape. MySpace is definitely no Netscape -- yet. If it keeps appealing to hipsters and teenagers, it will be. Yes, MySpace has 80 million users. But how many of these users are in for the long haul? Will MySpace go through a cycle of perpetual change in order to consistently appeal to its target demograph? Will MySpace successively have to become Not-MySpace in order to survive?

My hunch is yes.

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