diffusionOFregeneration

Here is an interesting article on the information revolution and the struggle our legal and economic system is having with a radical new framework [ The Revolution Will Be Televised . . On YouTube ]. I have read several interesting articles recently that I hadn’t bookmarked, but was able to track down. One about a Microsoft executive admitting that software piracy was good for their business.

People who work in the industry are well aware of this principle. I remember when I was working in the technology field as a salesperson and consultant we learned that the main target of anti-piracy propaganda was not the individual home user, but businesses and institutions. Individual home users who pirate software often times become paying customers. The software companies aren’t losing any money on these illegal downloads because most of these users would never purchase the software in the first place. The reason they “pirate” the software is to learn how to use the technology and to figure out whether or not it is going to be actually useful in proportion to the price. The learning curve on most software that is priced at a point that encourages “stealing” is vastly greater than the free one or two month trial period offered by most software companies.

Here is another article arguing that the damage to music sales cause by illegally downloading mp3’s was blown way out of proportion by the music industry (in fact an in dept study makes the case it hasn’t changed sales in that industry at all).

I point this article on the information revolution out in particular because the author, adjunct faculty at UC Berkley, draws interesting comparisons between this revolution and past revolutions. The point being that radical changes in legal and economic systems have regularly been the impetus behind and result of revolutions.

Lots of food for thought in that article. It has much cross functional application in other arenas outside of technology. It leaves me pondering the point that there is a fine line between what is perceived, by some, as a revolutionary and a criminal. I am in particular connecting this line of thought with an article I have saved by Erwin McManus on leadership. I can’t currently find it on the internet, but I have in in paper form and will post it soon.