Competition and the Internet References The Future of Ideas Lawrence Lessig The Internet Upheaval Edited by Ingo Vogelsang Ben Compaine MIT Press 2000 Learning Objectives Network layers content conduit del Control of layers Traditional goods vs digital goods Internet digital goods impact Form of goods their properties Competitive Factors Economic Sociopolitical Technological Distribution Innovation Opportunities 2 Traditional Network Layers Content Code Physical Del consumer Physical layer delivery of content Wires computers TV stores Code layer conduit control between content and delivery Protocols music film producers store hours inventory Content layer the creative stuff Books music dresses films images products From Yochai Benkler From Consumers to Users Shifting the Deeper Structures of Regulation Federal Communications Law Journal 52 2000 3 Control of the Layers Free or Controlled Speakers Corner London Telephone System Cable TV Content Free Free Controlled Code Free Controlled Controlled Physical Free Controlled Controlled 4 The Dark Ages The Dark Ages before the Internet 1970s Content still created by more or less traditional means Firms make jeans cars artists make music films etc Some is free some is restricted copyright Copyright gets tricky Government seeks balance Copying music is illegal but piano rolls were allowed Could copy without permission but had to pay Cable TV resell the content of others Guarantee of compensation without permission VCRs copy TV movies for home use 5 Dark Ages Physical Control Very little control at the physical layer delivery medium Books are written on paper movies require film clothes use cloth cars steel Access and availability is largely market driven Cost of the materials mostly etc No one is controlling paper film steel supplies This WAS an issue in real dark ages and before papyrus Not really an issue 6 Dark Ages Code Layer Control is strong at the Code conduit Layer Publishers decide what books get printed Editors decide what news goes on the front page Record companies choose their bands marketing Network owners decide what shows get on TV I can create what I want but there is no First Amendment right that NBC or the Washington Post has to publish it 7 Impact Firms make goods services People buy these goods and services The choices that people were given what they can buy were decided by the folks controlling the code layer conduit 8 The Internet The Internet the Digital Economy has changed the choices and the control It has introduced much competition and changed the playing field by Changing the form of content it s all bits baby Eliminating the control of the code conduit layer Anyone can put almost anything on the Internet without permission I can search for many choices 9 Why It s the Architecture Cyberspace frees us from real constraints Digital content can be copied perfectly almost for free for free Digital content can be moved instantly and almost Digital content can be replicated in many places at the same time The Internet changes everything It eliminates the power of the middle code and moves it to the ends content creators consumers 10 But Moving power to the ends still means there is power and control Google Library Project October 4 2012 7 15 AM PDT Google and a trade group representing U S book publishers today announced they have settled a copyright dispute that has dragged on for seven years The Association of American Publishers AAP and Google said in a joint statement that as a result of the settlement the Google Library Project will receive access to publishers copyrighted books Both parties also said that U S publishers can choose to make available or choose to remove their books and journals digitized by Google for its Library Project 11 Competition By shifting from the real physical space network for delivering content to cyberspace The market end users have much more choice and much more control Still plenty of the old but the shift is on As an example the merging of digital content news TV radio etc are just TCP IP frames now has caused mergers combinations and muddied what is media What s a blog News Entertainment 12 Confusion The digital combining of various media is causing confusion and trouble How do you define media concentration now Do Pandora Slacker compete with each other or also traditional radio and iTunes What rules does government impose on copyright and fair use VCR is okay but they don t trust me to copy music Mickey Mouse copyright 13 Competitive Factors Economic Factors Sometimes there just isn t enough business to justify many competitors ex daily newspapers radio stations BUT Cyberspace changes this With limited costs to publish on the Internet it is possible to have niche businesses yes there is a Katrina and the Waves website www katrinasweb com 14 Competitive Factors Sociopolitical Factors It had been said that those who control the media establish the political agenda dictate tastes and culture sell the material goods and manipulate the masses Cyberspace allows small media Not as powerful as big media but there s a lot of Ask Bill Clinton and Monica what they think of Matt Drudge Viral marketing The Blair Witch Project website them Will It Blend 15 Competitive Factors Technological Factors Technology is rarely adopted for its own sake There must be some need some benefit for technology to catch on in the marketplace re the picture phone Cyberspace shortens time to market and provides entry to a global environment e g crowdsourcing see Threadless InnoCentive 16 Cyberspace and New Products Cyberspace allows for entirely new business concepts Google Shopping bots HTML books articles links Downloadable music lyric servers Making your own movies YouTube 17 Cyberspace and New Markets Cyberspace removes barriers to distribution Thus small niche players can find markets that were impossible before Poetry Daily www poems com www leftiesonlygolf com www williamhung net And yes Katrina and the Waves 18 Cyberspace and New Distribution As is probably obvious by now the Internet can radically reduce the costs of distribution creating new business opportunities often disruptive iTunes need we say more TV over the Internet what happens to commercials Jury still out on digital books But I haven t stepped foot into a library in several years as I now download audio books Amazon Kindle Google Digital Library Does your cell phone have GPS maps Do you want to be Garmin now 19 Last Thoughts Technology
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