Benkler, Y. From Consumers to Users.

In his article From consumers to Users, Benkler talks about the importance of regulatory choices that occur at the physical infrastructure layer, the logical layer and the content layer (of the Internet) in today’s information society. Benkler believes that some regulation is necessary, to ensure that different kinds of resources, or commons, are available to all and that everybody is allowed to participate and to expressive themselves (Benkler 568). In other words, the wrong choices can have very negative consequences and Benkler fears that regulatory choices, that assume a producer-consumer model, often perpetuate it, for instance by increasing the costs (Benkler 575).

So, if I’m not mistaken, Benkler gives examples of what happens when people make decisions with a producer-consumer model in mind. All in all, Benkler hopes the Internet will develop into a ‘peer-to-peer’-model in which commons are sustained and where there is access for all (Benkler 579). However, “How exactly do people make regulatory choices in a ‘peer-to-peer’-model?” Somehow, somebody has to make the decisions, and how is decided who that somebody is? I don’t really know much about this, so maybe the existing government or the owners of websites already make these decisions. But in a way this means that somebody is still in charge. I guess as long as they don’t misuse this power, it will work out fine (most of the time).    

Lessig, L. Innovation from the Internet

In his article Innovation from the Internet, Lessig mentions a few new products, and their relationship to the architecture of cyberspace. These new products, like HTMLBooks and mp3, form new - and bigger - markets and new - and cheaper - forms of distribution. Lessig finds it especially interesting that some programmes on the Internet can now learn what people want. Although some people find this development scary, he sees a lot of potential for this development. For instance, it makes data about people’s preferences much more ‘usable’ (Lessig 14). Besides this, nowadays people, or ‘peers’ can be used to process and forward data (Lessig 16).

Although Lessig seems to prefer a distributed and flexible architecture of the Internet with a mix of control and freedom, he claims that the architecture of the Internet is changing and that nowadays more emphasis is placed on control and regulations (Lessig 21). So, my question is, “Is this really happening? And what will this mean for innovation?” I agree with Lessig that that freedom is very important and that some control is necessary to ensure that all people can participate. Many creative people don’t have a lot of money, and it’s important that they’re not excluded from the creative process just because they don’t have the money for it. But, if what he claims really is the case, than I’m afraid that this can make innovation on the Internet more difficult. However, I’m (still) not sure this is really happening. I think, for instance, that actually controlling the Internet will remain a difficult task.

Another question is, “whether it is a positive development that some Internet programmes can now ‘know’ what people want.” I think in a way it is, because it can be very convenient when you visit websites like amazon.com and it gives you whole lists of books and DVDs you might like. And besides, for the most part, the information it ‘knows’ is quite harmless. I can only speak for myself, but I don’t mind if other people know my preferences in books, films and music.

Harries, D. Watching the Internet

In his article Watching the Internet, Harries talks about the Internet and the different modes of spectatorship. According to him you can now speak of a convergence of the activities of the first and second mode, respectively ‘viewing’ and ‘using’. Harries calls this new development ‘viewsing’. In other words, a true viewsing experience combines the ‘realness’ of cinema, the ‘liveness’ of TV and the ‘connectedness’ of the Internet. Overall, Harries sees ‘the creation of immersive experiences within a context of interactivity’ as the future (Harries 181).   

            However, earlier he said ‘viewing’ on the Internet often lacks the quality, while the interactivity of ‘using’ makes immersion more difficult. However, don’t these problems also affect ‘viewsing’? In other words, my question here is “Is a ‘true viewsing experience’ always possible? And will it replace the more traditional forms of media?” In his article, Harries uses the programme “the Runner” as an example for ‘a true integrated media experience’. The format of this programme means that people can not only view this programme, they can also log on to their computer, where they can actively participating and might even change the events. This way, most people will feel as if they’re ‘in’ the programme. However, this programme is a game, which leaves me to think that maybe ‘viewsing’ only works with games like this. Besides this, I believe that many older, more traditional media experiences, like watching films, don’t really need interactivity and will remain the same. So, overall it’s very likely that more ‘viewsing experiences’ are created in the near future, but I don’t think it will be all there is.

Negus, K. Identities and Industries

In his article Identities and Industries, Negus tries to offer an alternative view of cultural production that looks at the broader cultural - and social - contexts. According to him, ‘culture’ and cultural processes not only shape economic practices and beliefs, but they also have a big influence on the way creativity can be realised and is judged (Negus 116). In other words, Negus believes that social divisions in the ‘real world are (still) an integral part of the cultural industry and to support his claims he uses the British and American music industry (Negus 118). Besides this, according to Negus, many record companies believe that an inviting ‘culture’ within their organisation is very important (Negus 120). 

So, my question here is, “is it true that the existing ‘culture’ in a society often has a – negative - influence on industries, like the music business? And is the music business really such a fragmented system, with certain division and separations?” I think Negus is right in believing that the white, middle-aged, male still has a lot to say in the music business and that this can be worrying. And it also sounds reasonable that language, geography etc. can play a role in what kind of music people like and produce. However, I don’t believe there are strict boundaries. For instance, a white person in Europe can like R&B just as much as a black person in America. Besides this, Negus himself says that collaborations are possible and indeed happen, with often very interesting results. To an extent, I think the music business itself does have certain divisions, with people who are specialised in a particular kind of music, but these divisions are not static, or at least I hope not.