[contextly_auto_sidebar id="3yEpOmVWqQdiM8tHRZQ892WnlfCfPiSE"] AMAZINGLY, there are still gurus urging creatives that working for free -- for for-profit companies -- is a good "branding" move. An article in the Financial Times describes some who believe in the great opportunities of the digital age, and says that asking for -- and receiving -- free labor has continues to increase. But as … [Read more...]
“The Disruption Machine” and the Arts
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="R3zLDzzRclVKKTROWNxF41CXdu70ZMpQ"] Jill Lepore's New Yorker article, "The Disruption Machine," which looks at one of the key fallacies of the digital crowd, has become much discussed. Her challenge to a theory that describes how newer, smaller companies destroy old ones may not seem to relate to the world of arts and culture. But these things are intimately … [Read more...]
How Silicon Valley’s Disruptors Defend Themselves
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="CoNTgysgG97fFP472ViQZnWcE75qU22x"] I EXPECT the big car companies were as defensive, back when reformers suggested seat belts and the like, as digital-disruptor types are when they receive any bit of criticism. In this case, the Silicon Valley types lash back that anyone who doesn't buy their cyber-utopian vision is "anti-technology." Salon's Andrew Leonard gets … [Read more...]
The Amazon Fight: David Carr and Malcolm Gladwell Weigh In
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="YGdDfwFUtQGZuwNoz6622v9UXTfsCNmw"] THIS fight between Amazon and the Hachette publishers doesn't seem to be going away. And it may be damaging the online booksellers' "brand," says David Carr in the New York Times. As the uproar grows, Amazon is learning that while it may own the publishing industry with a 40 percent market share of all new books sold, according … [Read more...]
The Internet and the Future with Jaron Lanier
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="00XQfisENTTZHblrkmxnirfcWjtcoQHV"] THE technologist and Internet skeptic Jaron Lanier is someone I speak to every few months whether I need to or not -- he's got some of the sharpest sense of how digital technology has reshaped life for the creative class and the larger middle class it sits inside. It helps that he's also an experimental/classical musician who … [Read more...]
Jaron Lanier on Moore’s Law
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="aip73amsvg3xUNYYXf6tSsLWbr1Rp29w"] I'M going back to the work of the dreadlocked writer/musician/digital skeptic this week because of a conversation that will appear soon. He's got a great few lines near the beginning of Who Owns the Future? -- recently out in paperback -- that sums up Moore's Law, as well as what's called Baumol's Curse, about as succinctly as I can … [Read more...]
What Does Death of Net Neutrality Mean for Culture? And, Women of Paris
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="xGDWAexoDrHPFCevaXgcNYzALx2EWaaG"] THIS week, it seems, has brought us closer to the end of net neutrality, with the FCC getting closer to approving a pay-to-play "fast lane." The fear among purveyors and enthusiasts of indie culture is that there will be a tiered Internet, one for wealthy corporations and a slow one for the rest. Enormous power would go to broadband … [Read more...]
Can the Internet Destroy the Blockbuster Era? And, Digital Humanities
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="HnOcX1gioiqpT82lL4d0savWjVspAEhp"] IT'S been pretty well documented now that by "connecting" us all, the web has reinforced the growth of a corporate blockbuster culture. Despite the talk about "the long tail," and the web's ability to sustain fringe culture, the most heavily promoted movies, pop stars and so on are increasingly trouncing their less-funded rivals. … [Read more...]
Magazines in the Digital Age, and Artist Documentaries
THERE'S a long, vivid and often fascinating story in Politico magazine about Tina Brown, Newsweek and The Daily Beast. The article includes a memorable scene: "It was right around this time that Brown, forever in high heels, stood to make her way to the bathroom. As she crossed Diller’s marble floor, she wiped out and smacked her face on the ground, according to a source who was not involved in … [Read more...]
Power and Culture on the Internet, and Saving College Radio
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="u4Dlzk0r3mKVO47xkZOYDpbn6EaCJhpT"] HOW has the Internet changed our culture, politics, and economic structures? One of the smartest answers to this complicated question comes from lefty filmmaker Astra Taylor. I spoke to Taylor, who also has a foot in the indie-rock world, about her new book The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital … [Read more...]