Re: Happy Anniversary Napster, and Thanks for Your Impact on Scholarly Communication

[Simon Dessain <sjf@dessain.org>]

I agree with Phil Davis who wrote:

'That generation, who grew up without a history of purchasing 
physical media (like vinyl albums, cassette, 8-track, or VHS 
tapes) does not perceive informatio as property.'

But it is not only 'that generation'. Having spent 15 years 
selling high value computer software before the internet I could 
provide many, many examples of managers and leaders in large 
organisations who thought nothing of knowingly installing 
software, with license values in 100s of thousands (pounds,$, 
etc) onto extra unlicensed processors on the basis that 'it would 
not cost the software owner any money' if they did so.

People generally, outside publishing (including sofware etc.), 
don't perceive information as property. What has changed is the 
number of people with the opportunity to breach the walls of the 
citadel.

best wishes

Simon Dessain
Digital Director
The List, 14 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1TE
AIM sjfdessain

2009/6/3 Phil Davis <pmd8@cornell.edu>

Greg Tananbaum wrote:
>
> "By changing our sense of what was possible in the sharing of
> information, Napster is at least partly responsible for our
> changing scholarly communication ecosystem. So happy anniversary,
> Napster, and thanks for making our lives more interesting."
>
> Sharing is not something new to science.  To suggest therefore
> that music file sharing changed the fundamental ethos of science
> is historical revisionism based on technological determinism.
> If anything, the development of digital media changed how a
> generation of individuals view information.  That generation, who
> grew up without a history of purchasing physical media (like
> vinyl albums, cassette, 8-track, or VHS tapes) does not perceive
> information as property.
>
> It is this shift in our perception of information which is is
> making our lives so interesting because it threatens established
> models of commerce and thus changes the loci of power.
>
> --Phil Davis