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Sound of Silence

As many of you may know, today is an Internet radio Day of Silence to protest proposed increases in Internet radio royalty rates (the link has information on the event and allows one to find the proper representative to voice one’s view). What some may not know is that this battle was fought in 2002. The Washington Post has a decent article on the issues in play. The article is filled with links to commentary on the issues and worth a look for that alone. One of my favorite radio stations, KCRW, is running a loop of a program exploring the issues through interviews. As it is protesting the move, the loop may miss some other view, but it does set forth what public radio and Internet radio stations are saying about the rate moves and the history of the rate debates. I will listen to it in part because I want to and in part because hey it’s the only thing KCRW is broadcasting today.

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June 25, A Strangely Cool Day in Tech History and Do Lawyers Dream of Blade Runner?

Twenty five years ago Blade Runner was released. Forty years ago Our World, the first live international satellite broadcast, aired. It was watched by more than 400 million people and concluded with the Beatles performing “All You Need Is Love” which was specially written for the broadcast. NPR’s coverage of Our World’s anniversary notes that Marshall McCluhan’s famous or infamous ideas about technology were arguably manifesting themselves with the broadcast. (Indeed, McLuhan himself commented on the event as part of the event and one can see it here. It is a longish clip (about 11 minutes for McLuhan’s part but if one want to hear about views regarding oral traditions, forced cultural change, and the like it is worth a listen. Remember this clip is 40 years old.) Say what one might about the man’s odd phrases and metaphors, the basic ideas about connected, global villages and challenges from technology have relevance today. That ongoing relevance is what reminds me of Blade Runner.

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Surfing the Blogocean

Some blogs I try to read every day; with others, weeks may go by before I go back and catch up on accumulated posts.  Sometimes the second strategy yields unexpected benefits, particularly when the blog is one that really seems to capture the mind of the writer at work.  Today I read through a couple of weeks’ worth of posts by my friend and colleague Susan Crawford, and found these two gems.  They’re unrelated on the surface but linked and revelatory when you read more closely.  More below the jump.Read More »Surfing the Blogocean