Categories
Law Pornography Speech Tech

Is the Internet broken?

As amazing as the Internet is for commerce, communication, and education, it might have been better. Imagine opening your email and not finding any spam. Imagine your children or your little brother not happening into any pornography.

Pete Ashdown spoke at the Utah Open Source Conference earlier this year. He touted the virtues of the Internet for open communication and open government. He said the Internet is the “only working anarchy” and we “shouldn’t change it.”

At the same conference, Phil Windley quoted Vint Cerf, one of the inventors of the Internet, as saying he would have liked it different. “Vint wishes that the original design of the Internet had required that each endpoint…be able to authenticate [itself]….”

Vint is saying every computer on the Internet should identify itself. Anonymity allows bad actors to go unregulated. If authentication and identity were built-in, perhaps we might reduce Internet maladies like spam, phishing, and predatory porn.

Pete, Phil, and Vint are smart people. But they seem to disagree about whether the Internet needs change.

The H2M and CP80 proposals imply that something is broken about the current Internet. If so, it shouldn’t be hard to imagine changing it. People built the Internet and people can change the Internet. It’s supposed to serve us, not the other way around.

I tend to agree that we can do a better job of protecting children from pornography. I’m not sure what the solution is. Perhaps it’s H2M or CP80, or maybe something else. But if we believe the Internet is broken and can be better, we have every right to fix it. To quote Bill Cosby’s father:

You know, I brought you in this world, and I can take you out. And it don’t make no difference to me, I’ll make another one look just like you. (Wikiquote.org)

Categories
Apple Main

Mining iTunes for podcast listenership data

For podcasters and their advertisers, tracking the size of a podcast’s audience is sticky. You can track how many people download a podcast, but who knows if they actually listened to it?

iTunes is the #1 podcasting client (57% market share last year), and additional podcatchers push podcasts into iTunes, so much of the data about podcast listenership can be found in iTunes. Advertisers just need a way to get to it.

I recently commented to Phil Windley that perhaps the iTunes XML file could be mined for listenership data. iTunes exports an XML file that contains a rating, play count, last played date, and last skip date for every song and podcast. This would be extremely valuable information for advertisers.

Phil connected me with Doug Kaye, the creator of IT Conversations, who is now exploring a way to automate the flow of this valuable iTunes information back to podcasters. After seeing the architecture he created with Amazon.com web services, I believe if anybody can do this, Doug can.

Categories
Main Politics Tech Utah

Seven ways the Internet is changing politics

1. Last week I attended the opening event of Phil Burns’s new company Politic2.0, a platform for communication between politicians and citizens. When I first heard about the event, I was skeptical that it would be anything more than the buzz-word-ification of another niche, but by the end of the event I was really impressed with what had happened.

Utah Congressman Chris Cannon was the guest of honor, and there were about 25 attendees. The website allowed us to post and vote on questions, Digg style, and then the MC addressed the most popular questions to Mr. Cannon. Participation wasn’t limited to people in the room; anybody online could submit questions, vote, and leave comments on the website. Live video was streamed to the website.

It was a Darwinian press conference. The most popular questions were asked; no one person could dominate the conversation with his own agenda. Mr. Cannon said he felt a disconnect because most of our heads were down while we typed and clicked, but because I was able to influence the conversation, I felt very connected. I liked it so much I contacted a couple friends so they could hop on the website during the event.

The process still needs polishing, but Mr. Cannon’s participation was commendable and it was a good first draft for Politic2.0. I hope other politicians will participate.

Pete Ashdown

2. The Politic2.0 platform allowed us to collaborate on our questions, but not on the answers. When Pete Ashdown ran for U.S. Senate last year, he used a wiki to allow citizens to collaborate on policy solutions. I personally edited a page or two and found it refreshing that the ideas were being debated on their own merits and that someone (Pete) cared to listen. It’s humbling and realistic for politicians to realize they don’t have all the answers. Maybe together we do.

3. IT Conversations is my favorite source for podcasts. This week its founder, Doug Kaye, launched PodCorps (via), which aims to “record and publish important spoken-word events anywhere in the world.” PodCorps will call on an army of volunteers to record lectures, political events, and talks in their local communities. These amateur recordings by you and me will be posted online for all to hear. What would otherwise be some inconsequential talk on an obscure topic in a far away place will find far more listeners. Politicians can’t pander to local interests if everyone is “watching.” The transparency will encourage consistency.

4. C-Span, the nonprofit cable network that records Senate and House proceedings (and for most people is the fastest way to fall asleep), keeps ownership of over 85% of its video — video that should be in the public domain. Carl Malamud, the creator of the first Internet radio station, recently wrote a letter to C-Span petitioning that all its video be released into the public domain and explaining how the Internet makes their mission of promoting open government even easier.

5. Phil Windley has blogged repeatedly about the Utah Senate Majority’s website, senatesite.com. At the site Utahns will find a group blog and podcast where local politicians explain and debate policy.

6. Mitt Romney and other presidential candidates are using YouTube to engage with citizens. Mitt Romney on Youtube In a YouTube video, Mitt asked people “What is America’s single greatest challenge?” Seventy-one people responded with short videos of their own.

7. Candidates are using Facebook and MySpace to stay connected with supporters. Because of Facebook, I know Mitt is in Iowa today.

Anything else?

As our world becomes more complex and the job of politician more difficult, it’s increasingly important that we be closely connected with the people that represent us.

Categories
Apple Tech

Customer lock-in happens from inside or out

Earlier this month my brother, father, and I went to Macworld in San Francisco, waking up at 4:00 AM on Tuesday to get into Steve Jobs’s keynote. We were amazed by the iPhone — definitely under the influence of Steve’s Reality Distortion Field. It wasn’t until the Cingular CEO took the stage (snore) that I realized how tired and hungry I was.

During the keynote, I was especially impressed by the idea of developing applications for the iPhone since it runs Mac OS X. Turns out that will not be a possibility; the phone is locked from outside developers.

There are two kinds of customer lock-in: by the company or by the customer. (Who holds the knob of the one-knobbed door.)

Some companies lock in customers with contracts, cancellation fees, and being difficult to work with — mobile phone companies, cable TV companies, 1and1.com, and Tivo.

Other companies lock in customers by building phenomenal products and platforms, fostering great communities, and inspiring loyalty (even evangelism) — Apple, WordPress, Bluehost.com. Customers don’t want to leave companies like these; they lock themselves in.

At $500-600, I’m not convinced a locked-down iPhone is right for me. (Maybe.) But if I had the ability to develop applications for an always-on, Internet-connected device, I’d lock myself in.

Bonus: This Nightline video covers the announcement of the iPhone, including an exclusive with Steve Jobs. From :37 to :40 (or 5:16 to 5:13) you can see my father walking along 4th Street early Tuesday morning while my brother and I waited in line. (He brought us back Denny’s.)

Categories
Main PHP Tech WordPress

What Would Seth Godin Do

If you’re a marketer or a WordPress user, you might like the WordPress plugin I recently created. Based on a principle taught by Seth Godin, it lets you treat new visitors to your site different from returning visitors:

“What Would Seth Godin Do” WordPress plugin