Maximum Fun Forum

Discuss.

Am I the only one who thinks that it's odd that the EOC of Wired, and a guy who wrote a book on Free and the internet, doesn't know the basic principle of how iTunes handles podcasts and bandwidth.

And for those who don't know how it works, iTunes lists a podcast but does not actually store it. When you download TSOYA or JJGO (or my podcast for that matter), you are downloading it from Jesse's server, and costing him the bandwidth. Same thing with This American Life, who pimps their bandwidth like a Circuit City store closing event. ITunes is a middle man, but all they do is facilitate the transaction, and make things convenient. If Jesse has to pay for bandwidth, he is paying, and not Apple or iTunes.

Podcasters know this, because Apple tells us this when we set up the podcast on iTunes. And while this may be a small detail for Chris Anderson, it is an important one in the context of the discussion of free. My podcast isn't free to download because iTunes does anything. It's free because I make it so.

Other than that, I thought it was an interesting discussion, but there was more to be said.

This was like hearing from Douglas Rushkoff without having to deal with Douglas Rushkoff being massively irritating.

Very interesting, especially w/r/t the psychology of purchase.

Except they absolutely do not agree with one another on some pretty big ideas. Rushkoff takes Anderson to task in his recent essay on edge.org. I'd rather listen to Rushkoff any day.

I haven't listened to this episode yet, because I am in the middle of listening to Anderson's book. I noticed iTunes put the whole thing up as a free download and took the bait. Even comparing it to (audio)books I've paid for, I have no hesitation in saying it's a must-hear (or must-read if you have the time and inclination to experience it in print). For me, it's provided a lot of reminders to break the usual patterns of thinking and look at things (in this case, mostly business models) from a different perspective.

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"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." - Cameron Crowe channeling Lester Bangs

The comparison is more about subject matter than their spin. Rushkoff always sounds like an economics guy who enjoyed Second Life and Cyberpunk too much. Anderson's ideas are firmly grounded in reality, and don't come off as combative and smug. Just can't dig Rushkoff's substance or style.

I see what you're saying. I think Rushkoff's economics fixation is a fairly recent development. There isn't a whole lot of it in his previous work. I loved "Get Back in the Box," but I recognize that some of Rushkoff's ideas could be perceived as wishful thinking. I think that's his problem with Anderson actually. Rather than reimagining an economics system that isn't built on the idea of artificial scarcity, Anderson is more willing to let the current system change and re-leverage itself to allow big commerce to keep doing what it's been doing since the Renaissance. (I'm paraphrasing what Rushkoff wrote in his critique of Anderson).

I used to think Rushkoff might be a little smug (and based on his track record he probably has reason to be), but the more I read about him and the more I listen to his radio show I realize he's more impressed with what others are doing than with what he's doing himself. He's got a segment on his program called "real people doing real things" that shifts focus away from himself entirely in order to highlight what regular folks are doing across the country in the bottom-up, participatory style of engagement that he's championed for so many years. I highly recommend his show on WFMU. He always has awesome guests, including a few that were also on TSOYA (Steven Johnson).

"Real People Doing Real Things" sounds kind of awesome.