Our lives revolve around our smartphones.
All of you with smartphones, who utilize them well, know what I mean. All of those people without a smartphone have no clue.
I can access the internet, my email, my social outlets (Facebook, multiple forums, and other things like Skype) from almost anywhere. I sync documents between two computers and my smartphone. I can open, compose and save documents on my phone which are instantly updated on those two computers. I can take, edit and send photos and videos. I can do all of this while I hold a conversation on the phone. I use it to navigate, to calculate my gas mileage and gas prices I pay. I find the best gas prices, and report the price I pay so others can do the same. I can lookup the prices of objects on multiple websites just by scanning a barcode as I shop, so I can decide if that store has the best price. I use it to calculate decompression times for technical diving, and the gas mixtures to add to achieve the final mixture I desire. I can find good deals on Craigslist, and schedule appointments. It wakes me up in the morning, and thanks to the generous 32 gigabytes of storage, holds every song I could want to play while I fall asleep at night. If I get bored with all of that, I can play games.
In short, my smartphone is an extension of myself. It replaces multiple devices I used to use. I no longer need a calculator in my car with a pad of paper for tracking gas mileage. I no longer need a GPS. I no longer need an mp3 player. I no longer need a calendar. I no longer need a camera, or a video camera, or a computer to edit photos on. I no longer need a water cooler to talk to friends around.
When I leave the house, I need three things:
-keys
-wallet
-phone
I look forward to the day when I can leave home with just my phone. It should be pretty simple, right? Phones could easily unlock a door by sending a message via wifi, 3g cellphone signal, or bluetooth, with the right door receiver. I need my wallet to hold my ID and money. I could conceivably take photos of my ID's and store them in my phone, and now phones are increasingly being used as a method of payment.
First, let us consider the applications and hardware that allow phones to receive payment. As a business student, I look forward to possibly owning or managing a business in the near future. Being able to use my phone to not only keep in touch with customers, but to take money from them as well, is a huge plus.
This site explains several ways to do just that.
Users can already pay via phone at some places, such as Amigos by using Paypal apps on their phone to send money wirelessly.
The future though is in dedicated apps that allow you to pay anywhere, according to USA Today. However, they predict that mass adoption will only take place after 2014.
As an avid smart phone user, I can only hope that it takes place sooner than that.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Internet, The Law, and The Hits
Often while stuck in the big city traffic, I find myself listening to NPR. On one recent morning, they showcased a short story that I found quite interesting, with a completely different way to think about music leaks via the internet. NPR pointed out that record labels and artists both sometimes leak music on purpose.
Most of the time, we think about illegal file sharing being done in ways that hurt the record companies. Therefore, to read about a record label purposefully giving music out in the hopes that it be shared is a rare thing.
It makes sense though, doesn't it?
We already know that the old fashioned way of selling music on a CD is just that, old fashioned. There is absolutely no reason to sell music that way.
CD's are made from materials that are harmful to the environment. Their manufacture and distribution pollute the environment with a huge carbon footprint as music is hauled around on semi trucks. They are sold in stores that take up space and also leave a carbon footprint. We have no need for CD's any longer. music files are easily transmitted through the air wirelessly or via cables, over the internet. In ones car, music can be played via an ipod or a jump drive. CD's are an incredibly inefficient way to store music, and CD stores are an incredibly inefficient way to sell music. If our country knew what was good for it, it would outlaw the inefficient way of doing music distribution.
In a similar manner, old fashioned ways of marketing music are also inefficient. Leaking a track is a great way to market new music. Music can be shared easily online, and reach a huge number of people, for literally $0. All you have to do is get one person to post the song in a YouTube video, or put it on MySpace, a process which takes only a few minutes with a high speed internet connection. The song will soon show up in searches on search engines, and some avid fans will start blogging about it. Within hours, or days, the song is being talked about by fans around the globe.
NPR highlighted a case where an artist leaked his own music to convince a record label to produce his album. He faced a system that felt his music was not worth producing. His own marketing efforts lead them to change their minds. What this shows is, "socialistic" styles of music production where a label executive decides what will be produced, similar to how dictators or central planners in a socialistic society plan their country's production, falls far short of predicting actual consumer demand.
The music industry will struggle to stop illegal sharing and downloading of music. They will need to find some way to make money from music sales. Congress will never be able to beat technology and black markets will always exist. However, if firms do not realize the vast potential of the internet, the markets will continue to become more and more inefficient.
There is no simple answer to the piracy problem, but it is good to know that some firms realize the file sharing methods are not only about piracy, and are not necessarily bad. When the firms embrace the technology, we can move forward in an efficient system.
Most of the time, we think about illegal file sharing being done in ways that hurt the record companies. Therefore, to read about a record label purposefully giving music out in the hopes that it be shared is a rare thing.
It makes sense though, doesn't it?
We already know that the old fashioned way of selling music on a CD is just that, old fashioned. There is absolutely no reason to sell music that way.
CD's are made from materials that are harmful to the environment. Their manufacture and distribution pollute the environment with a huge carbon footprint as music is hauled around on semi trucks. They are sold in stores that take up space and also leave a carbon footprint. We have no need for CD's any longer. music files are easily transmitted through the air wirelessly or via cables, over the internet. In ones car, music can be played via an ipod or a jump drive. CD's are an incredibly inefficient way to store music, and CD stores are an incredibly inefficient way to sell music. If our country knew what was good for it, it would outlaw the inefficient way of doing music distribution.
In a similar manner, old fashioned ways of marketing music are also inefficient. Leaking a track is a great way to market new music. Music can be shared easily online, and reach a huge number of people, for literally $0. All you have to do is get one person to post the song in a YouTube video, or put it on MySpace, a process which takes only a few minutes with a high speed internet connection. The song will soon show up in searches on search engines, and some avid fans will start blogging about it. Within hours, or days, the song is being talked about by fans around the globe.
NPR highlighted a case where an artist leaked his own music to convince a record label to produce his album. He faced a system that felt his music was not worth producing. His own marketing efforts lead them to change their minds. What this shows is, "socialistic" styles of music production where a label executive decides what will be produced, similar to how dictators or central planners in a socialistic society plan their country's production, falls far short of predicting actual consumer demand.
The music industry will struggle to stop illegal sharing and downloading of music. They will need to find some way to make money from music sales. Congress will never be able to beat technology and black markets will always exist. However, if firms do not realize the vast potential of the internet, the markets will continue to become more and more inefficient.
There is no simple answer to the piracy problem, but it is good to know that some firms realize the file sharing methods are not only about piracy, and are not necessarily bad. When the firms embrace the technology, we can move forward in an efficient system.
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