Online Media Cultist

We’re living in an era where scholars – self-appointed and otherwise – are attempting to generate buzz and sell books via bizarre, “controversial,” and flat-out silly ideas about the Internet and technology.

The latest example comes in the form of Professor Jonathan Zittrain of Oxford University. Zittrain believes that the “rise of gadgets like the iPhone, Blackberry and Xbox threatens to unravel the decades of innovation that helped to build the Internet.” The rationale is that these “sterile boxes” will “stifle creativity and turn consumers into passive users of technology.”

In short, this is preposterous.

Sure, we know that Apple products are “walled gardens,” that outside developers can’t develop applications for Apple products. But… here’s a little not-so-secret: the iPhone includes an Internet browser. Blackberries have access to the Internet. Xboxes have access to the Internet (check out my thoughts on Grand Theft Auto IV here).

So the Internet helps to power and enhance these amazing devices and platforms. Many or all of the innovations of the Internet are accessible on these devices, and in fact vastly increase the Internet’s reach via mobile devices and entertainment centers in the home.

And as far as turning people into passive users of technology, is it possible that Zittrain is joking? If anything, you might make the argument that Blackberries and Xboxes are too interactive, that they’re addictive and pull people away from normal real life activities like eating and sleeping. Further, the implication is that these new passive users will suddenly shun the Internet in the form of desktop computers and laptops. I would argue that this implication is… bizarre.

The way to save the Internet, according to Zittrain, is to resist regulation and to have society “place its trust in the Internet’s users.” I’m personally curious as to how much trust the Oxford Internet Institute, where Zittrain works, places in these opinions.

Mr. Zittrain joins Andrew Keen, whose The Cult of the Amateur basically says that user generated content is ruining the Internet.

Yep, if it wasn’t for all those Blackberries and blogs, the Internet might really be something, you know?

If Apple can pull the trigger on a potential deal with major music companies to offer a “radical new business model that would give customers free access to its entire iTunes music library in exchange for paying a premium for its iPod and iPhone devices,” it could be a game changer.

The fact that music companies are even considering this deal shows you the very real and dire straits that they’re in. Music is alive and well and doing great, but the industry is crumbling, and we might be seeing a new order rising from the ashes very shortly.

Part of the equation for consumers is whether or not they’re willing to forego “ownership” of music for a model where they have access to a huge library with the ability to “keep” only selected tracks. This path also is somewhat contrary to the current trend of eliminating DRM from downloaded tracks. Instead of offering unlimited acces, the somewhat ironically termed “unlimited music bundle” model would tie access to the iTunes library to select Apple devices. In other words, you can listen to the entire iTunes library, but only on your iPhone or iPod. (And perhaps for only limited periods of time, like 30 days or so before the download “expires”?)

MG Siegler notes that this deal could be a way for Apple to jack up prices on highly profitable iPods by leveraging the less profitable iTunes Store. And the price point will also be crucial – where will the upfront and monthly cost come in and how willing will consumers be in shelling out for it?

Some notes on numbers from Valleywag: “Labels are looking to get as much as $100 from iPod buyers and $8 a month from iPhone subscribers. Both sides are really fighting over how much of the profit from music they’ll keep.”

As for me, I just got Sirius satellite radio recently and I’m loving it. Maybe I’m just at the age and level of business where it’s really nice to be able to stream in great music across a wide variety of channels without taking the effort to hunt for it on my own. Or maybe I’m part of that evolution of consumers who can begin to live without ownership of music?

Just don’t take my Pointer Sisters cassette tape away from me. Sometimes you just gotta do the Neutron Dance.

I’m a web cultist, as I proudly declare on the side nav, but I’m not really much of a gadgets person. If someone plops the latest whiz-gizmo in my hand, I’ll usually check it out and declare genuine enthusiasm, but I’m not of that core tech-geek cares-how-the-mechanics-work demeanor that is essential to flip out over the latest hardware and mechanical design achievements.

That said, the hubbub over Apple’s new iPhone cannot be ignored.

So for all of us non-gadget cultists out there, I would love to see someone write an easily digestible piece about:

* what the best mobile communications devices are (and iPhone certainly seems to be up there!)
* what that means in terms of setting up phone and mobile access plans
* what it costs
* and how to get out of current contracts to get on board with the cool kids!

Further, a “nonpartisan” web-based service that for a small fee helped you figure out exactly the best mobile phone to meet your needs and then aided you in the process of switching over would really perk up my e-ears.