Hi Chad

Well. Here we are.

The surf is crashing to the shore now. The waves pounding away at the sun umbrellas and the beach chairs of the 20th century media’s private beachfront property.

Thanks for writing this and props to Robbie and Kimberly for their responses. Two great perspectives on the issue.

I would only add a few things to the discussion here:

1) It’s been 15 years of debate over whether piracy is “Killing Music/Film/Media/Corner Grocers/Whatever”.

There is no evidence that this is true. Certainly it is not universally true. In fact, there is more and more evidence to support the argument that ‘piracy’ does very little harm to most media, in fact, it acts as a massive and powerful discovery channel.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-27/copyright-is-no-longer-about-copies-part-1-commentary-by-william-patry.html

Let’s move toward ‘evidence-based’ discussions on file-sharing and its effects on digital and physical media.

Let’s look at the numbers and then let’s talk about file-sharing.

Independent, third-party investigations like this one: http://piracy.ssrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/AA-Research-Note-Infringement-and-Enforcement-November-2011.pdf

2) The internet is a subversion machine. Bit Torrent landed in response to the death of Napster. It was an inevitability. Legislation can not match the speed or imagination of innovation on the web.

For me, the very core of this discussion is about the structure of the internet. It is not about morals and it is not about how people get paid or how they used to get paid.

It is about what the internet allows us to do and how we can continue to build it so that we can do more with it.

Many things change as a result of the technology. The internet challenges a lot of our systems for valuing, distributing and interacting with creative content. This is where the friction and passionate debate are generated.

But it’s been 15 years. Let’s move on and like Kimberly and Robbie demonstrate, let’s start looking at what we can do with this tool.

I’m working on a project right now that hopes to demonstrate the power of the web as a creative engine for amazing collaborations and unforeseen art.

The book is the greatest technology that we have developed for sharing knowledge, history, poetry, stories. The book is the true revolutionary tool.

The internet can never replace the book but it can do things that the book can do faster and across vast distances almost simultaneously.

Put both of those things together and what do we have?

-Sean

Chad, hi. Just a few well-intentioned thoughts.

Don’t you review books? I do. Should we not trust each other’s judgement? Should I stop reading comments about books on your site that come close to a review?

As for reviewers and jurors not being me, good: they may know something I don’t, and I may know something as a reader that they don’t. But I don’t believe all knowledge rests with me. If I took your position to its limit, then any award Lisa Moore has been put up for or won is suspect because a panel of jurors was involved. Yet I’m sure you have noted when her books have been given a critical nod.

I don’t know if you mean to imply that only your mind is trustworthy, to you, but that’s what comes across. Yet you trust lots of people when they recommend novels or music, or give an opinion on something, going by your site, so I’m not sure where this distrust comes from, and where you actually stand.

regards, and best wishes,
Jeff

How would an aspiring writer go about making contact with the appropriate person for the purpose of submitting their work for future competitions or constructive critique?

Also, Kathleen and I have the same glasses!