I've been hearing a lot about podcasting lately, so I stopped by Kevin Heller and Evan Schaeffer's new site Blawgcast.com to find out what happens when lawyers, digital audio and RSS collide.
First, I'm happy Heller and Schaeffer didn't incorporate "pod" into their site's name. Though I work a stone's throw from Apple and appreciate their vision, their claim to the portable mp3 player is akin to Sony's claim to the portable radio/tape player -- good product, great marketing, but they didn't invent the device.
Second, IANAE* but podcasting is a bloody brilliant application of RSS to digital audio. Conceptually, it is almost identical to weblogging. Instead of the "I write and broadcast, you read and comment" model of blogging, podcasting uses an "I record and broadcast, you listen and comment" arrangement.
There are obvious differences, like the text vs. audio distinction. For many people, reading a blog post is much more appealing or accessible than listening to one. "Fair Enough," as businessmen say when they agree to disagree.
I suspect that something like podcasting has been going on for a while under a different guise. Chris Lydon, has been doing mp3 and RSS for a couple of years now. On the technical side, audio search bots have long been trolling the web and gobbling up sound files with extensions like .mp3 or .wav. These sound files are then stored in a searchable database for perusal by audio enthusiasts. Evidently, RSS has provided an easier way to get the word out about one's audio musings.
Accoding to Blawgcast.com, one AM radio station in San Francisco is already embracing the podcasting idea. It's interesting to note that the station, KYOU "Open Source Radio", is part of Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, a behemoth in the industry.
At some point, I imagine wireless companies will be streaming popular podcasts as premium content to their subscribers. Or has this happened already? Rich media, round three.
Adding lawyers to the audio/syndication mix is an interesting idea, especially since they're known to be a loquacious bunch. I'm beginning to see the light.
* I Am Not An Engineer
Dennis Kennedy has a lot going on these days -- group blogging, consulting, editing, even acting! And he still has bandwidth to practice law. DK's multi-faceted efforts exemplify the diverse talents required of today's technology lawyer.
Dennis is a pioneer in the Legal Technology game. Judging from the copyright date on his personal blog, he's been at it for ten years now. Kudos!
Posted by AZ on April 25, 2005 08:51 AM | TrackBackThis week, Microsoft filed four new lawsuits against alleged spammers, brining their total anti spam suits to 101.
A suit against OPTIN GLOBAL, alleging state and federal violations, follows on the heels of last week's action filed by the FTC and California Attorney General in San Francisco. Other suits against "didyouknowclub.info" and "hoolamaco.biz" were brought exclusively under the "sexually oriented" provision of the CAN SPAM Act of 2003. All four Microsoft suits were filed in the Superior Court of King County, Washington by Preston Gates & Ellis LLP.
Posted by AZ on April 21, 2005 12:23 PM | TrackBackAccording to this AP article, Press Association, the organization that runs the Associated Press, will be raising the prices for online use of its content. Although PA has always charged for online use of AP wire news, some companies that have licensed AP content for print use have been able to piggyback web use at no extra cost. Seemingly, the new rate development is aimed at deriving more value from these dual uses. The formula for calculating the new license fees has not yet been established, so it is difficult to fully asses the impacts of the increase.
Generally, when an individual content provider raises its fees, media outlets that license outside news may look to content syndication as an alternative. One major benefit of syndication is convenience. An outlet can obtain multiple content sources by signing a single agreement with the syndication company. Often, syndication companies can offer lower prices because of volume discounts they receive from content providers. However, under the PA's rate increases, syndicators that offer AP news may also be impacted by the rate increases.
Back in the 90's, companies like iSyndicate, Screming Media, and Yellowbrix occupied the dwindling syndication space. Now, Syndication is back with a new group of advocates: SYNDICATE "The Premiere Event for Content Syndication Trends" happens in New York on May 17-18, 2005.
Posted by AZ on April 18, 2005 05:15 PM | TrackBackPopandpolitics.com is hosting their first mash up with Lawrence Lessig and DJ Spooky on May 3, 2005 in San Francisco.
Although it sounds as if Larry will be toasting over Spooky's mix, the actual format will be a conversation on THE FUTURE OF CREATIVITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE, moderated by multi-media journalist Farai Chideya.
Admission includes an after-party at which DJ Spooky will spin a guest set. His new album "Drums of Death," featuring Chuck D and Dave Lombardo of Slayer, was just released on Thirsty Ear. The suggested entrance donation is tax deductible (next year).
Posted by AZ on April 18, 2005 08:35 AM | TrackBackThe Florida Attorney General, with the assistance of Microsoft, obtained a temporary injunction against two men accused of sending email in violation of state and federal anti-spam laws.
The complaint alleges the Florida men sent over 65,000 commercial emails, which were actually advertisements for products like pharmaceutical drugs, cigarettes and e-books. Much of the spam was collected in MSN Hotmail "spam traps," email accounts used solely for investigative purposes. The complaint also details the phoney subject lines, sender names, and bait-and-switch tactics used by the accused.
Florida is one of many states to enact their own version of the federal CAN Spam Act of 2003. If convicted under federal law, the two men face a penalty of up to $500 per email message.
Posted by AZ on April 12, 2005 12:10 PM | TrackBackTuesday morning: up by 5:00am, to Capitol Hill by 5:30, and parked by 5:45. I arrived at the steps of the Supreme Court by 6:00am and found my spot in line-about a hundred or so people lingered before me. I paced it so my coffee lasted about an hour as I stood listening to tourists, law students, and staffer/lobbyist-types espouse their understanding of the case: "this is like the VCR case" and "there is no theft because the artists don't lose anything-they still have the same thing that they had before the download." Several people protested by sitting with their laptops and surfing the web. I doubted entry into the land's highest court, but took satisfaction in the fact that people continued to extend the queue far behind me.
Around 7:30, a police officer handed out tickets to the first 50 in line, which caused some to leave in defeat. The rest of us remained, somewhat hopeful, but primarily bound by inertia and desperation. Somewhere between 8 and 8:30, a small group of folk-looking musicians, maybe 8 groggy individuals, approached bearing guitars and signs reading "feed a musician" and "don't steal my music." They began their rebuke of the legal system and Grokster supporters with inaudible singing and melodic strumming-it was totally harsh. The crowd barely noticed. The police wouldn't permit them on the actual steps due to their menacing nature I suppose. TV Camera crews began setting camp, and soon I was handed a Morpheus button by a highly polished PR-type-he was nothing like Morpheus in the Matrix.
The real excitement started when the Grokster crew showed up. There were 10-15 people, armed with uniform black t-shirts and signs demanding that we "save betamax" and "fight for your right to innovate." Most of the crowd whooped in response. I spent the next hour or so begrudging the members of the Supreme Court bar and their much shorter line, interrupted only by a prophet who ranted about "us" not letting "them" take over the planet with artificial intelligence.
By 10:00 it was pretty much over-the first fifty ticket holders went inside the court. Nevertheless, I punished my self by remaining in line until about 11:30 when I saw Fred von Lohmann descend the steps. I headed for the Capitol City Brew Pub, ordered a burger (medium), fries, and an ESB, reflected on the morning's events, and considered the technological future of online music.
A first-hand report by Jason Allen Cody
Posted by AZ on April 1, 2005 01:05 PM | TrackBack