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Re: We've Got An Economy to Build
We've got an economy to build here. Shipping mentality won't help, but neither will donation mentality. I think we need two things, one technical and one human. The technical requirement is a simple, transparent method for micropayments. The lowest level of exchange right now is too high. I can't easily pay 5 or 10 cents to a blogger or musician or Quicktime artist. I could subscribe, which meets the cost criteria but raises the time/commitment threshold to an unacceptable level. The human requirement is trust, the kind that accepts the inherent amiguities of conversation instead of seeking the supposed absolutes of contractual obligation. Not every exchange takes place on an immediate and obvious level but on the whole it can work out often enough. Last night we had some friends over for dinner (mmmm - paella!) and my wife wanted to play a bawdy Better Midler song for them. She has the song on tape somewhere, but after tearing the basement agart came up empty-handed. So I fired up Napster and a few minutes later we were enjoying 'Otto Titslinger' (don't ask). Now:
As it stands, I can't pay for this kind of use and the entertainment industry doesn't trust me or my friends to pay at some point within the limits of what's technically possible (movie rental, concert ticket, soundtrack CD).
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