[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #311: It's just good business

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #311: It's just good business
December 5th, 2012

We've noted before <http://www.oplin.org/4cast/?p=2563> in this blog 
that the BitTorrent protocol in itself is not evil, despite its 
reputation. The problem is the way people use what is actually just a 
very efficient way to transfer files over the Internet. Now the 
BitTorrent company (yes, it's a company) is making a push 
<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/bittorrents-plan-for-2013-go-legit/> 
to improve its image and be seen as a legitimate business. How does this 
affect libraries? Well, remember that ebooks are just big electronic 
files that need to be transferred over the Internet.

  * BitTorrent's Matt Mason on rethinking the music industry business
    model: 'The hustle is changing'
    <http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/25/bittorrent-matt-mason-interview/>
    (TechCrunch/Anthony Ha) "The bigger problem, [Matt Mason, BitTorrent
    executive director of marketing] said, is that the entertainment
    industry's terms are too onerous: 'The deals just don't make sense.'
    So BitTorrent works with artists on one-off experiments. For
    example, it collaborated with DJ Shadow and his digital marketing
    agency Fame House to create a bundle with exclusive content around
    his release /Hidden Transmissions From The MPC Era (1992-1996)/, and
    it ran ads for free software alongside those bundles."
  * BitTorrent wants to be Hollywood's new best friend
    <http://gizmodo.com/5964835/bittorrents-trying-hard-to-get-friendly-with-the-entertainment-industry>
    (Gizmodo/Eric Limer) "And it makes sense, BitTorrent has a gigantic
    user-base, more than Hulu, Netflix, and Spotify combined, times two.
    And it's an efficient way to download large files, much better than
    pulling them from a single source. But are all those users there
    because BitTorrent is great, or because free (pirated) content
    abounds? BitTorrent is betting on the former."
  * BitTorrent inks deals with 20 TV set makers
    <http://www.multichannel.com/ott/bittorrent-inks-deals-20-tv-set-makers/140281>
    (Multichannel News/Todd Spangler) "'You may not see them as much in
    the U.S.,' [BitTorrent CEO Eric Klinker] said. That's because for
    many Internet-connected HDTVs marketed in the U.S., the
    manufacturers already have deals with streaming-video providers such
    as Netflix, according to Klinker. 'We are competing with the
    Netflixes and Hulus for space on the television,' Klinker said."
  * Is BitTorrent the future of book publishing? Tim Ferriss is banking
    on it
    <http://readwrite.com/2012/11/29/is-bittorrent-the-future-of-book-publishing-tim-ferriss-is-banking-on-it>
    (ReadWriteWeb/John Paul Titlow) "For Ferriss, BitTorrent is just an
    incredibly efficient way to distribute content to a large number of
    users. And BitTorrent has plenty of them. When asked why he wanted
    to enter into this partnership, the first words out of Ferriss's
    mouth were 'one hundred and sixty million users.' It's hard to argue
    with that."

*/Bandwidth fact:/*

Last February, we reported that people using the BitTorrent protocol 
accounted for about 20% of all Internet bandwidth use, but that number 
is shrinking in the face of competition from video-streaming services 
like Netflix and may be down to 10% by 2015.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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