The structure of change

Created Jun 28 2007

Okay, the thing I'd like to talk about today is the concept of change. Not coins, nor clothes, or even redecorating. It occurred to me today, as it often does, just how much the entire world has changed due to technology. And just how much certain types want to stuff it all back in the bottle and charge us by the drop. 1900: They've had the telegraph for about 50 years, and just heard about a fancy thing called the telephone. But that was all point-to-point communication. The newest thing in the living room was a victrola. Mass media was still publishing, either records, papers and magazines, books, or paper rolls for player pianos. Which required shipping and sorting.... Twenty years later, the radio networks were established and broadcasting nation wide. Programming was introduced. No soaps yet (1938) but stories and music. Half-way through the century, the TV and four national networks. Later, just three and PBS, which was a quasi-network. Ten years after that, UHF was introduced. Local networks that bought syndicated programs and old movies. People my age often talk about their first color set, but the REAL change was that second dial... Then, the VCR. Private viewings of porn. Recording the shows you want to watch when you want. Video cameras to create home movies w/out going through photo processing.. Cable came along, but it really didn't make a dent until it offered channels with it's own programming. Cable channels sucked the life out of UHF stations. Fox came along to create a new broadcast network, capitalizing on this. Warner and Paramount followed. Then computers. But at first, it wasn't so important. Video games showed up, showing what might be possible. Programming for yourself was a hassle. Cassette tapes slowly took the place of the Vinyl records. Boom boxes were made with tape to tape features and stereo components were wired to work together. Mix tapes were born (Actually, they'd been around a while, in open tape format. But only for serious audiophiles. It became more democratic). Digital CDs come along, and a first stab at laser discs. But analog tape holds it's own because you can still record your own product. Then, blam! The internet. CD burners, DVDs, MP3 files. Alvin Toeffer's pro-sumer has arrived in force. In 1981, a punk rock band would steal the equipment off the back of a touring band so they can play a gig. In 2000, a garage band could have it's own website, printed it's own promotional flyers and cut their own CDs, all without a recording contract. I have a Creative Nano w/ a little over half a Gig memory. Hook it up to this nice gagdet by Belknap, and I'm my own FM radio station, with a range of about 50 ft. Raves are portable. So are projection TVs. People can set up temporary drive-ins for parties. People are streaming music and video anywhere in the world where the technology exists to receive. I've only lived the last 45 years of all this change. I'm shocked at how much I've adapted to the last ten years of it. Just the idea of posting blogs was unimaginable 20 years ago. The problem is the structure of the communications industry wants to control the tap. It's okay for independent development of ideas, exchange of information, as long as they can make a profit. But, while the hardware side of it wants to sell you all the stuff you need to go it alone, the content guys want you to funnel it through them. Since entertainment doesn't control electronics, they're going to fight it out rather than cooperate like they used to. And the electronics side shock troops? That's the people like you and me.