Re: Entelligence: Have we demonized DRM?

In response to:
Entelligence: Have we demonized DRM?

New business models that couldn't exist otherwise? If a business model has to assume that every customer is a potential criminal that cannot be trusted in order to get the executives to sign off on it, maybe that business model has no business existing, or maybe those people in suits need to move on and understand that business models that strive to redefine reality always fail in the long term.

My problem with DRM is not so much the restrictions on content that demand that I pay for it. I understand people want to be compensated for their work, and I do so whenever possible but it is simply the right thing to do and often (but not always) the easiest thing to do. However all these restrictions come with bad side effects, like invasion of privacy, elimination of choice, and eventual forced obsolescence.

Engadget sits at an interesting crossroads. A blog that promotes technology that is owned by a content company (Time Warner) that is trying to figure out how it will exist in this new networked world.

My advice is don't treat customers like criminals, make your content easy to get to in as many ways and places as possible, realise the new opportunities technology can provide, and don't whine about the bonanzas of the old way which the new reality just can no longer support. Yes, for people with MBAs this can be damn scary, but business is about risk and reward, so start thinking harder and take some chances.