Will there come a day when the Government controls every file we ever share?

I remember a time around the late 90's when I lived for one band and one band only. METALLICA!!! I was in 9th grade and all I wanted to do was listen to it a loud as I could and convert all my friends into Metallifans or whatever it used to be called. I had all their cd's and concert performances on DVD. I was a real fan.

I mean, just look at the following picture. Is there anything cooler in the world back in 1999? They were god's I tell you!

Shortly after that sometime when I went to boarding school and we had computers in our rooms in 1999 my fellow cadets and I discovered a way to install Napster onto our computers. This thing was sick for 1999-2000. We found some holes on the firewall settings of the school and began downloading MASSIVE amounts of music onto our laptops. Just about any band out there ever. You wanted to listen to them. Cool, download a song. You loved their song. Cool, download every song from their album. After paying back then about $15 to $20 for a CD and having the income of a broke 18 year old this was awesome! What I loved best was that instead of buying an entire CD with one to three good songs and eight crappy songs I never listened to I know had control to pick what I wanted to listen to and for FREE.99!!! Napster and Winamp was a match made in heaven. Let's not forget you could also download movies, TV shows, anything as long as it was a file!

Shortly after that the floodgates were sealed at my school and super intense firewalls were placed. We all asked why and diligently tried to resolve the firewall situation. Soon after a mass email was sent to all the students at the academy stating that if anyone was caught downloading music or using the Napster software they would be expelled from the school. As a rebellious teen and new cadet in a military school I was furious and listened to Metallica in order to deal with my rage. Little did I know....

Then this happened....

My heroes decided to sue me, take all my money and send me to jail for straight up loving their music and head banging as I do it... Needless to say I was heart broken. Lars Ulrich became the voice and face of the entire music industry in one of the greatest lawsuits of all time against Napster. Soon after Napster lost the case and it went down. File sharing became illegal and people were facing serious jail time for it. What hurt me the most was apart from being my heroes was that I already owned all their dvd's and cd's. After reading about this I gave my Metallica collection away and decided never to listen to them ever again. I have kept true to this and would rather listen to Miley Cyrus a million times over, full volume and windows down in my truck before putting Metallica on.

I'm using this example of how shockingly our lives changed in 1999-2000 with the creation and later lawsuit vs Napster and many private citizens. We are all familiar with multiple other ways to share files that try to walk a thin line with what is legally acceptable and what isn't legally acceptable according Mr. Ulrich and the courts decide.

Let's move forward to 2011. We have all sorts of companies that have the right to distribute music via software which include iTunes (Apple Music Sale Market), Microsoft Media Player and Amazon. Just recently iTunes acquired the rights to sell music from the Beatles. But still, at the cost of about $.99 per song up to $1.99 I'm still not motivated to purchase any songs online. (Apple Pricing for Songs) If you were to purchase Abbey Road by the Beatles that you can only listen to where iTunes lets you listen to it would cost you $12.99. (Beatles Music on iTunes) Due to this people are still reluctant to go back to buying music at premium prices. This has created a plethora of other online file sharing software applications that whenever one gets shut down by the government 20 more pop out from nowhere in cyberspace.

What the recording industry needs to do is start selling their albums for reasonable prices at maybe pennies per song because $2.00 is way to much and it only promotes piracy.

As for the governments role as to regulating file sharing more and more every day is just plain crazy. I remember having a friend being escorted of campus in college in 2002 after she downloaded 1 CD. She had FBI Agents knock on her door, handcuff her and take her to jail. Over a crappy album like Backtreet Boys or something. Luckily that is all she downloaded because the amount of money in fines per songs its just outrageous. With so many more terrible crimes being committed in our country with far less consequences than that of software piracy we have to ask ourselves where the allegiance of the government is in terms of this. Obviously the recording industry must have lobbyist for this as much as oil companies do.

I really don't see file sharing stopping any time soon nor do I see the government easing up on controlling the flow of files and information over the internet. With the internet being what it is... Who made the United States Government the big Internet Police??? (Interesting Stats on what is being pirated on the internet) I've lived abroad and have seen friends who download anything they want onto their computers in terms of files and software without anything ever happening to them. See, the internet is not as regulated in the majority of the world as it is here in the United States and a few select other countries. In China where knock offs are a normal part of everyday life they have a knock off version of Google (Goojje Google Clone) and Facebook (Renren Facebook Clone).  Not only that, but you can share files like champions where software, music and movies are free. Why pay when you can get things for free? It's part of international culture and international governments are not doing as much as Uncle Sam Internet Police Force.

What I'm trying to say is that I understand why Mr. Ulrich, Uncle Sam and friends might be as angry as they are and see why they have taken the actions they have taken. But just how much is too much and are we at the verge of seeing a government that will regulate our entire online file sharing activities? The government has come to a point where it is starting to monitor and regulate what little kids eat at school. (The Government Food Police) The government wants to place taxes on cheeseburgers and pizza (in other words anything unhealthy but o so darn tasty!) Just how far will the government go? If they are willing to tax me on my cheeseburger and pizza consumption I wouldn't be surprised to the rise of an Internet Police kind of organization funded by the U.S. Government and its tax payers.

Heck, we might even get to the point where before sending any file over the internet or storing it on a "Cloud" we might have to get the approval of the Internet Police in order to send it out. And like anything run like by the government.... ehem.... (The Postal Service)..... It's very slow and inefficient. So the internet might go from file sharing at the speed of wow to the speed of first class U.S. Mail.

Of course I'm exaggerating a little but the evidence is there. The government wants to regulate the internet and the flow of online information more and more every day and I'm seriously peeved by having been put on a "Government Watch List" after going onto the Limewire website for research purposes in a class. That's a bit much for a little school research.

In summation, the government is overstepping its boundaries a little with this. Also, it's up to Mr. Ulrich and the recording industry to think of better ways to want us to purchase that music again without imposing massive restrictions on us.

Cookies, meet THE COOKIE MONSTER!!!

Think of all the times you have gone through your internet browsing history to discover a plethora of cookies inside your computer monitoring your every move. In my case it is a lot considering I erase my internet history with frequency to get rid of those evil cookies. I always imagine sending the the Cookie Monster after those evil spyware cookies. Oh if only there was a way to either have the Cookie Monster go to town those cookies...

Though somehow I believe the reaction of the Cookie Monster to deleting cookies and not eating them would be something like this...

But wait, I don't need a cookie monster. That's what the FTC is for! Yay! Recently the FTC announced that they are tighten the reigns on those evil ad agencies and cookie developers that pry into your personal browsing histories and online behavior in order to sell me more......... NASCAR T-Shirts....... Yes, I am one of the few and proud NASCAR fans out there but that's beside the point. What business is it the cookie developers going into my personal and private internet history and purchasing patterns? Why am I getting these ads in my Facebook and newspapers. It is truly annoying to see that in your face when you are surfing the web. It's like driving on the highway for the simple pleasure of enjoying the countryside view but instead you get nonstop billboards in your face. Please get out of my face and stop ruining my driving/browsing experience.

This brings me back to the FTC. According to this release they are beginning to tighten the reins on internet privacy and the sneaky ad agencies that put cookies in your computer. They have come to the extent of suggesting an option on your web browser in which you as the user can decided whether to have cookies put into your computer or not. An option... Who seriously wants what they do on the internet monitored to get personalized ads? Seriously? I can of only one company who does this right. Amazon monitors your interests and behavior in the website in order to suggests things for purchase. All within the website though. This is awesome because I am there to shop and my mindset is set on shopping. Also, this does not leave the Amazon website, it stays in there or at least I hope it does.

So is this enough of an effort by the FTC to protect the privacy of internet users? Ad companies are complaining about their right to do this. Let's take a quick second to think about this... Who gave these ad companies the right to create programs and code which sneak into our computers like ninjas in the night in order to gather data on what we do on the internet, when, how often, what we buy and so much more? It sounds to me like a serious invasion of privacy! Am I the only one thinking that a simple button to opt out of having cookies is not enough? I'd love to see the FTC put it into overdrive and prevent these companies from invading our personal privacy.

Either the FTC does more about this or I'll have to hire the Cookie Monster to take care of my cookies and other adware/spyware.

Salo

Get your Groupon!

Get your Groupon with everyone out there and get Coupons!!!

It wasn't long ago that I bought a packet of coupons to local restaurants, supermarkets and other things. I really only only cared for two things in that booklet. Pizza coupons and restaurant coupons. The booklet cost $25 but it was for a good cause. The way this booklet came to my hands was through a door to door salesman who was selling the coupon books to raise money for a local charity in which all local businesses participated. Coupon included free oil changes, amazing pizza discounts and deals and even free drinks at a local pub. I was truly disappointing when the coupons expired because I had used only the food deals for the coupons. Granted the oil change was free and other deals like that but I preferred going to the dealership and to my favorite and trusted businesses before making a purchase even though it was free somewhere else.

When purchasing a coupon book I really had no choice in determining what coupons I would get, until now. All I have to do is get my Groupon and wallah!!! I decided what coupon I want and when and where to spend it! There is one catch though... You seriously need to get your Groupon. By getting your Groupon if enough people decided to purchase this coupon the coupon becomes valid. This is where you turn into a pro salesman and get all your buddies and family into the Groupon in order to get the coupon.

Is this new method for getting coupons working and is it a profitable business? It has $1billion+ in valuation...... in 16 months... And, It receives monthly traffic of about 3 million people. A TC Teardown Of course this is working!

Recently Google tried to acquire this company but was unsuccessful in the process. It's not that Google did not offer enough money but it was Groupons decision not to sell. If Google wants to buy anything and throw that much money at you. It means you are worth something! Did Groupon make the right decision in not selling to Google after seeing all the green flashing in front of their eyes? Only time will tell. It's up to the people running this online sight to determine the its future. As for an increasing amount of competition with other sites offering the same services... Competition is a good things and maybe the Groupon quotas for achieving your coupons will come down and it will be easier for me to get better pizza deals.

Speaking of, just got hungry after writing this. I think I'll get my Groupon right now and see what food specials there are out there.

Salomon

Online Social Marketing

Not long ago I started hitting the "Like" button to businesses I related to that started popping up on Facebook. I've hit "Like" on my favorite sports sites, teams, team members, high school, undergrad school, politicians, companies, friends start up companies, etc. Wait a minute, there are over 20 "Group Likes" in my Facebook! How did this number get so big?

 How did we get ourselves into such a long list of different pages? As consumers and fans of a company, organization or celebrities we try to get as much information about them as possible. We live in a society where we somehow feel connected to someone or something as long as they are our friend on Facebook or any other source of online social network. We love getting constant updates on what is going on and I feel Facebook has turned us into a somewhat gossipy society. Not only do we get this gossipy awesomeness straight into our emails and computers, it comes straight into our Blackberry's and Iphone's the moment a status is updated or a mass message comes out.

The question come to mind, "Is this beneficial to business"? To answer this questions we must see how we react as consumers to the online interactions companies send our way via online social media. In a personal example I have had my favorite sports team send me a constant flow of information about the team and how it's doing in the season. Not only will it send me information on the players but will have special competitions on the Facebook wall where trivia questions are asked and the first one to answer the questions gets a prize. What kind of a prize can you win for participating? Signed shirts, caps, jerseys, game tickets or even cash prizes. Believe me, when you see free stuff like this being handed out for posting how many points a player scored the night before is very appealing. What has this particular company achieved by doing this on Facebook? They have me logging on every day to their website, staying current with their product, purchasing their product (in this case game tickets because I am so pumped to see my team play again as soon as possible) and participating in their online marketing campaign.

Another example is start up companies using online social media to get the name out of their companies and what they sell. This is a great tool for them because it is free to create an online social account and to start getting a fan base. A friend of mine recently established a business and sells high quality leather products like belts, wallets and other accessories. He had a decent customer basis but was looking to expand the reach of his products to other consumers outside of the people who happened to walk by his store in downtown. What he did was open up a Facebook account for his store and started posting pictures of his entire product line. He created a photo album that was an online catalog to product line. What did he have to invest? One week of taking pictures in the afternoon of his product line, assigning each product an item code, and posting the pictures online. The benefits? Some of his customers will now call him for a product line and buy in bulk. He will have the order ready for the customer at the store for pick up and business just became really convenient for his customer and him. His customer base has also expanded because of the ease of his customers referring him to other "Friends" on Facebook and other online social tools.

This form of online marketing definitively works and is selling products. But like in Online Social Media the Key to Small Business Success?  ,there is a price to pay for this kind of marketing. It isn't totally free. Like my Finance professor says, "Nothing is free in this world". In the case of my friend he has to take time apart from running his physical store to keep up with online orders and requests, in the case of my favorite sports team it is obvious they have hired a full time staff member to run the teams online social life and marketing activities. Truly a beneficial tool but an expensive one as well.