Why Peer-to-Peer Filesharing is Good For Big Media

Mom invited me over for dafina yesterday, and as my car was in the shop most of the day, I spent the afternoon with M&D.  I had Bender with me and, to pass the time, I uploaded a few episodes of Weeds I had on my hard drive, to a jump drive.  Then I played them on Mom’s Ubuntu computer.

I always enjoy watching TV and movies with my mom: she’s very emotional and expressive.  Without fail, she’s more entertaining than the show itself.  In fact, even though she was tired and had said she was going to have a nap, she watched six episodes back to back!  She was hooked!

OK, so that was my afternoon, and I did give a passing thought to the possibility that if Jim Prentice’s C-61 bill passed into legislation, we might have had the condo door broken down by Harper’s storm troopers, come to arrest us for copyright violation.

It could happen.

But we’re not there yet.

In the meantime, I got my car back from the shop (after they fleeced me), exchanged the Lexmark for a Ubuntu-supporting HP printer, and made my way home wondering what might be on for dinner.

OK, here’s the good part.  Mom calls at about 7pm, all excited: there was some sort of Weeds marathon on channel 83 or 84.  She was going to spend the evening glued to the TV.  Commercial TV.  With, you know, commercials.

Do you think she would have done that if I hadn’t slipped her that highly illegal contraband?

Big media should be thanking their lucky stars they’ve found an ultra-cheap distribution medium, and armies of pitchmen who’ll work for free!  Now all they need to do is find new ways to monetize the brands, instead of desperately clinging to dying business models, and in the process, alienating their audience.