ipod and death of creativity

IPod and the death of creativity

Ok, this title is purposefully over-the-top, but bear with me. I held

out on buying an IPod for years. I was ridiculed by friends, perhaps

more because of the fact that I still don't have cable even though I

write about Second Life. Part of the reason for my IPod less-ness was

philosophical; part that I don't like to listen to music while

walking, still have vinyl records and was too cheap. I finally gave in

and bought the IPod, but my conscience kept bothering me, and I

continue to have major issues with the IPod, and also with TiVo and

some other gadgets that most people think are the second coming.

Why? Because they defy the possibilities inherent in new technologies,

and actually make computers more like toasters - something good at a

certain function, but not good at experimental, user-generated

upgrade. I think this also has serious implications for the net, for

our society and most of all for creativity. I think filmmakers should

care about it, but to most people it is counterintuitive to give these

products any negativity, so I'm sure this view won't be popular.

While in Sonoma for a conference, I read a great article called

"Saving the Internet," by Jonathan Zittrain in the Harvard Business

Review on the subject, and it got me thinking about this some more.

(Note - HBR isn't very generative, so you may have to sign in, but the

article is free). Zittrain argues that what makes the internet

interesting, innovative and creative is its generativity. As he

describes it:

The expediently selected, almost accidentally generative properties of

the Internet--its technical openness, ease of access and mastery, and

adaptability--have combined, especially when coupled with those of the

PC, to produce an unsurpassed environment for innovative experiment.

In other words, the ability for anyone to make new applications, to

build new systems, to adapt old models into new models - to create, to

innovate - is precisely what has been important about the PC and the

web. These technologies are created to "generate" new ideas and new

platforms. Yes, it may be easier for someone to develop a computer

that only lets you do certain things - like find music, buy it and

play it - but this is much less interesting than a computer that one

could adapt to also do other things, or do these same things better.

Zittrain goes on to show that the same things that make generative

computing work so well are precisely the same things that allow for

mischief, such as hacking and piracy. As he describes it:

Those same properties, however, also make the Internet hospitable to

various forms of wickedness: hacking, porn, spam, fraud, theft,

predation, and attacks on the network itself. As these undesirable

phenomena proliferate, business, government, and many users find

common cause for locking down Internet and PC architecture in the

interests of security and order.

So, because someone could create a malicious hack that would cripple

the IPod, or because of piracy concerns, Apple says "we're taking away

these properties which could confuse you or be harmful." I'm not

exaggerating. Like everyone else, I can't wait for the IPhone, but

Steve Jobs has already been quoted saying that the IPhone will not be

an open platform, similar to the IPod because people don't need or

want this. Who is he to day, and why does this matter? Think about how

cellphones are today - As Zittrain puts it, "Most mobile phones are

similarly constrained: They are smart, and many can access the

Internet, but the access is channeled through browsers provided and

controlled by the phone-service vendor." Cellphones are usually locked

so that you can't use them on networks other than your provider (a big

problem for travelers), not open to reprogramming - not generative.

Imagine what great things could be made for the IPod or the IPhone if

they were more open - like Firefox, for example, or like other open

platforms.

The IPhone will not be a generative device. Why? One, so that they can

control the experience - they don't want you to download music from

outside their system where someone else makes money, but they also

don't want you to download a program that could harm your phone. Most

consumers don't want this either, and we want a cool phone, so we

accept this trade off pretty readily. In doing so, however, we

perpetuate the move towards making our generative computers more like

appliances - less innovative and less room for actual creativity.

Zittrain isn't saying anything new - lots of tech people talk about

this, and Larry Lessig has covered similar ground quite well in

discussions about the difference between the Read/Write and Read Only

paradigms. He too aligns the IPod with this problem. To Lessig, the

Read/Write paradigm is quite similar to generative computing -

technology that you can use to both read and write - to be a passive

consumer or an active creator - whatever floats your boat. Read Only

technology - the IPod - just lets you consume, not create. Read-Write

encourages creativity, innovation and, he argues - actually encourages

more economic growth, due to this constant innovation. In essence, by

embracing read-only, less generative models, we are killing the goose

that laid the golden egg - and early in this technology's development.

Both authors are getting at this for different reasons, but both note

the possible effects on creativity. This is what I'd like to explore

further in my next post, as I think it merits more thought. Other

technologies started as more "Read/Write" and became more "Read Only"

over time - cinema, radio, television all moved from systems for which

people could easily create content to ones in which most people just

received content. The creative possibilities for filmmakers -and the

distribution possibilities - will become less as we move away from

generative computing to the internet and the computer as an appliance.

I'm not saying to throw away your IPod, but I do think that as

creative types, filmmakers should pay attention to this change and

push for more open models.

Posted by BNewmanSBoard at 12:39 PM