Susan Crawford has this excellent summary of a speech given by former FCC Chairman Michael Powell at the annual Silicon Flatirons conference. Powell, apparently, told the attendees of the high-powered event that there is too much choice in the media these days, that the old concepts of community are giving way to fragmented choices.
“I have no idea what’s in my iPod. You don’t want 25K songs. You want the songs and pictures you care about. Maybe there is too much diversity, too little community, media is too influenced by the political environment.”
It’s a funny observation for the pro-competitive former regulator to make, but oddly enough I hear it all the time from industry insiders, journalists and other observers who follow the rapid changes being wrought by technological convergence. I don’t buy it — I think the human capacity to consume information is infintely plastic — but if even Michael Powell thinks we’re drowning in information and entertainment choices, the idea is worth considering.
P.S. Susan also has this thought-provoking list of arguments in favor of a tiered Internet, arguments that net neutrality advocates had better be prepared to answer. She’s no rabid free-marketeer so when Susan suggests that there might be some merit to the tiered Internet model, she’s probably on to something.
Cynthia Brumfield at 11:33 AM|Comments(0)
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