"Why Just me?!"

So, how can we fill the gap between the new culture and old media without hurting one another?

Ted Nelson’s idea of “hypermedia” may confront the phenomenon of free file sharing; in his opinion, instead of copying digital media, we should effectively keep only one copy of each cultural expression and pay the author or a musician with an affordable amount whenever it is accessed.

In my opinion, the idea might sound good, but actually, I don’t see a practical way in which a transition from open copying to paid access would succeed. As people become accustomed to free downloads of music and movies, it takes more time to change the culture.

Also, as Lanier said, In this situation, we need some sort of universal or governmental law to support. Moreover, there should be a general acceptance of a social contract that is not easy to reach anyways. First of all, there are many people who are highly in favour of free file sharing and downloading, especially among the younger generations. Although these groups seem to understand the consequences of their act, they nonetheless refrain from changing their behavior, saying, “Why just me?” The number of people who participate in free downloading and file sharing is very vast, so no one wants to start the initiatives. Secondly, if they truly begin to understand and care about the impact of their actions upon art and the economy, and they get ready to make some schemes, how would they be able to participate in a social contract?

Another issue for the idea of “hypermedia” argues that we should first reach the point of copy-protection technology, allowing copy prohibitions to be achieved automatically. The argument makes sense to me because, when something won’t be available to use for free, there will not be any worries about its protection from free use. It would be much easier than providing a service for free, and subsequently trying to discourage people from using it without charge.

In my opinion, “hypermedia” is more like a charming work of fiction —it is far away from actually occurring. Nonetheless, the phenomena help us to seriously consider the disadvantages of new culture, which help us with more handy ideas to fulfill the best possible way to connect the new culture with old media. In another words, “hypermedia” can be considered as an initiative to lead us toward more practical methods of dealing with the new culture.