So after the Farewell to the Physical post I started thinking about what most physical products really were. Turns out that most are nothing but distribution methods for data, and no longer necessary. It was funny because the first thing that came to mind was Stalone & Snipes in Demolition Man. Remember the Utopia the two were unleashed on? That future could be ours.

What happens when music labels wake up & realize that a small investment (let’s say a Grammy winning artist’s budget) in digital infrastructure & servers etc, would eliminate the concept of the music store & generate more revenue? Or movie studios go for simultaneous release? Or laser-cutting fabrication machines create most products in home after purchase?

While millions of jobs will vanish, I’d rather think about the millions of man hours that will reappear. In Demolition Man people seemed bored. Not that I think we’ll be sitting around waiting for a murder-death-kill, but rather we’ll have to reorientate ourselves with real physical communication, not to mention become smart enough as a society to fill new jobs in an information economy. What if 80% of US citizens worked on virtual jobs, with food, fire & police, health & beauty being the few physical jobs (obviously a few more would exist)? What would we do with all the space currently taken up by strip malls & warehouses?

Media becomes even more valuable in a world like this. The dominant socializer, so to speak. ‘Cuz if there’s less work we’d need really goog info to fuel the arguments we’d sit around and make all day. LOL

(all written on a train ride to Queens that took waaay to long)

9:00 am  •  21 December 2009

Xbox Live is the online gamers machine of choice. PS3 is a console sexy enough to sit next yo your 52” in the family room, and comes prepped to play Blu Ray, the next level of DVDs. Wii is something you can play with the wife and kids.

But how long will you need any of these to play the great games they’ve got to offer? How much longer will you tolerate platform specific games keeping you from enjoying the hottest new titles? If what happened with music is any indication, not very long at all.

Music = data. Books = data. Games = data too.  We don’t need CDs, tapes, or records any more to enjoy the creative work of artists from around the world in an instant. No need to wait for it to be pressed up, shipped, etc. We don’t need a book to read our greatest authors. We don’t need papers to get the daily news. How much longer will we need consoles to play games? Not much longer at all.

It’s this type of thinking that’s got me thinking the Kindle, Nook, and other one function electronic devices aren’t much more than modern day books and news papers — single service platforms. Even the most avid reader will opt for a competing device that offers more functionality at a lower or comparable price. (I actually think the Kindle is the ultimate device for public schools and will expand on that here later.)

So I’ve stopped running out to get consoles on the day of release. Haven’t gotten the Kindle because if I want to take an author with me I get the audio version and put it on my iPod. Anything else, I’m pretty sure there’s an app for that.

Part of today’s problem is that companies are trying to extend dying revenue streams by creating interim solutions. Almost like the old school rumors of Big Oil shutting down electric cars decades ago. There’s so much business, not to mention so many jobs, connected to the process of making the physical products that companies would rather find ways to sustain than evolve the businesses.  Sure, it’s much easier said than done, but would you rather be a music mogul or an Apple exec willing to capitalize on their stagnant mindset?

3:20 pm  •  13 December 2009

Home grown test of tumblr video from iPhone app on wifi connection.

5:26 pm  •  6 December 2009