Content?

So, I was reading somewhere on the Internets that apparently when you have a blog, you need to generate content for it.

Because nobody will read your blog if there's no content.

But if nobody's reading my blog, why should I bother generating content?

It's like a koan. (If you do crossword puzzles, you're going to need that one eventually.)

...

I didn't say it was a good koan.

Anyway, I need some content. Here's the big news recently: Little Stevie Jobs announced that all EMI-published music on the iTunes store will be available in a DRM-free format at a much higher quality, for 30 cents more. You can still buy the DRM-laden songs for 99 cents, and buying entire albums will always give you the premium version at the old price! And for 30 cents a track, you can update any of your previously-purchased songs. I don't think I actually own any iTunes tracks from EMI, but hopefully this will lead to other publishers following suit.

For a good discussion of what DRM is and why you don't want it, I would recommend the website Defective by Design. As Cory Doctorow has been known to put it (and I'll paraphrase here): "Nobody ever wakes up wondering, how can I do less with my music?" If you'd like to truly grok the dangers of DRM and current trends in copyright law, Cory's talk at Olin College gives a really great discussion, starting with a historical overview.

This sounds like it might be a dry subject, but it's fascinating and Cory's talk should be required listening for anybody who's ever listened to an mp3 or, even more relevant today, anybody who's ever enjoyed internet radio, which is now becoming too expensive to be viable for reasons of copyright and royalties - and the only ones hurt are the listeners and the artists.