recorded 24 July 2008

At Any Rate (00:00:32)
This episode takes a look at a tool I had seen trumpeted as a “copyright infringement assessment tool” PDTool, why I think it’s not a good tool and some much better alternatives for dealing with copyright infringement assessment as a new media person, Public Domain Music and the Podcasting Legal Guide.

4-AM (00:11:37)
This episode was also the official launch announcement of for http://4-AM.net, the official website for our a cappella group. A quick trip through the site, which took until the last minute before the show to get loaded (Ah the joys of downloading program patches when an app fails and conversion times) and it was ready to go by show time. Take a look, see what you think and let us know. Yay for it being launched!

Comments From the Podcast Gallery
Fellow Podcaster Kim Fenolio of the Girls NIght In Podcast shared comments in the show among the rest of the Podcast Gallery.

If you’d like to share your Comments from the Podcast Gallery, you can leave a voicemail at 630.492.0487 or send an e-mail to contact@WithAVoiceLikeThis.com and it will be shared on the show. Your viewpoint is always appreciated.

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

062 – A Tool and A Launch originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 25 July 2008. Tweet This

recorded 10 July 2008

In this episode:

4-AM Update (00:00:40)
A brief update this week with special surprise. I talk about video posting and which services I’m looking at top use for the 4-AM website and then I give you a brief taste of our sound with a excerpt of  the Come See About Me arrangement we did as a group the previous week. I also slip it in at the end of the show to close it out for the evening.

At Any Rate (00:06:20)

MyAWOL – An upcoming web 2.0 service you might want to know about and watch (it’s an acronym for My Artists WithOut Labels). It’s going to be part Music database (to launch within the next month or so), part online music community for unsigned artists, part indie label, part online venue and more. That’s a tall order to fill, and it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. I reference a TechCrunch Article and a Digital Music News Article to give as much information as possible.

Last.fm and Merlin – It would seem that Last.fm’s issues aren’t over after the fallout with Warner Music. according to the Hypebot.com Article and The Register Article, The global indie rights organization is stalled in certains aspects of their talks with last.fm and is warning its membership about the agreement currently in place. While this is to be expected when defining and redefining new delivery methods and revenue streams, among other things, there seems to be a of old school issues and mindsets on both sides here. There is a huge opportunity here, let’s see how it’s embraced. There’s probably another post in here somwhere as well.

Comments From the Podcast Gallery
Comments from fellow podcasters KimFenolio of Girls Night In, TVSeriesFinaleFan of The Plug show and SuperMom7000 of TV Talk.

You can always call 630.492.0487 and leave your comments via voicemail as well as send them in e-mail to contact@WithAVoiceLikeThis.com. I’d love to hear from you and play or read your comments on the show.

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061 – Hear Us Now, Pay Us Later? originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 12 July 2008. Tweet This

recorded 26 Jun 2008

With minor apologies to Three Dog Night for the title, this episode of With A Voice Like This was all about:

4-AM update [00:01:27]
There was a lot to talk about here. Where the website is at, a new way of working up arrangements for the group, starting with the song Mama Told Me Not to Come and some of the fun things that happened with that. We also had a good talk about where we’re heading and what our focus is and I got the opportunity to show them how video streaming works on the web briefly.

Spain’s Digital Canon [00:17:00]
Yes, this is a further discussion about the new anti-piracy tax that Spain is instituting on July 1. It’s more in depth looking at possible reasons for Spain implementing it and what seems to be some of the pitfalls of the tax itself. I also got some feedback regarding Canada’s anti-piracy tariff. There are some interesting thoughts there. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on what was said.

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

Note: The day after I recorded this show, Gerd Leonhard released a post with video about the future of copyright. It’s very much worth a look and it’s nice to see that there are people out there who see that Copyrights still have their place, in a new form of course, but not throwing out all the protections with new technology. Another thing I think that the Copyrights would be useful for is a transistion framework, at least as they apply here in the U.S. Ah, what I wouldn’t give to have Gerd Leonhard on the show, I’d have a lot of things to ask and say.

059 – Mama Told Me Not To Go To Spain originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 28 June 2008. Tweet This

Well, it’s happened. Spain has announced that beginning July 1, it’s instituting a special anti-piracy tax called the Digital Canon, according to an article on Billboard.biz. It puts a tax on gadgets that can copy, record or store sounds and images. Yes, I said store too.

Sounds like a new spin on the old sin tax. Except, with the standard things a sin tax applies to, you actually have to participate in the sin, e.g. gambling, smoking or consuming alcohol. This is more like saying “We’re instituting an anti-stabbing tax on all kitchenware and cutlery” (don’t worry, I’m sure spoons would have the smallest tax in that scenario). The tool has the capability, so you are taxed whether or not you use, or even intend to use it for that illicit purpose.

Now based on the article, all the monies collected are given to Artists’ Rights Organizations for distribution to the creators of the art as compensation for money lost from pirated works. There is no provision for how the money is to be distributed, it’s just given to the Rights Organizations. How would you decide to distribute the money? You’re getting a flat fee based on tools without any tracking what works are being pirated or used or anything. Yeah, let’s just leave it up to the old way of doing things, I’m sure that’s fair. It’s sounds like most of Spain feels that way…Or not.

But don’t worry about it,  that’s Spain and not here. That could never happen here. An under informed government is never forced to take carte blanche on an almost out of control situation based on special interest groups’ input. No, not here.

So, what do you think? Does any of this matter? If we’re going to be charged on the Internet, and all indicators point that way, is this how it should work? Is it important that the creators of the art be protected and compensated for their works?

Who do you want to pay for your music?

Update: It’s been brought to my attention that Canada has an anti-piracy tax on recordable media (e.g. CDs DVDs) and did have a separate tariff on mp3 players (e.g. iPods) that has since been revoked/repealed. I haven’t found creditable sources for this info, are there any Canadians who could shed some extra light on this?

Who Do You Want To Pay For Your Music? originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 24 June 2008. Tweet This

This episode of With A Voice Like This is the conclusion of how I’d like to see things work in regard to music and the Internet and distribution of both responsibilities and money.

• Some quick clarifications from statements made last show.
• A brief recap of Episode 057‘s (Part 1) major points

Music and the Internet is a Virtual Venue

• Performers perform (Streaming)
• Consumers pay (e.g. cover charge, all inclusive charge)
• Consumers can also buy recordings and other merchandise above entrance fees
• Venues (ISPs,  applications) are responsible for reporting and payment

Database

• With new code, all streams, downloads, etc. are tracked and put in a database (Who holds the DB TBD)
• No more sampling needed, just a direct pull of tracks from the database

Collecting

• Performance Rights Organizations (PRO) could still collect, but pay based on actual numbers, not samplings
• No PRO could collect for non-members and keep money if the performers either don’t join, can’t be found or don’t claim their money
• Artists, Authors, Lyricists and Publishers responsibility is to secure a code so they are credited and paid for their works or not paid by their choice.
• Any music without the code is flagged in database and action taken (example of software recognition at EveryZing.com)

Comments From The Podcast Gallery

The Down side

This discussion is an overly simplistic layout of a very complex idea. Currently the Orphan Works Act almost passed in Congress and it seems very similar to what I’ve outlined here. You can hear it discussed at great length on Webcomics Weekly #38 from a visual artist’s point of view and its major weaknesses. I feel I’ve taken some of the things into account that were ignored in the Orphan Works Act and although not exactly the same, the pitfalls could be very similar.

On A Lighter Note

Here are examples of some voiceover work I had just recently done.

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

058 – My View – Music And The Internet Part 2: The Implementation originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 23 June 2008. Tweet This

A friend asked me in the aftershow of the Is This The Rights Thing To Do? series of episodes (047, 048 & 049) How I would like to see things happen with music rights and the Internet, so here it is, or at least Part 1.

At Any Rate
This week Warner records pulled out of its deal with Last.fm because the money wasn’t good enough. See Gerd Leonhard’s take on the situation.

Music on the Internet is Virtual Inventory

• The three types of inventory
• Tracking inventory

Tracking Mechanism (code) for the inventory

• The 4 (or more) pieces of information the code holds
• Where the code resides
• Existing tracking capabilities
• No more sampling in place of actual tracking
• Retrofit back to songs with copyright of 1923 or later
• Must be in place by 2018

Comments From the Podcast Gallery

Next Week
Next week will be the second part of this discussion Music and the Internet Part 2: The Implementation, where I talk about the roles of the Artist, ISPs, PROs and more in implementing this mechanism. Join me Live at 7:00pm CT on Thursday, June 19 or call in your Comments From the Podcast Gallery to 630.492.0487.

Listener’s Choice

This episode’s choice comes from Kim Fenolio, and it’s Summertime by Brother Love.

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

057 – My View – Music And The Internet Part 1: The Mechanism originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 13 June 2008. Tweet This

I finally got around to writing about last Thursday’s Tweetup in Geneva, IL. We were less than a quarter of a mile away from a section of town that they used to film part of the movie Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks.

Now this was my first Tweetup, so I only knew one person prior to the meetup. I wouldn’t have even known about it if it weren’t for Wendy setting it up and going the extra step of finding me through TwitterLocal and inviting me, among others. Anyway, Kim told me I was very high energy (I think that’s a kind way of saying I was talking the whole time). So I’m going to just give you a quick sentence or two about everyone that was there from my perspective so you see how much fun these things are.

(l – r) Wendy, Derek, Brad, Barbara and Jerome

Wendy is a great host and one of those people who is comfortable in any situation, whether it’s a business suit or jeans. She also wrote about the tweetup and has great pictures in this post.

Derek has three blogs, two of which update daily and the third weekly. We talked about consistency with the blogs and its hurdles and I have to I was impressed with his.

I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Brad, but I did find out that we live near each other, so there’s a good chance that we’ll run into each other at future tweetups so I’ll have another chance or two.

Barbara and I have a mutual friend, which lead us to discuss a lot of music and performance and its role in our lives and the mountains of Montana. She also does some work with (through? at?) the College of DuPage.

No matter what else, I’ll remember that Jerome rode his bicycle to the Tweetup from his job in Elmhurst. For those not familiar with the area, that’s about a 20-25 mile (32-40 kilometer) ride in traffic during rush hour. Wow, that’s all I can say.

I’ll try to keep Kim‘s short since I already know her and there’s too much to say here. A podcaster extraordinaire and unsung New/Social Media maven and Graphic Artist. Oh and my ride too.

Katie and Jeff

Katie was the sole civilian (Non-Twitterer) at the Tweetup that night.

Jeff, among other things, has a startup called Edmodo and a really great camera that had me drooling as well.

Unfortunately, there were two people I never got the chance to say more than hello to:

Carolyn and Karen, who wrote and has pictures about the Tweetup on her blog in this post. I hope I get the chance to change that at the next Tweetup.

So I learned more than I thought in a short amount of time about people I knew nothing of previously and that’s what’s great about the Tweetups. People with a wide vareity of interests and a common tool for communicating those interests. Putting faces on Twitter names and finding out what’s behind them. If you have the chance, catch a Tweetup in your area or the next one in this area. Sounds like we’ll be doing them at least on a quarterly basis.

Thank you Wendy for organizing and inviting and making it all happen, I had a great time.

And on the Fifth Day… originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 10 June 2008. Tweet This

Well, I’ve gone and done it. I installed the Seesmic WordPress plugin that allows you to leave a video comment in response to my blog entries. I may even do a video entry or two along the way. Now I’m looking for a green screen so I can Chroma Key out everything but my eyes. Or maybe I’ll have a Mime do an entry for me. You never know.

[EDIT: I think a couple of you have tried to leave video comments and I didn't realize it. They were held up in my comments and the text entry that shows is linking and as such I didn't recognize it for what it was. I have that issue fixed by changing some of my settings. so if you left a video comment and you don't see it, I more than likely deleted it. Don't kill the messenger and if you'd like, give it another shot.

EDIT 2: It seems I have an naming issue that prevents the video comments from completing, put in a help request and I'll update when these things are done.]

Show and Tell Me What You Think originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 26 May 2008. Tweet This

This episode is about building the band’s website and some input form its’ intended audience…you, including the polls at the last blog entry titled Poll Dancing – Bleeding Edge Style and a discussion of the results to this point. Also discussed:

• Some of the decisions about why the website incorporates a blog
• Where that blog belongs
• Some of the plugins used in the blog
• Some that are still being sought
• The tone of the website

And of course Comments from the Podcast Gallery. Podcasters giving feedback included Kim Fenolio, one of the hosts from Girls Night In.

This episode’s Listener’s Choice is one of my own, The Truth by an Austrian a cappella trio named Mauf via the Podsafe Music Network.

Links from this episode:

My Polls about the 4-AM website hosted by PollDaddy.com

The staging site for 4-AM

Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin

Live365 Internet Radio

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

053 – Where’s That Website At? originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 19 May 2008. Tweet This

While working on the 4-AM website, I had a couple (okay, more than a couple, but I’ll start there) decisions to make about what goes on the website and what will work best for my target audience which is bleeding edge, New Media early adopter types like you. Yes, you are, you’re reading this, aren’t you? Anyway, that’s why I’m asking you. It’s always best to go straight to the source and there you are. Let me know what you think, I have no doubt that you will come up with some things I’ve never even thought of, you’re good like that. The other choice works even if you choose one of the choices in the list, so don’t hesitate to add it, if you think of something.

Thank you for letting me know what you think.

Poll Dancing – Bleeding Edge Style originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 15 May 2008. Tweet This

Originally this episode was to feature an ASCAP representative, but the timing didn’t quite work out for this show. so the discussion turned to an overview what issues were facing on the Internet with music and content in general.

Topics discussed are:

• ASCAP’s take with the Songwriter’s Bill of Rights using rickrolling as an example.
  
• Music leads the Internet charge in content and how it delivery is being monetized and even moving toward regulation
• Why does the same free content on the web suddenly become worth charging for and being paid for in a different format?
• Content on the web isn’t really free? Someone’s making money on content.
• Protection versus Statements of rights by a subset of people
• The different factions involved in the music on the Internet trying to stake their claims
• Limited past delivery systems versus the Internet’s near limitless capabilities
• Protections versus Control
• Net Neutrality
• Selling your Privacy for convenience
• The double-edged sword of easy access
• Comments from the Podcast Gallery
• What’s Freedom without responsibility?

Links discussed in the show:

ASCAP’s Songwriter’s Bill of Rights

My previous post The Perception of Value

Podcasting Legal Guide wiki and in PDF format

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

049 – Is This the Rights Thing to Do? Part 3 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 18 April 2008. Tweet This

This episode of With A Voice Like This is the conclusion of the discussion with Independent Singer/Songwriter Samantha Murphy of SMtvMusic.com stemming from the April 10 release of ASCAP‘s Songwriter’s Bill of Rights.

topics in this episode include:

• Government’s role in resolution of these issues
• Sound Exchange, its background and methodology
• What Samantha is doing to put action behind her viewpoints
• The role of Education in music and the Digital Age – meisa.org
• Questions and Comments from the Podcast Gallery
• Creative Commons

Links discussed in this episode:

Samantha Murphy at SMtvMusic.com

Samantha’s e-mail is sm@smtvmusic.com

Performance Rights Organizations: ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, Sound Exchange

Samantha Murphy’s article written for a Princeton Symposium

Samantha also works with DigitalFreedom.org/

SaveNetRadio.org

Fading Ways Online

MEISA.org – Music & Entertainment Industry Student Association

Lawrence Lessig article – Commons Misunderstandings: ASCAP on Creative Commons

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

048 – Is This the Rights Thing to Do? Part 2 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 14 April 2008. Tweet This

Thursday, April 10, just in time for their big ‘I Create Music’ ASCAP Expo in LA, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) released their Songwriter’s Bill of Rights. In this episode and the next, recorded live on April 10, I discuss this with Samantha Murphy, an independent singer/songwriter and outspoken proponent of change for how music is delivered, monetized and protected in the digital age.

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Samantha’s unique experience as a professional performing musician since the age of six
• The Songwriter Bill of Rights read
• Transparency of PROs and their methods
• How this affects Net Neutrality
• The effect of the Internet on music delivery
• One PRO’s line in the sand
• Who do we turn to, the Government?

The conclusion of this discussion with Samantha Murphy can be heard in episode 048.

[Additional Note: At the beginning of this episode, I made the statement that ASCAP's Bill of Rights was to benefit performers. As Samantha pointed out, while you can have a performer account with ASCAP, it is a completely separate entity of its own and this Bill of Rights deals only with Songwriters.

Edit: A further clarification from Samantha is that the two types of accounts are Writer and Publisher, not Performer .]

Links from this episode:

Samantha Murphy at SMtvMusic.com

Performance Rights Organizations:ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, Sound Exchange

ASCAP Songwriter’s Bill of Rights

Portfolio.com article about the ASCAP Bill of Rights by Sam Gustin

Portfolio.com article Paying the Piper by Sam Gustin

Samantha Murphy’s article written for a Princeton Symposium

Samantha also works with DigitalFreedom.org/

Listen above or download by right clicking and saving.

047 – Is This the Rights Thing to Do? Part 1 originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 10 April 2008. Tweet This

Equally important as what is regulated is how it’s made compliant

The first question is what is regulated? The knee jerk response is the technology, but that’s not what would be most effective here. The technology is already regulated at least partially, by what is and isn’t allowed beyond certain borders. The technology also changes so quickly, trying to regulate it solely isn’t feasible.

In the United States efforts have been made to both regulate and control Internet usage. You need only to look as far as existing governing bodies, such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). They have the blueprints of the what needs to be regulated, but their regulations are based on delivery systems much more limited than the Internet so they aren’t as effective as they could be. As for control, just look at the RIAA and the ongoing battle against Net Neutrality. This “Carve out our piece of the pie” approach fails because it doesn’t take into account the rights and relationships of the Business Partners, Clients and Customers and protects no one but the interest group that’s pushing its own agenda.

So start with the what of regulations, based on the rights and relationships and the existing blueprints. Some things will need to be thought of internationally and some nationally, asking the experts in their fields for input. And it needs to be mandated (yes, that means government). This is possibly the easier of the tasks, but by no means will it be simple.

Where regulating the Internet will succeed or fail will be in compliance. Compliance needs to be scalable and seriously determined by those implementing the regulations. In turn the implementing parties will be held accountable on every level for being compliant. And what is the basis for the scalability? Ability and Resources. There are three main reasons/examples of this.

1. If you’ve ever been involved on any front of bringing a legacy system into compliance with new regulations, you know it’s a completely different process than building a new system to compliance. Both ability and resources come into play on this. So two different companies have two different methods of compliance based on the systems they have and how they have to reach compliance. In some cases that answer is to start from scratch.
2. Different types of service providers have different needs and concerns toward compliance. ISPs, whether they be DSL, Cable, WiFi or other delivery systems need to approach compliance differently from Application Service Provider, so Verizon, AT&T and Comcast, et al. have a different set of needs than Facebook, Netvibes, Microsoft and Apple.
3. Those with with most resources have the most to protect through the regulation, multibillion dollar corporations as compared to startups. Any acquisitions of smaller companies will automatically scale compliance based on the gains by the acquiring company/corporation. Those protections will also be shaped by the relationships between business partners, clients and customers.

How does all this happen? By an implementation period as a part of the regulatory process. During this period all the parties responsible for implementing regulations must document what they determine to be compliance based on the best of their ability and resources. Then meet those standards of compliance by the end of the implementation period. The implementing company/partner/corporation will be held accountable to those standards. If they cannot provide the proper documentation or their standards through documentation are found to be inadequate or inappropriate, they are held responsible and are open to any and all penalties for non-compliance. For example, if a Terms of Service Agreement written as a part of compliance is found unreasonable or unenforceable, it’s non-compliant. It serves everyone to be as thorough as possible and it will also provide a basis to be proactive. Anything developed after the implementation period needs to either be compliant to existing documentation or have new documentation completed prior to its roll-out.

It’s not a new approach, nor is it quick, simple or easily understood. It is workable and scalable even as new technology replaces old. It all comes down to this: Publicly available doesn’t mean unprotected and we need to get started on this as soon as possible.

That’s a 30,000 foot view, what do you think?

Regulation, Like the Internet, is a Tool originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 18 March 2008. Tweet This

Never has the chasm between ability and responsibility been so wide as on the Internet.

The Internet is a tool. For me personally, it gives me the ability to create and sell my music and any other merchandise without the responsibility of having to carry an inventory through Print on Demand (POD). It gives me the ability to reach an audience with a podcast without the responsibility of owning a 1000 watt transmitter, an FCC license (Actually, I have a 3rd Class license, but I don’t need it for a podcast) or being employed by a licensed broadcast entity. The internet gives me the ability to publish a blog without the responsibility of owning a printing press or having to maintain a supply of printing necessities which is much more than anything I could do prior to the internet and its capabilities. That’s a powerful tool and I’m not even scratching the surface of its capabilities by using myself as an example.

But like any tool, it depends on how it’s used. The Internet gives the ability of an Internet business/application to release a public statement along the lines of “We are cooperating fully with authorities and encourage our members to report any activities…” without the responsibility to fix the underlying, bigger issue that caused the problem in the first place. It also gives the ability to use journalanteism to push an agenda or spread a conspiracy without the responsibility having to provide a factual basis (The Internet hasn’t cornered the market on this, it’s just far more prolific due to easy access). The Internet ironically, also gives the ability to create an unedited, recorded live podcast where the host talks about the abuses of monitoring telephone calls without court order and then turns around, sometimes even in the same show and call a person without notifying them of either being recorded or broadcast live without the responsibility of understanding the correlation between the two and acting on it. Don’t get me started on copyright infringement, that’s another three or four blog entries on its own. That’s a powerful tool and I haven’t even scratched the surface of its capabilities.

So it seems now that whenever there is an issue on the Internet, as a whole we’ve reverted to the elementary school defense of “They started it!” and all the finger pointing and snapping at each other, choosing sides and a slap fight commences until everyone is tired and forgets about it. The real problem is that these individual battles have a cumulative effect and we’re quickly approaching the saturation point. So the topic is starting to roll around to Regulation of the Internet, as it should.

Just remember Regulation, like the Internet itself, is a tool…

Exploit the Tool and Not the Community originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 17 March 2008. Tweet This

After writing this response to Chris Brogan’s open question, I wasn’t planning to write a follow up on this subject because this blog isn’t specifically about Data Portability and Accountability, but here it is. I’m going to use examples that may seem unrelated, but they’re all about rights and protecting them.

In regard to the Facebook/Plaxo/DataPortability.org issue, the current line is that the issue is all about open portability of data. If that’s the case, two questions come to mind. First, if the entire intent of the situation was to highlight the open exchange of data, why were the methods used by Plaxo and its agent (Agent meaning the individual representing Plaxo by the mechanism of a non-disclosure agreement) anything but open? And Second, why wasn’t the DataPortability.org banner raised and blogged about until after the fact, when everything had already happened?

I’ve been a podcaster for only a little over six months now but I’ve been a professional musician for over twenty years and I’m always interested in the ongoing debate of music use. In fact, this blog/podcast shows a lot of my research into what defines Public Domain and and its relationship to copyrights. I know a fellow podcaster who uses a certain album of music for their show and put a footnote in their blog about the album not being copyrighted, therefore it is in the Public Domain. I’m no copyright lawyer and technically they may be right about that particular album (Ask George Romero about ‘Night of the Living Dead’), however the album title starts with ‘Favorite Songs of…’ so if there are any arrangements of a copyrighted song on that album, more than likely the podcaster is in violation of the copyright laws (Check with Thomas Dolby about sampling for that one). I don’t for a minute believe that podcaster is doing anything with malicious intent, it’s just more complicated than a simple statement can handle. Oh and by the way, let’s talk about how those rights are being ‘protected’ by the RIAA. That seems to be a war and we all know how that is working for them.

I don’t use Skype anymore. It’s not an issue with the application itself, but more with its usage. I’ve been involved in multiple conversations using Skype with other podcasters that have been recorded and used in podcasts without my knowledge, consent and/or sometimes without me even knowing a recording of my part in a call was used in a podcast. When I was growing up, my Dad owned part of a radio station and he was the Chief Engineer and News Director. Now the FCC regulations have changed some and they’re ambiguous at best about private parties recording , but if a licensed Broadcast entity did that, the result could be fines or loss of broadcast license. Once again, I don’t think the podcasters were doing anything with malicious intent and it got my blog and podcast a little attention, so I made the choice to not use Skype unless it’s under very specific circumstances. My rights, my choice.

All of that to prove that the situation is complicated, so let’s talk about similar situations that are being handled well. How about online banking? It’s a good analogy. Who owns the money being moved electronically back and forth, or the accounts? I don’t remember reading about online banking wars, maybe about usage fees, but not the banking itself. And they deal with personal information.

Or how about one I have some personal professional experience with. Personal Health Information. In July of 2000, I became the first full time employee at First Health Group Corp involved solely with the Internet as the Internet Operations Coordinator, becoming the Manager of Internet Operations, the highest position solely dedicated to the Internet through August 2005 even presenting on Capitol Hill in July 2003 at the Healthcare Leadership Council Innovations. Among my duties were the creation and implementation of security and privacy corporate policy and a large part of that was in conjunction with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) passed by Congress in 1996. This issue could have easily been a war, take a look at the timeline. Passed in 1996, when the then current administration made a failed attempt at Health Care Reform, but by no means were the waters friendly for the Health Care Industry. And whether is was a concession or a flexing of its muscle, the Health Care Industry said “We can’t do this on our own” and HIPAA was brought into existence. It’s been a long, complicated process and continues to be, but it’s by no means a war and a good start to a blueprint when it comes to Data Portability and Accountability on the Internet.

Let’s not confuse arrogance or ignorance with altruism and let’s discard the bad road we took to get here and focus on why we are here. Oh and I really like the idea of of the ‘PA’ part of HIPAA and feel it definitely applies here, Portability AND Accountability. Right now, everyone’s discussing the ‘Freedom’ of Open Portability without discussing the ‘Responsibility’ of Accountability.

Pictures of me presenting to various members of Congress in July 2003 (left to right): Dennis Moore – Kansas, John Shimkus – Illinois, Ron Kind – Wisconsin

Why Does it Have to Be a Data ‘War’? originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 10 January 2008. Tweet This

I read Chris Brogan’s Have the Data Wars Begun blog entry where he ends with these questions:

I’m not sure my take on this, but wanted to bring it to you for consideration. On one side, I want to be able to move my personal data from site to site, because if I spent the effort building it in there, I want to get it back out. On another side, is the friending process of Facebook THEIR data or is it mine? My friends, yes, but is the link and the semantic data built between us something that Facebook owns?

What’s your take?

Hypothetically, let’s say I own a late model Lamborghini. Burt Roscoe (A hypothetical person) owns a late model Rolls Royce and we both belong to a luxury car club. In this club’s charter they provide a storage facility and services like having your car ready for you when you call ahead, including fueled up, detailed, and they’ll even make sure it gets to the dealership for its scheduled maintenance and they host rallies, dinners and all manner of get-togethers. You’ll have to leave a key at the storage facility in order to take advantage of the services, but that’s part of the membership agreement you sign.

Burt is a respected and well known car guy and supporter of the club, so of course, I’m going to try to get to know him out of the 50 members and I get to the point where we know each other’s face and at one point Burt let me drive his Rolls and I let him drive my Lamborghini and we benefit from knowing each other, undoubtedly me more than him, but still we both benefit in one way or another. Great, everything is going along fine and then the members find out that the club has been renting out our cars to non-members without permission and selling the membership roster to all sorts of advertisers. Well a big battle erupts and is still going on, but it’s now a month later and it’s died down quite a bit.

Burt decides he would like to drive my Lamborghini again and since he’s so well known and respected, he basically has run of the club. He grabs the key to my Lamborghini and starts to drive away. Well one of the valets was on his way to get my car because I called and sees my car leaving. Being smarter than a rock, the valet closes the garage door and won’t open it and goes to get the club manager, who immediately kicks Burt out of the club. Burt grumbles as he leaves and then returns with 18 other members of the club so ensure he can get back into the club. He gets back into the club with the group and explains that he was only going to use the Lamborghini for personal use and that he was also going to store it at another Luxury car club where the eighteen members in his group now are also members there as well and how this is going to be a great thing for all of the members of the club.

The club house breaks out in a battle of cheap theatrics and semantics, finger-pointing and the third grade lemming defense of ‘The club already did it!’ when finally one of the other, very well-respected club members shouts over the mess.

“Who owns the Lamborghini?”

A hush falls over the crowd and the member asks the question again and elaborates.

“Who owns the Lamborghini? The Club or Burt?”

And that’s the problem. It’s the right question, but the wrong set of answers. Neither Facebook nor anyone I’ve designated as a friend would own my name, my e-mail address or my birth date, I own them, plain and simple. My data resides in a Relational Database on Facebook’s servers. And that is the best descriptor of what Facebook and any single ‘friend ‘ on Facebook owns, a relationship. And both Facebook and any individual Facebook member are responsible for using and not abusing that data through a Terms of Service Agreement that applies to both Facebook and the individual users through their acceptance of the terms. It’s called Stewardship.

Have the Data Wars Begun – A Response originally appeared on With A Voice Like This on 7 January 2008. Tweet This