Spotify’s upcoming integration with Uber — getting announced formally today — is not the only development the music streaming service has planned to grow its business. The company has plans for a podcasting service as well as an as-yet undetermined feature that is currently set up under the name “Magic.”
iTunes adding podcast support was the Big Bang for medium, and if Spotify is about to follow suit, it could be just as big of a deal.
However, I’d be lying to say I’m not nervous about this potential move. If Spotify moves in with terms that aren’t favorable to podcasters — hi, Stitcher! — it doesn’t really help anyone who isn’t willing to play ball.
Of course, it’s way too early to know how this will go down. I’m excited for a service of Spotify’s size to embrace podcasting, but I worry how they may throw around their weight.
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This week, Stephen explains Net Neutrality to the Europeans, Myke explains YouTube Music and why Evernote Context doesn’t bother him before Federico explains how bit rot in the App Store makes him sad.
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Coming out in favor of net neutrality is pretty much the easiest high ground one can grab. The President knows that his Republican counterparts will largely take the unpopular position defending the business interests of the telco companies under the guise of free market weasel-speak.
The only slight friction for the President here is that his strong stance puts Tom Wheeler, the FCC chairman that he appointed, in a tough spot. It’s a lose-lose for Wheeler. If he supports the President’s position, he’s a White House stooge. If he opposes it, he’s the fall guy. And it sure looks like he’s getting ready to oppose it…
But the President had to know this as well. I mean, he appointed a former telco lobbyist to the position of FCC chairman. People were outraged about this for about five minutes. Now we see why this was such a dumbfoundingly bad idea. I don’t care how much money Wheeler raised for the President, it’s a bad idea to appoint the most biased person possible to such a position of power.
Brian Fung and Nancy Scola, for The Washington Post:
Huddled in an FCC conference room Monday with officials from major Web companies, including Google, Yahoo and Etsy, agency Chairman Tom Wheeler said he has preferred a more nuanced solution. That approach would deliver some of what Obama wants but also would address the concerns of the companies that provide Internet access to millions of Americans, such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable and AT&T.
“What you want is what everyone wants: an open Internet that doesn’t affect your business,” a visibly frustrated Wheeler said at the meeting, according to four people who attended. “What I’ve got to figure out is how to split the baby.”
My friend and fellow Volunteer State citizen Bradley Chambers, over on Tools and Toys:
With the growth of social media, video games, and streaming services, many people are finding they don’t use their cable subscription enough to justify the continued expense. We get our news, entertainment, movies, and TV shows through other channels now. This guide is about getting the right gear to make a smooth transition away from cable or satellite into cheaper alternatives.
I would say you should send this to Instapaper, but Tools and Toys is just too pretty not to visit directly.
Net neutrality is important. If you aren’t familiar with the term, let CGP Grey explain:
In short, net neutrality promises protection from Internet service providers slowing traffic down based on content or source.
This morning, the President issued a statement urging the FCC to consider Internet access as a public utility, which would forbid companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon from creating “fast lanes” on the Internet.
While the FCC boss has a questionable background, thankfully, Congress isn’t in charge of this issue. This tweet from Senator Ted Cruz has been making the rounds today:
“Net Neutrality” is Obamacare for the Internet; the Internet should not operate at the speed of government.
The glaring issue I have with this tweet aside, Cruz’s misguided view of net neutrality scares the shit out of me because he’s not the only who holds it, ironically.
Here’s the thing: I make my living on the Internet. My startup exists solely on the Internet. I work as a freelancer on the Internet. I’ve written on this site for six years, and in case you haven’t noticed, it’s not a print magazine.
In a world without the protections of net neutrality, Comcast could demand more money from our podcast host for our audio files to cross their network. If our host refused, my podcast downloads could be slow for Comcast customers, but if they paid the ransom, they would have to charge their customers more, taking a bigger bite out of Relay FM’s budget each month.
In a world without the protections of net neutrality, Comcast could read this blog post and make my site unreachable. Likewise, Verizon could read this one and make my site slower than Daring Fireball for their LTE customers.
But that side work is only a third of my income. I have a day job at an agency where we design and develop websites for businesses, schools and organizations. If our hosting partner were unable to cut a deal with AT&T, U-Verse customers could have longer page load times on our sites, which would upset our clients.
Here’s the thing: I’m not special for making my living online. The Internet has allowed countless businesses to blossom, creating an untold number of jobs. These companies provide goods and services for millions of people, and not just in America.
Allowing a handful of the most powerful companies on the planet to control how information flows on the Internet is reckless at best. Considering ISPs spent $42 million from January to July this year on lobbying, reckless may be the wrong word.
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An open Internet is essential to the American economy, and increasingly to our very way of life. By lowering the cost of launching a new idea, igniting new political movements, and bringing communities closer together, it has been one of the most significant democratizing influences the world has ever known.
“Net neutrality” has been built into the fabric of the Internet since its creation — but it is also a principle that we cannot take for granted. We cannot allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas. That is why today, I am asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to answer the call of almost 4 million public comments, and implement the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality.
This is a great step in the right direction, but I hope Obama’s lack of popularity in Washington doesn’t fog the issue.
Internet access should be classified as a public broadband utility. Period.
Evernote announced today that it has raised $20 million in new capital from Nikkei, the Japanese media conglomerate that publishes the influential financial newspaper Nikkei, as well English-language Nikkei Asian Review. In addition, the Nikkei will also start feeding articles into Evernote’s Context feature, which launched last month.
The Apple II may be one of the most important systems in the history of personal computing — but that doesn’t mean it was perfect. Nearly 40 years later, Steve Wozniak is still coming up with ways he could have done it better.
