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Much like the online music sharing service Last FM, the new Genius feature looks at a song you’re playing in iTunes and then suggests music in your playlist that complements it nicely. Of course, it also offers to sell you additional music which would also get along with your currently playing tune like Sarah Palin and the NRA.

Imagine a Genius playlist for progressive websites. Based on the stories you read and anonymously share with others you get a list of other stories you might enjoy and a list of charities you can support to aid in the causes you care most about. That charitable common good is built simply by doing what you do now, such as read stories like this one. But, a little effort, aggregated, becomes a powerful tool for change, in musical listening habits or in society. It just depends on what’s harvested.

I think we’ll see more of this collective behaviour harvesting coming in the near future. We’re already seeing it on even purer levels with the Dash Express, a GPS unit that combines traditional traffic information with real-time traffic information gathered from the actual driving experiences of other Dash Express users. All the drivers have to do is drive, and share.

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Interesting.

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That means that, despite the hand-wringing on the part of the music industry, the free sharing of music can actually result in increased music sales - that the common good can actually be good for business.

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I think if we go back into internet antiquity-- five or six years ago-- the music industry furor over Napster didn't have anything to do with copyright, or lost sales. It had everything to do with Napster encouraging eclecticism amoungst the kids. Thus making marketing of music more difficult into the future. That's the monetary loss the music industry was really afraid of. Instead of having to find a band like "Creed" and then spin off a bunch of Creed-a-like bands like "Puddle of Creed", "Theory of a Dead Creed" or "Nickle Creed" without much effort to a nicely controled bunch of kids who can't afford to explore different music at an outrageous CD prices, they'd have to take risks. And we all know how business hates risk.

The music industry, therefore, might not greet this technology with the same trepedation, as it keeps people listening to fairly narrowly defined genres.

Can it be used by activists for social change? I'm not sure. I'd have to know more about it. But I'm inclined to look at it as fruit of the poisoned tree until I am informed otherwise.

[ 03 October 2008: Message edited by: Tommy_Paine ]