AFTER THE BUBBLE: GOOGLE AND MP3S GALORE
by Hannah Arbeitel and Erin Burke
[Directions from Instructor: Please read the blog post below. If you did not write this post, you must respond at least once directly to the post, and then respond at least once to someone else's response. If you did write the post, you need only respond at least once to the initial responses from your peers.]
Origins of Google
Irony can sometimes be the best cultivator of a situation. This stands out more than ever when the founding of Google is examined. Two men who seemingly had nothing in common coming together to create the biggest internet company ever is not the everyday tale of an internet startup. Larry Page and Sergey Brin did have one thing in common: their thought process, which would allow them to turn their startup into a global phenomenon.
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| The homepage of Google when the company first was available to the public in 1997. |
Their attitudes towards the company’s future would lead to them locking in the biggest investors in the game: Kleiner and Sequoia. They took the same approach to hiring, only the best. The GooglePlex was no exception to this either, theoretically improving employee retention and effectiveness of work.
“Healthy, clear-headed workers could do better coding…”
Google and the Bubble Burst
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The House of Internet Business cards come crashing down when the dot-com bubble bursts.
Image from TEDed.
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Napster vs The Music Industry
As the internet came to fruition, with it came hackers and their hacker chat rooms. These hackers used their powers for evil, trading copyrighted music left and right. These files that this music was on were called MP3s. Through this compression of music you could download music onto a floppy disc and call it a day.
MP3s were made, Winamp (which allowed people to play and organize the MP3s) was made, and all that was needed was a search engine to find all the music one could desire. This came in the form of Napster, coded by Shawn Fanning in only a few weeks. Joined by Jordan Ritter (a sophisticated coder) and Sean Parker (the businessman) Napster was ready to take the world by storm.
The problem with Napster was that it was a legal loophole that wouldn’t hold for long. It knew what it’s users were doing with the platform, downloading and trading music without the permission of the music companies. Napster’s actions begged the question, was it wrong to blame Napster for what it's users were doing? Or for the distribution of music illegally if it meant more artists got exposed to a bigger audience?
The answer, according to the law, was yes. Judge Patel ruled that the evidence of Napsters knowledge was just too strong, but this lawsuit did nothing to quell the internet from pushing forward. All this time the music industry was aiming to steer their customers towards CDs but with the development of portable MP3s by Diamond Multimedia it was too late. Not to mention that the music industry lost that lawsuit.
If they had won it, do you think the public would have gone back to physical copies of music?
In the end was it Google or the development of MP3s that pushed the internet along after the bubble burst?
I really believe that even if the music market had won the lawsuit, the Internet would still prevail, and people would find ways to get music around the Internet. I also believe that, while Google was extremely important in restoring people's faith in the Internet, MP3s were most likely a technology that was one of the main factors for the Internet becoming mainstream, and it made people realize the Internet was still there, pushing forward.
ReplyDeleteyeah i agree, the technology that came with the MP3s really gave the internet a visibility again that really helped the whole industry
DeleteI completely agree with your points. Google really was a push that improved the usefulness of the internet for the average person. I don't believe that the internet would be where it is today without google. I would be very concerned if the internet was run by bing or yahoo.
DeleteI think that's a really good point about the way that Google and MP3s played a role in restoring the internet. Google built trust, but I feel like I agree MP3s made the internet mainstream.
DeleteI like the point you made Aakash...the internet would look very different without Google
DeleteI believe that is was the development of MP3s that pushed the internet along. It provided a practical use of the internet that appeased the masses while also allowing people to share music that they owned. I don't think that the public would have gone back to physical copies of music because of the ease and convenience that mp3s provided.
ReplyDeleteI agree that MP3s kept the internet along. It gave the internet an accurate use and appealed to more people.
DeleteI do not think that the public would have gone back to physical copies of music. I think the industry was already too evolved and people pushed for electronic music. At this point, no matter which way the lawsuit went, people did not want to go back to physical copies. I think MP3's pushed the internet along, because it was a total new form of technology, where as Google had some similarity to a browser. MP3's created a new source of entertainment and possibilities.
ReplyDeleteI agree on your comments on the modernness and increasing ubiquity of thew MP3 at the time. It provided a new thing for users to explore, whereas Google simply made its market more accessible.
DeleteYou make good points. While lots of physical copies were being sold, their was an inevitable transition from physical to digital copies. Google was a more refined and easier service, but you are right that MP3s opened a new door of possibilities.
DeleteI don't think that the public would've gone back to physics copies of music after being exposed to the convenience and ease of MP3s and digital music sharing. I think that it was definitely MP3s that pushed the internet along after the bubble burst, not Google. Many people, including Steve Jobs, knew that music would appeal to the public and allow people to connect with each other through sharing music.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the internet would unaffected today if Google didn't exist?
DeleteUnaffected in what sense?
DeleteThat it would still have progressed in the same sense. Do you think that Google has helped the Internet in any way?
DeleteI think Google helped push us to the Internet we know today. Without Google, the Internet would definitely not be the way that we know it is today.
DeleteTo answer Hannah's question, I think Google has absolutely helped the Internet. With all the programs we use on a daily basis, I can't imagine what it would be like doing online school without google classroom or do school in general without google drive. I know microsoft has similar products, but google has always been so much easier for me to use.
DeleteI think that Google helped the Internet progress by starting an expansion of the services that the Internet provides, but I think digital music brought more users to the Internet.
DeleteI agree that Steve Jobs recognized the fact that music would allow people to connect, thus creating a community that drove the success of other platforms, such as eBay.
Deletei think that even if the record companies had won and MP3s were squashed, that eventually the public would find its way back to them because they were such a new and exciting form of music and the word would need to use them, even if it wasn't legal.
ReplyDeletehonestly, i think it was MP3s that pushed the internet along, because music is such a universal thing, and everyone listens to it.
I agree that MP3s pushed the internet. Everyone listens to some kind of music, and seeing that the internet was capable of providing a new way of listening to music restored people's faith and pushed a new wave of internet businesses.
DeleteI see your point of view in that MP3s would bring more people to the Internet. While I believe Google pushed the Internet along, I think you make a great point of music being a universal thing.
DeleteI agree with this, I think that people would've found their way back to digital music because of its convenience and their excitement.
DeleteI think that the public might have been forced to return to physical copies for a bit, but eventually another way of using the internet for music would come around. We, as a society, tend to cycle through trends. A few years ago, record players were suddenly deemed "in" again, and now there's tons of people who consider themselves trendy for dressing in 80s/90s fashion. I think this just goes to show you that if the internet was't a feasible way to get music at that time, someone would eventually come and deem it worthy of taking a chance, and they would succeed.
ReplyDeleteI think the public would have went to physical copies for a short period time, but I think that digital music was inevitable. With the new possibilities of the music on the Internet, people would not have settled for physical copies and would've wanted digital music. I think that Google led the push of the Internet because they were unlike any other company. Google worked on being the most perfect they could be and gave users an easy way to access the web sites that were most relevant to them. I think that MP3s would get a broader range of people on the Internet, but Google really pushed the Internet along.
ReplyDeleteBlogger ate my post the first time so let's see if this works!
ReplyDeleteJust going to jump in and point at that many independent musicians produce vinyl and CDs for fans and they sell well. Do you think this is a novelty, or are people returning to some extent to physical copies of music?
First of all, I think people that heavily relied on physical copies when they were younger are more eager to use physical copies. Personally, I own every early Taylor Swift album on CD. However, I think there's also a younger generation that identifies physical copies as a trend, and something that will make them look cooler. I think it really depends on the group of music consumers you're looking at.
DeleteGood point about physical copies appealing to different groups in different ways.
DeleteMy son is standing here and made a good point: musicians make VERY LITTLE money from digital downloads, but.a significant amount for each physical copy sold. The band he tours with makes very good money on physical copies of their albums. So I'm happy people still by LPs!
I agree with Danielle. I think especially vinyl now is an aesthetic and some consumers are striving for a nostalgic and vintage vibe.
DeleteI think that some people prefer physical copies because of the sound quality. I also feel like I used CDs more often when I was younger because that's what my parents knew better. Nowadays, I feel like physical copies are considered trendy, as Danielle stated, and that they are considered cool.
DeleteWhile I think digital is more convenient and common nowadays, with services like Apple Music or Spotify, I think that there are definitely people who enjoy the physical copies better. It usually stems a memory of youth and the quality is nicer.
DeleteMaybe it is generational and your generation is the one to move away from physical copies completely. After all, my kids are millennials and you are Gen Z. Something musicians should keep in mind...
DeleteI think that people are returning to physical copies because now it's seen as vintage and cool whereas the internet was so cool and new at that time that everyone jumped to the newest thing.
Deletei think that people are definitely coming back around to physical copies, but i dont think that they will never overrun digital because they arent portable or as accessible and personable
DeleteI think that the new obsession with physical copies is the young generation trying to. connect with the past. I think musicians keep producing hard copies as a way to make money, there will always be a market for them to some extent.
DeleteI love buying physical copies of music. As much as I love my phone constantly, someday the end of the world my come and I would love nothing more than to plug in my record player and bust out some All Time Low. For me, it's novelty and the want to physical music. Society is probably returning to physical music because it's more reliable.
DeleteI don't think it would have been possible for people to turn back to physical copies of music after seeing the potential of the digital music industry and MP3 players. MP3's completely changed the way music was listened to and it was definitely MP3s that pushed the internet along because now that people could travel while listening to music, there was no going back.
ReplyDeleteI think that the public would not have gone back to physical copies of music. I think that once there is a push for internet use, users quickly attached to it and did not look back. The Internet was so fast paced and involved a lot of communication between users, and by going to back to physical copies, it would be like trying to erase their memory, because digital copies were convenient and futuristic. I think that MP3s pushed the Internet along because it was something so familiar to people, but made easier and more convenient. While Google would eventually make a large impact on the web, MP3s initially were the more unique and intriguing thing that I think pushed the internet along.
ReplyDeleteDigital music was inevitable and would have happened anyway. Physical copies of music would have surfaced again but they would eventually be overruled by MP3s because of how new they are, but they're also easily accessible and allow for more versability.
ReplyDeleteMusic is also a common item used by most people just like books with Amazon. That too may be why mp3s and iTunes were so successful so fast.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the public would have gone back to physical copies of music. The non-physical copies were so revolutionary and unprecedented that it was impossible to not be enthralled. I think that Google ultimately pushed the Internet along after the bubble burst. While MP3s were obviously influential, this would not have been a viable technology without Google. MP3s initially relied entirely on the Google browser to search for music to convert to the MP3 format.
ReplyDeleteMake sure you have an initial comment on both posts today and at least one comment on another student's comment. Not everyone has commented on both posts yet.
ReplyDeleteGood job team! I'll see you on Classroom tomorrow :)
ReplyDelete