The pirate's dilemma : how youth culture reinvented capitalism /

This interesting book addresses the challenge to established intellectual property rights and traditional business models posed by easy consumer access to online information and sharing and modification technology. The ease of cutting and pasting electronic content challenges long-established norms defining plagiarism of original content. Considering disco mixers and radio pirates, Mason (journalist; founder, RWD, an urban music magazine) covers the societal and business impact of these "pirates"--individuals who seek new markets outside traditional market boundaries and create "original" repackaged products. The ownership rights (and income stream) of the creators are often bypassed in the guise of free speech and expression. The information gathering, repackaging, and dissemination models of wikis and custom disco mixes create entrants to the workforce who apply these practices to their own job content, not necessarily the corporate identity. The author describes how "flash mobs," viral marketing messages, and "patent trolls" have redefined marketing, and how the youth culture, which embraces these technologies, is transforming business. The notes section provides additional information sources. Mason's message is critical for survival of any current business endeavor. See related, Paul Goldstein's Intellectual Property: The Tough New Realities That Could Make or Break Your Business (CH, Mar'08, 45-3874). Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers, all levels of undergraduate students, practitioners. N. J. Johnson Metropolitan State University

Music journalist Mason, a former pirate radio and club DJ in London, explores how open source culture is changing the distribution and control of information and harnessing the "old" system of "punk capitalism" to new market conditions governing society. According to Mason, this movement's creators operate according to piratical tactics and are changing the very nature of our economy. He charts the rise of the ideas and social experiments behind these latter-day pirates, citing the work of academics, historians and innovators across a multitude of fields. He also explores contributions by visionaries like Andy Warhol, 50 Cent and Dr. Yuref Hamied, who was called a "pirate and a thief" after producing anti-HIV drugs for Third World countries that cost as little as $1 a day to produce. Pirates, Mason states, sail uncharted waters where traditional rules don't apply. As a result, they offer great ways to service the public's best interests. According to Mason, how people, corporations and governments react to these changes is one of the most important economic and cultural questions of the 21st century. Well-written, entertaining and highly original, Mason offers a fascinating view of the revolutionary forces shaping the world as we know it. (Jan. 8) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved