Doc "Linux Journal" Searls and David "Small Pieces" Weinberger — two of the Cluetrain authors — have written a new manifesto, called "Word of Ends," which attempts to explain the Internet in terms that entertainment execs and bellheads can understand.
10. Some mistakes we can stop making already.
The companies whose value came from distributing content in ways the market no longer wants – can you hear us Recording Industry? – can stop thinking that bits are like really lightweight atoms. You are never going to prevent us from copying the bits we want. Instead, why not give us some reasons to prefer buying music from you? Hell, we might even help you sell your stuff if you asked us to.
The government types who have confused the value of the Internet with the value of its contents could realize that in tinkering with the Internet's core, they're actually driving down its value. In fact, they maybe could see that having a system that transports all bits equally, without government or industry censorship, is the single most powerful force for democracy and open markets in history.
(Thanks, David!)
