Ministry of Intrigue

Via Digg:

This is an interesting story that showed up a few days ago. The very popular sex education podcast “Sex Is Fun” has been removed from the iTunes directory. “Sex Is Fun” is a sex-positive podcast/videocast that focused on educating their audience on a whole host of sexual issues. It is controversial in that the video cast can be somewhat graphic in nature. According to the producers of “Sex Is Fun” here is what happened:

On Tuesday, August 22nd, the podcast “Sex is Fun” reached the top 100 list (73 to be exact) on iTunes for the very first time. At 8:08 PM on the very same day the producers of “Sex is Fun”? received an email from Apple Computer stating that their podcast had been “rejected from iTunes”? though neglected to state the reason for being kicked out of the iTunes directory. “It seems that iTunes has begun some form of morality cleansing as we are not the only podcast that had been removed from the list.”? Stated, Kidder Kaper, the primary host of the show. “Other podcasts that offer information about sexuality or fringe topics, such as homosexual issues, have also been removed, receiving the same email giving the owners no reason why or information as what they may change about their shows to get back on.”

You can read the (NSFW)release here, or if their server is still suffering from the Digg Effect, you can read a mirror here.

Now, I should stress that I haven’t heard anything about any other shows being removed, and we should consider this implication as unconfirmed. As their iTunes subscribers constitute 80% of their audience, the producers are looking to see if their is any legal action available to them, but I doubt they will have much luck. The iTunes directory reserves the right to remove “offensive” material, although the definition has always been vague.

I don’t so much care about this show in particular, but what will be interesting to see is how this all plays out. I’ll be curious to discover how many other shows (if any) have been removed and what Apple will have to say when bloggers turn this into the inevitable circus this kind of issue always becomes. But all this crying foul is really missing the point, which is that this situation was to some degree avoidable.

Honestly, I think it is ridiculous for any producer of a podcast dealing so graphically with controversial topics to allow themselves to becomes so dependant on a single corporate-run directory. True, there are a lot of iTunes users, and thus an iTunes listing has a lot of influence in the podcasting world, and so perhaps the SiF podcast’s ratio of iTunes listeners in their audience might be an organic development. The show has resubmitted an audio feed of their show in the meantime, while they weigh their options. So far it hasn’t been removed, but this seems to be the exact opposite approach they should take if they feel they have been truly wronged. iTunes is really a terrible podcatching client and an unreliable one at that (failing to correctly update feeds), and it would seem like this would be a good opportunity to encourage their listeners to not use iTunes and to use other free directories and/or podcatchers instead, as some other podcasters have done. It might not be a bad idea for most podcasters creating controversial shows to do the same.

I don’t want to blow this too far out of proportion, as so far it’s really just one show, and I don’t think Apple has some conservative agenda to sanitize their directory, but they are a corporation and as such have to bow to pressure from their shareholders and thus not a very safe option for centralizing listenership for any podcast, much less a controversial one. The point is not whether SiF was dealt an unfair hand (it is too early to tell), the point is that this illustrates a lesson for all producers of New Media: decentralization is key.

If you depend on some other single centralized source to connect you to your audience, you are always vunerable. It is essential to use a multitude of means to distribute and publicize your content. The future of the technology is distributed computing, and it is the future for online media too. By all means, use the iTunes directory for promotion, but don’t depend on it (or any other directory for that matter). Centralization is equitable to the old web portals of the early 90’s, and let’s face it, portals are dead. And for good reason.

Let’s see how many podcasters learn the lesson.

P.S. I’ll probably have more to say on this topic of decentralization at a later date, but this is all I have time to write now.

UPDATE: Violet Blue, a noted sex blogger and podcaster has suggested in this (NSFW) post that this removal is likely just the result of the iTunes automated response to the “report a concern” feature for users. I was sent this link by Xeni Jardin after submitting the SiF blog post to Boing Boing, although she has since indicated that she has heard from another sex-oriented podcaster who is suffering similar iTunes woes.

I do think Violet Blue has a point though, this is just as likely a user-based initiative (or even more likely) than a corporate one.

Regardless of any premature conspiracy theories, I still feel this effectively illustrates the dangers of centralizing your readership on a platform as unreliable and out of your control as iTunes.

If you get a chance you really should read this message sent to the folks at Yahoo Mail. It’s a great piece of common sense emphasizing the need for coding according to the web standards and doing away with the ridiculous notion of a page displaying “your browser is unsupported” message, which shouldn’t ever be the case if the page is coded correctly.

While we’re at it, let’s include Gmail in that category too. I use Firefox, so it isn’t an issue for me, but I still shouldn’t see that ridiculous message when I access Gmail through Konqueror, especially considering that browser’s stellar performance during the Acid2 standards compatibility tests.

Repeat after me: standards not software.

Code your sites correctly: we’ll do the rest.

Via Digg:

Keith and Chemda of the Keith and the Girl podcast recently received a copy of the Podshow contract via an anonymous listener before they entered into a non-disclosure agreement with the folks at Podshow. Upon reading the contract they were so shocked with what they found they had to share it.

In this episode they read through the contract on the air, and I have to say the shit that is in this agreement is just shocking. I know that it is modeled after the way record labels work, which must be to make the evil in it seem like it is legitimate and acceptable, which is a ridiculous notion. I mean, if I anally rape you the same way as a corporation that specializes in rape does it, it’s still me anally raping you.

If you can get past the religious comments at the very beginning, you should really listen to this episode if you are a podcaster. Admittedly, KATG interpret a few things incorrectly, but it is still pretty heinous.

Some highlights of the contract (although certainly not all inclusive):

• You have to move all of your stuff over to Podshow’s server and Podshow gains the exclusive distribution rights for ALL of your content (including logos) for the duration of the contract. This distribution is for all forms of publication/distribution both existing and yet to be invented.
  • Okay, so you risk sacrificing your personal brand for this, as you become a subsidiary of Podshow. The Internet is not like the music industry, website addresses and corporate identity mean a lot more. When your feed address changes, all your listeners/readers/viewers are affected.
  • Podcasting is not like traditional media, you don’t need some corporation to distribute your material. That’s the point.
  • Also, as Keith points out, at the rate the world of podcasting develops, who knows what kind of distribution rights you are giving up.
• You have to acknowledge that Podshow is making a significant investment in your show.
  • I smell bullshit.
• You retain creative control over your content, BUT Podshow reserves the right to refuse distribution of a particular piece of content if for whatever reason they deem it is a problem.
  • And since they are your exclusive distributor, that show essentially ceases to exist as you are not allowed to distribute it any other way.
  • Oh, and you can’t change the direction of your show. The premise of your show needs to stay the same as that is what Podshow is buying into.
• Podshow’s monetary reimbursement for these sacrifices (and all the others I’m not listing) are mostly speculative. You might make money on advertisement (that you don’t choose) or downloads. There is no clear promise of what that will be.
  • Also, any current agreements you have or are pending with advertisers must be turned over to to them. Any money you are receiving from old advertising agreements must be turned over to Podshow. KATG describe it well as: “Give to daddy. He’ll know what to do with it.”
• After your year agreement, Podshow can renew for up to two more years automatically.
  • You don’t have a choice if they decide to renew, and their rights to your work continue.
  • After the first year, Podshow can cancel your agreement for any reason whatsoever by just sending you an email. Sorry, but you’re done. Go elsewhere with no notice.

I’m sorry, but this is bullshit regardless of how common it is in traditional media. Podcasting is something new and the “additional promotion and distribution” you gain through Podshow is speculative and suspect at best. Other services are arising to connect podcasters with advertisers if you really need to monetize your show, (for example Podtrac) and podcasters would be well advised to go without the draconian restrictions imparted by Podshow. Promote your podcast independently, don’t let some other company take over your advertising and take your profits.

The beauty of New Media is that anyone can start creating and distributing material themselves over the Internet. It’s a wellspring of hope for independent artists who want to get their work out there, retain control of their work and make a living. Podshow, in its attempt to centralize, monetize (at least in focus) and simplify podcasting is in reality just the traditional “fuck the artists” media model mascareding that it is the friendly face of the New Media movement. It’s counter to the whole spirit of podcasting, and will eventually just result in more corporate podcasts as ad revenue begins to take precedence over content, which I feel will be inevitable.

I know these sentiments might draw fire from the Podfather’s sycophants, but I don’t care.

Fuck you, Podshow. We’re better off without you.

———

UPDATE: I just found this little bit of news from February about why the Tartan podcast left Podshow. Read it here.

Also check out commentary from Eric Rice here.

The following is a Public Service Announcement.

For the love of God, please write the IDv3 tags for your files consistently! It is driving me absolutely nuts going through and correcting your tags by hand every time I download one of your files. I know that it might seem that the tags exist for your amusement, but their purpose is to allow the listener to organize the files they receive from you! Using a different artist or album tag for every podcast, or filling the tags with little jokes does not help your listener at all.

“But, Dan, can’t my listeners just keep track of the folder they put the files in?”

Oh, I suppose except that does no good for the people using MP3 players that build their databases based off of the IDv3 tag information (iPod, iRiver, Creative and every other hard-disk player), or anyone using a library-based software to play music on their computer, (WMP, Winamp, iTunes, musikCube, amaroK, MusicMatch, the list goes on) which anyone in their right mind should switch to right now and make their lives easier.

I have several podcasts that I listen to regularly that manage to do this, please try to follow in their example. Thanks.

This concludes the Public Service Announcement.

This may not sound very hip in these days of iTunes, iPod and the Mac Mini, but I really dislike Apple. I have always thought that Apple products as a whole were ridiculously over-hyped, and that their performance was not nearly outstanding enough to merit the rabid fan base they had developed. In addition, I feel that Apple’s image in the public sphere is deceptive on many levels.

I always hear people talking about how they are considering switching to Macs or how happy they are with their Mac, or how much safer it is than any PC.

“It never crashes, and it’s virus-free,” they tell me. This is not true.

Okay, maybe it won’t crash often on normal use if you are interested in just doing some word processing, listening to music or reading email, but let me tell you if you are intending to use it for anything other than what your grandmother had in mind it is a different story. I have worked on a large number of Macs in my time, primarily on friend’s computers or through top of the line Macs at school. I have managed to somehow freeze or crash them every time I have done any project that had significance to me, leaving me swearing in anger and frustration. Somehow, Apple managed to build their operating system on Unix (one of the most stable platforms ever developed) and still get it wrong. If you are really looking for an operating system that will almost never crash no matter what you do you should be looking for a distribution of Linux.

As far as virus infection goes, there is nothing inherently safer about using a Mac. Virus creation is a targeted practice, meaning that the people writing them have specific programs or operating systems in mind. The majority of the world is using Microsoft products right now, so that is the system that is being targeted. That is not to say that OS X is any safer. Take for example the recent exploit that was discovered allowing any web page to stealthily place a widget in the OS X dock. Now a widget can be made to do anything including execute malicious code. Even worse, because of the Mac’s so-called easy to use interface, the steps required to remove the malicious widget require a high degree of knowledge to remove because Mac obscures system functions to make the system “easy” to understand. Any user that feels that their choice of operating system is going to free them from viruses is dreaming. Even Linux users are at risk, although the security framework of that operating system helps minimize the potential damage.

And then we have the iPod, which I will admit started an amazing revolution in personal audio. However I have an issue with the iPod. The iPod is by far the most expensive of hard-drive MP3 players, yet it has the least number of features and weakest sound quality for your dollar than any of its competition. For example, take the iRiver H10, which for the same price or less, offers the same storage, built in FM receiver and voice recorder, color screen for photo viewing, file storage and a similar intuitive touch screen interface while maintaining the small size of an iPod. Plus, you can replace a dead battery yourself as opposed to the iPod where you had better hope that your Apple Care warranty is still good when that battery finally dies.

Okay, then we have iTunes. This program is marketed as a user-friendly way to keep track of your music and enjoy it on your computer, but iTunes does not have the consumer in mind at all. In a draconian measure, Apple has trapped their users as you have to use iTunes in order to use your iPod, and iTunes has bent over to the RIAA and has loaded iTunes with tons of DRM software. In fact, iTunes now will automatically convert non-DRM music files to their own proprietary AAC format with DRM.(Not necessarily with DRM, but auto conversion to their proprietary file format is enough. Users not paying attention may find themselves stuck with a ton of converting to do in order to use their collection with other non-Apple applications.)

There has been a lot of buzz about iTunes with its new support for podcatching. However, every podcast has to submit their podcast for review and Apple will approve or deny the request. Ostensibly, this is so Apple can verify that there is no copyright infringement present in podcasts that it hosts, but I have a concern with any corporation becoming the de facto authority monitoring podcasts. Who knows what other requirements Apple will utilize for selecting podcasts. Apple has not indicated what factors it uses in determining to include a podcast in iTunes, and you cannot even submit submit your podcast for consideration unless you use iTunes itself to submit your information.

Podcasting, like writing a blog, is supposed to be a free medium of expression without any Big Brother figure looking over your shoulder and either approving your work for presentation or refusing it. That is what the podcasting revolution is all about. That’s why sites like Podcast Alley and Podcast Pickle are so great. They provide a directory free of censorship or corporate driven initiatives.

What has kept Apple going throughout the years has been its highly involved fan base and its image as the happy go-lucky computing choice that was good to the user. However, during its research into DRM, Apple has taken classes from RIAA. Lesson one: sue their biggest fans.

This recent article on Wired.com details a lawsuit filed against online Apple communities who published rumors of the iPod shuffle and iTunes 4.9 before they were released.

I agree with the author that this reveals a lot about how Apple’s happy, shiny image is just a marketing tool. In a conversation I had with Daniel Patterson of the Creepy Sleepy Show podcast, he observed how with an image like Apple’s, you would expect them to follow the Google business model of “Don’t be evil,” but they instead have decided that the only way to meet their goals is to be as evil as Microsoft. The only difference, Apple expects you to be smiling about how great and kind they are afterwards. This is an insidious approach to take with the fans who have loyally supported their company for years, and while legal, I find it morally fraudulent.

In light of these recent realizations, I am personally boycotting Apple products. I will not buy, download or use any product produced by Apple. Anyone that wants to join me is welcome.