unmediated

Peer to Peer for Your Mobile?

by Oliver Starr

A few weeks ago I authored a regarding something I call "Flash MobSharing". In essense this would be a relatively low tech, ad-hoc peer to peer application enabled via a near field technology like Ultra Wide Band or Bluetooth. The low tech component relates primarily to the fact that in order to circumvent the restrictions and possible legal consequences of sharing copyrighted or protected content, users have no automated means of discerning who has a particular desirable file and must basically "wait and pray" that someone eventually announces a "Flash MobShare" that includes such a file. The advantage to this method is of course the very thing that makes it low tech and somewhat inconvenient....it is purely spontaneous and as such should, if young people embrace this concept, strike fear into the hearts of any media executive concerned with digital rights management; you can't police or prosecute a phenomenon that can't easily be traced and which takes places and vanishes almost as quickly as it is announced. Whether "Flash MobSharing" takes off or not, the interest in locating and sharing various forms of stored content on other people's moblie devices in the same way that peer to peer file sharing does on PC's is a virtual certainty. As more and more mobile content and better support for data oriented applications allow for a richer mobile multimedia experience, the "that's cool, I want it" phenomenon is simply inevitable. In fact, it is testimony to the built in difficulty associated with doing so today. I can't believe that young people don't want to swap the expensive ring tones that have become one of the most lucrative data applications to date for mobile devices. With that in mind mophone (yes, that is supposed to be all lower-case) has just announced both a new application suite designed to support sharing of legally-shared content including ringbones, images, games and other types of files. What I'm wondering is if this clever leveraging of premium content will be the catalyst for opening a "Pandora's Box" of peer to peer via mobile - and more of the unregulated variety. I don't think that people will be content for the limited content that will be available via a model like this, but once they're awakened to what's possible, clever developers will extend the functionality to parallel that of the PC....that is any file that any one puts in a shared folder is going to become fair game. While I do not endorse flagrant disregard for copyright protection (and have lots tens of thousands personally when people have stolen and reused for their own means many of my works for hire in the nutrition and biotech spaces), I nevertheless am opposed to "walled gardens" or anything that acts as an artificial restriction that limits any legal use of which a device is capable. One thing is for sure; this cat is getting out of the bag and I don't think it's going to go back in. To see the official announcement by mophone, check the extended entry. Here's the press release circulated prior the mophone's debut at CTIA:

Designed by wireless usability experts, mophone lets members easily find and legally share virtually any flavor of content (photos, ring tones, wallpapers, messages, games, etc.) within dynamic mobile communities. mophone easily and seamlessly extends popular online social networking experiences -- photo sharing, blogging, music, gaming, sharing, and more -- to the mobile environment, all from a single destination. mophone members will enjoy premium, branded content from companies such as Airborne Entertainment and Indiagames, while one-of-a-kind content from independent artists will be available through Wireless Development Agency and "Emily the Strange" creator Cosmic Debris, among others. Additional content and distribution agreements are expected to be finalized before the commercial launch of mophone later this year. "mophone offers content providers an alternative, peer-driven distribution vehicle to complement their existing channels and drive incremental content sales," said Bill Bryant, CEO of Mobile Operandi. "Our service leverages key elements of social networking to create a highly-effective content merchandising platform based upon recommendations from friends and trusted sources." Turning the discovery and sharing process into purchasing power across a spectrum of social networking services is where mophone stands out and appeals to both end-users and a broad community of online and mobile companies, including mobile operators, MVNOs, portals/ISPs, content providers, application developers, and many more. "Peer-driven content discovery and recommendations are fast becoming a critical marketing channel for the gaming industry," said Vishal Gondal, CEO of Indiagames. "We love what mophone has created because it gives us an opportunity to further showcase popular games, such as 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' 'Bruce Lee,' and 'Predator,' amongst these credible, viral mobile communities."