Blog: P2P

The core communication of new media is its easy, accessible methods of sharing. Whether it be a thought, story, article, image, video or podcast, audiences around the world have ways to share whatever it may be to whomever. Of course, obvious forms of sharing come with social networking platforms. Facebook and Twitter are prime examples of file sharing, with the ability to make attachments to documents, share videos and others. But these methods are size specific. Files that are too big are difficult to upload in completion. To answer this call, the influx of file sharing has also led to the development of P2P file sharing, which is when an internal platform/software such as LimeWire and BitTorrent is used as a medium to share with other peers (hence, peer 2 peer). There is a general negative stigma that comes with these websites - copies of Adobe technologies such as PhotoShop and Premiere Pro can find themselves floating in this networks for free, as opposed to the few hundred needed for purchase on the official Adobe site. In addition, pirated movies, and songs cluttered on these Internet shelves, with multiple versions available for the millions looking to download. As a result, this has led to, what Thompson of Wired has called it, "a clampdown has started: In November, the Motion Picture Association of America began suing downloaders of movies, in order to, as the MPAA's antipiracy chief John Malcolm put it, "avoid the fate of the music industry"" (Thompson). Of course, these implications of shutdown come with the inevitable income loss for companies producing these files. And with over 20 million users on BitTorrent, the amount of money loss by not paying for these programs/movies are more than substantial. Especially in the case of Adobe, losing out on hundreds per user is incentive to stir up this trade. So P2P file sharing comes with pros for the average consumer looking for ways around payment, but the issue also carries to these companies losing out on profit to make these programs in the first place. It's a trade-off, so inevitably, the crackdown for these networks might hit harder in the years coming.