If there is one twisted, misused, ridiculous statement about information in the publisher content context its the rhetoric that can be frequently read in various blogs (usually in the comments) about digital content: "Information wants to be free".
This is an absurd statement at any level. It is a truth distorting phrase disguising an attitude that intellectual property theft is OK. The fact is information doesn't want anything, but in the interest of balance I am coining a new phrase "Information wants to be paid." That is probably more accurate and we need to see that all over the Internet.
What the creepy IW2BFRE mob are actually saying is "Your content is no better than all the other free stuff on the Internet so we don't want to pay for your labour | experience | effort | brilliant | witty | wise | informative | life enriching | entertaining | empowering content". The wide range of twisted arguments used by the IW2BFRE set are rationally debunked here at The Family Guide to Digital Freedom.
The semi-parallel claim that e-books should be cheaper because there is no paper or distribution costs is just as stupid, except for the books that are purposely designed and marketed to be a cheap volume commodity where business success is volume sales through marketing and promotion (which is information that is not free). Not all published content fits this model. Let's not compare onions with a meal.
Having got that off my chest, the subject of this post is about the word that is characterized by many as the most filthy, dirty word in digital publishing...DRM. Damn! I love that dirty talk.
