accept the change that has already happened

The app store clocked over 1 million downloads for the new skype app on it’s first two days. Wow. That’s a lot of downloads. And I was one of them—I called my friend Priscilla this morning on my ipod touch using the new app. It was great, extremely clear, free. Why wouldn’t I use it?

Which, I’m sure, is what is making AT&T go batshit as it watches people use fewer phone minutes, in favor of talking over their wifi connection. Well, not me—I’m on an ipod, not an iphone. But still.

And I really don’t know the ins and outs of the communication industry but AT&T sure looks like a thousand pound gorilla, jumping up and down, saying, “It’s my ball, you have to play my way!”

Which, in turn, reminds me of the publishing industry whining about ebook DRM, or the authors guild going after the Kindle’s text-to-speech feature, or the television networks still using live-tv ratings to make their programing decisions. The entrenched folks want to hold on to what they’ve had, the way they’ve had it. Scarcity thinking. Old school thinking.

They don’t seem to realize that they’ve already lost it. The digital age is going to be over by the time these big industries figure out the game has changed, is continuing to change, and at light speed.

Look, it’s done, people. Move on. You can’t make folk use your product on your terms when someone else has invented a better option. Sorry.