Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with media futurist Gerd Leonhard about the next stage of online music, and asks him to give a peek into the future of online media distribution.

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In his book, The Long Tail, Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, states that "our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of "hits" (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail". He believes that niche items can now be more successful in the marketplace. Gerd and Glen discuss this concept, particularly as it relates to future developments.

In his long career as a technology journalist, Larry Magid has written on many contemporary issues. He is also an expert on child online safety, particularly as it relates to social networking. He joins Phil and Scott to discuss his activities in making the internet less harmful for young people. He also talks about such current topics as net neutrality, solid state drives, and the potential of imap as a way to better control email.

The old-fashioned telephone continues to decline as a method of conversing. The digital native generation isn't even using email much. Instead, communications has become part of the multitasking environment. Gerd and Glen discuss how these changes will affect the future of communication and conversation. They talk about how texting and video communications will continue to create different ways to interact than older systems.

In a keynote presentation from the 2007 O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference, Brian Murray, Group President for HarperCollins Publishers, provides a textbook business strategy analysis of dealing with rapid change. During his presentation, Murray provides details of the 6 step process HarperCollins used to react to the dramatic changes in the publishing industry.

One of the most important byproducts of the lower costs of mass storage is that virtually everything can now be saved forever. In addition, the ability of an artist to self-produce and reach an audience has made the future hopeful for both the creator and the consumer. Gerd and Glen discuss how these changes will make the future less hopeful for the intermediaries.

The internet has opened up previously unimagined space for innovation, but unintended consequences befuddle our ability to assess risks on the technological frontier. Denise Caruso and Clay Shirky launch Supernova with a lively rethinking of risk, serendipity, and the power of love in a socially networked world.

User generated content has clearly changed the world. With the explosion of blogs, recordings, and videos, consumers have now become publishers. Gerd and Glen discuss how the desire of so many people to say so much will continue to grow unabated. They talk about how PR firms are now trying to reach bloggers and how Hollywood is now looking at YouTube and other video sites to find the next group of filmmakers.

Rare is the day when you can do anything but stay in bed and avoid seeing any sort of published material. Whether it be a newspaper, novel, or nowadays a published item on the internet or computer, there is no way to avoid this crucial medium for conveying ideas. In this presentation at the Tools of Change for Publishing Conference, Sarah Milstein and Tim O'Reilly present the major achievements in publishing history from Sumerian clay tablets all the way to Wikipedia today.

In the digital world, where information can be spread easily, there is a counterforce attempting to lock it up. Shared culture, illustrated by the creative commons movement, continues to be fought against by traditional commercial culture. Gerd and Glen discuss these issues, assessing how things are likely to change in the future. They talk about how content owners have found ways to quickly filter internet content to assert their copyright rights and share examples about how companies are trying to find ways to be part of the sharing process.

As "chief architect" of PixelCorps, Alex Lindsay created a guild for the next generation of craftsmen: digital craftsmen. In this audio interview, Lindsay describes to Globeshakers host Tim Zak how PixelCorps is currently transferring skills in digital imaging and animation to regions in the developing world so that their workforces can capitalize on the coming media revolution.

Advertising has always been something we suffered through, particularly in such passive activities as television watching. On the other hand, online advertising has become more context sensitive. Glen and Gerd discuss how this new model will continue to grow in the future as a better way to reach consumers. They review some possible ways to do this, including how Google is already working to better get the advertiser's message across to the user.

In Everything Is Miscellaneous, David Weinberger charts the new principles of digital order that are remaking business, education, politics, science, and culture. He joins Phil, Scott, and Ben to discuss the book and how new methods of organization are changing how information is used. He shows how by "going miscellaneous," anyone can reap rewards from the deluge of information in modern work and life.

In general terms, Web 2.0 has been described as a more interactive, less passive form of the web. In truth, it is actually the culmination of ideas first proposed during the initial phase of the web. In this episode, Gerd and Glen speculate on what will be the next phase of web development. They look at how Digital Natives are not aware of a difference between online and offline and how this will help shape the web in the coming years.

The Comedy of the Commons -- An IT Conversations favorite, Lawrence Lessig is back with a terrific presentation delivered at the SDForum Distinguished Speaker series.

What are the challenges to traditional copyright caused by technology? What new rules must be written to protect intellectual property rights, but not overly limit usage in an age where the computer is a copying device and the internet is a giant network of copying devices? In this episode of Future Talks, Gerd and Glen discuss how technology is leaving old rules behind They also talk about open source and how it relates to possible changes in the current copyright model. They also review how patents are subject to the same technology challenges.

Despite the hype of social interaction and community as a result of the emerging internet, otherwise known as Web 2.0, there are those who have a contrarian view of how today's internet is killing our culture. Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with author Andrew Keen, who reflects on this trend and his latest book "The Cult of the Amateur."