Module 5: Peer-to-Peer

This is certainly a controversial technology but based on such a great concept. If the information being shared was legally able to be shared - for example Open Source software - then this is a great technology to allow users to share files.

It's interesting to note how this technology has devleoped from being one guy's idea to share MP3 files and become something much bigger that often happens without being aware.

Leaving the issue of copyrighted MP3 files aside - this concept offers a lot in terms of cost effectiveness and reaching a wider audience. I downloaded a free online MMORPG game the other day and found it interesting that while a number of download options were given, they all were P2P. I thought this was a great way to offer something to a target market in a way that they could relate - P2P download for a free online game - which enhances the appeal and thus creates a wider audience for the product.

Other downloads I've noticed opting more towards P2P than straight forward 'click here and download from our server' are Podcasts. Another great example of sharing information without the fear of copyright infringement.

However, like anything that is free, there can be a downside. It's not like walking into a store and buying off the shelf software, you can't always see what you are getting. P2P downloads can be a source of nasty viruses, spy ware, Trojans and creatures of the nastier side of the Internet. These are usually found in copyrighted software being illegally distributed which makes it harder to control. After all if you are doing something illegally then you can't really complain that you got ripped off.

Looking at the development of this technology over the past 5 years and then to the future, I feel that this technology is an integral part to the way the internet will develop. In keeping with my view that the internet has become about interaction rather than simply a database of information to be retrieved, P2P technology suggests by it's very nature of sharing information amongst a community of users, that it will used more effectively in the future.