Is the SIIA getting desperate in it’s bid to beat kid Software Pirates?
This week I noticed that the SIIA had released a new video designed to change consumer (kid) behavior. It’s a copy of the campaign from 17 years ago and has a rapper trying to convince and educate about Software Piracy and copying.
Now I applaud any effort to explain to the youth of today how we Software Developers make our living and how copying can have bad effects on the future of many of our businesses. Indeed SIIA do a great job in helping the industry in many ways relating to piracy.
However, in this case I think their advertizing agency obviously doesn’t understand how to influence teenagers – at least in my view!
I can recall many years ago when I used to make compilation tapes of music for friends, usually made up of content I had bought and “borrowed” and back then before version one of this silly video it would have not influenced me much the same as the “skull and crossbones” on cassette tapes did.
Frankly the first issue is that no-one but us will bother to watch this video, they will skip it, then of course if you can be bothered to watch all the way through you need to be influenced by rap music and the cheesy lyrics – not likely.
OK the first version at least tried to get kids to understand what they were doing had some consequences for others and to appeal to their conscience but kids will still look at software developers as I did way back as “rich”. I thought all these rock stars, with jet set lifestyles are not going to miss a few $ so it doesn’t matter that I copy this or that…I am sure today’s kids will feel the same about the big name game companies with their glossy ad campaigns.
So I am all in favor of action, but this new video, like it’s 17 year old brother, is a waste of money that could be deployed better elsewhere and smacks of “desperation”.
The best education maybe among developers on how to “harden” their code, make buying more attractive to those that will pay and to getting us more “mature” users to change our habits – working on kids is a lost cause not least because the message just isn’t right for them.
The argument from the SIIA would be that they have disseminated this information to schools for almost 20 years and that it’s wildly “popular”…that’s all fine but my problem is whether it changes behavior and all the evidence over the last 17 years is that the answer is NO!
Popularity: 3% [?]
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