Freeing More Than Just the Mind: Information Without Consequences

Philosophy major Brendan Ballou, CC ’09, is one of four founders of Free Culture @ Columbia—a student group that promotes the easy dissemination of digital information. In a couple weeks, he’ll leave Morningside Heights for a year abroad in Cambridge, and then plans on taking a semester off before returning to Columbia in January 2009.

What’s the premise of Free Culture @ Columbia?

Our general gist is that we try to make information that should be public, public and information that should be private, private. And what that means is that the key textbooks you buy, or need for classes, should be freely available. Or at least, available at an affordable price. But at the same time it means that the Web sites you visit should be your own information and kept private.

What have you all been working on recently?

We’re distributing this software called Acantha nationally that anonymizes web-surfing so that it’s much harder for college administrators or the government to see what Web sites we’re visiting. We’re probably also going to be doing some legal filings with the FCC in December addressing people’s right to choose what cell phones they use on what wireless networks. We think, for instance, that you should be able to use an iPhone on a T-Mobile network. We’re not a big club, but we tend to accomplish a lot.

What’s the Free Culture take on file sharing and music downloading?

Well, artists deserve some sort of compensation for their work. This is something they’ve created, and they have that right. But that compensation doesn’t entitle record labels to use an outdated business model. So Sony, BMG, Universal, all of these guys need to start thinking about how they can start to market music more effectively. People aren’t by nature thieves—what they want is convenience. But the way the music industry is built right now—it’s so inconvenient that it’s forcing people into illegal means.

What would be the ideal business model?

Probably something along the lines of MySpace, where you can listen to music for free online, stream it for free, maybe even download it for free—but artists recoup their money through touring or value-added CDs, where instead of marketing a standard 12-track album, the incentive comes in additional movies of live shows, interviews with the artist, and so on. When labels are selling a product, they’re not just selling a disc, they’re selling an experience.

Your favorite spot on campus to actually get some work done?

Definitely the geology library—they’ve got globes of the moon!

Your most embarrassing experience with a professor?

That one time I was saying that my Lit Hum teacher was really attractive at Taqueria, and then having him standing right behind me.

Your favorite run-in with local authorities?

I was arrested by the Coast Guard a while ago for committing a “manifestly unsafe voyage”—it’s a nautical crime. We attempted to raft down the Hudson in inflatable boats, and pushed in at 110th Street. The coast guard caught us, and brought us to shore.

Your favorite class at Columbia?

Aquinas through Kant with Patricia Kitcher.

Any upperclassman advice for freshmen?

They have to realize that orientation is so wonderful because everybody tells you how bright and awesome you all are—but they should append something to that so that it really ends, ‘You guys are great, you guys are awesome, but we’re never going to tell you that again. See you in four years.’ Also, you can survive for a long, long time on only oatmeal.

Just oatmeal? No raisins, nuts, cinnamon?

Sometimes it’s just oatmeal and water, at which point I get sad about life. But if you want to save money in college, resort to that. You’ll be just fine.

Daniella Zalcman can be reached at daniella.zalcman@columbiaspectator.com.