Inspired by an email conversation:

The ease of sharing music or photos needs to be preserved. That much seems certain: we can’t return to not being able to share. Still, I think that the way to move forward is to devise a file-protocol that makes it easy to copy/share a file, but degrades the quality – either instantly or over time.

The recipient receives a low-quality mp3 file or smaller Jpeg photo, or a photo that a Watermark was automatically added to.

Or, even better, the shared file expires and fades away. Like shared food that grows mold after a while… The sharing gesture remains and in time becomes the memory of the gesture: ephemeral music sharing

The shared file changes/degrades/evolves – like our memory of a concert or a certain piece of music.

I think there is real beauty in this. It may even have a William Gibson sci-fi ring to it? Ideally I imagine the music file to “grow” random noises – like a piece of music copied from one cassette player to the next, over and over… Similarly the photo could grow more digital noise over time.