Google vs. Hollywood: The Worst of Enemies, The Best of Friends (Potentially)

The battle raging between the big Hollywood film studios and the giant of Silicon Valley is probably the most pointless and futile conflict being raged in media today. The issue of illegal downloading of film, music and TV is a real problem that does indeed cost millions each year but the way forward is not through endless lawsuits against the likes of Sheffield student Richard O'Dwyer.

Hollywood's reluctance to embrace the Internet as a new platform with which to showcase its product has meant illegal downloading and streaming has become the norm. The fact remains unless you provide an alternative that is simple and easy to use, you will never be able to curb the spread of illegal downloading. Even if they target the likes of TV Shack and Megaupload, alternative sites will simply spring up in their place. The genie is out the bottle and has been since the spread of broadband Internet made the process of downloading large files quick and easy.

The potential of legal downloading and streaming can be seen very clearly with the way the music business has begun to adapt. iTunes and Spotify are two very successful online platforms that have provided a high quality alternative to illegal downloading. Yes, Spotify has had an awkward beginning but the signs are that many people, including myself, are signing up to their subscription service as it is a cheap, easy to use, high quality product, that is easier and simpler than going through the hassle of illegal downloading or streaming.

The key for the film industry is implement an online service that has the same level of simplicity and ease of use. Yes, there are services such as Lovefilm and Netflix, but their potential is limited by the size of their catalogue and crucially the gap between cinema release and the release on DVD.

In order to be a truly compelling alternative the service must offer films at the same time as their cinema release. Obviously this proposal would face stiff resistance from many elements in the film industry and from the cinema giants but the argument that people would simply stop going to the cinema is completely baseless. The cinema is a social occasion; people go there for more than just the enjoyment of watching a film, plus the lure of a giant screen and true surround sound will never be fully replicated in the home.

Good quality air-conditioned cinemas with comfortable seats will always attract enough people to make money. The film industry cannot simply rely on the allure of 3D to attract people to the cinema. There will always be a market for good-quality cinemas showing films people want to go and see on a night out.

People will always go out to the cinema as it is part of a wider social experience, the same way people still go out to pubs and clubs even though you can buy alcohol much cheaper in a supermarket and drink it at home.

Once this argument has been won, the next step is make a decision as to what platform the service will be available on, and the obvious answer to that is Google. The sheer universality and global awareness Google has makes it the ideal way for the film industry to sell its products online. Consumers would have a Google account, which would allow them to purchase a film, whether through streaming or download, with one simple search. The majority of the money would go to the film companies but the potential market is so huge that the profits would be eye watering.

Even though many senior executives within the film studios show a visceral hatred towards Google, they need to wake up and accept the inevitable. Consumers want to view content on a multitude of platforms and they will continue to do so whether it's legal or not, no matter how many students they sue. Better they provide a quick and easy legal alternative that will over time significantly cut illegal downloading and generate a tidy profit.

You can't turn the clock back, the days of people just being able to view content through tightly controlled mediums is long gone and will never return unless they implement Chinese-style restrictions on access to the Internet. This may be possible in a totalitarian state, but no free democratic electorate will put up with that level of restriction on their lives. It would be a clear vote looser and would face a huge campaign against it like the 'Stop Online Piracy Act' and the 'Protect IP Act' faced in the United States Congress.

Together Google and Hollywood have the potential to provide a product the world is crying out for and is so clearly inevitable that the mind boggles that it hasn't already been implemented. Ego's and lawsuits need to be put to one side for the good of the long term health of the film industry. By joining forces they can tap into a vast market and make millions, apart everyone suffers including the consumer.

The Failure of Cameron's Decontamination Project

Ever since Cameron won the party leadership over David Davis in 2005, he has tried vigorously to press home the point that in the eyes of so many people across the United Kingdom The Tory Party was the symbol of Mass Unemployment, Disregard for the vulnerable and strained relationships with ethnic minorities.

While the dire state of the nation's finances left by Labour have contributed massively to the austere economic policies,  the fact remains after seven years of leading the party little progress has been made and the party's dire image of privilege and ignorance as only increased following the budget and the fuel crisis that never was.

Some of key architects of the modernising agenda like Francis Maude and George Osborne have been largely responsible for the veil being removed from the slick Tory image and exposing an underbelly that shows nothing's really changed.

The public are cottoning onto this fact also, recent polling shows a large proportion of public believe the Conservatives are out of touch and a party of backslapping old boys (www.dailymail.co.uk).

The inability of the Conservatives to attract members and candidates from a wide socio-economic background is a major factor in their perception problem.

Even though the pool of Tory MP's from ethnic minority backgrounds increased to 11 at the last election many of these were from well off backgrounds, coming from sectors like financial services.

The conservatives need candidates who come from as diverse an economic background as possible. Conservative support in ethnic minority communities is still shockingly low, no more alarming than in the recent Bradford West By-election (www.bbc.co.uk).

Recent calls for Sayeeda Warsi to step down as Conservative Co-Chair are extremely misguided. However unpopular her message maybe to conservative associations that they need to be more open, it has to be persevered with otherwise without this change no matter how great Cameron's detoxification strategy is, perception by the public will not change.

You only have to look at how well Mike Penning was received by the public and the Tory rank file when he was sent out on the frontline to clean up Maude's mess (www.telegraph.co.uk).

Penning's background is one that very few Tory MP's have and more worryingly most Tory candidates have. The working class Tory supporter is becoming an almost extinct species. They were the backbone of Thatcher's three election victories but have almost vanished since the fall of the last Conservative majority.

Cameron has always had a strong suspicion of the Tory right and in is desire to break from them and forge his own path he has aligned himself with like minded people, who all happen to be from the same elite metropolitan London set.

In so doing so he has fallen into the trap that so weakened the Blair's New Labour project where everything was focus grouped into submission while at the same time government policy and the reality on the street seemed to diverge alarmingly.

While ridiculed at the time John Major's soap box politics during the 1992 election showed how a Tory leader can connect with the public or at least show he was trying to and not just stand behind a podium at endless press conferences. This disconnect from the public has only increased the perception that Cameron is himself out of touch and from a background which means he can never understand ordinary voters problems.

Without doubt the Conservatives face an uphill battle to alter the perception of the party and it will not change overnight.  Perceptions run deep, old scars have yet to heal and new ones are opening up but if the Conservatives ever want to have a serious working majority in the house then they need to be united behind deep rooted change in the party. No matter how inept Miliband's leadership of the Labour Party may look at present, Cameron and his party have much work to do to convince a sceptical electorate that they deserve a full second term.

Mitt Romney: How he can beat Obama in November

With an economy seemingly on the road to recovery and a bitter republican primary battle still ongoing you would think Romney has little chance of a victory in November.

Indeed the latest polling coming out of key swing states (http://www.gallup.com/poll) shows the President with a commanding lead, the polling on independents is especially worrying for the Romney camp, but with the right strategy and by concentrating on some key areas it is still possible for Romney to ride to a relatively comfortable victory in November.

Support Women's Rights

For starters Obama's lead in the polls has only been a recent occurrence and there is evidence to suggest Rick Santorum and his so called 'war on women' being largely responsible. There has clearly been a large shift in support to Obama by women and Romney will have a chance to rectify this once he has finally dispatched Santorum in the Primaries.

He has to clearly and unequivocally show support for women's rights in realm of healthcare. This does not necessarily mean he has to change his stance back to being pro-choice but reassurances clearly need to be made that he supports access to contraception and an understanding of its obvious benefits to women's health.

Whether the media has skewered the Republicans response to Obama's mandate that health insurers offer birth control coverage even in the Catholic Church, this has clearly had a detrimental effect on the Republican brand with a large 

proportion of women, especially independents.

There are plenty of religious leaders out there who support contraception and he needs to attract them to his camp to show there is religious virtue in the support of women's health.

End the War in Afghanistan

Right now there is a pro war consensus within the two main parties. No high level politician on either side has been willing to make concrete statements that Afghanistan is unwinnable and that its pointless to carry on fighting against the inevitable. The Taliban are Afghani's and the fact is they already have a major say in national politics, just look at the endorsement Hamid Karzai gave to controversial proposals on the restriction of women (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/).

This was clearly an attempt to ingratiate himself with the Taliban leadership, as he knows that once NATO forces leave his government will have no chance of maintaining what little central government control it has outside of Kabul.

Whether the Republican leadership will be able to stomach a platform of early withdrawal is debatable but if Romney shows some courage and leadership he can outflank Obama.  Ron Paul's campaign has clearly shown there is traction to be gained by preaching a limited foreign policy agenda. All the polling has showed support for the war to be dropping precipitously. Tragic recent events have brought the subject back to the forefront of the national conversation, much to the Democrats chagrin.

Running on a policy of earlier withdrawal is not without historical precedent either. Nixon's campaign in 68' is a model which Romney can use. Even though Nixon ended up aggravating the war in Vietnam with his incursions into Cambodia, he showed how a Republican could appear strong on foreign policy whilst campaigning on an anti war platform.

Support Sensible Immigration Reform

The failure of the Dream Act however unpopular it was with the Republican rank and file has and will prove to be a major headache for the Romney campaign.

Republicans can no longer count on the support of a large swathe of Hispanic voters. Recent polling gives Obama a six to one lead over Romney (http://latino.foxnews.com/), this is a potential electoral time bomb not just for this election but for the future as well.

Republicans used to be able to bring in a significant proportion of the Latino vote, this was especially crucial in George Bush's victory in 2000 but the hostile reaction of Republicans to recent immigration reform bills has angered the Hispanic community and pushed them towards the Democrat camp.

To counter this Romney needs to be brave in his choice of VP and do all that's necessary to persuade Marco Rubio, the Hispanic United States Senator from Florida, to accept his invitation onto the ticket. As well as helping bring in Hispanic voters nationally this will improve his chances in Florida immeasurably. Only once since 1964 has the sunshine state not voted for the Presidential winner.

Rubio is already formulating a Republican alternative to the Dream Act (www.miamiherald.com) and this is clearly a proposal Romney needs to put front and centre in his general election campaign.  Vague statements and press releases about the need to look into immigration reform will not be enough. Major speeches and policy proposals will need to be implemented into the campaign to show how serious on the subject he is to Hispanics.  

Whether Romney and his campaign team have the dexterity and courage to implement these proposals is yet to be seen but the fact remains November's election is very winnable but at the same time could become disastrous for the Republicans. Their fate at this point is still in their hands and what they decide to do from now until November will decide whether Obama has a second term.