Jack Recider

And you'd think that piracy would have destroyed the market for digital assets, too. With unlimited supply, demand should have gone way down. But no. The demand for digital goods is at an all-time high. Top-tier musicians are making more money now than they ever did before.

And that's because we all have mobile devices glued to our hands 24-7, and we're continually thirsty for more digital content to consume. It almost seems like our whole lives are digital now. Movies, shows, memes, music, books, even the people we are closest to, we have a digital relationship with them. But I'm always wondering, of all the digital stuff in our lives,

And that's because we all have mobile devices glued to our hands 24-7, and we're continually thirsty for more digital content to consume. It almost seems like our whole lives are digital now. Movies, shows, memes, music, books, even the people we are closest to, we have a digital relationship with them. But I'm always wondering, of all the digital stuff in our lives,

Is any of it really ours to own? Okay, so I think anything that's saved on your computer and you can use it offline, I'll say that's yours and you own that. Photos that are saved on your phone, that's yours. Music saved in MP3 form, that's yours too. You own that. But the line is often blurry between what's on our devices versus what's on the internet.

Is any of it really ours to own? Okay, so I think anything that's saved on your computer and you can use it offline, I'll say that's yours and you own that. Photos that are saved on your phone, that's yours. Music saved in MP3 form, that's yours too. You own that. But the line is often blurry between what's on our devices versus what's on the internet.

Like if you have an Android phone, it tries to get you to back up your photos to Google Drive. And it's not always clear if your photo is on your phone or on Google's servers. If it's just on Google's servers, then you don't really own it, do you? Since they have complete and full control of your photos. What about audiobooks? Let's look at those for a minute.

Like if you have an Android phone, it tries to get you to back up your photos to Google Drive. And it's not always clear if your photo is on your phone or on Google's servers. If it's just on Google's servers, then you don't really own it, do you? Since they have complete and full control of your photos. What about audiobooks? Let's look at those for a minute.

Most audiobooks I listen to, I can actually borrow from the library. And there are apps which let you check them out, and you can listen to it for a few weeks and then return it digitally. It's great. But often my library doesn't have the book I want, so I've got to buy it. And when I buy an audiobook, the biggest marketplace for that is Audible. So I look there.

Most audiobooks I listen to, I can actually borrow from the library. And there are apps which let you check them out, and you can listen to it for a few weeks and then return it digitally. It's great. But often my library doesn't have the book I want, so I've got to buy it. And when I buy an audiobook, the biggest marketplace for that is Audible. So I look there.

And what drives me crazy about buying books from Audible is... Well, I don't own that book. Like, at all. If I owned it, I should be able to save it locally, give it to a friend, donate it to my library, or resell it to someone else like a used audiobook. But all that is impossible to do through Audible.

And what drives me crazy about buying books from Audible is... Well, I don't own that book. Like, at all. If I owned it, I should be able to save it locally, give it to a friend, donate it to my library, or resell it to someone else like a used audiobook. But all that is impossible to do through Audible.

And of course, Audible could cancel your account at any time, and you would lose all of the books that you bought. So to me, the audiobooks that you buy on Audible are not really yours. You don't own them at all. So let's look at some other digital assets. How about my online accounts, like Twitter or email accounts or online gaming accounts? Do I own my Twitter username? No.

And of course, Audible could cancel your account at any time, and you would lose all of the books that you bought. So to me, the audiobooks that you buy on Audible are not really yours. You don't own them at all. So let's look at some other digital assets. How about my online accounts, like Twitter or email accounts or online gaming accounts? Do I own my Twitter username? No.

No, I don't think so. Twitter does. And they graciously let me use it. And at any moment, they could terminate it or rip it out of my hands. I don't have any actual ownership of it. I mean, just look at what happened when Twitter changed their name to X. There was a user on Twitter who had the username X, and Twitter just ripped it right out of their hands.

No, I don't think so. Twitter does. And they graciously let me use it. And at any moment, they could terminate it or rip it out of my hands. I don't have any actual ownership of it. I mean, just look at what happened when Twitter changed their name to X. There was a user on Twitter who had the username X, and Twitter just ripped it right out of their hands.

And there was nothing that user could do to keep it. Because Twitter owns everyone's account. Yet, it's interesting because even though you can't own a Twitter account, they are still valuable. And people are buying and selling Twitter accounts all the time. Let's look at video games now. There are digital assets in video games, right?

And there was nothing that user could do to keep it. Because Twitter owns everyone's account. Yet, it's interesting because even though you can't own a Twitter account, they are still valuable. And people are buying and selling Twitter accounts all the time. Let's look at video games now. There are digital assets in video games, right?

Like, imagine you're playing an online game, and when you level up your character, you get all kinds of armor and weapons and gold. That character is yours, right? Well, I don't think so. I mean, the game can ban you at any moment, and then what? Or what about those in-game items like gold and weapons? It feels like that stuff is yours, but it's not really.

Like, imagine you're playing an online game, and when you level up your character, you get all kinds of armor and weapons and gold. That character is yours, right? Well, I don't think so. I mean, the game can ban you at any moment, and then what? Or what about those in-game items like gold and weapons? It feels like that stuff is yours, but it's not really.

You can't save it offline or take it with you to another game. And it's strange because even though you don't own that stuff in the game, those items still can have real-world value. I know I've bought an in-game weapon before for $100. And it's ridiculous because I bought something I don't actually own. All right, what about my website, darknetdiaries.com? Do I have ownership of that?