The impact of Streaming Video on Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
This was expected and now we have data to prove it. According to a study, jointly conducted by Arbor Networks, the University of Michigan and Merit Network, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing took a very significant dive. P2P traffic has gone from 4% of all Internet traffic in 2007 to about 0.5% in 2009. Based on what I have read on Arbor Networks’ site this undertaking is believed to be the largest and most extensive global Internet traffic report since the start of the commercial Internet in the mid-1990s. And the ATLAS Internet Observatory 2009 Annual Report Presentation introduces the study as the “First global traffic engineering study of Internet evolution”. The total Internet traffic monitored over the two-year long study was more than 256 exabytes, gathered from 110 large and geographically diverse cable operators, international transit backbones, regional networks and content providers. By any measure these numbers and credentials are very impressive and the study should be examined closely.
The fall of P2P is not a surprise because we, as Internet users, have been experiencing this. Watching a video on YouTube, listening to Pandora at work or depending on CNN’s short clips to catch up with the day are all part of that experience. Simply put, streaming is much more convenient than peer-to-peer sharing. Why would I want to hassle with peer-to-peer to watch the last episode of Mad Men while I can watch a high quality version of it on AMC’s website, securely and instantly? I am not saying peer-to-peer will disappear. My point is that from consumers’ digital media consumption point of view, it doesn’t make sense. That is why Content Delivery Networks (CDN) are doing pretty good. For instance Akamai’s market cap is about $3.7B. A couple of confirmations for CDN market’s bright future are Microsoft’s announcement of canceling its free Silverlight Streaming service and introducing a new paid service hosted on Azure platform by the end of 2009; and Sorenson’s entrance to the market with Sorenson 360, a video delivery network.
Another Internet trend that is negatively impacting peer-to-peer use is the explosion of social media. On Veezyon you could watch the video of Gordon Moore as many times as you would like. But for most of us that might not be enough, you might want to share it with your friends and colleagues. A link to that video is all you need. Well, if you want you can insert the link and share that video in a research note that you created on Veezyon, but how we engage with the digital media is another blog post.
