Could there be some hope for P2P in lieu of the initially poor press it once had? Some might argue that total loss of hope is not as dim as it once was. Take the news of Grokster for instance. At one point, I figured that this was to be just one more P2P network that ultimately met its demise.

Yet in reality, by allowing people to believe that a product or service is ‘no more’, such a decisive move can prove to be a great way to sneak up and shock everyone into using it all over again. Heck, I ought to know. This is a tactic that I have been using for years myself. By allowing the general public to believe that your first love is done and over with, you can actually buy yourself some extra time when you need it the most.

So, should the news of Grokster supposedly making this huge come back really be that big of a shock? Guess it depends on how you look at it. That, and if you figure they can overcome the negative press from their previous selves. After all, just because a company renames themselves does not mean that all is well in the world.

If Kazaa was to stop being a nasty P2P app and instead, started offering ‘cookies’ or ’sunshine’ to their users rather than spyware, this most certainly could change their fortune and PR outlook. Then again, they would have to work pretty hard to impress me from here on out.

So this brings us back to Grokster. To be brutally honest, I’d say that they have this same challenge ahead of them and it ought to prove interesting to say the least…

[tags]p2p,grokster,peer to peer,music sharing[/tags]