The point of the article was that a very low price on a digital edition of the album spurred higher sales. As such it is irrelevant that…

“NOWHERE does the article mention that the band is selling digital downloads (in multiple formats) as well as physical copies directly from arcadefire.com via a Topspin Media widget.”

The article notes that “62 percent of the album’s sales were as digital downloads, according to Billboard”

Of that pie of digital downloads, what percentage would you guess came from Amazon, vs other sources.  If some non-Amazon source were a huge chunk of that, then you’d have yourself an excellent rebutteral to the NYT.  You’d need some facts of your own to call the claim that a very low price point may have boosted sames from #2 or #3 to #1.

So why would Merge remain mum?

The NYT article also bends over backwards to praise the album and Arcade Fire. So I’m not sure why you’re so fired up here.

Was the NYT suggestion “ccomplete rubbish”?  Maybe… but you’ve done nothing to counter-prove.

Sure: sarcasm and nuances of our personalities seem to come across better in IM and email now than they have in the past. We evolve.

Sure: we’re communicating in public right now. Yet as public as it feels to swap comments on blog posts, in the grand scheme of things, it’s like talking and walking down the street or having a conversation over coffee. One can hope their statements are picked up by a bystander just as one may hope that what’s said aloud wasn’t heard at the next table. 

It’s wishful thinking if not vanity either way you look at it. We are able to live our lives in public now, it’s our movie, and we’re both directing and starring.

But realistically, the audience — if and when there is one — isn’t paying much attention to begin with. And so what if it is?

We’re aware of these shifts in communication for both the public and private spheres. 

What may be most threatened now and in the future is the personal sphere.

It’s too easy (and fun) to lose oneself in the digital wonderland be it marathon work sessions, gaming, surfing and discovery, whatever. But to a great extent, one-on-one IMs and e-mails can at times be akin to talking to a mirror. 

I don’t think it’s possible to replicate nonverbal interpersonal interaction online – video chat comes closest, but the presence is phony. I’d fear for the worst if we evolved to a point in which eye contact didn’t add context or content to a conversation.

So, yes, getting out into the real world, unplugging, and working to develop incentives for others – especially younger generations – to do the same just might be a key element to not just personal — but societal, cultural, and even economic growth. 

We need to take breaks, to take stock of ourselves away from the media screen. I mean, no doubt kids are already skipping out on recess to trade up on Farmville…

It sure is easier to communicate and maintain relationships from afar these days. But easier isn’t always good. And things happen fast for better and worse.