P2P File Sharing

File sharing is a natural occurrence with the existence of the internet and internet communities. Unlike many of the new media things that exist today, file sharing has been a problem on the internet since it's early beginnings, with Napster as the poster-boy example.
File sharing is the simple sharing of one file from one person to another. Technically, the file could be anything, something harmless like a text file of a to-do list. But file sharing is most often associated with the sharing of files that contain intellectual property. File sharing can happen on any scale. On an instant messenger program, for example, one person could share a Lady Gaga song with the person they're chatting with. Alternatively, file sharing could happen on a huge scale, which brings us to the discussion of P2P.

P2P file sharing is a more complex form of file sharing that involves the use of software, most commonly a torrent service. A torrent service searches for other connected computers that host the file you want, and downloads the file to your computer by "seeding" the file from various other users. In the scope of new media, P2P file sharing is something that is impossible to keep under control and attempt to "police." From music to Hollywood, file sharing has extremely detrimental effects.

An example of P2P file sharing is talked about by Brian Stelter and Brad Stone in their New York Times article found here, where they say a German based website TorrentFreak.com estimates that each episode of "Heroes", an NBC show, is downloaded over 5 million times. The site being based in Germany makes the policing of such file sharing even more difficult.

Another example of P2P file sharing is with a simple torrent software where a user can search for just about any type of media and download it to their desktop. This ranges from music, video games, movies, television shows, and more.