A point of discussion to raise here is how technologies have blurred the "self-authenticating" aspect of both real space and cyberspace interactions.

To take an example from popular culture, if we were to attend a live concert of Ashlee Simpson (!), we would likely question the authenticity of this performance and her identity as a live performer. If unfamiliar with this example, you'll need to refer to her SNL performance that revealed her as lipsynching to previously recorded vocal tracks.

In contrast, if we were at The Band's final concert in San Francisco during the 70s, we would not likely question the authenticity of the performances that night, nor the identity of the performers, whether The Band or their numerous guests (for reference, see Martin Scorcese's film The Last Waltz, 1978).

When watching a digital artifact of this same performance, i.e. watching a web stream of The Last Waltz, we still accept authenticity of performance and identity even though, like with the web movie of Simpson's SNL performance, we are interacting with the artifact through cyberspace. The same could be said for watching a stream of a university lecture on the web: we assume or don't assume authenticity based on reputation.

The discussion boils down to a question of motivation, i.e. how has the "flip" towards commerical motives that Prof. Lessig describes in Code change our willingness to accept authenticity and identity in either space. In other words, the motivation to produce authenticity and identity could well have "flipped" towards considering what could be gained or lost commerically rather than what could be gained or lost in terms of reputation. Further, these concerns need not be mutually exclusive or mutually dependent (Ashlee Simpson is still a commercial force in pop music despite her shaky identity as a live performer, while Professor Lessig's stands to gain commercially and in terms of reputation by producing authentic works in his field).

Long story short, seeing a band in a live performance versus listening to their album used to provide a "self-authenticating" aspect to their work. Is this still the case?