Creators and Copyright.

The issue of dispute in regard to copyright and creativity in my mind is this; if you create something, you should be recognised for it. Definitely. No questions asked. However, what if what you create is built off someone else’s creation? A remix or Machinima? Is it yours or theirs? This issue has been contentious since the creation of copyright, when prior to this, the notion of ownership was simply in regard to physical and scarce property. I find it very hard to fully imagine the idea of a world prior to copyright, where everyone blatantly copied everyone else’s work with no repercussions.

However, although I do believe it is necessary to stop blatant copying from occurring, in my opinion many copyright law suits today may be deemed unnecessary if the original idea is not damaged and being used creatively. Although having said this, I do believe authors should be recognised. The notion of ‘fair use’ may come into play here as a defence, however I believe many law suits would be easier/wiser not to begin anyway.

 Using music as an example (though I believe it may be applicable to many other sources), it is clear to see the blurred lines between who wrote/owns what, and who exactly is the original creator. With an abundance of co-authorship seen through different songwriters, producers and performers for one song or album, as well as a healthy remix-culture, music in particular can be quite hard to attribute to a single person. Even if the one person writes the music and lyrics, performs and produces the piece, you could argue that the music would most likely be inspired by other musicians, songs or previous styles of music, therefore, is it truly original. Much of popular music today includes sampling or remixing others work, and I know that many of our generation are blind to the fact that quite a lot of music we listen to is not exactly ‘new’.

However we do need to ask the question; if culture is appreciated, does the ownership and authorship even matter? In response to these questions, many current and emerging artists are choosing to allow their work to be downloaded for free online, and instead choose live shows as their profit-making method. 

 In my opinion, CreativeCommons licensing is a great alternative to regular copyright licenses, where content creators can have the amount of control they desire over their work, while allowing freedom for those who simply want to share.

8 Hours Each of Work, Play and Sleep?

‘Presence bleed’; the connectivity, location and time of one’s labour becomes a secondary consideration to the task of managing the expectation and/or possibility that one is available and willing to work (Mitew, 2011).

 The notion of a ‘presence bleed’ is very prevalent through today’s information economy. The mobile workstyle allows work to be undertaken outside the office, and enables us to access, consume and produce information like never before. Seemingly, gone are the days of a well-balanced way of life, in time terms anyhow, with an ‘always-on’ lifestyle ever present. Whether working, playing or sleeping, the majority of us will have some avenue of constant contact available. I am the first to admit sometimes I am a little too accessible, with text messages, Facebook, emails and Twitter all readily available on my phone, which I have with me constantly.  Mobile media such as this, paired with flexible work hours and the increasing popularity of working from home has created a perceived freedom and allowed lines to blur between work and leisure. For me personally, the ability to be able to work wherever, whenever is a positive, allowing easy access when the demand or inclination to do work is there. However it is clear I am more easily distracted than ever, and undertaking work in busy public environments such as the beach or cafe’s can detract from the quality of work produced.

The shift from industrial labour to liquid labour has become even more apparent in recent years, and as an implication of this company structure has had to change from hierarchical centralised organisations to flatter decentralised distribution and communication.  Until this week I had not considered that ‘the formal structures of companies.. don’t explain how most of their day to day work gets done’, which is a very apt point in today’s organisational climate. As information becomes a viable commodity, employees are constantly undergoing information processing tasks, where consciously or not. Overall, I believe our lives are just busier in general, so I pose the question; in your life, would the ability to work whenever, wherever you want, be a positive or negative thing? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Freedom and cyberspace today.

The Barlow reading, ‘A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace’ (1976) particularly intrigued me this week. As a part of the cyber-libertarian movement, the term ‘cyberspace’ was first coined within this manifesto, and has been used in mainstream culture since.

In today’s day and age, I find it hard to imagine how somebody three decades ago may have envisaged such an anarchist, idealist image of cyberspace and the internet in particular. For those who imagined such a place, the resulting cyberspace today may seem very disappointing, as although information is still shared, there is definitely censorship and capitalist ideologies in order. Also, the censorship of information is becoming more and more prevalent, as governments continue to try and control which information is available. The world today is becoming at once more private and public, with a growing concern about privacy on the internet, yet many sharing more of their personal information than ever before. Leftover organisations of the cyber-libertarian movement such as Wikileaks continue to share classified information with the world, however there is often public outcry at these actions, with people stating they have no right and would prefer not to know.

Within the text author speaks of a space that transcends the physical aspects of space and time, where there is no ruling body or government and information and knowledge is freely shared. Instead he claims a social contract will be in place. He states ‘cyberspace consists of transactions, relationships and thought itself, arranged like a standing wave in our web of communications, ours is a world that is both everywhere and nowhere, but it is not where bodies live’. This contradicts the notion of previous readings that discuss communication networks such as the internet as a metaphorical body, with wires as its nerves.

The language within the piece is strong, beginning with ‘on behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone’, and continuing even more forcefully with ‘you have no sovereignty’ and ‘no moral right to rule us’. Overall the tone of the piece is quite confronting, however I did find it very interesting to read. To me, the idealistic portrayal of an anarchist cyberspace is a bit naive to me, however I do not necessarily believe the internet should be mediated in the way it is today. Overall I find the notion of freedom of information a very contentious and controversial issue as I can see both sides of the argument.

Communications Over Time (and place!)

When discussing communication over the ages I find it pretty mind-boggling.

Although not chronological or linear as many may imagine, the contingent and accidental creation of technology over time has evolved to become so involved in our lives we tend not to stop and appreciate it.

The increasing tendency for rapid obsolescence within technology has become somewhat standard, and our ‘needs’ continue to be filled by the most ‘revolutionary’ new programs, platforms and products. Once upon a time, a message was delivered physical delivery, as demonstrated by our ‘network’ exercise in our tutorial. Eventually though, the telegraph emerged, breaking down the limitations of space. By the mid 1800’s, sea cables allowed people to communicate as they had never before, resulting in a standardisation of time and a growing interest in places faraway.

For our generation, who have basically grown up using the internet, attempting to imagine these modes of communication is difficult, and its implications even moreso. The beginning of weather reports and meterology are something I would have never considered, but through the development of larger communication networks the demand to find out more about the weather was clear.

The notion that most interested me throughout the readings and lecture was the metaphor of the ‘world as a nervous system’, where ‘the world becomes a single body, the wires as its nerves’. Although this concept is challenged by the cyber-libertarian movement who refer to the internet as a mind rather than a body, the metaphor allowed me to really picture the distributed network. The internet, as I suppose the most recent form of communication technology, has allowed people to communicate and share information and data more rapidly and widely than its creators could have ever imagined, and learning about its roots and creation has been of great interest to me.