Copyright

I can not make a decision when it comes to this subject. Copyright is a very highly debated and controversial issue within the period of time as technology is changing rapidly and constantly. When it comes to my opinion on copyright, it barely comes to my mind whilst downloading music, movies and games for free even though I am aware of the word copyright. I just think why buy it when it can be downloaded for free.

In Cory Doctorow article discussing copyright he makes a point about how content isn’t king: culture is. I agree with this because I believe that culture is history and is there to share information amongst with others to breach the right of copyright. At the end of the article Doctorow makes a point about if the internet was to end, it would be the end of culture on the internet too. I agree with this because I would not be able to share videos from YouTube on to the social network websites and this would be a shame because it’s nice to see the different cultures people have from all over the world.

When I was young and wasn’t a frequent internet user, I used to buy my CD’s and then one day, somebody from my school told me they download their music for free and from that day I decided not to purchase anymore and save money.  I reckon young people are in the current age of web 2.0.  Web 2.0 is where file sharing and the peer to peer is popular amongst young people.  On the other hand if I wanted to buy music, I can pay for them on Itunes which cost the same in the shops. Downloading for free is much better and since you wouldn’t know what to expect if a new artist just released their debut album.  

Recently Limewire which is a peer to peer music sharing is on the decline and has now been shut down. Would this stop music being downloaded for free? The answer is no, there are thuds of peer to peer music softwares out there. For example there’s YouTube converter where you can go on YouTube to download music and stream to your computer.

YouTube however are very strict to what you upload with your account. I am on my 3^rd warning for uploading a video with a song playing in the background and the reason could be that i have infringed copyright  (e.g. it is fair use under US law) and another reason could be I am not licensed by the owner to use this content. This is unfair because, even if I had bought the song I had put in my video, it would still be illegal.

Remix culture is the way that our culture evolves and the past tries to control the future.  Regarding this subject remix culture could be seen as copyright since old stuff are being recreated as new material and a lot of artists do seem to recreate and make it their own. For example celebrity photographer David LaChapelle files a lawsuit sued singer Rihanna for a copyright infringement over her images in a recent music video.

Overall remixes that get produced are usually parts of creativity of the consumers and having fun creating new material on it. Many official artists and bands have done exactly the same, and there was no punishment for them.

To decide whether I’m in favour for or against copyright, I personally think that copyright should not be a big issue and should allow people’s creativity to do what they will.  I think anything posted on the internet should be free, since it’s quite easy to access. Therefore I have come to conclusion that I am against copyright.

Campaign Project: Safe Sex Campaign Video

This video was directed and produced by Beatrice, Taslima and Jhane.

The group I worked in decided that our project was going to be about a campaign to promote safe sex. We felt that females do not feel comfortable having condoms with them when they go out.
            The strategy of the video was to show that females can carry condoms as well as males to protect them from unwanted pregnancy.  Condoms are the most reliable protection since it will protect people against Sexually Transmitted Diseases such as HIV/Aids, Chlamydia, gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted infections.
Teenage pregnancy is an issue in Britain that has continuously been increasingly since the last decade and I think the government should get more involved in this situation and have more adverts on television. I hardly see any on advertisement breaks like I used to when I was young.  Therefore the internet will be a great way of promoting safe sex campaigns since it will viewed by a lot of teenagers in Britain. Even better if sex campaigns got promoted via social network websites.  The way the users consume their media is changing and the government and should adapt to these changes to encourage practicing safe sex is doing the right thing.  A short video to raise caution of the after results without protecting themselves after sex will assist in their decisions. 
    Our video should make teenagers be cautioned of the rise in unwanted pregnancies and demonstrate what could happen if they do not use protection and also include the possibilities of the outcomes. We feel that this video may encourage teenagers to think about the consequences of their actions and ways in preventing such situations. As a young adult, i could have a responsibility or have an impact to put off these statistics and to not only to benefit our future selves but the future of the younger generation. The reason why we had decided to put the video on youtube is because of Participatory Culture. Regarding to Jenkins article confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture (2006) it explains what participatory culture is. He defines participatory culture as a strong support for creating and sharing one's creations with others and where members believe that their contributions matter. Therefore we thought that YouTube will be a great website to post out video on, since this may relate to some people who might feel some connection with each other and may see the responses and comments people post on the video. This will also give us feedback on what people though our campaign.

McNair (1995) claims that “The public sphere, as can be seen, comprises on essence the communicative institutions of a society, through which facts and opinions circulate”.  An example of a public sphere could be an environment where people can join together and identify problems in their society and process it democratically.  The idea of public sphere is free speech and to speak your mind, whether you agree with an issue or not.

In relation to my campaign video, the internet is an extension of public sphere and is a place where anyonecan post campaign videos in which individuals and groups can get together to discuss their matters and the share similar mutual interests. The media can also circulate currents affairs and broaden it to citizens and if they are not happy with what is happening in their society, they can make a change with their campaign.  For example in a recent issue, students were campaigning in central London about the risen tuition fees and the cuts for Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).

 

Pecha Kucha

 A Pecha Kucha is a way of structuring a presentation to make it economical and to cross the point. Pecha Kucha is a simple presentation format where you show 20 images or slides, each for 20 seconds. The images changes automatically as you talk along to the images.

The subject of our group presentation was an aspect of O’Reilly’s Web 2.0. In my group, we did a presentation on the harnessing collective intelligence. From what I understand from collective intelligence is when the consumers can engage with each other through their knowledge and ideas. This can be done or shown through networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and so on. EBay and Amazon are quite similar due to the fact that they can be used to sell old items online, therefore there’s a description of the item near the image and recommendations why they should purchase the item. I can also buy items on both of these websites whether they are used or new.

Social network websites is a way of people communicating or findings people who share the same interests. Social networks can also be conglomerate of people’s opinion and facts.  Naughton, J. (2006) mentions that  “It’s a truism that our communications environment is changing.” From this it is clear that the communication environment is changing form the technology and the networking we use in this present of time. The mix of digital convergence which includes features  tests, videos, pictures, broadcasts, presentation, streaming media and personal electronic services. This features can be accessed social networks such Facebook and Twitter.  Technology can also be part of digital convergence such as mobile phones I usually get broadcasts from my blackberry. The broadcasts are usually get are about an event happening or if someone on my contact list has a question and would like to have different opinions about the topic.

The music artists that I listen to usually have a live interview session online for their fans and sometimes if the fans are lucky, they will answer the question we posted in the comment box or even get their name mentioned.  Social networks websites can be useful if the celebrities like to interact with their fans. This shows the appreciation they have towards the fans and this also gives them a good publicity stunt.

I have a Twitter account were I follow my favourite celebrities who like to give updates. The updates could include new album names, tour dates, interviews at radio stations and any relevant information that will benefit their fans.

Collective Intellection

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Psychogeography Project

Dérive is to explore the urban environment in new ways, with fresh eyes, in order to experience it in a non-quotidian manner and “to cultivate an awareness of the ways in which everyday life is presently conditioned and controlled” (Plant, 1992).

I took an opportunity to record me walking with my friends to a night club in the streets of Leicester.  I took a path where I had not walked through before and took an advantage of this to observe the way in which areas have the most interesting building and graffiti on the walls.  I think taking a chance at walking though the market at a night time was very random and made me notice that the environment looks better in the day lights since there’s more life to the scenery.

Before the night, I searched an alternative route to get to the night club with a shorter route suggestion and then planned to take that route.  I think I did a bit of  Derive because it had some randomness it did still require a certain amount of forethought.  For example, whether it was save to walk through the market at that certain time. Even when using the ideas of the Derive to walk randomly I still needed some sort of focus to record and some reason to begin my walk in the first place which I did. The area did not look very impressive especially at night, so I decided it will be a great idea to record a video instead of taking pictures. I decided to upload the video on YouTube since, it is quite quick on a software programme I have installed on my laptop called Piscasa. It uploads it on YouTube without any hesitation. YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos and that’s only website that I have an account to share my media. Sharing media is an opportunity to share the streets of Leicester to other people who may want to study in Leicester in the forth coming years.  Since I started this video from scratch, I knew I would have fun in customising my video with putting effects in it and a soundtrack. I used windows film maker to edit my video. I used Barbara Streisand by Duck Sauce as my soundtrack throughout the video, indicating that I am a fun, bubbly person. Overall it was fun a project to do and my friends enjoyed contributing to my video and I enjoyed the randomness and discovering a new route.

Digital Identity and Representation Online

In this generation, technology is changing with how people socialise with each other. Mobile phones used to be very popular devices that were used to stay in touch with peers.  The use of my mobile phone is a convergence of internet, games and music. Computers have developed within the years, from the big screens to the flat screens, from laptops to notebooks. Social networks can be used to identify and represent a person online. Social network website is a way of people communicating of may find people with the same interests. The interest could include music, pictures, videos, wall posts and possibly the mutual friends they share together.


The popular social networks are Facebook, You Tube, Twitter and Myspace. With my personal experience, I would rather contact my friends that I do not see frequently on facebook then to call them. With facebook, there’s a private chat where it easier to communicate without posting on that particular person’s wall. I love to take pictures, when there’s a social gathering or a night out with my friends, I post it straight away the next day. Uploading pictures or having different pictures shows what kind of activities or interests and defiantly represents what type of person you are on facebook.  You Tube is a way of people expressing themselves online by creating videos of them dancing, singing or acting. I have a YouTube account but I wouldn’t post videos of myself doing activities. This is because none of my friends have a You Tube account, so it would be pointless if I posted a video of being creative without any comments and I wouldn’t be keen making my account public for the strangers I don’t know to take a look at my videos but I do upload videos of the concerts that I attend just to encourage other people to go and support the artists next time they have another concert. The other reason why I have an account is just to have access to watch some videos that are posted and may be only suitable for only over 18’s. I also have account because You Tube tend to block you viewing the videos if you have overdone the guest limit and if you have an account with them, whenever you sign on you tube they recommend videos that the user may want to watch . 


Another device I have that identifies who I am is my Blackberry. My Blackberry is not just a phone to me but it shows that I am organised and I like to socialise. My Blackberry has an instant message chat, so it makes it easier for me to contact my close friends that go to different universities. I also have all my timetables installed in the device to alert me if I have lectures or seminars on that day. Without my phone, I would be doomed since it keeps me going with my activities.  Jenkins (2006) writes that “There is a danger as this technology becomes so familiar, so much a part of our daily routines that it becomes invisible to us.”  I can relate to this because I get so attached to my phone and laptop that i forget i have assignments to hand in.