Feudalisation of the Internet

The Internet today has many use. It’s a place for socializing, education, entertainment and many more. The Internet today is also used for political communication. In Malaysia, our General Election takes place once every few years. In year 2008, the 12th General Election took place and the opposition parties, PKR, DAP and PAS had developed a tactic to be more influential through the use of the World Wide Web (Suffian 2009).

As the 13th General Election in Malaysia is taking place in a few days time, it can be seen that all the parties are using the internet as a source for their campaign. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are the main websites used by political parties in their campaign to upload videos, posters and messages. A few examples can be seen below:

Do you know why political parties are using the Internet as a main source for their campaign?

As most if us are using smartphones, we have the access to the Internet 24/7 everyday. With just a touch away, we are able to view news and videos on the Internet. What’s more is that with social networking sites like Facebook, users tend to share pictures and links of video for other users to view and also share. Through this method, it has allowed a hype to be created. Therefore, political parties has chosen the use of Internet to promote their campaign to increase word of mouth and also popularity.

Why Things Matter

I was really amazed myself when I was exposed to the idea of “Internet of Things“. I personally had an experience myself in which I indulged myself in deep thinking, asking myself if non-living objects around are able to communicate with each other through languages I’m not aware of. But at that moment of time, what I was thinking was merely an affectionate kind of approach. The “Internet of Things” concept is much more different. Although it translates the idea of communication between “things” through network and Internet system, it uses a technological approach in making this possible. So in short, a contrast of humanity versus technology?

Our communication with the Internet & the computers is one important example of Internet of Things. Even without us realizing it, we are actually communicating with these objects all day long! The Internet & the computers are definitely non-living things, but the fact that we are interacting with us (and got addicted with it) tells a lot in the sense that non-living things are now able to create meanings in our lives & experiences.

Internet of Things – The point where there are  more objects to the Internet than people.

Julian Bleecker’s article of “A Manifesto of for Networked Objects – Cohabiting with Pigeons, Arphids and Aibos in the Internet of Things” highlighted the fact that the concept of “Internet of Things” had been well implemented through Blogjects. At one point, objects are indeed communicating with each other but we need to be connected first in order to be able to communicate with these objects. But putting non-living things aside, have you ever wonder if what will happen if your pets started talking to you all of a sudden? A “I’m hungry. Feed me” statement coming out of nowhere will definitely shock me. It’s just not appropriate & not logical for animals & non-living objects (our daily appliances) to start speaking to humans. But think about it. They shouldn’t talk, but how about communicating with each other? Not through languages, but some kind of signals or systems. That’s what Internet of Things is all about.

This video pretty much explains about “Internet of Things” in a simpler way.

Video URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mf7HxU0ZR_Q

Bleecker also exposed us to a few common characteristics possessed by these intelligent objects which I find pretty interesting and humanized.

Blogjects trace and trace where they are and where they’ve been

It’s somehow like the check-in software for mobile devices as well as the Facebook check-in feature, isn’t it? Now even a criminal on the run will be detected through Blogjects. It’s convenient in a way, especially for parents who want to know the location of their children. It’s just an act of concern. But how about adults? It would become a type ofprivacy issue and we (me included) will definitely don’t want to combine both my personal & public lives in the same location. For me, I would still want to remain the flexibility I have with objects, in the sense that I only want to connected when I want to, not unconsciously. Imagine every single object on yourself having a chip which anyone can access to and check on your location. That would definitely be a threat to the privacy & security issues of individuals. Thus, technology can be so, but it would be great if technology can be customized as well for safety concern. Perhaps instead of being a compulsory thing, technology can be optional. Some prefer to know where’s their luggage of their mobile phones are, but some might prefer the manual way of seeking for them to avoid any unwanted risks.However, from a different perspective, objects connected with the Internet can also help individuals in a positive way. For instance, as mentioned in the lecture, small & portable objects such as a shoe can help in detecting heart rates and this might be able to save one’s life!

Blogjects have self-contained (embedded) histories of their encounter and experience.

As if they are having a live of their own. In this case, how are we going to define humanity? What makes human, human, when humans can be easily replaced with created objects. What makes humans unique is the embedded emotions in human beings and the ability to think and act on our own. Thus, personally, I think that it is important toset a limit on what an object can do and cannot do. Objects, anyhow, are tools to help us in conducting our work efficiently, definitely not to take over our lives. However, I still think that it’s cool to have objects start talking to us. It reminds me of Beauty & the Beast, when the candles & clocks start talking. It makes them more than a tool. But anyhow, there must be a limit and both humans & objects should not cross the line.

Blogjects always have some form of agency – they can foment action and participate; they have an assertive voice within the social web.

This makes Blogjects an individual, with his/her very own personality & appearance. Thinking of the varieties of designs objects have today, it’s not hard to single out every single object (with its very own design) in making him/her unique – as one. Objects today somehow are having a lot of similarities with humans, with their own appearances and also their own unique capabilities (the functions). Even objects now are personalized. And when they are personalized, it makes them stand out as one, not in one category or group. Thus, they have their own voice, their own personality, and their own capability. It’s good to have useful & unique objects blending in with our lives. They are like pets – although they can’t move – but if possible, they can communicate with us, and this function will definitely make things better.

If you are to ask me, would I prefer to have communication between objects? I would say yes, it makes things easier, but I would prefer not to have these objects dominating our lives. Because the more they dominate our lives, the less human we become. Where will all the meaning of cooking our own dinner go? Where will we get all these meaningful experiences? Most importantly, will our bonds with other individuals be affected? Or will our bonds with these objects be more meaningful than our bonds with other individuals.

Internet – The Largest Communication Network to & from Everyone

Upon reading the article “Facebook and Twitter are just places revolutionaries go” by Evgeny Morozov, it reflects to us the possible impact of social networking sites in provoking or even working as a trigger in influencing the wider society and in the same time, motivating or encouraging some type of actions anchored towards certain institutions or organizations. It is actually hard to believe that virtual spaces such as Facebook and Twitter can manipulate a whole cause of actions, harder to believe that actions, personalities, and emotions being expressed on these virtual spaces can be migrated into the real world.

 

 

Facebook started off as a space for people to get updated with their friends and families. Then, more applications and games were being migrated into Facebook to secure the loyalty of the social networking site by the users. After that, we see that when Facebook becomes a more personalized space for each individual, emotions started to emerge and individuals are becoming more courageous in expressing themselves in such public space. However, in my opinion, besides of the fact that users of Facebook are becoming more expressive when using the social networking site, another important factor that contributes to the possibility of online revolution or protestation could be the function of the social networking site itself. When we think about it, it is actually impossible to organize any demonstration or protestation on Facebook simply through the expressing of emotions/feelings, either on our own walls or on others’ walls. Facebook provides its users with pages and groups, which serve as the perfect platform for the organization of any event, cause, gathering, or even demonstration activities, such as what happened in Arab spring. Furthermore, Facebook is a free platform. Not only that individuals do not need to pay a single dollar in using the social networking site, they are also free in voicing their own opinions. Many would believe that the Internet is a ‘platform of freedom’, and that it promotes ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom of speech’, thus, it is not surprising when individuals or groups take advantage of these features and make use of them in fulfilling their own desires or motives.

 

 

Who would ever thought that Facebook – a socializing platform – and Twitter would become some kind of communication tools for demonstration and protestation activities now, or even in the future? So now how are we suppose to defend the distinctive features of Facebook and Twitter, or even the Internet as a whole, for being a platform for freedom of speech? How can we say that freedom of speech on the Internet – a platform without any supervision by the authorities – can actually provide good causes for the society? Regardless of what happened during the Arab spring, I would still defend the Internet as an ideal platform for the voices of the people to be heard. Without them voicing out their insecurities and on the things that they are unsatisfied with,  government and institutions will never know what the people really think. In the past, we used to have traditional media such as the newspapers and the television, but we have to realize that these traditional media do not grant voicing permission to normal people who do not work in there or who do not have a certain status or power in the society. But with the Internet, it’s a whole new story.

 

 

It is impossible for anyone to stop anyone from voicing out their dissatisfaction towards certain organizations or institutions. However, we can see from the case study that the Internet has indeed became a platform that helps in contributing towards larger-scaled activities that every individual from anywhere can participate. We see the power of the Internet in reaching to and in influencing every single individual. In my opinion, those in power should realize the potential of the Internet, and instead of turning a deaf ear towards the voice of the people, they should actually take proper action in dealing with them, and not escaping from these problems. Because no matter how, the people will definitely find a way. In the past, perhaps the impact would not be that huge, but now, with the Internet, it is definitely not something anyone should take it lightly on. The Internet still has mountains of unknown potential in influencing anyone and everyone, thus, the society should now understand and realize its power so that they could be prepared for the impact, and in the same time, by understanding the potential of the Internet, the ones in power should also be aware with the people’s activities online so that they can solve the problem that might arise before anything becomes too complicated or too serious.

 

 

 

Wikileaks

Exposure to the course for the past 9 weeks had indeed allowed us to gain a powerful insight of the capability of the Internet. But all of us would agree the very one fact about the Internet that had grant the Internet with so much power – decentralization. The Internet indirectly promotes freedom of speech and of course, even if government of respective countries intend to regulate the “rules” of using the Internet, it’s almost impossible to do so.

 

 

The Internet is like a huge culture of its own. If the Internet ever becomes a country, it would be the largest country with the most population on Earth. It’s not possible for one to control the rightfulness of information being distributed on the Internet. Everyone has the right to say anything on the Internet, and this is the perfect reason why Internet is a sense of e-democracy. A type of democracy even real countries are having difficulty in achieving it. And eventually, this democracy on the Internet leads to the free flow of information – unwanted or necessary – on the Internet. These information, although might be unnecessary or useless for some, can actually be a threat of potential downfall for the others, covering a wide scope of area from politics to everyday’s general knowledge. The secret-keeper for these confidential information? Wikileaks.

 

 

 

Wikileaks, as highlighted by Benkler in his article “A Free Irresponsible Press: Wikileaks and the Battle Over the Soul of the Networked Fourth Estate”, is marked as the new model of watchdog function. Undeniably, huge corporations or even government sectors will definitely have confidential information they do not wish to disclose to the public. Sometimes they find it unnecessary or simply because these information may potentially affect their business or their role as peace-makers. However, when you come to think about it? Huge corporations and government sectors major responsibility is to provide the best service as they can in aiding the public, so does that make the public owning the rights to know about all the internal politics of these huge corporations and government sectors? Or public should simply be kept out of the play, in other words, being passive audiences? Will this be fair to the public?

Wikileaks is definitely taking advantage of the main characteristic of the Internet – free flow of information without boundaries – in controlling and obtaining “secret” information about others. One would question the purpose behind the acts of Wikileaks. Exactly why would Wikileaks wants to release secret information regarding political or business issues to the public? Are they trying to be responsible online journalists? Or are they simply just trying to show how much they’ve got in exposing information online?

Looking at the public side, would the public be more satisfy or will they be more well-equipped by getting to know confidential information leaked through Wikileaks? Undeniably, certain information will definitely cause   imbalance of economic within the society. And when you come to think of it, isn’t that the whole reason why the information is being refrained to be exposed to the public? So why Wikileaks have to be such a nuisance (to whoever it may concern) in causing trouble to the public and the parties involved? The one question here is:

Do the public need to know all these leaked information?

In my opinion, certain internal politics or internal issues should be handled appropriately. Although the rule of thumb in journalism is to report the truth, but it the “truth” can intentionally disturb the balance and the peace within the society, then the “truth” should be concealed, revealed only when it’s the right time to be exposed. And by meaning “the right time”, it would be the time when the leak of these information will not cause any unwanted chaos or imbalance in the society. However, in the end of the day, it is still a necessity to reveal any truth to the public because eventually, the public will find out and this will definitely affect the organization’s or the government’s credibility & reputation. The world is a huge puzzle. And it is definite that rumors spread, thus, reflected to WikiLeaks, it is really important to verify the news (or “secrets”) first before one can release the certain news. Because we have to bear in mind that the media – especially the Internet – talk to not only one person, but the whole world. Circumstances and situations change – including economical and political standings – and timing is a necessity to look into because you would not want to bring more chaos to the society as a whole by exposing them to more ugly truth when they are already in a chaotic mode, which will definitely create more serious consequences to that particular society.

 

 

 

 

Citizen Journalism

Journalism is definitely not an easy business. Our exposure to journalism had taught us the importance of journalism as one of the most important source of updated news. Proximity, human interest, oddity, prominence, timeliness – Do all these terms sound familiar to you? As Communication students, we were informed on the importance of these 5 elements in making sure that the news we will be providing to the public are newsworthy. In the past, we relied a lot on the newspapers to obtain the latest news; then slowly, papers were converted to broadcasters; then online. How about the journalists who had been doing the behind-the-scene effort for us? Did they change along with the convergence of the news platforms as well?

In the past, we saw reporters running around – anytime and anywhere – to obtain more and more news for the public. Now, we see that the main players who are able to provide us the best updated news are no longer the reporters (although they still play significant roles in the journalism industry) but the main players are now normal people like you and me. 

A reflection on the reading of “New Blogs and Citizen Journalism: New Directions for e-Journalism” by Dr Axel Bruns had exposed me to the fact that the main players pushing the journalism industry are in fact, citizens. And the development of various social networking sites had contributed to the rapid shift of responsibilities and burdens of the journalists to the citizens. However, I am going to look into this two players in two different ways, which I will be reflecting in this blog post.

Journalists, before they obtain the official license in becoming a credible journalist, will have to go through various training in order to be able to access to different places as well as to credible news sources. This is one important factor possessed by trained journalists, and the credibility of such personnel is definitely higher compared to normal citizens who “were in the certain location coincidentally”. 

As we look at news, there are different approaches and perspectives to view or analyse a certain incident reported. It all depends on the way the journalists/citizen journalist construct their sentences in writing the news article. This leads to the second point of being a trained journalist. A trained journalist is trained to be unbiased towards certain news – as we were taught in our journalism classes – thus they would be able to identify the valuable news and in the same time, report them in an unbiased and neutral way. However, citizen journalists often are not aware of this. 

Having a blog can mean that you are free to express anything you want, even when your opinion is your own personal thoughts – which sometimes can be biased. Assuming that your favorite celebrity is involved in a scandal, you would definitely want to defend him/her, even without concrete evidences. In a nutshell, it actually means that you would have a position or your own opinion before you attempt to a particular argument. A blog is only exposed to a number of individuals, perhaps your friends or your acquaintances, but what you are writing will be published in the newspaper or in the online portals? Millions of people will be reading your article and since news portals and newspapers are generally perceived to be credible, the public would definitely believe the opinions you had inked down in your writing. The influence of writing in credible platforms is powerful.

However, it can be argued that the development of citizen journalism is not completely unnecessary or harmful. Citizen journalism can, unarguably, contribute to the journalism industry through the contribution of the fastest news emergence. In other words, I would say that citizen journalism is really useful in providing new news. But, the argument on whether the elaboration of the news story provided by the citizen journalists is credible would have to be verified and further explored through the power of trained journalists. 

Citizen journalism is also useful in a sense that it can provide valuable insights for credible news agencies in determining the thoughts of the public and from there, news agencies would be able to determine the type of news or news angles that the public are interested to see in the papers or the online news portals. Besides, citizen journalists also can assist the news agency through providing them with “on-the-spot” news. The chances of journalists to be at the location where news are going to happen is very low – not impossible. But compared to the chances of any citizen journalists being in the location where news occur, the chances are definitely higher. 

Thus, in my opinion, it is undoubtedly that citizen journalism is a shift from the traditional journalism style to a newer and a more relevant industry. However, traditional journalism will never die. Although citizen journalism has encouraged personnel to be part of the news-reporting process, but I believe that there are still a huge number of individuals who will prefer to trust on credible news sources such as the news agencies in obtaining their first-hand news. Citizen journalists must thus, check their facts first before they elaborate on certain news. They must always remember that they are posting on a public domain, a domain which can be viewed internationally. Thus, in my opinion, in order to blend in with the journalism today, making use of the current journalism development so as to expand the industry to the greater heights, there is a need for traditional journalism to work hand-in-hand with the citizen journalism so that both types of journalism can achieve the best out of each other and in the same time, provide the best information for the public – the main responsibility of the journalism industry.

Let’s think about this, if we are able to be a news source, does that make us one part of the media industry? Then, what is the distinguishable line between the media and us?

Standing Out in the Mass of Internet Clutters

Image URL: http://bit.ly/PRG28E

The long tail. To sum it up, it comes with a few key words – statistical, probability distribution. I’m definitely not a great science & math student, so what I can understand from this theory is that the ‘long tail’ phenomenal – increased due to the shift to a digital era – provides everything to everyone. So in this sense, you would not need to worry if you are not able to find the item you desire, even when you can’t find it in the market. Online shops are definitely one of the most important players in this sense. I personally think that there are two main elements about online stores that make this phenomenal a largely possible future for merchandise purchasing – now & in the future. One of them is unlimited storage. Even in stores you have limited shelf space, and in order for your product to get noticed, you would need to pay to get the best shelf space that will capture the consumer’s attention. Second point would be anytime & every time. There’s no such thing as ‘Closed’ or ‘On break’ when you are dealing with an online store. They are there 24 hours and 7 days per week, so no worries on the different time zone. I personally find online shopping very convenient and useful for me. I can easily get things that I can’t find in the local stores, and when you get the item, it tends to become so much more valuable compared to the fact that you can easily get it in any other local store – findability. Will further explain it later.

I’ve been reading on Kevin Kelly’s “Better Than Free” and it occurs to me that the digitization of everything doesn’t seem to be absolutely great. We are now shifting from hard-copy books to eBooks; from CD & records to MP3s; from shopping in local stores to online shopping. 10 years ago, this seems to be a crazily impossible vision. But today, we see that it’s not crazy at all. We actually trust the electronic devices & the digital network to obtain information & merchandises. But, will we actually be satisfied with all the ‘data’ we obtained instead of looking at the ‘physical materials’ that we used to cherish so much?

 

There are 8 main points emphasized by Kelly in making digital materials valuable:

Immediacy

Image URL: http://bit.ly/PRGEv4

Don’t we all love watching new movies when they are first released? We also love to try new things that are introduced. There’s only one reason for us to behave as such – to be at the front line. We don’t like people being surprised when we tell them we don’t have a Facebook account; or telling them we haven’t watch Batman: The Dark Knight Rises or Resident Evil. But what I am talking now are all physical materials. Even if we want to download certain movies, we need to wait for the ‘trend’ to be over first before we can actually download them. People always love to be the first to try new things. I remember once when I started to publish online stories. As my stories use the style of “chapter-by-chapter”, I find my own articles being waited by many which were eager to know what happens next. People like things to be fast. And with the ability of the Internet, we definitely can make use of its speed of obtaining information online.

 

 

Personalization

Image URL: http://bit.ly/XWYnky

Let’s talk about a gadget called the iPhone. The iPhone is one of the most wanted phones in the world. Everyone wants one. And most possesses one. But the thing is, iPhone looks all the same. How to make my iPhone look unique? So here come the iPhone cases, skins and what not. I would think of this as one kind of personalization that actually makes the item you possess reallybelongs to you because you are the only one holding the phone with the design, and this will definitely make your iPhone a lot more valuable, at least to yourself. How about the virtual world? Let’s talk about blogs, or personal websites. Isn’t it possible for us to customize and personalize our own websites? And personalized websites will definitely allow your “visitors” to remember your website better. So, why not?

 

 

 

Interpretation

Image URL: http://bit.ly/Rl0TOM

When you are given something new, you would definitely want to know how to use it. There’s two ways to learn the functions of something new – self-learning or through the guidance of others. Often, when we purchase new gadgets, they would always come with user manuals. But often, we tend to ignore the user manuals because there are just too many words and we prefer to learn the functions through our own hands-on experience. However, it’s different with the online platform. Take Facebook for instance, the recent change on the Facebook interface to timeline had indeed confused many people. But Facebook has this interactivity in which it teaches you step-by-step in learning more about the new functions. The users will definitely love this because it’s interactive. They do not need to read lengthy paragraphs just to explain on one function. Instead, they mainly need to follow the tutorial, with a combination of hands-on experience, which will definitely allow them to learn better. Thus, whenever you have an online business, we should always remember that interactivity will add bonus to attract more customers. 

 

 

 

 

Authenticity

Image URL: http://bit.ly/RG2i1G

 

When you buy a hard-copy book or a DVD from the local store, you will want to check it to ensure that everything is in place. Buying from the local stores definitely can give you the assurance and reliability you need when you purchase something because you know that if anything goes wrong, you can still go back to the same store and ask for a refund or exchange. But what if you are to buy something online? In the past, the use of credit cards in purchasing items through online shopping was highly doubted. People do not feel safe with the fact that others are gaining permission to take money off their banks. But today, nothing is wrong with it, especially when you are buying from huge & established online shops such as Amazon and eBay. This factor has something to do with the promise and reliability these shops give to their customers. For instance, when writing an online article – especially those which will take up lots of chapters to end – it is always good to give your readers the promise on when they next continuation will be on. By this, you will definitely be able to secure your customers because they would know when and what to expect things from you.

 

 

 

 

 

Accessibility

Image URL: http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/aba0903l.jpg

 

One great thing about the Internet is that you are able to access everything, anytime and anywhere. This is definitely a great advantage you can make use of if online platforms are one of your many considerations for future business. When I wrote online stories, I always make sure that I have a backup copy with me – publishing in other websites or upload to my own blog, for instance – so that if anything goes wrong to the main website I publish to, I can always direct my readers to another platform which they will still be able to continue reading my work. We know that physical materials can be backed up, but when we are dealing with digital data, there is always the risk of something going wrong somewhere. Thus, always remember to have a backup copy.

 

 

 

 

Embodiment

Image URL: http://bit.ly/PsiZ4w

 

I always prefer to watch movies – especially comedy movies – on my huge TV screen instead of my 14 inch laptop. Although this has nothing to do with the network connection, but the equipment I am using to project my material also plays an important part in ensuring that I get the maximum satisfaction I want. By this, it would be ideal if the material you share online can be converted (or is in) a format in which anyone that uses your materials can also use them in other platforms, such as the TV, or even the mobile phone. Flexibility– an important factor to consider.

 

 

 

 

 

Patronage

Image URL: http://bit.ly/P49c2Z

 

Although the use of Internet disallows interpersonal communication between the creator and the user, it is always good to stay connected with the user as it will contribute to the creation of bonds between the creator and the user. Bonds are extremely important to ensure the loyalty of the users. This can be done through conversation with the users with the use of chat rooms, or comment boxes. Because by this, the users will know that the creators actually care about them – on what they think and taking account on their opinions towards the creation. Besides, the Internet also has the advantage of allowing real-time or asynchronous conversation. This would definitely be convenient to both the users and the creators in communicating with each other.

 

 

 

Findability

Image URL: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/daviddisalvo/files/2012/01/google1.jpg

 

As all of us know, the Internet is filled with clutters (even with the use of Google or any other search engines). Thus, when we post something online, it is always recommended that we choose a title or a name which either does not clash with other productions or a title/name which is too common. By this, even when users are to search your material through the search engines, they will definitely get it straightaway without the hassle to spend too much time in searching for the right one, which will eventually lead to frustration and inconvenience. Anyway, what’s wrong about your product’s title/name being too common or too unique? This will actually allow people to remember it better!

 

 

 

 

Image URL: http://bit.ly/Thfug8

 

And so, listed are 8 factors we should really consider when we allow our creations to be shifted online. People say that different types of advertising – billboards, newspapers, magazines, etc – are filled with clutters, but in my opinion, the advertising platform that is filled with the most clutter is the Internet. I find all these factors a really good start in getting us to break through the Internet clutters. And by Internet, even if there is only one person in the whole world wants your creation, it is still possible for him/her to get it. Isn’t this wonderful? Sharing is caring!

 

 

 

Intellectual Property

 

Image URL: http://bit.ly/QpJT9V

In 2001, one of the most famous copyright infringement cases in the music industry happened between A & M Records and Napster. Napster had started a website which allowed the users to download old & new songs of any genres, all base on their own liking. However, although this act seemed to be a generous act in sharing resources, A & M Records accused Napster of stealing music and making it available for the whole world, and this eventually caused Napster to be landed with a copyright infringement lawsuit. The copyright infringement case ended with Napster closing down the website and having to pay around USD 26 million to songwriters and recording companies who were involved with the case.

A brief glance-through on the famous copyright infringement cases in the history exposed to us on the fact that the music industry are the industry which faces the most copyright infringement cases along the years.

 

 

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How many of you download your music instead of buying them? For me, I rarely even purchase music these days. I remember in the not too many years ago, music downloading was not a trend, and I still remember vividly how I endured hungriness for weeks just to purchase my favorite album. Today, we can simply obtain all our favourite songs or even movies without a single cent spent. Where did all the appreciation of music or things produced today?

 

Although the idea of copyright had been ever since 400 years ago, it is now being considered as an outdated concept, basing on the fact that the technology advance in our society had been improved in to the digital world, in which individuals today can access everything and anything without the actual need to waste more cash and time just to purchase or obtain something they really like. Music, videos, movies, files, software, books are examples of substances that individuals can obtain. In the past, it is easier to track down the individuals who are involved in the duplication of products, because in the past, products are in a material form; whilst now, in this evolved digital era, we are dealing with data and information, which are now seen to be more important and more powerful than physical materials.

Seeing these changes, there is a need to change the structure and concept of the traditional idea of copyrighting. Instead of the inflexible way of restricting the use and redistribution of materials in the past, the copyright today has evolved in a way in suiting to the pace of the society’s modernized changes. And this is where the Digital Rights Management (DRM) and the Creative Commons come into place.
The common way for companies to protect their products today is by technologically embedding the copyright in the media text itself. In my opinion, this is definitely an effective way to protect the content because as the technology knowledge of individuals had improved rapidly today, they would definitely try to figure out all kinds of way to obtain the content they desire. Thus, the only way to protect ourselves is to be better than them. All kinds of codes can be developed in which these codes will solely be owned by the company itself, and if individuals desire to “explore” the content in a deeper level (such as duplicating the content instead of just viewing it), they would need to acquire permission from the owner, and the owner will then provide these individuals with the permission (base on the reason the individuals are using the content for) and this permission can only be used by the individual alone – with the development of special, individualized codes – ant no one else.

 

 

Image URL: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9bxgg0F251qltrrko1_400.gif

 

The new concept of copyright in use to adapt itself to the changes of the society is definitely an ideal way to use in protecting one’s product. However, Snapper also raised the concern of plagiarism being a more important problem to be focused on instead of the copyright infringement issue in the digital age today.

“Piracy is the infringement of copyright, and plagiarism is the failure to give credit.”

As mentioned, in today’s World Wide Web, we can distribute and share everything and anything everywhere we want. It is indeed a hard-to-control factor, but most concern should be placed on the issue of plagiarism, and this idea is exceptionally applicable to us students today.

 

 

We had learned about the importance of giving credit to the person we obtained the idea from, no matter in the research project or any assessment we are conducting. Giving credit to the information we obtained online is especially tricky. When we obtain information from the Web, we must always remember to ask two important questions:

1. Is the source credible?
2. How should we credit the person’s work that we are using?

 

Image URL: http://churchit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/copy-off-the-internet.gif

 

It is very hard to distinguish on what and which source is credible today. The Internet itself is like a world filled with information which is uploaded by individuals and it changes from time to time.

Plagiarism has often occurs because of the easy duplication of information. But the problem is, we can also accuse that we are simply “improvising” from the original source – which we might assume them to be not credible – and that we are doing the other millions and billions of users on the Internet a favour for not misleading them. How do we know that who is telling the truth?

I realized that this is a problem we should ponder on, especially it extremely relevant to us, not only now, but also in the near future when we are conducting more researches. We must realize that the usage of sources whose credibility is not being verified can lead to more confusion and in the same time, misleading the individuals who will be reading our writings in the future. If we just let the problem be and assume that all long articles or writings obtained from the Internet are credible, it would be another cycle of recycling non-credible information all over again, and as the situation continues over time, the line between the truth and the assumption will be blurred, leading to a threat of knowledge-obtaining by the next generations.

 

 

Image URL: http://themoscownews.com/images/18846/41/188464110.jpg

 

In my opinion, the highlight of Snapper in his writing is an important one. Plagiarism has become so easy today due to the easy duplication of materials on the Web. Copyright today is “rebranding” into a new concept which can be adapted into the digital age. Plagiarism should follow the footstep of copyright as well. Because, as Snapper stated in his writing, copyright is necessary because it protects the owner of the product by “granting control over the information or ideas”. But the control on plagiarism is also necessary – especially in the digital era – because plagiarism allows individuals to simply “take information without giving credit, even if there is no piracy form of expression.”

 

 

For instance, assuming that you had worked very hard on writing a book and the happiest moment of your life is therefore to see your book being distributed and sold to the public and of course, to see your name on the book cover. But the next thing you know, you see your writings, the ideas you had explored and worked on for so long, and your style of writing being wide-spread on the net. And suddenly, everyone anonymous is claiming that your idea belongs to theirs. Facing with such situations, how would you feel?

 

Thus, as a conclusion, I think that Snapper had raised an issue that all of us should be concerned of. Regulations and actions should be created to address this issue, so that proper credibility and recognition can be given to the owner of the ideas and writings after all the hard work and tough times they had went through to share their ideas with everyone. And it is just wrong for us to claim the ideas for ourselves, when we did nothing but typing in the search bar on the Internet and copying everything into our writings.

 

 

Image URL: http://bit.ly/OETKu3

 

I personally think that it is a necessary act to protect the ideas and materials of individuals, or else who would want to make huge effort to deliver their ideas when they can simply obtain fantastic ideas from anywhere and wherever they want. However, individuals today have less concern and awareness toward the regulation of copyright just because copying, downloading, and duplicating materials from the original source can be easily done and it is so hard for the companies to track down these behaviours. Individuals have indeed created new ideas from old ideas, which is still not an original idea because it had been derived from somewhere else. This touches on the issue of plagiarism and copyright in the same time. Perhaps companies should direct to a whole new direction – seeing the evolution of technology today – instead of forcing individuals to commit to all kinds of do’s and don’ts, companies should control innovation of individuals from the original product and encourage them in the same time – in a right way – as a step to neutralize the imbalance between fake and real in the materials we have today. Individuals should learn to recognize the effort of the original source, and, if they are involved in innovating the original source, they should also give recognition to themselves base on the parts they had innovated from the original source.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Snapper, JW 1999, On the Web, plagiarism matters more than copyright piracy, accessed 13/9/2012, http://www.springerlink.com/content/l215064qj8kk1331/

Crews, KD 2001, ‘A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.: Implications for the Digital Music Library’, accessed 13/9/2012, http://variations2.indiana.edu/pdf/AnalysisOfNapsterDecision.pdf

 

Time for a reflection……..

 

With a blink of an eye, we have finally came to the end of this blogging exercise for BCM 112. Not too sure to say whether I am happy or perhaps relieve that it has finally come the end. I had gained a lot more insightful knowledge throughout this whole semester in this class and it has been one of my most interesting class too. From this, I would like to choose three blog entries to do a reflection.

 

First and foremost, I would pick ‘The Marvelous Marvel‘ entry. The reason I’ve picked this entry is because the topic of transmedia narratives interests me the most compared to all the other topics. Not to mention also, I’ve done quite a number of readings regarding the Marvel company while doing this entry to help me understand the company better. Although I’ve only touched on the  Marvel company, but it has helped me understand how a single media can have multiple platforms and also how convergence has taken place on this single media from time to time.

 

The second post that I will be choosing is ‘Disperse of Justice by Citizen Journalism‘. Through this chapter of citizen journalism, I have learned that there’s always two sides of a story. Gatekeepers who is against with citizen journalism blocks certain information to get through to reach to the public but people must also remember there are people who supports citizen journalism who will reveal all the truth no matter if it’s nice or ugly. This chapter has allow me to understand how important is citizen journalism in our world today with the convergence of media and the use of internet as we would not want to be hoodwinked into believing what the pro government people wants us to believe.

 

Last but not least, the entry I would choose the entry titled ‘Stop Whistling, Start Listening‘ as my reflection. This based on the topic called Identity and Difference Online. I choose this entry as my reflection because with the internet today, no doubt cyber hate had been increasing day after day and it should not be viewed as a minor issue. Furthermore, mostly women are the victim of this and I can definitely relate myself to it as I am a female myself. Moreover, this topic has also made me learned that convergence of the internet can be seen as such a great invention but it has a dark side to it. Reading up on the issue  #mencalledmethings has lead me to see that there are so many women around the world is suffering with this issue and it is definitely a first step to preventing this issue with this campaign.

 

All in all, this subject and also this particular blogging assignment had been an eye opener to me to different topics of convergence. It has also allows me to see the bright and dark side convergence. As we our technology is improving and convergence is taking place everyday, I believe that it is crucial to stop the crime and also bad things in it.

 

 

 

 

Nerds and Geeks are the New Cool

Image URL: http://bit.ly/LOGOOB

Are you familiar with the word above? What comes into your mind when you first see the word?

Well, as for me, when I see the word, the first thing that comes into my mind is this:

 Image URL: http://bit.ly/AC8AuI

Image URL: http://bit.ly/K7tE0O

Call me stereotypical, but we’ve got to admit it, most of us has the image of nerds look like the pictures above. Ever thought that a nerd could be hot or sexy? No? Take a look at the pictures below!

 Image URL: http://bit.ly/LaoMnP

 

 Image URL: http://bit.ly/LAxxKH

Yes! They are famous actress and actor! Unbelievable? Believe it!

At some point of our life, we may have actually called someone or a few people nerds before. I, myself had called a few people a nerd before. Nerd is a way to describe someone who is unpopular, single-minded person who is obsessed with a specific hobby or things (Spears 2007).

But recently, nerds of today aren’t like the nerds of yesterdays anymore. Nerds today are considered the cool people. Why are they suddenly so cool? It all comes down to this!

Image URL:http://bit.ly/KSL7nL

 

Yes. Money. During the 1980’s, the revolution of computer took place. It was also the time where nerds were able to make tons of money and be rich. This has caused the change of perception of the public towards nerds. Nerds were then seen to make high income and the money is used to on their nerdy hobbies. It has also created a gravitation towards the entertainment and technology field to encourage positive views towards nerds or geek identity. Henry Jenkins named it as ‘inspirational consumers’.

There are many famous people around the world today are nerds who are really successful. Take for instance, Bill Gates who is an absolute computer geek but he is also the second riches man in the world who owns Microsoft. This shows that we should not stereotype people around us. They might be nerds and may be a little different for us, but it is definitely not good to make fun of them.

Since nerds makes so much money these days, don’t you want to be one of them so you could be a billionaire? I know I would want to be one of them if I could! Since there are so many awards for the best movie, best actors and actresses, I think they should have ‘The Geek of The Year’ award.

 Image URL: http://bit.ly/K7HFM6  

 Wouldn’t it be cool? What do you think?

Stop Whistling, Start Listening

Have you ever been called nasty names by people in your Facebook page just because of your skin color? Have you ever receive harassing messages through e-mails just because you’re a female?

Image URL: http://bit.ly/LYViym

If you have or had been one of the victims, wouldn’t you feel good if you could punch the harasser’s face? I myself had been through such situations before in my life.

These acts are known as trolling. Trolling is an act of deliberately, cleverly, and secretly pissing people off, usually via the internet (Gill n.d.).

Image URL: http://bit.ly/wJrAEf

It is undeniable that women are always highly targeted as the victims of cyber hate. This is because women are often viewed as the weaker group although in our world today we talk about gender equality. But it should  cyber hate towards men should be viewed lightly as well. There is this term called ‘misogyny’ which means hatred towards women or a great dislike towards women.

Image URL: http://bit.ly/K5fgX0

A campaign was done last year November to highlight the issue of misogyny on Twitter where people can hashtag #mencallmethings and express their feelings or experience of misogyny. I think this campaign is very good as it creates awareness to the society about misogyny and also informing the victims that they are not alone. I think this is a good start to bring the issue up so it can looked into seriously. More about #mencallmethings can be read here.

 In my opinion, such act is unacceptable. It clearly shows how immature how one can be when we live in a ‘so called modern world’. If we are so modern, why is there still people who thinks like a cavemen? I know it is not nice to utter names to such immature people as ‘cavemen’ but did it even cross their mind of feeling ashamed when carrying the act of cyber hate?

 Image URL: http://bit.ly/MTKTmJ

I think the government should play a role in dealing with cyber hate. A strong law should be set to protect people who a victim of cyber hate. We live in a modernization era and people are not supposed to act in such manner. Look at the picture below:

 Image URL: http://bit.ly/vRuA8H

This proves we are all equal. Cyber hate, internet trolling, sexism and racism should be banish.