Second Life

Hawaii…. Here I Come!

Breath-taking view of the sea and the sand

Having a drink at the bar... with a friend of course!

Soaking up the sun

In Second Life (SL), my avatar’s name is Hema Nishi. Honestly, when I first started out with SL, I got totally lost! But with the help of some of the other players out there, I managed to get on the right track. Kind of like it now!

The clothing worn by my avatar brings out the laid back attitude I adopt when it comes to dressing. Though being a person who reads fashion magazines, I do not necessarily adopt those dressings. On normal days, dressing up in just a t-shirt and shorts gives me the most comfort.

I chose Hawaii on purpose because I’m a rather happy-go-lucky person who loves spending time under the sun’s rays, especially with friends around. Hawaii is one place I always wanted to go, because of the numerous beaches there. Listening to the sound of the waves does indeed create a relatively peaceful and tranquil feeling. Just like my dressing, most of the people in Hawaii are usually dressed-down, probably to the surfer attitude they adopt. From what I have heard so far, the people in Hawaii are extremely helpful and nice, and the scenery there is something one must not miss!

QotW9: Citizen Journalism

STOMP = Citizen Journalism

What Is Citizen Journalism?

Citizen journalism, also known as "participatory journalism," is the act of citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information" according to the seminal report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information, by Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis. They say, "The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires." (Citizen Journalism, 2007). Unlike the common media journalism that we witness, citizen journalism involves user-generated content.

STOMP.sg

STOMP (Straits Times Online Mobile Print) is a Singapore-based online portal by Singapore Press Holdings. Through the three platforms of online, mobile and print, STOMP enables Singaporeans to interact and engage in current affairs of Singapore. (STOMP, 2007).
STOMP delivers content which is interactive and which helps develop new communities of Singaporeans, bonding together by shared interests. The Straits Times Editor Han Fook Kwang explained, “In the new media environment, newspapers have to be more than just passive providers of news. They have to engage their readers in areas which appeal to them. We have to provide readers with new avenues to express themselves, to enable them to interact with us, and among themselves.” (Singapore Press Holdings, 2006). As Gillmor (2004) says, “The ability of anyone to make the news will give new voice to people who’ve felt voiceless”, and STOMP certainly provides an avenue for this.

STOMP = Citizen Journalism

It has been noticeably clear that over the years, Singaporeans have begun to speak up their minds and become more involved in sousveillance. Participating and leaving comments on STOMP.sg would have never been thought of about 10 years ago. Today, issues such as “Brother looking for long-lost sister”, “Ribena, Why So Little Vit C In Your Drink?”, and “Karang Guni Man’s Loot A Hazard” have surfaced. Technology, in the form of camera phones and video cameras have certainly helped Singaporeans express their concerns and “disgust” online with much more ease.

Though modern physically, Singaporeans are still conservative and cowardly at heart. For instance, Joyce, the person who took this photo, could have directly gone up to the teenager asking him to give up the seat to the pregnant woman. But no, she did not do that. Why? It could possibly be because she was afraid to speak up in public.

Hence, for people like Joyce (there are many others out there in Singapore), STOMP indeed proves to be an ideal form of citizen journalism.

Improving STOMP

As said earlier, the main purpose of STOMP is to get Singaporeans engaged with social issues, an example being inconsiderate commuters (something everyone can relate to). Issues such as these or any others need to be brought up and made aware that it is happening in Singapore.
Since STOMP is for us Singaporeans, in my opinion, the only way for STOMP to further improve itself is to get more people to join, post up pictures, videos, and create an online community of its own. In an attempt to attract more crowd, STOMP could perhaps provide incentives such as free movie tickets, to the top contributor of the month, or something along that line. At the moment, Kudos to STOMP!

References

1. “STOMP (online portal)” (February 14, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 14:42, March 28, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOMP_%28online_portal%29

2. “Citizen journalism” (March 28, 2006) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 14:59, March 28, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism

3. Gillmor, D. “We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People” (July, 2004). Retrieved March 28, 2007 from http://download.nowis.com/index.cfm?phile=WeTheMedia.html&tipe=text/html#chap9

4. “The Straits Times extends its reach with bold new platform STOMP” (June 14, 2006), From Singapore Press Holdings, Retrieved 15:16, March 28, 2007, from http://www.sph.com.sg/news/latest/press_060614_001.html

QotW7: Online Community

Twitter - "Micro Blogging"


What exactly is an online community?

While the entire global Internet is one online community, the term “online community” is more specifically applied to particular interest groups, trades, cultural genres and local neighborhoods. An online community is a group of people that may or may not primarily or initially communicate or interact via the Internet. Online communities have also become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other in real life. The dawn of the "information age" found groups communicating electronically rather than face to face. (Virtual Community, 2007). At present, some of the relatively popular online community sites are Friendster, MySpace.com, and Twitter, with the latter being the most current addition.

Twitter?

Twitter is a social networking service that allows members to inform each other about what they are doing and what they think. It allows users to send messages via phone or instant messaging. (Twitter, 2007). Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where or what you are doing. Ross Mayfield (2007) says that Twitter is Continuous Partial Presence, mostly made up of mundane messages in answer to the question, "what are you doing?" A never-ending steam of presence messages prompts you to update your own. Messages are more ephemeral than IM presence – and posting is of a lower threshold, both because of ease and accessibility, and the informality of the medium.

Hence is Twitter an online community?

As said by Fernback and Thompson (1995), a community is an important aspect of life for most people. Cooley (1983) says that all normal humans have a natural affinity for community. He suggests that the primary factor inhibiting the formation of communities, no matter what their scale, is that they are difficult to organize. The structural process that is associated with community is communication. Without communication there can be no action to organize social relations. The intimate nature of this relationship is best illustrated in the words community and communications. Hence, the basis for the formation of an online community is MUTUAL COMMUNICATION.

However, I feel that it is rather hard to classify Twitter as proper online community. Online community is not just based on mere connections to people; it is formed more through mutual communication. However on Twitter, members can add anybody and almost everybody. Members would probably not be able to start proper conversations if they do not have any friends on Twitter to begin with. Hence members go around adding “others”.

As it is already known, nothing on the Internet is private. On Twitter, messages typed are displayed for all to see. The extreme lack of privacy on Twitter results in the breakdown of mutual communication, and thus is not feasible for developing personal relationships. Beniger (1987), Jones (1995), and Stoll (1995), have said that the comparatively low bandwidth of computer-mediated communication cannot sustain strong ties online. Wellman and Gulia (1996) argue that without physical and social cues or immediate feedback, email can foster extreme language, difficulties in coordination and feedback and group polarization. Perhaps the medium itself does not support strong, intimate relationships; or as neo- McLuhanites might say, the medium may not support the message (McLuhan 1965).

As blogger Mitch Joel (2007) puts it, Twitter also serves as a form of “micro-blogging”. Messages sent through Twitter are not reached or replied to immediately. Members will be notified of the messages they have received only after they have logged in, causing a delay in communication. The short messages posted replicate blogging, whereby bloggers post up their musings and rattle on and on about them.

Conclusion:

Twitter allows room for Internet messaging and conversations, just like an online community. However, it does not provide the liberty of forging close relationships online; one that is imperative to the building of an online community. In addition, Twitter somewhat likens to a blog, hence no mutual communication. Thus, Twitter cannot possibly be considered as an online community.


References:


1. Fernback, J., & Thompson, B. (1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure? Retrieved March 16, 2007, from http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html

2. Wellman, B., & Gulia, Milena. (1996). Virtual Communities as Communities. Retrieved March 16, 2007, from http://www.acm.org/%7Eccp/references/wellman/wellman.html

3. Mayfield, Ross. (2007). Twitter Tips the Tuna. Ross Mayfield’s Weblog. Retrieved March 16, 2007, from http://ross.typepad.com/blog/2007/03/twitter_tips_th.html

4. “Virtual Community” (March 15, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 19:42, March 16, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_community

5. “Twitter” (March 16, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 20:11, March 16, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

6. Mitch Joel (2007). Twitter Starts Here - The New Revolution Might Be Micro-Blogging. Retrieved March 16, 2007, from http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/000883.html

Bonus Mission #1

Are You One Of Them?



This particular video clip may induce laughter to many of us watching it (including me). But indeed we need to fully comprehend the meaning behind the video and the reason for which it was put up.

In the clip, Janet Lim, who is a Singapore Media Award winner, is also unfortunately a chronic flatulence sufferer. While the act of farting is generally considered to be an unfortunate (but sometimes intentionally contrived) occurrence in public settings, a flatus may, in casual circumstances, be used as either a humorous supplement to a joke, or as a comic activity in and of itself (Flatulence, 2007); however it is not a joke all the time.

Thanks to the invention of the video camera and the built-in cameras of the mobile phones, messages like these can be uploaded onto YouTube and MojoFlix, reaching the masses in a more subtle way.

Some of the flatulence sufferers out there may feel rather shy to come out in public, for fear of embarrassing themselves. As Sullivan (2006) puts it, “Privacy is to be left alone.” These people prefer to remain secluded, away from the public eye for fear of being made fun of, looked down upon or even sympathized with.

However, they might change their minds and attitudes to wards their situation, after watching how Janet delicately handled such situations. She has made her mark to such an extent that now her friends who used to call her ‘Janet the farter’, have now switched it to ‘Janet, the Singapore Media Award winner’.

On the other hand, in an attempt to get across the intended message, Janet has lost her privacy, because now everybody who watches that video clip will know that she suffers from chronic flatulence. Since nothing is free on the Internet, “More than ever before, the details about our lives are no longer our own” (Sullivan, 2006).

References:

1. Sullivan, Bob., “Privacy Lost: Does anybody care?” (October 17, 2006) From MSNBC.com. Retrieved March 9, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221095/print/1/displaymode/1098/

2. “Flatulence” (March 9, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 14:06, January 10, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatulence

QotW6: Privacy

Appreciate While You Have It

Introduction:

As British Sociologist puts it, “citizens in a risk society can no longer rely on tradition or fixed hierarchies to establish their identity or to give them reliable guidance about whom to trust in a society of strangers. Confused and anxious about status in a world where status is constantly shifting, we feel increasing pressure to expose details of our personal lives to strangers in order to win their trust, and we demand that they expose themselves in order to win our trust in return.” (The Naked Crowd, 2004).

So where exactly is the world heading to with the Internet, not forgetting the lack of privacy that comes together with it?

Internet privacy consists of privacy over the media of the Internet: the ability to control what information one reveals about oneself over the Internet, and to control who can access that information. (Internet Privacy, 2007). Using the Internet can leave a trail of information about one's activity. The reason is that the Internet is a collection of privately and publicly owned servers and computers, all of which being able to save data. Thus, when you enter a search term into the searchbox of any search engine (e.g., Yahoo, Google, even Wikipedia), not only is the search engine capable of returning relevant results to the keyword you entered, it is able to save or retain the fact that the keyword was entered in the first instance. (Privacy, 2007).

After all, how private is the Internet?

As mentioned earlier, privacy refers to the degree of control that you have concerning who can access your personal information, and whether and how they may use it. Most email and Internet users assume that personal information will not be used without permission and that information exchanges are private and secure. The reality is very different. Every time you access a website or send email, you leave information about yourself that could include your physical, and computer address, telephone and credit card numbers, consumer pattern data and much more. If you use the Internet or email without taking safety measures you have probably given up your right to privacy. (Council of Europe, 2007).

Risks to Internet privacy:

Those concerned about Internet privacy often cite a number of privacy risks — events that can compromise privacy — which one may encounter through Internet use.

Cookies

HTTP cookies, sometimes known as web cookies or just cookies, are parcels of text sent by a server to a web browser and then sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server. HTTP cookies are used for authenticating, tracking, and maintaining specific information about users, such as site preferences and the contents of their electronic shoppin carts. Cookies have been of concern for Internet privacy, since they can be used for tracking browsing behavior. While cookies are only sent to the server setting them or one in the same Internet domain, a Web page may contain images or other components stored on servers in other domains. Cookies that are set during retrieval of these components are called third-party cookies. (HTTP Cookies, 2007).

Data logging

Many programs and operating systems are set up to perform data logging of usage. This may include recording times when the computer is in use, or which web sites are visited. If a third party has sufficient access to the computer, legitimately or not, this may be used to lessen the user's privacy. This could be avoided by disabling logging, or clearing logs regularly. (Internet Privacy, 2007).

Conclusion:

One way of understanding privacy is not whether we choose to expose personal information in public - we all do at different times and places - but the ease with which we can return to being private. (The Naked Crowd, 2004). As Sullivan (2006) says, people may think that their cell phone is unlisted, but if they have ever ordered a pizza, it might not be. Merlin is one of many commercial data brokers that advertises sale of unlisted phone numbers compiled from various sources -- including pizza delivery companies.

Nothing on the Internet or even in the world comes for free. We are always engulfed in “the lack of privacy” bubble whether it be at home or in school. Personally, I feel that further improvement in technology will only serve to complicate our “ability to negotiate the boundary between public and private, making it hard to recover a private self that has been voluntarily exposed.” (The Naked Crowd, 2004).

References:

1. Jeffrey, R., “The Naked Crowd” (July 19, 2004) From Spiked Essays. Retrieved March 9, 2007 from http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/0000000CA5FF.htm

2. Sullivan, Bob., “Privacy Lost: Does anybody care?” (October 17, 2006) From MSNBC.com. Retrieved March 9, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221095/print/1/displaymode/1098/

3. “How Private Is The Internet?” (January 10, 2007) From Council Of Europe. Retrieved March 9, 2007 from http://www.coe.int/t/e/integrated_projects/democracy/02_activities/03_internet_literacy/internet_literacy_handbook/16_privacy.asp

4. “Privacy” (March 9, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 20:15, January 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy#Internet_privacy

5. “Internet Privacy” (March 8, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 20:21, January 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_privacy

6. “HTTP cookie” (March 7, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 21:31, January 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie

The Mask

QotW5: Online Identity

Introduction:

Ever since the dawn of the internet in the mid 1990s, it has taken many transformations over the past 10 years or so. Today, we depend on the internet way more than anything else. Apart from gathering information from the internet, computer-mediated communication is the ‘in-thing’ now; be it through mIRC, MSN Messenger, emails or via games. In order to communicate, we need an online identity. However, is this ‘online identity’ the same as our real identity?

Previously, the norm used to be “one body, one identity”, however now, “one can have, some claim, as many electronic personas as one has time and energy to create.” (Donath, 1996). Since the virtual identity is ambiguous, it is rather hard to spot the real from the fake.

Building Reputation:

One online identity that I am particularly familiar with other than emails is the social networking site, Friendster, since I have an account there.
Friendster is an internet social network service that was founded in 2002. It is based on the ‘Circle of Friends’ technique for networking individuals in virtual communities and demonstrates the small world phenomenon. Friendster was considered the top online social network service until around April 2004 when it was overtaken by MySpace in terms of page views, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. (Friendster, 2007). Most of the members on Friendster today are teenagers and young adults. These people usually try to keep in contact with their old friends or make new ones. Then again, there are strangers within the site who can always send you messages, reaching up to you.

In Friendster, reputation is basically built by two ways. Firstly, in an attempt to widen our social circle, we willingly put up our real name, age, birthdate, likes and dislikes, and pictures of ourselves. These data when collectively used provide others with a wholesome picture of who we really are. Another new feature of Friendster is the blog. Through the blog, readers can basically read you like a book, because bloggers tend to pen down their inner most feelings and thoughts.

Another avenue to establish reputation would be through the testimonials written by our friends. Apart from our parents, our friends know us best; they know who we really are and what our activities are like. Thus, our reputation, whether good or bad, is based on the testimonials we receive. Since we meet people online, the only way we can introduce ourselves to them is through our profile and testimonials.

Identity Theft:

Identity theft works especially well in online communities, where your identity is not known unless stated by the users themselves. In Friendster, since almost all your minute details are up for ‘display’, identity theft is made effortless. For example, ‘B’ is an identity thief. He comes across your Friendster homepage and browses through your information, testimonials and your friends. He then sets up another account with a different email, pretending to be you, adds all of your friends, and worse, talks to them while assuming your identity. Now, your identity has officially been stolen! If I can pass as you, I can wreck havoc on your reputation, either on-line or off. (Donath, 1996). There is nothing that you can do because he has got all your details at his fingertips. To make things awful, you might not even know that your identity has been stolen.

Another form of identity theft is Pseudonymity. It is a word derived from pseudonym, meaning 'false name', and describes a state of disguised identity resulting from the use of a pseudonym (also called nym). The pseudonym identifies a holder, that is, one or more human beings who possess but do not disclose their true names (that is, legal identities). (Pseudonymity, 2006).

Conclusion:

These days where tarnishing of reputation and identity theft is rampant, internet users should be very well aware of the dangers that could arise due to revealing too much personal information online. Basically responsible use of the internet should be encouraged in order to prevent unwanted distress.

References:

1. “Pseudonymity” (December 16, 2006) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 10:10, February 20, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudonymity#Pseudonymity_and_online_reputations

2. “Online Identity” (February 15, 2006) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 10:21, February 20, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_identity

3. Donath, J. S. “Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community” (November 12, 1996). Retrieved February 20, 2007 from http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

4. “Friendster” (February 13, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 10:30, February 20, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendster

QotW4: Internet Economies And You

Sharing The Gift

Gift economies. What are they? Seriously, I only heard of this phrase for the first time in class on Monday.

Introduction:

Ever since the mid 1990s, the internet started off, serving its primary function of imparting knowledge. However, 10 years down the road, and the internet has transformed itself into a mixed economy; where you either pay for things or get it free. “The commercialization of the internet has been marked by a constant rise in e-commerce enterprises and fee-based content and services along side traditionally free varieties.” (Veale, 2003).

“A gift economy is an economic system in which the prevalent mode of exchange is for goods and services to be given without explicit agreement” and “this occurs in a cultural context where there is an expectation either of reciprocation—in the form of goods or services of comparable value, or of political support, general loyalty, honor to the giver, etc.—or of the gift being passed on in some other manner.” (Gift Economy, 2007).

Gifts:

A gift exchange usually engages a feeling of compulsion felt by one party towards another; most of the time, the need to repay the gift. “Gift exchanges should not involve explicit bargaining or demands that the gift be reciprocated, but a relationship in which there is only giving and no receiving is unlikely to last. The contrast to a gift exchange is a commodity transaction, in which no obligation exists after the exchange is consummated – the bottle of water purchased at a convenience store does not create an obligation to buy something there again. A gift is also tied in an inalienable way to the giver. This is to say that gifts are unique.” (Kollack, 1999). In gift economies, people gain most, by boosting the span and diversity of their social networks.

Motivations for contributing:

One of main reasons that propel people to contribute towards the gift economy is the fact that they expect something, and will be given something rather useful and beneficial in return. This form of motivation is known as anticipated reciprocity.

Another motivation that is very important is reputation or recognition. One of the key ingredients of encouraging a reputation is to allow contributors to be known or not to be anonymous. "The following example, from Meyers (1989) study of the computer underground illustrates the power of reputation. When involved in illegal activities, computer hackers must protect their personal identities with pseudonyms. If hackers use the same nicknames repeatedly, this can help the authorities to trace them. Nevertheless, hackers are reluctant to change their pseudonyms regularly because the status associated with a particular nickname would be lost. "(Virtual Community, 2007).

A third motivation is that a person willingly contributes a useful piece of information because the act results in a sense of efficacy; a sense that they have some effect on the environment. "There is well-developed research literature that has shown how important a sense of efficacy is (e.g. Bandura 1995), and making regular and high quality contributions to the group can help individuals believe that they have an impact on the group and support their own self-image as an efficacious person. Wikipedia is a prime example of an online community that gives contributors a sense of efficacy. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia which uses online software to enable anyone to create new articles and change any article in the encyclopedia. The changes you make are immediate, obvious, and available to the world." (Virtual Community, 2007).

More generally, an additional possible motivation is the attachment or commitment one can have to the group. In other words, the good of the group enters one's utility equation. (Kollack, 1999). These days, people generally tend to respond or commend on the works of others, proving the contributors with a sense of belonging and motivation. For instance, blogs allow readers to leave their comments behind thus, sharing their views about a particular posting. At the same time, Amazon.com also allows other users to rate their product reviews, enabling future buyers to better understand what they are about to purchase.
Although all four motivations come under different headings, it is possible to say that they do overlap one another in certain aspects.

Criticisms of the “Gift”:

As selfishness become prevalent in the world today, one of the main concerns of the gift economy is that people would tend to “take” more than they “give”. This serves as a losing end to those who actively contribute to the economy because then their work would be “made use of” by the free-riders.

For example…

As for myself, I am a member of ‘ShoppingLifestyle Singapore’. This is a forum where girls actively participate; posting questions regarding any girl-related issues and the others would reply or comment back. In this forum, the more you participate, the higher your rank will be and hence, the more credible you will be deemed to be.

Apart from the forums, the site also provides tips ranging from fashion and style, to hair and makeup, skin and body, health and wellness, and even love and family. I found it to be really useful because you will tend to get not only information form your age group women but those who are senior and more experienced than you.

Conclusion:

I believe that in this internet age, the only way we can help others improve and at the same time improve ourselves is through sharing, and what better way to share than to do it online; through the gift economy!

References:

1. Raymond, E. S. “Gift Economy” (October 17, 2003) From FuturePositive. Retrieved February 9, 2007 from http://futurepositive.synearth.net/stories/storyReader$223

2. “Gift Economy” (February 4, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 15:24, January 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economies

3. Veale, K. J. “Internet Gift Economies: Voluntary Payment Schemes As Tangible Reciprocity” (November 11, 2003) From First Monday. Retrieved February 9, 2007 from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_12/veale/

4. Kollock, P. (1999). 'The Economies of Online Cooperation; Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace" Retrieved February 9, 2007 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm

5. “Virtual Community” (February 8, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 16:10, January 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_community#Anticipated_Reciprocity

6. Pinchot, Gifford (1995). "The Gift Economy" Retrieved February 9, 2007 from http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC41/PinchotG.htm

QotW3: Sharing, Copyright & Creative Culture

It Is Up To Us!

To all of you reading this entry, has anyone not downloaded any piece of information or any song illegally from the internet? I guess it is almost impossible to do so. With the vast amount of information that is up on the internet, obtaining them makes it just simpler by the day. All you need is a right-click and “save target as”.

“A copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by government for a limited time to protect the particular form, way or manner in which an idea or information is expressed. Copyright may subsist in a wide range of creative or artistics forms or "works", including literary works, movies, musical works, sound recordings, paintings, photographs, software, and industrial designs. Copyright is a type of intellectual property.” (Copyright, 2007)

The most common form of copyright today is the peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing of files; mainly MP3s. P2P is “a type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities. This differs from client/server architectures, in which some computers are dedicated to serving the others. Peer-to-peer networks are generally simpler, but they usually do not offer the same performance under heavy loads.” (Webopedia, 2005). When an artiste releases a music album and you only like a few songs, you are definitely not going to waste about $20 buying the whole album. What is easier than downloading them in a matter of seconds, and it’s totally free! Programmes such as LimeWire and Morpheus make downloading such files really effortless.

A case study done in Canada last year states that the apparent reasons for the dip in music sales are the lenient copyright laws and the online sharing of music files. “Net music sales in the country dropped by $23.36 million, or four per cent, to $608.71 million in 2005, according to the Canadian Recording Industry Association. While sales stabilized in 2004, they've been declining steadily for almost a decade. At the same time, P2P file-swapping continues to grow.” (Chartattack, 2006). Although Canada is the seventh largest music marketing in the world with a broadband internet penetration of only 25%, the Organisation For Economic Co-operation And Development has stated it as having the highest online piracy rate for the year 2004/2005.

Ever since the evolution of Discmans into MP3 players and iPods, P2P sharing is gaining its popularity and importance in the virtual world.

The main purpose of copyright laws is to “ultimately benefit the public by promoting "the progress of science and useful arts;" that is, learning and knowledge. The means of this promotion is in the creation of laws that give creators exclusive rights to their creations for a limited time.” (Ovalle, 2005). With these copyright laws properly in place, content creators can enjoy monetary gains, which in turn serve as an impetus for them to expand their creativity. Simultaneously, we, the public benefit since these works are available to us free-of-charge once the limited time has elapsed. However, we need to bear in mind that the copyright laws are naturally intended to rule out a balance between the interests of the authors and the interests of the public.

Copyright is nothing without its limitations, and some of the well-known ones are expiration, orphan works, fair use, and parody.

Expiration, “one of the most obvious and important limitations to copyright is that it is not perpetual and expires after a set amount of time. The length of a copyright on work created during or after 1978 is the life of the author plus seventy years. For works of corporate authorship, the term is 95 years from date of publication or 120 years from date of creation, whichever is shorter.” (PlagiarismToday, 2006).

Out of the four limitations, the most exploited one would be ‘fair use’. This is because, “there is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission.” (U.S Copyright Office, 2006). Hence, using this to their advantage, the public copy almost everything and anything.

So is there anyway for both the creators and the public to be in a win-win situation? This is something that both parties need to figure out. Although a substantial number of people have been caught illegally downloading music, millions of others have been giving the slip. Trying to grab hold of everyone is almost impossible. Thus, creators and the public should work hand-in-hand to come up with a program that will take into consideration the interests of both groups. The more you upload, the more people will try to download them!

References

1. Carlos Ovalle. “Why Copyright?” (2006) From Information In Cyberspace. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://sentra.ischool.utexas.edu/%7Ei312co/2.php

2. Kevin S. Brady. “Copyright FAQ: 25 Common Myths and Misconceptions” (2004) From GoldenGate Internet Services”. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://users.goldengate.net/%7Ekbrady/copyright.html

3. “Remix culture: a rights nightmare” (2007) From Catapult. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://www.abc.net.au/catapult/indepth/s1645533.htm

4. Jessica Litman. “Sharing and Stealing” (November 23, 2003) From Social Science Research Network. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=472141

5. “Peer-to-Peer Architecture” (2007) From Webopedia. Retrieved February 1, 2007 form http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/p/peer_to_peer_architecture.html

6. “Internet Piracy And Lax Copyright Laws Contribute To Lower Music Sales” (March 13, 2006) From Chartattack. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2006/03/1311.cfm

7. “Limitations of Copyright” (April 24, 2006) From PlagiarismToday. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/your-copyrights-online/limitations-of-copyright

8. “Fair Use” (July, 2006) From Copyright: United States Copyright Office. Retrieved February 1, 2007 from http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

9. “Copyright” (February 2, 2007) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 13:12, January 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

COM 125: Week 2

History of the Internet (E-mails)

Electronic mails; better known as e-mails. They have been around even before the dawn of the internet. Early forms of e-mails, somewhat being the “letters” of the modern era, have been dominating the virtual scene since 1965. E-mails are a more up to date method of transmitting data, text files, digital photos, and audio and video files from one computer to another over the internet. This phenomenon did not become popular until 1990 and now it is a major business and personal communications (ThinkQuest, 2005).

Today, e-mails have virtually taken over letter writing. They serve as a rather convenient, free and easy avenue through which one can convey the necessary information to the intended recipients. Almost every other person would know how to use e-mails because it is so simple, with ample instructions and help features.

“Before internetworking began, email could only be used to send messages to various users of the same computer. Once computers began to talk to each other over networks, however, the problem became a little more complex - We needed to be able to put a message in an envelope and address it. To do this, we needed a means to indicate to whom letters should go that the electronic posties understood - just like the postal system, we needed a way to indicate an address.” (Net History, 2004). This is where Ray Tomlinson was credited for inventing the e-mail back in 1972. Tomlinson created addresses, which differs according to the users. This made it easier for people to sent messages jus to that intended person, and not to everyone else who uses the same computer.

Thus, the ease at which one can make use of e-mails has soared it total users to 600 million, ever since its launch.

As we improve and diverse vastly, in terms of technology, the e-mail also improves with us. Hence, now the e-mail not only serves its prime purpose of transmitting information, but also acts as a medium through which viruses and spasm mails are being sent.

Email has had a wonderful impact on the amount of information being sent world wide. It is now an important method of transmitting information previously sent by regular mail, telephone, courier, fax, television, or radio. (ThinkQuest, 2005). Some of the key advantages of the e-mail are its speed, the ease at which data is processed, and its mail lists. E-mails can be at present be sent to all parts of the world instantaneously. There is not much of a hassle involved. Secondly, e-mails contain electronic information, as its name suggest. Therefore, it is almost effortless to further work on the information if there is a need to. Lastly, “users may join special mailing lists, so that they will be automatically provided with the latest information by electronic circular letters. Information providers, on the other hand, can fully automize the process of distributing information.” (InfoCenter FbWi, 1997).

One of the biggest disadvantages of email is the availability of room for misunderstanding. For instance, saying that my friend is a PIG, and saying my friend is (wink) a PIG (grin), is totally different. It is very much obvious that the second example is slant toward a friendlier and no so serious tone.

Spamming is another issue that has been bothering most e-mail users today. As Wikipedia puts it “spamming is unsolicited commercial e-mail. Because of the very low cost of sending e-mail, spammers can send hundreds of millions of e-mail messages each day over an inexpensive Internet connection. Hundreds of active spammers sending this volume of mail results in information overload for many computer users who receive tens or even hundreds of junk messages each day.” (Wikipedia, 2007).

The final and rather new drawback that the e-mail has is the spread of e-mail viruses. Although better known as the e-mail worm, these viruses attach themselves to the emails that are being sent out, and once opened, they quickly replicate themselves into the hard drives. Thus, it is the job of responsible e-mail users to scan all incoming e-mails for such viruses that could crash their system in just a matter of seconds.

Hence, it does not really matter if we are technologically savvy. What is more important is that the more we rely on technology and e-mails, the more we should be considerate to the other users out there. Thus exercising responsible usage is of utmost importance!

References

1. History of the Internet (August 20, 2006) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 12:49, January 25, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_Internet&oldid=70771572

2. History of the World Wide Web (September 5, 2006) From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:57, January 25, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_World_Wide_Web&oldid=73974490

3. E-mail From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved 14:02, January 26, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail

4. Ian Peter. “The History of email” Retrieved January 25, 2007, from

http://www.nethistory.info/History%20of%20the%20Internet/email.html

5. R.T.Griffiths (October 11, 2002). “History of the Internet”. Retrieved January 25, 2007 from http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/ivh/chap3.htm

6. Information Society Technologies (May 16, 2003). “The Pros of Email - It's Not All Spam!”. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://istresults.cordis.europa.eu/index.cfm/section/news/tpl/article/BrowsingType/Features/ID/1036

7. InfoCenter FbWi (October 29, 1997). “The Internet: A General Introduction”. Retrieved January 26, 2007 from http://www.mcl.fh-osnabrueck.de/~temme/tutor/internet/slides/image14.html

8. “The History of Email”. Retrieved January 26, 2007 from http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00047/email.htm

2nd Week @ School

Its only the second week of school and the pressure from school has started to build up. Presentations, assignments, pop quizes. But Im somehow starting to love school even more than before. Perhaps because of the way lectures are being conducted. Posting assignments on blogs. I was quite skeptical about it at first cos for one reason; I hate sitting infront of the computer, staring at the screen and facing a writers-block. Im slowly getting the hang of it, and being able to express myself with greater freedom (though responsible use of blogging is SUPER important), it just feels great! Just submitted my COM 242 assignment. Hope i didn digress way too much.


Handling 6 modules this semester and getting the grades I want is like this:

A load too much. But with motivating lecturers around, Im sure things will be fine. Wishing for yet another great day at school tomorrow!

LOL!!

Found these videos quite some time back and thought of sharing them with you. Some of you might have watched it already though. Its hilarious! Trust me!!

Wow-wow-wee

Hello! Ok first of all I cannot imagine myself blogging, but I am *clapsshoulderpats*. Well my name is C Hemalata, but best known as Hema (Hey-ma). Im turning 22 in a few mths time, 11 months to be precise. Actually I am a very quiet, soft-spoken (outside home), bubbly and chirpy, and I do get extremely extremely quiet or nonsensical when I am tired. Its two extremes. Patience is my forte but I can be a real pain and irritating whenever I feel like it. One of my weekend-must-do is to watch scooer, especially the English Premier League, and Manchester United is simply the best!! They way you see 22 idiots on the field chasing after a stupid ball simply draws you to the game and thats how I got hooked. Well, and also not forgeting the fact that I come from a family of 4 males.

My other past-times include sleeping, sleeping and more sleeping. Nah! Just kidding. I get very interested when it comes to reading about history or archaeology, eating chocolates and exercise (how contradictory), dance or even about handicrafts. By the way, just to let you all know, I have been learning Indian classical dance since 1994. I think thats the only exercise I do nowadays. Haha! But it does get tiring at times. Make sure whoever reading this don't laugh at my picture ok. It was taken just before a performance.

I think you guys should go check up on this website, if you are interested. This one is about King Tut. Its my all time favourite and simply interesting! All the new details and information they keep adding gets me very facinated.

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0506/feature1/

Besides these, I also want to learn Mandarin and brush up on my tamil a little (its horrible trust me. Even my grandpa does not understand what I am saying sometimes!) Oh yes, If you know anybody who teaches Mandarin, please do let me know ok. Ill buy you a can of drink!! *promise*.

Alrite, that's about it for now and will cya guys in class!! Ta! *hugs*