Media Views: May 2007 Archives
Copyright and fair use explained with the help of Disney characters.
A recent study by the OpenNet Inititaive (ONI) found that the scale, the scope, and the sophistication of state-based Internet filtering have all increased dramatically in recent years.The study of thousands of websites across 120 Internet Service Providers found 25 of 41 countries surveyed showed evidence of content filtering, particularly Internet -based applications like YouTube, Skype, and Google Maps - and not static websites.
As "The Simpsons" - the longest-lasting comedy of any kind in prime-time TV history, surpassing "My Three Sons," "M*A*S*H," "Happy Days" and "Cheers" - airs its 400th episode, Julian Gough argues in the May 2007 Prospect Magazine issue that the modern literary novel should "steal from 'The Simpsons,' not Henry James." The literary novel, according to Gough, has "gone late Roman" not only for its overindulgence in tragedy and not comedy, but also because the literary novel has lost contact with what made it vital - mass audiences.
In his article, Josh Getlin of the Los Angeles Times comments on the seeming shifting balance regarding book reviews published in mainstream press and online literary blogs, noting that as print newspapers begin cutting or resizing their book review sections, literary blogs are keeping the discussion about the book publishing industry alive and churning.
Jeffrey R. Young of The Chronicle of Higher Education recently wrote an article detailing the research of Michael Wesch, who is exploring the (performative) world of video bloggers and how their productions impact the growing online community in Web 2.0.
Wesch, an assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University, has gained fame for his own YouTube production, "The Machine is Us/ing Us," viewed over two million times.
Wesch, an assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University, has gained fame for his own YouTube production, "The Machine is Us/ing Us," viewed over two million times.
A recent nationwide survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that Wikipedia is far more popular among the well-educated than it is among those with lower levels of education. For instance, 50% of those with at least a college degree consult the site, compared with 22% of those with a high school diploma. In addition to sheer convenience, the report lists Wikipedia's plethora of internal and external links as one of the reasons for the online encyclopedia's success since the numerous links help to raise the site's visibility and ranking when performing Google keyword searches.
A copy of the full report is available online.
Do you blog? If yes, then please consider participating in an online survey from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science. The study, Blogger Perceptions on Digital Preservation, is meant to investigate bloggers’ own perceptions on digital preservation in relation to their own blogging activities, as well as the blogosphere in general. More informatio about the study is included in the study's fact sheet.
The web-based survey will be available through May 23, 2007.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Carolyn Hank, the study's Principle Investigator, at hcarolyn@email.unc.edu. Thanks!
In celebration of its 207th birthday this year, the Library of Congress recently launched the Library of Congress blog.The purpose of the blog is to "give readers the opportunity to see more of the institution" and "highlight many of the wonderful things that happen here."
For its first post, on April 24th, the director of communications, Matt Raymond, began with the words of Samuel Morse in 1844: "What hath God wrought?" - the first words ever transmitted electronically via the telegraph.
A recent study of college students and their use of online video content conducted by the American University's Center for Social Media revealed an "astonishing amount" of confusion by students over how to handle copyright law when creating user-generated content. The study found that while students are generally concerned with staying on the "good side" of copyright law, they tend to create their own rules about how to use intellectual property -- not understanding their own rights as creators of content.
John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable also comments on the study in his article.
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