Please, Dont Censor the Internet (Free Culture Revision)

Corporate interests are compromising the free culture of the Internet. The current commercial culture does not mesh well with the rapidly growing free culture of the Internet. However, because of recent actions taken by big business, the free culture is becoming more and more of a “permission” culture (Lessig 8). While the Internet has created an endless frontier in regards to sharing, convergence culture, and cultivating a new technological culture it has compromised the profits of big corporation.

As Lawrence Lessig maintains, the Internet is actually very good for consumers because it creates a much more competitive. However, big business’s such as RCA attempt to use the law to protect their profits and maintain smaller, less competitive markets. The battle between the free culture of the Internet and the profit seeking and greedy culture of big business is a conflict of piracy. While the history of content is essentially a history of piracy, big businesses are attempting to use law to inhibit the process of culture development (which inevitably will include some sort of piracy). While it is very important to protect the property of individuals it is equally important for new cultures to develop. Therefore it is necessary to find a balance between digital property rights and creative, free culture. However, recent legal actions taken by big business are compromising this balance.

Big business’s are currently attempting to blacklist the Internet by attempting to pass SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and the Protect IP act to limit the free culture of the Internet. This legislation, if passed, would shut down any website with stolen property. The list of sites even includes YouTube. This initiative will result in a monitored and censored Internet, void of free speech and culture. This legislation is similar to the current Internet censorship in China. As opposed to fighting the free culture of the Internet, big business must learn to embrace new technologies and work within a developing system. They are currently providing a disservice to society by refusing to accept free culture and maintain the old status quo.

An article on the legislation can be found here.

Lessing, Lawrence. “Introduction,” Free Culture

The Internet is the future of Media: Convergence Culture (Week 3 Revision)

YouTube matters, not because you can find your favorite videos on the site. YouTube is important because it represents the next generation of media. As Jean Burgess and Joshua Green state “YouTube represents  not so much the collision as the co-evolution and uneasy co-existence  of ‘old’ and ‘new’ media industries, forms, and practices”(Burgess, Green 14). Some corporate interests of big business want to destroy sites like YouTube for piracy reasons while other have learned to embrace. Yet most fail to realize the history of music, film, dance, etc… is a history of piracy. Other professionals such as Henry Jenkins view the site as a location of convergence culture, a place where the old forms of media meet the new. Convergence culture is growing and slowly becoming a phenomenon.

Jean Burgess and Joshua Green view YouTube as a place where participatory culture converges with the culture of corporate America. YouTube is interesting because it is one of the first sites in a long list to represent the people’s interests and corporate interests converging. Some big business found a way to profit off the peoples free culture of the Internet without major disruption by working within the system. YouTube is still around and used across the globe.  Yet some industries fear the transition, and attempt to impede the free culture to secure their profits. The media industry is at the forefront of this campaign.

Hundreds of sites have been shutdown due to copyright infringement or piracy violations. Napster is a particularly good example because it was the first major peer-to-peer music-sharing site. Record companies became furious because album sales dropped. They sued nester and won but new sites pop up just as quickly as they are destroyed. The actions of record companies are somewhat ironic because they claim to protect artists, even though the company owns the music produced and profits off of it. Media industries do not accept the fact the internet has become a source of major economic power and are willing to compromise the free culture of the internet to prevent the co-evolution of media.

Burgess, Jean, Joshua Green. "YouTube and mainstream media," YouTube.

"I Do It For The Lulz"

What is a hacker? The term obviously has a negative connotation, however, the average Joe has a skewed perception of what a hacker is. While hackers, trolls, and even programmers have a lot in common, such as a dire love for computers and the Internet. The actions of these individuals clearly depict their motives, which is ample reason to differentiate trolls and hackers. Hackers can be and generally are, good people. Hackers pursue an unimpeded free culture on the web. They want the Internet to reach its potential through different vehicles. For instance, some hackers write open source software so users have a free and open alternate (known as Linux) to costly software. Trolls, on the other hand, do not have any sort of agenda and do not care about a free and open Internet for everyone. Trolls “do it for the lulz”.

Gabriella Coleman illustrates the history and progression of hackers. Her research includes origins and motives. Coleman also discusses Internet trolling in the broader context of hacker and its growing prevalence. Coleman doesn’t approach either side with a bias and makes no claims about the moral fiber of trolling and hacking. She simply tells the story of trolls and why they exist. She illustrates numerous examples of online trolling, including the infamous case surround the Church of Scientology. A member of the group “Anonymous”, which hacked the Church of Scientology releasing secret information and videos of Tom Cruise, described the actions as “Ultra coordination motherfuckary”. This perfectly describes troll’s motives. They troll at someone’s expense and embrace a “for shits and giggles” type of humor where a superior party clearly exists. Essentially “Trolls fuck shit up”. While these pranks are often harmless some are not (even though they can still be hilarious ie; Rick Rolling). Obviously the intentions of trolls are vastly differentiate from those of hackers. Hence, the need to differentiate the two is a necessity.

Trolls exist in Second Life, World of Warcraft, eHarmony, 4chan, and more. Trolls are all over the Internet. Trolls often use extremely derogatory language and embrace counter culture. Some of the best examples of trolling occur in gaming networks and applications such as Ventrilo. Not every troll is malicious; some actually play harmless pranks that turn out to be hilarious such as the infamous Duke Nukem voice on Ventrilo. A user annoys another player by repeating famous Duke Nukem lines, simply to get a rise out of opponents.

*******THIS VIDEO CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE (A LOT OF ADULT LANGUAGE) PLEASE WATCH WITH CAUTION********

Coleman, Gabriella "Phreaks, Hackers, and Trolls and the Politics of Transgression and Spectacle"

Smart Mobs Are Everywhere

Smart mobs have arrived in full force, largely due to mobile devices, which have enhanced their capacities tremendously. Smart mobs can be a great service and disservice, it is important to realize their capacity yields a double-edged sword. Smart mobs are groups who act in an organized manner through communicating by ways never before possible. Hand held devices with computing and communication abilities are everywhere, connecting people to each other and their environment. These devices give smart mobs the capacity to organize and act at an astonishing speed. It is important to note that the term “mobile ad hoc” is the same thing as a smart mob.

Howard Rheingold argues that smart mobs are characterized by a lack of central authority, the ability to organize quickly, and the use of the World Wide Web. While smart mobs can be used for negative purposes such as civil disobedience and political unrest, the phenomenon has created a vast network of intelligent users willing to act. Obviously smart mobs can be used to instigate or organize fights, and spread slander but they aren’t entirely negative. Smart mobs effectively push political agendas, organize protests, increase civic participation and even have the capacity to play a crucial role in overthrowing a tyrannous dictator. The importance of mobile devices cannot be understated. These devices have increased the capacity for citizen journalism, creation of mobile communities, and can even be the “spark” for a new romance. Moreover, mobile devices were imperative to the development of smart mobs and ensure these communities stay connected.

Thousands of examples of smart mobs exist, but a particularly interesting one occurred in Poland in 2009. This example is important because it shows the prevalence of smart mobs and Internet communication in Eastern Europe (which is underdeveloped compared to Western Europe). During a U2 concert, the crowd in Chorzow coordinated the creation of a huge polish flag, by waving red and white pieces of cloth, over the Internet (organization was done prior to the concert). The event is a beautiful display of what smart mobs can be used for.

Rheingold, Howard "Smart Mobs: The Power of the Mobile Many"

Citizen Journalism? "I'm All For It"

Recently Greg Campbell, the author of Flawless: Inside the Worlds Largest Diamond Heist in History, visited Lawrence University to give a speech. Well low and behold; he stopped by The Viking Room that night and I just happened to be there. We exchanged a few words and decided to go out for a few beers. Greg turned out to be an incredibly interesting man and a great storyteller. He spoke of interactions with Hunter S. Thompson, Tim Hetherington and more. Some stories were hilarious while others were gruesome.

Greg is a professional journalist and his works include The Road to Kosovo: A Balkan Diary, Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Path of the World's Most Precious Stones, and Flawless: Inside the Worlds Largest Diamond Heist in History. His books on blood diamonds inspired the film Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I asked Greg what he thought about citizen journalism. His response was much different than what I read previously by Henry Jenkins. Campbell maintained that he didn't care if someone has a degree in journalism. He simply stated, if it is good writing and spreads information that needs to be shared then "I'm all for it" but placed emphasis on the "good writing" part.

After the night was over, my conversation got my thinking about citizen journalism more generally. Thanks to the Internet and mobile devices anyone can be a journalist. Furthermore Greg is correct, as long as the report is well written, who cares if the author has a degree. Thousands of stories have surfaced thanks to citizen journalism. The Internet has given everyone the opportunity to share information. The events that have unfolded in Libya this past year has had been covered by citizen journalist, here is a YouTube compilation of examples.

THIS VIDEO IS GRAPHIC AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AUDIENCES

Greg Campbell's website can be found here

Whatever, Its Just Cyber Drama

Cyber bullying is real; it happens every day and seriously affects people. It is important to note that there is a difference between “cyber bullying” and what I like to call “cyber drama”. While cyber bullying is repetitive the actions between users is not reciprocal. One person is clearly the victim. Cyber drama is a one-time event that can affect multiple users, sort of like a cyber prank. The users are not victimized because the damage done is minimal. In comparison cyber bullying inflicts serious damage to people and has resulted in suicide.
Unfortunately numerous examples of cyber bullying exist but few more infamous than the suicide of thirteen year old Meghan Meier. The mother of one of Meghan’s peers and prior friend made a fake Myspace account to gain insight into her daughters personal life and interacted with Meghan. The relationship became hostile. The mother posted insulting messages on Myspace calling Meghan “fat” and “a slut”. The messages were repetitive and Meghan was victimized making this an example of cyber bullying.
Cyber drama is not as grim. It can even be funny at times. Cyber drama occurs at particularly high rates in online gaming communities like World of Warcraft and Xbox Live. A great example is the “Leroy Jenkins!!!!” video. During a raid in World of Warcaft a character by the name of Leroy Jenkins stuns the group and attracts every nearby enemy, killing the everyone’s character. Although each player died very little damage was done, particularly in comparison to cyber bullying, and happened only once, and affected multiple users. The video turned out to be quite successful, going viral.

An article on Meghan Meier can be found here.
Here is the Leroy Jenkins video

Google: A Giant Security Camera

Google is used everyday by millions of people for email, Internet searches, socializing, and more but many of these users don’t realize what makes Google so effective simultaneously sacrifices privacy. Google has essentially become a giant security camera. The company is scary because as more and more people use it, the more personal information Google retains in its database. Googlization is a reality; the world has in fact become googlized. Google retains every search a user makes and based of previous searches, personalizes the search engine for every user. Google can even predict what users are going to search. Google has effectively invaded the lives of millions of online users.

Google grows more and more every day. Google started as a green roots effort at an effective online search engine and has since ended any opportunity for a new engine to develop. Google has grown so much that if a site wants any sort of publicity; it needs to jump on Google’s boat. Perhaps the scariest of Google’s broad array of online service is “street view” on Google earth. Users can actually view the street of almost any area of the world. While this provides numerous advantages, it poses equally as many disadvantages.

“Street view” can be great, particularly when exploring new areas and attempting to become familiar with a certain area before even arriving. It also is extraordinarily useful for navigation. However, “street view” is perhaps most useful for potential thieves. For example, a thief can look at the entire Lawrence university campus, check the open hours of certain buildings online (also using Google) and have an adequate idea of the area and where to escape. For instance, the Mudd Library has a few different entrances that can all be seen on street view. A potential laptop thief can easily survey the building to decide when to go and steal laptops. This proves Google’s service’s are equally dangerous as they are useful. Google has a bank of information about virtually everybody and users should become informed to learn how to properly use the web. 

Flickr, the World Biggest and Most Intuitive Photo Album

Flickr is a prominent social networking website in cyberspace that allows users to share photos with friends, family, and other users. Recently, a storyboard was posted on Flickr mimicking major themes and features of the Grand Theft Auto video game series, however, the storyboard was photographed in Appleton Wisconsin as opposed to “San Andreas”.  The story begins with a picture of a girl sitting on a couch playing Xbox. The next few shots have an identical interface to the Grand Theft Auto series but the pictures aren’t computer generated. The photos depict a man taking another man out of his car, beating him, stealing seventy-five dollars, taking his car, and throwing the passenger out of the door. Afterwards, the man walks into the bank with two empty bags and a gun in the weapons logo. The next scene shows him walking out of the bank with two full bags and millions of dollars. The story ends with a girl walking away from the couch with an Xbox controller in the foreground. The story has numerous metaphors, such as anonymity in cyberspace as depicted by the girl becoming the man in the game.

            Flickr is an extremely user friendly website. Moreover, Flickr, is more than a website, its an online tool. Flickr has essentially become a massive online photo album. Personally, I have found it extraordinarily easy to use. Uploading photos, tagging, creating and editing sets all seems intuitive on Flickr, as if the late Steve Jobs played a role in its development. The Grand Theft Auto idea came from groupthink. The crew responsible for “Grand Theft Auto: Midwest City” wanted to photograph a story that parallels the progression of cyberspace, and the idea of having numerous personalities. Developments such as these can be seen in the idea of the story itself. It is a group of kids, rewriting a scene of Grand Theft auto, putting a unique spin on it, and sharing it with the world.

            PBS journalist Jennifer Woodward Maderazo came to similar conclusions about Flickr in her article “Flickr Changes Lives, Launches Photog Careers”.  She describes Flickr as a place where “bad photographers get schooled, mediocre ones get better and some even rise to the top as stars, all supported by an immense, and sometimes intimate, international community”. Maderazo also believes Flickr is more than a social networking site where friends can share pictures. The storyboard “Grand Theft Auto: Midwest City” is simply the tip of the iceberg. Akin to Maderazo’s beliefs, Flickr is a place for experimentation and an online destination for artists to develop their talents.

"Grand Theft Auto: Midwest City" can be found here.

Jennifer Woodward Maderazo's article here.

Corporate Interests Will Destroy the Internets Creative Potential

The culture of the Internet is being drastically altered everyday. The Internet used to have a free culture, one where anyone could express themselves through many different mediums (video, pictures, text, etc…). Lawrence Lessig is a fan of the free culture phenomenon, however, he maintains that corporate interests are destroying free culture. Free culture is slowly changing to a permission culture. Lessig also maintains that “permission culture” is the extreme opposite of free culture. The worst consequence of the emergence of permission culture is the way it affects creativity, particularly in the context of cyberspace. Recent legislation coupled with commercial interests are essentially putting a surveillance system on the internet.

Corporate interests having an affect on creativity in cyberspace is nothing new, particularly when Google comes into question. In winter of 2010, Google announced it was going to build fiber optic broadband Internet connections offering one gigabyte of service a second. Google was going to test the technology in a select few communities at first to see potential ways for users to have a fast broadband connection heading forward. This immediately led Internet Service Providers (ISP) to speculate on Google’s future in the service sector. Google obviously has an interest in increasing the number of users on the web but may attempt to enter the Internet service sector to truly place a monopoly on Google users. The article can be found by Click Here

This move by Google supports Lawrence’s claim. Google already charges business’ to be listed by the search engine and charge advertisers massive amounts to have Google users be exposed to ads at all times. However, if Google could decide who can and cant use the web (and equally as important, Google’s search engine) they could drastically curve creativity on the Internet. Anyone who publishes anti-Google articles could be cut out of the Internet (if they are a google user, which millions are). This act by Google is one of millions that limit creativity on the web and reinforce Lessig’s claims.