For the last lecture on Web 2.0 and virtual communities, Adam took the reins. He was at the helm again this week for an eye-opening lecture on Open Source software and Creative Commons licences.
The idea that 'social media' (or social social technologies) exist largely to facilitate collaboration, community and the dissemination of culture amongst like-minded individuals is at odds with and somewhat hampered by intellectual property laws... At least, as far as they can be applied to copyright and licencing laws for created works, including music, text, images and audiovisual content.
Most of us are very conscious of the stringent copyright laws that 'protect' various physical objects and intellectual ideas - we could hardly avoid this little guy - © - if we tried. It's attached to the logos, catch phrases, images and other works generated by millions of companies worldwide. It's a stamp of secrecy and exclusivity that prohibits users from downloading, trading, creating and sharing ideas, information and content without the permission of the 'original' author.
In his book, Viral Spiral (2010), David Bollier suggests that the advent of the internet, free software and the World Wide Web have been world-changing sources of empowerment for the 'commoners' of the digital age - he's referring to you and I, of course.
"Ordinary people went online, if only to escape the incessant blare of television and radio, the intrusive ads and the narrow spectrum of expression. People started to discover their own voices . . . and their own capabilities . . . and one another."
Bollier's 'viral spiral' describes the 21st century shift of the attention of a growing number of everyday people (A.K.A. commoners) from commercial to homegrown media genres: the ensuing barrage of content creators (artists, 'techies', activists, scientists, et cetera) saw the need for an online commons. The result was the 'free culture' movement. Bollier's support of the Creative Commons is linked to his belief that the ability of the internet to 'virally propagate creativity' has the potential to disseminate a novel idea across physical boundaries to a person or group that can truly benefit from it (Bollier, 2010). Secondly, Bollier refers to the "messy, irregular, indeterminate, serendipitous" process of change that epitomises life and innovation online (2010): the Creative Commons not only facilitate the flow of creativity and culture that is necessary for continued development across all facets of society; CC also provides a framework far better suited to the peculiar nature of online data content and creator/user interactions.
True to form, Bollier has made a digital version of his book available on the web under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence.
I must admit, that I had no idea, prior to attending this lecture, what the Creative Commons are or that there had ever been an issue in applying traditional intellectual property laws to online content. The concept of making content accessible in order to serve the needs of society and fellow creators, and to foster more liberal cultural sharing amongst creators worldwide is intriguing to me. As a graphic design student several years ago, I was drilled quite comprehensively in the strict practices of using others' content and protecting my own creations. The emphasis was on ensuring one's own creations were safe from those unseen online enemies poised to pilfer, defile, and rip-off to make a tidy (and undeserved) profit. I'm now left wondering why the Creative Commons were never discussed during my studies... and whether it might have been more wise to discuss ways to generate the greatest common good through sharing, rather than 'fencing off' digital works from my fellow commoners.
Reference List
Bollier, D. (2010). Viral Spiral. London; New York: The New Press.
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