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The articles for this week certain are interesting in thinking about the future (and the past) of copyright issues that many of use will have to face. Because there is value in both sides of the issue it is difficult to take a side and stick with it largely because in all likelihood you will one day find yourself on the other side of the fence. Metallica jumps to mind in the debates over open-source and freedom on the internet. When the band got its start, there popularity skyrocketed thanks largely to the numbers of boot-leg tapes circulating amongst fans, whose numbers continued to grow with every new listener of the tapes. The coin flipped in the late nineties and early 21st century when Napster allowed users to download music free off the internet. Metallica was one of the loudest voices againstthis downloading of copyrighted material. There my be a substantial difference between boot-leg tapes of the eighties and P2P files sharing of the 00s but the similarities are undeniable.
Because we may one day fine ourselves in a similar situation the articles provide interesting points to the debate. We want our work protected, but we don’t want the creative process stifling by unsympathetic copyright laws, as is discussed in Lessig and the documentary filmmakers statement. I think this becomes especially true with the changing media environment and the consolidation of the industry stressed in Lessig’s book. For now we will be forced to pay close attention and follow the copyright laws in order to participate in the exchange of ideas. The debate will continue and activism will likely follow.
Final Project Prospectus
For my final project I propose to build an online exhibit which combines tools explored in this course with those being explored in a parallel library science course. For the LS project I will be creating an online bibliography known as a “pathfinder.” This pathfinder is intended in aiding a users ability to quickly find resources and contribute to his/her over research. The list will be composed largely of secondary sources but also include periodicals and related primary sources. I will build onto this project by using what we have learn in New Media. A small database could be built to increase searchability of the primary sources and images. The goal of the site, in addition to aiding research, is to appeal to a broad audience interested in the subject matter and gain new prospective by making choices in how the material is viewed.
The topic of discussion in the site will be about urban riots in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. I seek to explain the urban setting and contentious events leading up to the violence that was so prevalent in this period. I will also attempt to compare the primary sources available from the period in the context of racial prospect. Clearly the events of the riots would play out very different depending on the point of view of the observer (white v. black) and I hope to display this to the viewer of the site.
I plan to use Dreamweaver and other related graphics tools which I already have some proficiency in using but wish to strengthen in the coming weeks. Quick question I would like to ask about the project: In writing the proposal how much of the project should we have completed as an example of what we wish to accomplish?
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