Mcleod

Reading about current and developing laws surrounding music sampling really made me concerned about the creative opportunities that are being stripped from the music industry and public as a whole. Some can see copyright laws as being put in place for the good of creative artists when really it "has more potential to suppress authors than it does to motivate them." The chapter talks a lot about the hip-hop revolution that took place in the 1980's and 90's. I found it intriguing when Mcleod speaks about the evolution of hip-hop as being "a series of events built around mistakes that sounded good, and which were further developed." This seems so important to me, we are able to see how the hip-hop generation was fueled by the creative minds who built on past work, pushing the envelope to develop their own unique style and meaning within their music. It seems so obvious for the music community to take what is human nature, to build and perpetuate the pursuit of knowledge through experimental practices. And how could it be that laws would be enacted to prohibit such practices. We are shown through the chapter why these laws are put into place and who the true benefactors are; corporate giants. It's often not the creator or artist that holds copyrights to their work, but instead their record label who benefits from the monetary funds collected through fees, fines and litigation.

It seems more important than ever to reaffirm our ability to express our creativity through various mediums. Pushing the boundaries of expression is what the hip-hop revolution was built on, even in its smallest form, carrying these concepts into our everyday life can help develop a collective understanding of the common good developed through creative platforms. From making small adjustments and pushing our thoughts and actions in everyday life to pushing for government reform; we just might be on the cusp of another revolution.

Mcleod

Kembrew Mcleod begins his book with a variety of examples geared to show how copyright laws may be taken over the top. He first argues that Fox News, and talk show host Bill O'Reilly in particular, have a tendency to take things too far, thereby waging a war against individual freedoms. Bill is no stranger to going over the top, as seen here (warning: contains strong language). Mcleod continues with his examples, this time moving from Fox onto Donald Trump, who apparently trademarked his infamous phrase "You're fired," and his arrogant hand gesture as well. Mcleod likely incorporated this series of examples at the beginning of his book to get readers emotionally involved in the issue at hand. When hearing multiple absurd stories one after another many people are likely to get fired up and will be more receptive to the message to come.

Other ways in which Mcleod presents his argument are close to home for our class. Mcleod discusses methods used by seed companies to prevent farmers from reusing seeds year after year. I was slightly caught off guard by the fact that Mcleod introduces this section of the reading with a description of Iowa that is stereotypical at best. I feel like most Iowans constantly work to encourage others to dismiss the stereotypes commonly held toward our state, but Mcleod furthers these views with his overview of Iowa: "surrounded by corn, pork, pickup trucks, and. . . meth labs." That aside, he moves on to demonstrate how a situation in rural Iowa may be relevant to anyone living in the most urban of areas. Despite the drastic difference in the objects being patented, I find Mcleod's analogy of seed patents very effective in facilitating an understanding of how ridiculous copyright laws can be. Overall, it is through Mcleod's effective use of examples and the relevant comparisons he is able to draw that makes this reading helpful in understanding how copyright laws in this country are ridiculous.

-Ryan Stefani

Yo Benk: In this reading Benkler could have cut out a major...

Yo Benk: In this reading Benkler could have cut out a major...: "In this reading Benkler could have cut out a majority of his own babel. When I read an article like this I feel people don't really know wha..."

Ryan B - Lessig

Tuesday, August 31, 2010


Ryan B



The invention of the personal camera was, like so many technologies, a milestone for the avaerage citizen...once it became affordable and easy to use of course. With this new tecnology the push of a sinlge button allowed people to explore the world in ways they never had before. It suddenly made even the simplest of people artists, not professionally speaking in most cases. What is considered art is left up to interpretation. In this same sense, the camera allowed a person to capture the world and interpret it as art and unique. If there had been a law passed about getting permission to "take" a photo much of this art and interpretation would have been lost and the camera as a form of expression probably would have fizzled.



The "Just Think" program is in many ways like the invention of the camera. The "Just Think" program is a tool allowing the simplest of people express themselves in ways they never had before. It allows the kids in this school to interpret the world as they see it and understand it. People learn best when they 1) enjoy what they are learning 2) can relate to what they are leaning & 3) can show what they are leaning by expressing it in their own way. The "Just Think" buses gave these kids a new way to learn and understand and, much like the camera, gave these kids the means to create art with just the click of a button.



On 9/11, technology gave people the ability to stay in touch with loved ones and keep in contact with one another. It showed up close and live the horros of that day. All day long the big news stations brodacasted the events for the world to see, and even today some images shown that day are no longer allowed to be shown. Did the media go too far that day? Did they not do enough? What ever the case, whether it was too much or too little, blogs around the world rose up to fill the gaps the mainstream media wasnt filling. In these blogs the truth was spoken and lies were made, condolences given and calls to action demanded. That day the people really had a voice like never before and they allowed everyone to say what they wanted to say and what needed to be said. Again, with just the click of a button the average person became a reporter in their own sense.



The fourth and final section is about one of the newest steps forward in technology. Free Software or Open-Sourse Software has, again with a simple click of a button, given the average Joe a means to express themsleves in ways they never had before. Much like the "Just Think" project a simple person can learn and express in simple ways. Being able to freely downlaod software allows people to learn on their own time. Many learn by "tinkering" and thats what the free downlaod of software allows many to do. Many can download updates for their digital camera or download new picture editing software for their camera and "tinker". It allows this chapter to come full circle and show how todays technology is helping us reinvent the camera and its use. It started with the camera and from their has grown into something much more than anyone could have imagined. Free expression is easier today than it ever was in our history and as long its as easy as a click of a button, then free expression and our interpretation will only continue to grow and give the average person a voice in this loud and fast-paced world.

Lessig

I think the way that Lessig writes and organizes Chapter 2 is meant to highlight the rapid progression of technology as we know it, and, in many ways, the resulting freedom of expression that accompanies those developments. Each of the sections can be viewed as portals for furthering individuality, giving nonprofessionals or people who may not have as many social or economic resources a chance to share their own talents or opinions.

Lessig first takes us through one of the earliest significant advances in technology: the camera. Before the camera was introduced, the field of photography was expensive, and generally reserved for those that had money to obtain such a hobby. Eventually George Eastman was able to lower the costs, allowing a wider variety of people to not only take an interest in photography, but to take their own photographs and express their own individuality. People were able to capture moments in the ways that they had actually been experienced, without the costly burden. Of course this could have ended up differently, had the laws gone in favor of restricting who and what the limits of photography were. Because the laws went in the right way, however, ground-breaking freedoms were slowly able to make a place in American society.

The second section was about “Just Think!”, a multimedia program encouraging students to “tinker” in order to gain further insight on media literacy. As Lessig says, it gives one the ability to understand the “grammar of the media”. Just Think! makes it possible for instructors to show their students what it means to learn, be creative, and express themselves, when their circumstances might not give them a chance to do so otherwise. This program is similar to that of Kodak’s innovation by enhancing freedom of expression, especially in the hands of information-hungry youth. JustThink! proves that creativity and the opportunity to absorb information is not generational or circumstantial, but something that anyone, at any age, can be part of.

The third section highlights some emerging trends: blogging and online journals. These outlets give people from every social class and region the ability to have their opinions heard or share their experiences and beliefs with others around the world. This is a huge amount of freedom. Any topic, any time, directed toward anyone who is willing to listen. The Internet gives average people access to the masses, where voices can be heard by popular interest, not just based on their economic status or by the social circles with whom they are associated.

Finally, Lessig discusses open-source software. This software is free and made widely available, allowing people access to its source codes and even change it to fit their own specifications. I used to use the Thunderbird email system, which would be an example of an open-source program, allowing users to personalize their mail settings to fir their personal needs. These sections in Chapter 2 of “Mere Copyists” are all ways that technology has been beneficial to society’s freedoms of expression and increasing democracy. Threatening government or copyright restrictions on any of these mediums will result in weakening these freedoms in America, as well as limiting access and liberties of varying nationalities and circumstances around the world.

Lessig

A. We were first explained the history of the photograph, with a follow up of how George Eastman, an amateur photographer, figured out how to generalize the photographs more. At first photographs were expensive and difficult to produce, but when Easton developed flexible film and put it on rolls, the “simplicity” of the camera was born. Anyone could now make photos, just “press the button.” Everyone was able to see things in the world that they never would have been able to before, and anyone could capture a moment and expand their creativity because of the Kodak camera. When some people started to argue that the photographs were “taking something from the person,” the idea of having to get permission to take photographs came about. That did not happen and people are still free to take pictures of whatever they want. However, what if this had happened. Our lives would be so much different than they are today, and it’s hard to imagine. It’s not that we just wouldn’t be able to have pictures, but without these pictures many people wouldn’t know what much else of the world looks like. Also, the way the world looks would probably be much different than it does today if not for the socialization of photography.
B. The Just Think! school buses are a new frontier on the education lines. Instead of saying that text, written or read, is the only way to judge someone’s brain power and intellectual abilities, the teachers on these buses and the schools that host them understand that there is much more to education than that. The students are able to “tinker” with technology, and even if they are bad at it in the beginning, it is getting them hands-on experience which is important in this day and age. The awesome technology these days, the freedom to use images and sound as we please, comes from the freedom we maintained with photographs in the beginning. This would never be possible, nor even close to inexpensive enough, to do without the freedom we kept.
C. When 9/11 happened, it was such a tragedy that it’s not surprising that reporters were nervous to report strictly the truth; it was so scary and sad. When big stations like CNN were sending reporters to the field and where the war was taking place, they wanted to be improving the spirits of the people back home. Therefore, the absolute truth was not given to us back in the United States; we got a somewhat sugar-coated version of it, which isn’t what most of us wanted. When the blogs exploded into the action around this time, the truth (or at least much closer to it) was spreading all over the internet. It’s true that when someone reads blogs or things on the internet, they usually only read what they want to read, but at this time what most people wanted was the truth.
D. Free Software or Open-Source Software (FS/OSS) is the newest and largest development of technology and our freedom. Anyone is able to download and “tinker with the code.” This means kids on the Just Think! Buses (or anyone) is able to experiment and use their creativity to make something of their own using these free options. If these freedoms are taken away, as some are afraid they will be, the main creative outlet of the twenty first century could be stripped from our very hands. As the article said, this sort of “tinkering” is just the newer version of the tinkering of the twentieth century, things like working on cars and radios; this is just more technologically advanced, which is exactly what the twenty first century is.

Lessig

Lessig's reading was partitioned into four equally important sections of historical media. With the world constantly evolving, media is doing the same. When technology becomes more innovative, democracy has another new chance to flourish. Think of the world of change the daguerreotype made during the American Civil War. Pictures of bloody battles could be shown to the world and other acts could no longer be covered up. As pictures evolved, we came to the point now where everyone and litterally some of their dogs have cell phones with digital cameras on them. As for Just Think! it was a great chance to enable children to become much more media literate. As a result, these kids were able to "tinker" not with heavy machinery, but with something far more lethal. Ideas. As for the 9/11 attacks on the US, the media was there in every way, with music for breaks even programed to be more in line with the tone of the news reports. When Lessig speaks about blogging, he notes that this may be the most democratic tool of all. Right now millions of people all over the world are making their ideas and beliefs heard in a way that is accessable to everyone else. Finally, Lessig writes about OSS software and how it is also changing the world with limitless possibilities to how it can be changed and bettered.

These stories all link together in a way that is quite evident to the average person. As technology has changed, media has followed. While media changes, the way we see the world is changed with it. Towards the end of the last century, the media became a much less "Reader Only" world into an interactive world where people think aloud and comment on every story on every news website. Every YouTube video has comments of people telling them it was awesome or how much it sucked. Videos have video responses now too, where people can tell them personally what they think. When it comes to things like blogging and OSS, they will continue to evolve until eventually, something comes along that makes the process even more democratic.

Lessig

I love way Lessig began this chapter, both my brother and father are avid photographers and I was thrilled to read about the way photography began. Lessig explains that we as Americans are extremely fortunate that when Eastman created film that could be flexible that the courts allowed photographers to capture anything without required permission. With the invention by Eastman he allowed a whole new world to the average citizen, they were now allowed to capture a moment, a memory, or a person in a picture and hold it with them. As Lessig says this is the "first time in history there exists an authentic visual record of appearance and activities of the common man made without [literary] interpretation or bias". Film was the beginning to free expression via technology.

"Just Think" is an amazing group helping children learn a new way of expression. School has always taught through reading and writing, which can be fundamentals but as our society changes we need to be aware of ways to change learning. Every generation has different thought processes, and while technology is advancing so should our teaching skills. Teachers could benefit from using new technology to hold the childrens attention and this is exactly what "Just Think" accomplishes. While allowing children to express themselves through technology the eventually want to write to explain their expression which causes them to use literacy. Instead of literacy being the first priority, we are now allowing expression first and literacy follows in their explanation.

September 11 is no longer a regular fall day, it is now a day tagged with many emotions and fears. September 11 and our technology of the 21st Century allowed any American citizen to express their emotions. Blogging began and suddenly anyone could put their thoughts on the web for everyone to see, no longer making us rely on the television for news. Lessig explains that we see a more pure aspect of peoples opinions because what we read is not changed by a corporation who wants to end every story on a positive note. The only down fall to this expression is that now things are online forever, Lessig writes about a politician who misspoke and it will never leave the internet. Anything that is posted could follow us the rest of our lives.

Lessig compares generations and how they "tinker" to learn, people used to tinker with cars and now they tinker with technology. Open source software allows people to download and run programs, and then they can also "tinker with the code". A great example of an open source software that I use often is Mozilla Firefox which an individual can change to express their individuality.

As I finish the article I realize the biggest point in this chapter is expression and how technology has helped us express ourselves in more ways and more public. Living in America we are suppose to have freedoms and we began this article discussing our rights to express with photography. But Lessig concludes the article showing his concern that our government might be suppressing our teaching abilities, which is holding us back from the freedom we deserve.

Lessig

I think with each new innovation, Lessig is illustrating the history of mediums through which people have been given the opportunity to express themselves. With each innovation comes a new and improved element. First, with photography, people could document their lives and then share it with others. Second, with Just Think!, people were given the opportunity to make sense out of real life issues by expressing themselves in video format, and then share those videos with others. Third, blogs allowed people to express themselves on virtually any topic they wanted, and then (immediately!) broadcast those views across the globe. If that wasn't good enough, they also received responses and feedback from all over the globe. Lastly, open source software allows people to express themselves, but also to have a say in how that expression occurs. Then, others give "feedback" and give their say in how that expression should occur. They essentially have more of a hand than ever before in creating that virtual software world that they choose to express themselves in.

I really like what Lessig says as he is quoting Daley on pgs. 6 and 7, "What you want is to give these students ways of constructing meaning...because they needed to...they needed to say something as opposed to just jumping through your hoops..."

I think this can be generalized to the whole human population and the progression of mediums of expression Lessig talks about in this chapter. People need ways of constructing meaning; we need ways to express ourselves and understand the world around us. Each of these mediums is a way to make that happen. We yearn for the freedom of saying what we need to say without "jumping through" the hoops of popular media etc... We want a say in that media, we want a say in how the meaning of the world is constructed. Like Lessig says on pg. 5, we don't want to be a "read-only" population when it comes to the media. Through our own expression, we refuse to be "passive recipients of culture produced elsewhere." We want to help produce and create that culture, after all, each and every one of us is a part of it. Why should we be passive in this matter? Lessig shows that, throughout history, we haven't been passive. We have consistently created ways (however small) that have allowed us to take an active part in that expression of culture. From the camera to the blogosphere, each advancement has let us play an increasingly active role. It will be interesting to see how copyright laws affect that role. However, I am confident that we will always find some little tiny way around those laws, staying just a few steps ahead, to ensure that we have some way to actively express what we need to say.

Lessig

In this article the main points are related through the use of technology and how it has advanced since it's original model. Starting off with the Kodak and all the advances made to now dealing with digital cameras is the same way the "Just Think" program worked in San Francisco. Both were tinkered with and become something bigger and due to that tinkering created a realistic view of a way to learn. If one has an interest in something the only way to gain knowledge is to mess with it until you are bored or step up to a more difficult task and start the tinkering all over again. In both of these cases technology created a sense of excitement and just like the kids in San Fran it created meaning of why things were a certain way. By the kids evolving their self worth a creative side could be unleashed and they could as NWA would say Express Yourself!! The kids were staying there nearly all day because of their own interests and they were learning valuable lessons from such a simplistic concept.

When I think of open source I think of a way to access material for free and put my ideas and beliefs into some type of system. My example of the term open source would relate to my fantasy baseball league and my soon to be fantasy football league of which I will be dominating. These are ways to express the freedom I have been given, but at the same time I am on a learning curve and must be able to pick up on certain aspects so I can stay competitive. Before the draft I am able to view all the info I need to have a successful draft and thereafter weekly I am able to view other basic data that will inform me how to do my best. Then if I wish to go a step further I can go onto the discussion boards and post comments and create a new spiral of communication all from the simple advances of technology. So I'm not sure if the point of this was to show advances in technology as examples or to show overall how everything is making advances and representing how quickly things change.

The main point that these stories were trying to get across was freedom of expression and how we have become so creative in using so much with technology when it comes to pictures, video editing and online blogs. Kiesha put in a good quote by lessig that put it into perspective for me " Democratic tools gave ordinary people a way to express themselves more easily that any other tools could have before" Every word of that statement is true! Everyday there is something new if it has to do with blogs, video equipment cameras, that help people express themselves!
It was kind of weird at first when i started reading this because I was just thinking these are the three most random things we have to read about but I understand the ties they have and how they have helped develop human communication.

The story about 9/11 was interesting to me because when they talked about how the event opened up blogs for what they are today. It is very true so many people were debating on weathered or not certain things happened. So many conspiracy theories were put out there about 9/11 and if the events actually happened or if it was all a set up. With how far blogs have come today we have to be careful sometimes because some information is not always one hindered percent correct! You need to be able to back your facts up if you are gonna post information on blogs for other people to read and not just lie about things.

The Just think story was great to read about knowing that they are trying to help influence kids with using this technology to help them be creative on there own. Kodak was the person who started actually filming lives with picture taking. Its just remarkable how far picture taking has come too today and just to read about how it started is really interesting. I just think with taking pictures and how important that is for magazines to make money off of when they need pictures of celebrities, although celebrities may not like it a lot being followed by camera man all over the place.

The Internet is getting more and more monitored everyday because of the information that is being put out there and brings up interesting debates about open source information. I liked the example Heather talked about with the music entertainment because a lot of the no name artist put there songs up there so they can be noticed. My space is the best place to find music for up and coming artist. A lot of the big named artist hate the fact that there music is being stolen or listened to for free and want to get every little penny they can. I like the idea artist putting just a track up so that we can hear what they have to offer before we buy it and find out that we don't like it! Another example of an open source is Wikipedia, All the professors give there 2 minute rants in certain classes on how you cant use wikipedia for sources and how it is all wrong. I love wikipedia for what it offers, sure everything is not 100 percent accurate but its a quick and easy reference to help find stuff about topics quickly to help give you a good start!
We should be more focused on people's creativity and how they are expressing themselves through open sourced media and not worried about how it is presented and if it is exactly right or not.

Lessig

I think the point of these stories is that open-source software and freedom from copyrights allows us to express ourselves and share our ideas with the world. I like how Lessig said, "Democratic tools gave ordinary people a way to express themselves more easily than any other tools could have before." I think that is so true. Photography, blogs, videos, music, and open-source software are all technologies that allow us to express ourselves and be heard by the world.
Kodak changed how people documented their lives. It made it easy for them to take pictures and remember events in their lives and share those events with others through their photos. Just Think! is an amazing program that helps kids learn how to become media literate. It allows them to "tinker"and create their own media. I know I learn way more when I actually experience something or make something than I do when I simply read about it in a textbook. The 9/11 example goes to show how fast the media can get a story out there and how much coverage there is. Blogging makes it easy for anyone to state their opinion and share it with the world. Blogging makes it easy for amatuer journalist to get their name out there and share their ideas. I think it is kind of crazy how fast paced the world has become and it's not about to slow down anytime soon. It's exciting and a little scary at the same time.
Open-source software allows people to take something, use it, and improve it if they want to. Everyone has access to open-source software and information and that is something that shouldn't be taken from us. It allows us to expand our knowledge.
I liked what Heather said about our tech world being in a state of constant change and to end the availability of open source information is to end the ability of the masses to communicate and learn a new type of language. I agree.

Lessig

I think the point of this chapter and how each section relates to each other section is because every point that is covered is something that has significantly changed the lives of the every day, normal citizens.

The first thing Lessig wrote about was, in my opinion, one of the best innovations: photography. He gets to the point early by saying “For the first time in history there exists an authentic visual record of the appearance and activities of the common man […]”. This is huge. A discovery or invention that is finally for the people instead of only professionals that dedicate most of their time to understand skills the “common man” would only dream about. Something I found interesting was during the explanation of photography used in courts, copyright issues come into play. It was decided that permission was not needed to take photos of the world, places, and people. “But in the ordinary case, the image can be captured without clearing the rights to do the capturing.” I find this amazing. In our generation, there has been copyright laws since before we were born and permission to use certain photos, or any other material that hasn’t been created by our own hands, has been instilled in us since the moment we step into school. Over the past few years even UNI has been buckling down by putting plagiarism laws in the syllabus for every class we take. Getting permission for anything is drilled into our minds more often than we would like it to be. It would be truly amazing to live in a world where that, at least for photos, didn’t exist yet.

Another example of things affecting the average joe’s is media and film. Lessig explains that children learn by doing things and goes on to say that “just as kids learn how to write by writing lots of terrible prose, kids learn how to write media by constructing lots of (at least at first) terrible media.” This makes perfect sense. I sure have, and I have a YouTube account to prove it! One thing I really didn’t agree with is when Lessig quotes the words of Elizabeth Daley, executive director of the USC’s Annenberg Center for Communication, saying “people are very surprised about how they are led through a film. [I]t is perfectly constructed to keep you from seeing it, so you have no idea. If a filmmaker succeeds you do not know how you were led.” If you know you were led through a film, the film has failed.” I do not agree with this. It’s this way for many films and probably something that was more difficult to do when film first came out, but there are many films made today that pride themselves on different ways to “lead” a viewer through the story. In our world today, it’s almost considered a form of art to produce a film that doesn’t rest easy with the viewer, mostly done by crafty ways of setting up the film in order to let your audience know they’re being “led” through a story in a way they’ve never been before. Even if it's just simple narration, some of these films are the best films.

Going on to talk about other things that open up many opportunities for commoners is Open Source software. Things like Wikipedia have codes for the web pages that anyone can open and mess with the code. The code is shared and all can see it.

Lessig

I think the main point of the Kodak section, and it continues to build through out the chapter, is we all copy and steal from other people. The practicality of photography was credited to one person initailly, and from there dozens of other people copied is general idea and tailored it to fit their needs and progressively making it a better a more efficient product. With Kodak it eventually went to cheap disposable cameras for the general user, and it continues to devlop today with camera phones to expensive extremley high end professional digital back cameras. Tomorrow, someone is going to copy the idea to how they see fit and come up with something even more extravagant.

With a slight modifcation, the same concept can be applied to the Just Think! program. Dave Yanofsky pioneered the Just Think it program with the two buses and now you can find programs similar to his idea in schools with the lowest budgets across the country. His media literacy program has been copied time after time and UNI has a media literacy class where the same concept of analyzing the way people interpret images is being studied by undergrad students.

Tieing back into the Lessg's title "Mere Copyists", blogging, in my opinion, it is a copied form of what public discourse used to be. In todays world, people go to the world wide web for the oppourtunity for round the clock public discourse, instead of meeting at a set time at a set location for old school public discourse. Now you are freely able to blog about whatever you so choose at two in the morning, and if it is a world wide blog you can expect some sort of immediate feed back from someone in Europe where it is ten in the morning.

Lessig

I would have to agree with some of previous posts and say that a major theme within Lessig’s chapter is the growth of technology and the benefits that it provides to the public. Not only is my grandma able to use a disposable grandma, but my three year old cousin loves nothing more than to play with his dad’s iPhone. These types of technology truly cater to the general public. The first section dedicated to Kodak really hit on the idea that pictures and photography have become so much more affordable. This made photographs a social tool, which honestly, is one of the only reasons I take them. I love to take pictures and in turn post them on Facebook, I really don’t think that I would take as many if I did not intend to post them. Lessig talks about the values of photographs and the laws behind them.
In regards to Lessig’s ideas about Just Think!, I have to say that he really talks about the advancements and more affordable use of technology in today’s society. Just Think! is a great program to get younger ones to express themselves. Just like photography, film can really allow you show your individuality. I agree with Brett in the idea that we need to keep our freedoms and by allowing children to construct their own meanings we are promoting this to a younger generation.
Lessing states that the media is becoming more and more concentrated and with that brings the fact that the public is allowed to know less and less. With the right to blog and share ideas and photos, we are able to share more and more information that is not necessarily being filtered. I would consider myself an amateur to blogging as a whole, but I see that it is a great way to share ideas and give one another input.
I agree with Heather in her thought of readers, at this point in the chapter, being “willing to accept that open-source information leads to a world where individual creativity is encouraged to be displayed for the entire world”. Lessig really believes that the right to creativity and commentary on the internet is being closed out by laws. Open source allows us to “tinker” with content. A good example of open source would be Wikipedia. We need to fight for our technological rights and keep open source technologies open to the public.

Lessig

As I was reading through the previous blog posts, a few things hit me that I wanted to touch on. There were some really great thoughts thrown out.

One of the main points of Lessig's chapter was to try to get the audience to think critically about all of the shared information out there. From images to blogging, there is an information overload, as pointed out by Reid. While I concur that this freeflow of information has, overall, a positive impact on our society and its growth in terms of technological and intellectual development, there are downfalls. Lessig, for the most part, fails to address these shortcomings.

The main point I would like to focus on is photography because it is a passion of mine. Kacie mentioned that you can take photos anywhere you please, and that's a great thing about it. While that is, largely, true, there are more stipulations to photography than that. Sometimes it's not legal to take a photograph - and, sometimes, it's just not ethical. Kevin Carter won a Pulitizer Prize for "The Vulture and the Baby," which I have attached to this posting. However, he was plagued by criticisms from people claiming that he was just another version of a vulture in Africa for not helping the girl in the photo. He ended up killing himself at the age of 33.

Kacie also stated that there is one way to interpret a photograph, and I will have to disagree with that, just as Ryan did. Ryan touched on digital manipulation as a way for people to view photos differently, but I would like to expand on that. There is no manipulation required for people to view the exact same photo as completely different, based on their perspectives. If I were to view a photo of Hitler, I would truly be repulsed knowing what that man did in his lifetime. If another person, having no knowledge of WWII or Hitler, were to view the second photo that I've attached to this blog, I am guessing that they might have the opposite feelings of what I have. Photo credit http://www.fpp.co.uk/docs/Irving/RadDi/2007/301207.html

Keeping with the photography theme ... we never know what someone else will do with our work. Because I am a proponent of sharing information (whether that be writing, images, video, etc.), I choose to give the photos that I take on a CD to the client. They are then free to do with them as they wish; this includes printing them at a business of their choosing, sharing them on Facebook, etc. There is the stipulation that I still retain the right to use my photos. Recently, a bride took my edited photos that I gave her and put a lot of them through the free site Picnik. She put hot pink and teal sayings over all of the photos, cropped the images, and so on. In my opinion, the photos looked terrible after she finished with them. This is dangerous ground. If someone sees these photos and wants to know who did her wedding photography, they may think that the work that she has posted on Facebook is mine. I don't want that representing my business. On the other hand, I gave her the photos, so she is technically free to do what she wants with them. Because I have such a strong belief that people should be able to use their photos as they see fit, I will continue releasing photos on CDs to clients, but it's still not an ideal situation for me.

This brings me to my last point - as Heather nicely summarized, when something is open source, it's free for the public to consume and also enhance or change. While the "greater good" may be allowing information to be open source, it's also a slippery slope that I feel we have just begun and haven't fully realized the implications and consequences of sharing these works. Lessig was a little shortsighted to not touch more upon this in the chapter.

Lessig

I believe the point Lessig is trying to make through the four stories he tells is that all technological growth has stemmed from innovators. Innovators who have had to fight against those who wish to squelch their creativity by closing off important information or denying them the ability to work in certain areas. Furthermore, Lessig tries to point out that all innovators like ourselves most continue to embrace free licensed software so that the technological evolution will continue - that we may constantly be learning how to create meaning in new, more efficient, ways. As Lessig moves from the days where still film was innovative to our current “Vlogging” world, he gives examples of different fights that have occurred in the public forum to ensure information continues to be “open-source” and free for public consumption. I believe that Lessig portrays clearly the importance of embracing and fighting for close-source information to be opened up. In this way, we will be able to grow intellectually by learning new software and language by tinkering with new ideas and programs.

Throughout the first 3 stories he brings readers along to a point where they are most likely willing to accept that open-source information leads to a world where individual creativity is encouraged to be displayed for the entire world - a world that is allowed not only to view the individuals creativity but also add to their work through their own tinkering. Open source information being, by definition: of or relating to or being computer software for which the source code is freely available. In essence, if an item is open source it’s free for the public to consume and also enhance or change.

The world of music entertainment provides a good example of the creative open vs. close source fight that is currently going on. Multiple artists have begun to provide their music for free download to fans, while others are selling their music on copyright protected CD’s which only allow owners to burn it onto a limited amount of locations. Either way you look at it, our tech world is in a state of constant change and to end the availability of open-source information is to end the ability of the masses to communicate and learn a new type of language.

Lessig

Throughout Lessig's article the overall theme is how technology has developed and what it's doing for our society. Who would have ever thought that virtually everyone could be a part of this technology. In the earlier days I think people learned one skill and that's basically what they did for their living. As I read Lessig's article, it discussed how technology has developed. Photography used to be a skill only a few people had and if you had enough money you could take pictures and develop them. It was a luxury. Cameras have been so revolutionized into the digital era that anyone, expert or amateur, can have a camera and express their own creativity. Art is what they want it to be, an outlet to express themselves. As classmates have said previously we have the freedom to use cameras as a form of expression. It is in a sense a democratic tool. Using visual photographs, our society can enhance any emotion to promote their cause, touch our hearts, and reach out to our society to help their cause. For example, the picture Kate posted of the African child and the vulture. When looking at the picture we feel awful that that is happening to humanity, and can send money to help the country in development to prevent this. But I know there are places in Africa were people are wealthy and the photograph probably isn't an accurate respresentation of the whole culture in every region of the continent.

The Just Think! program allows for underdeveloped communities to have the opportunity to express themselves. Just like the invention of the camera, this program lets kids express themselves through filming and topics they know about, such as when they described how they could film about gun violence. I would say this is just as democratic as the camera. It's especially democratic in that this program is available for a community that wouldn't otherwise have an opportunity to learn the technology. When given the chance to learn and develop a skill in this new technology, they will be able to succeed with it.
I have never been one for blogging, but I'm now experiencing how much fun it can be. I love how we can talk and discuss thoughts and interpretations of issues in our world. After reading everyone's blog and how we're all pulling parts together on an issue, I really believe blogging can be democratic and form of free expression. Lessig touches on this as he addresses 9/11 and blogging. Blogging is a form of free expressions as people can just post their thoughts and views. They can get support or debated, but either way it's part of our philosophy of free voice in America. That is if it stays free to say what we really feel in a blog. There are of course positives and negatives of blogging, but overall it is place for free expression.
Like Just Think! open source software allows us to tinker with technology and find the right way we want that form of expression represented. I like how he said "[we] need to understand how kids who grow up digital think and want to learn." This is where our era is going and if we don't have the freedom to explore and learn the technology that I don't think technology will improve our democracy. We will have a damper on our learning and freedom to express ourselves.

The thing I love about all of these new technologies, as I have stated throughout my blog, is that they are a way for people to express themselves as they wouldn't have otherwise been able to. If they don't know how to write or tell their feelings, hurt, anger, depression, they can use this outlet to show how they feel. It's a new type of freedom for them to express themselves.

Lessig

The various areas of discussion in Lessig's work seem to be intimately related in the spread of ideas and information. From Kodak to Open Source software, we are able to see how early media beginnings have grown into wide-spread sources for a growing web of knowledge, learning, exploration and information. Lessig discusses the spread of images through early photography to people that may have never been exposed to such sights. So too we can see the benefits of educational programs like Just Think! as well as open source programming who's goals are both in the areas of collaboration and creative learning. All of the areas in Lessig's work seem to be rooted in democratic values allowing the public to explore ideas un-inhibited by commercial media. I found it interesting as Lessig talked about the importance and far reaching components of blogs. Lessig talks about the freedom people have in creating, reading, and adding to blogs. Blogs differ in commercial media outlets like TV news because blogs are not under the financial restraints imposed on TV media who's goal is to bring in revenue. Blogs instead, grow in popularity as readers join into discussions they have selected to be a part of. After popularity of a specific blog grows to a large enough number, only then might TV news begin to cover a story; of course presenting information through a targeted lens.
I agree with Ryan who tries to drive home the point of creating and sustaining freedoms. Individual freedoms grow and become positive, both for the individual as well as the greater community. Like the Just Think! program emphasises, I find it important to look for individuals strengths and find new creative ways for them to utilize them. As it creates a more positive life experience for them, it influences the lives of those around them, and now with the help of technology it can reach people around the world.
I do not recall ever hearing about, or at least understand what Open Source was. I was very interested and excited to watch and learn a little about what open source is (video). It is so interesting to see how collaboration and ingenuity can be used to make a free product available to all on the Internet. I learned open source is a way for people to work together by means of electronic code to create programs, systems and other computer based tools.

Lessig

I liked reading what Kacie had to say about how photography helps enhance people's creativity, innovative abilities, and freedom. Lessig does an excellent job of discussing how beneficial the art of photography may be in people's lives, and Kacie echoes these thoughts very well in her entry. I would contend her point, however, that there is just one way to interpret a photograph. With all the advancements being made to technology, particularly with photo editing programs such as PhotoShop, it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is fake when viewing photography. Computer software provides users with the ability to edit and manipulate images so that they portray essentially whatever the editor wants.
In my eyes, the driving argument within Lessig's passages is one promoting freedom and condemning copyright laws. As Lessig states, "Professional photography gave individuals a glimpse of places they would never otherwise see. Amateur photography gave them the ability to record their own lives in a way they had never been able to do before." He also comes right out and states his opinion to be in favor of freedom from copyrights when he remarks, "Fortunately for Mr. Eastman, and for photography in general, these early decisions went in favor of the pirates. In general, no permission would be required before an image could be captured and shared with others. Instead, permission was presumed. Freedom was the default." In the later sections of his writing, Lessig points out the ways in which photography has had a positive impact on the lives of those involved with Just Think!, and how it goes to enable their personal expression. He then continues his argument in opposition of copyright laws by claiming that the Internet's forms of communication following traumatic events such as 9/11 is more effective in reaching people than the forms of communication used by mainstream, powerful corporations such as CBS, ABC, Fox, NBC, etc. Finally, he promotes open source, or free, software in his third passage. Many people have been frustrated at powerful companies like Microsoft and Apple for their high costs, and some programmers decided they would do something about it. They developed open source software like Linux, and some companies like IBM have integrated open source software into their business model as a way of reducing costs while still maintaining a high level of quality with their technological resources.

Lessig

Each of these sections has an individual point as well as a shared commonality. The use of a Kodak camera and film allows anyone “who has sufficient intelligence to point a box straight and press a button” to capture their own life story. This is a personal way of allowing each individual to tell about personal experiences through photos (p.2). The greatest part about photographs is that they are virtually indisputable. There is normally only one way of interpreting a photograph, unless it is meant to be abstract. Another great aspect is that you do not need permission from anyone to create these memories.
A similar mode of expressing our ideas and emotions could be through the Just Think! program. Students learn about media technologies through “tinkering”. This allows for imagination to be a larger part of their education. They are able to construct meaning in their own lives, just as photographs can. This type of media can express emotions that photographs and text may not be able to.
Blogs are available for communication with those networks of people that we do not interact with on a regular basis. It is also asynchronous. This allows for each person to read and write on his or her own schedule. With this flexibility of time and no obligation, a “much broader range of input” can be created with this rubbing of ideas. As Reid stated, this may create information overload which is quite true (p.9). This also allows for individuals to choose which site best suits their interests and gives them options for which to become part of.
Finally, open source software allows any person with access to a computer to utilize this beneficial program. These free codes allows for creativity in tinkering and exploring new avenues of technology. A person can improve the original with a bonus of learning at the same time. After researching this topic, I have found criteria on the distribution terms of this product. Though, this is the reason for our blog, I could not help but be delighted to see that one criteria was that there is “no discrimination between persons or groups”. To read on the other criterion, visit http://opensource.org/docs/osd. This day in age, freedom is not a guarantee. We should take advantage of these resources while we can.
These are all ways that we have the opportunity to express ourselves. We learn by tinkering and improving with each. As of today, these products are free for use by all. As laws become more strict, this may not always be the case.

Benkler

1. There are many ways in which Benkler sees the social networked sphere as a positive development, discussed in this chapter. One that stuck out most to me was the fact that people and communities all over the world in all kinds of economies are able to be better connected to the rest of the world. People in low socio-economic societies are able to easily get a hold of technology and use the internet to their advantage. Having large sums of money is no longer necessary to be able to creatively express themselves and even market their ideas online.
2. It seems to me that most of the networking sites were started by professional tech people, such as Google, MySpace, Facebook, etc. However, as technology develops and more and more people are using them and being more adventurous and creative, sites and apps are being created by amateurs. There are many applications (apps) on technology such as the iPhone that are made by people who just think something would be cool, and with some software they are able to create it and ultimately probably commercialize it. I think this is a huge advancement in the social networked sphere, changing the lives of many people.
3. There are SO many social networks online, but one (besides the obvious facebook) that I have heard my family members using is called “Momster.com” which is a site for new and experienced mothers to share ideas, problems and discussions about raising children. Another one that my sister used when getting married was called “The Knot”. This is a site used by engaged couples (mostly the women) in which there are lists of things you need to get done before the wedding and gave information on businesses you could use to get these things done.

Lessig

I'm going to preface this with two statements, one I have to disagree
with the previous poster, and two, please rebut if you feel I get it
wrong. Debate is way more fun than just regurgitation or lecture.

These four sections are about how the internet (and tech advances in
general) functions as a democratizing agent in modern society. The
first section shows how a previous tech advance, Kodak, altered
democratic expression in its time, and then draws the corollary that
we are living in another 'Kodak' moment of history, as well as how
judicial support for the expansion assisted such expression.

The next three sections highlight different aspects of the current
increase in democratic potential due to various technological
advances. Some of the key concepts include the distinction between
read only and read and write cultural participants (p.4 paragraph 6).
Or the lack of economic motivation present in the blogosphere and how
this assists in its presentation of news stories (last half of section
3).

However I take one major issue with this article, in the blog section
specifically, the author closes with the line "When there are ten
million, there will be something extraordinary to report." The idea
of information overload was skimmed briefly in our last reading, but I
believe that it is a serious issue. Human beings are creatures of
habit, we tend to stick to similar routes, be they in our physical
lives like where we eat lunch, or which streets we take to get to
class. But also in our digital lives, many of us have probably a
dozen websites we visit regularly, be they for news, weather, social
networking, or even comics. If 10 million blogs get up and running
how will any particular voice or fact be heard above all the others?
It will simply be another aspect of media fracturing where we can
customize what kind of media we ingest and never have to suffer the
discomfort of an opposing view. At that point the erosion of the
public sphere that G. Thomas Goodnight fears in his essay The Erosion
of the Public Sphere, will have fully occurred. (Hunting for a link,
I'll update when I find a digital copy of the paper.)

Lessig

The point of these stories is that no matter who is being the imitator of these 4 areas, no imitator can be nothing more nor better than any other imitator. That is to come up with an understanding of something or come up with a form of expression everyone has their way of going about it. An example of the reading from Lessig on page 5, students dealing with gun-violence each of those students found that form of expression.

I believe the way they relate to one another is by a form of creative expression. When reading about each of these topics they all used a form of open-source, meaning there is no ownership. An example of open-source software is Wikipedia; you are able to do whatever you would like on this website, such as edit the page you are researching at that very moment.

Benkler

1. One positive development emerging from the social networked sphere that I found particularly interesting was Benkler’s insight on the greater sense of equality that is surfacing around the world when it comes to the access of information. Computers and the internet are available to increasing numbers of people in rural areas, and underdeveloped countries are experiencing more exposure to technology than ever before. Countries who were once left out of the global loop due to their lack of social or economic resources are not only more aware of current events around the world, but they are also able to participate and be active members of global affairs. Benkler points out that individuals no longer have to be extremely wealthy to have these resources in the palm of their hands. He also says that the internet “enables anyone, anywhere, to go through his or her practical life observing the social environment through new eyes…the eyes of someone who could actually inject a thought, a criticism, or a concern into the public debate.” It is slowly bridging the information gap that has separated people from different social classes, nationalities, and political affiliations. People who may have never been able to disseminate their opinions or ideas are being given a voice.

2. It’s kind of weird to me that I used to turn to the newspaper to sit and catch up on any local or national news – not the reading part, but the fact that it was an actual paper in my hands! Now, instead of spending money to be informed, anytime I feel like catching up on events around the community or the world, it’s just a click away. Go to nytimes.com or usatoday.com and it’s rare to see an article that doesn’t have at least one comment posted at the end, no matter what the subject matter may be. Online newspapers or most internet articles in general would be considered part of our expanding social networking sphere. Not only can we become more informed about recent events that may or may not directly impact us, but then we can also comment on them – about how those events may be affecting us or why they are particularly relevant in our personal lives. Online editorials are no longer left undisputed. By sharing our own opinions about those issues and reading comments from others who are also looking to have their voices heard, we are reinforcing Benkler’s notion that the social network sphere is ever increasing our individual freedoms and giving more people a chance to share their views with others.

3. About a year and a half ago, I participated in a half marathon in Cedar Rapids. I had never done it before, so about three months before the run I started doing some research on a training schedule that would help me condition for the event. During the search, I came across several interactive sites that were full of people sharing their personal tips, success stories, and training calendars from their own experiences. I started to ask some questions and even post some of my own blog entries about some of the things I had learned as a first-time participant. The sites were so interactive, and it seemed like all the comments and posts were sincerely geared toward helping others succeed in achieving their goals.

Benkler

1) I love how Benkler describes our new "internet revolution" and how well the positives are explained. Benkler speaks about how our autonomy is enhanced, because we can do more for ourselves, we have the capacity to do more with people we are less in common with, and we have multiple opportunities do to more in "formal organizations. While reading this I thought to myself how my mothers or grandmothers lives were before we had more social networking or even the internet. I am lucky to have family that is extremely up to date on technology but they speak often of times before our "internet revolution". My grandmother use to be extremely reliant on my grandfather and as times have changed I have been able to watch her become much more independent and selfsuficient because of networking information. I completely agree with Benkler on how the world has been positively benefited from technology and networking.

2) As other's have explained in their blogs we have watched how quickly social networking becomes outdated. I remember when myspace was the biggest thing to have and the easiest way to talk to friends, soon it changed to facebook, and now we are on to twitter. While time has passed each new network has allowed us more opportunities myspace gave us the simple idea of internet social networking, facebook expanded, and now with twitter we can actually follow the lives of celebrities and receive texts and emails straight to our phones when any of our friends have updated their status'. This is a great example of "user-drive innovation" where technology has changed and grown through needs by the individuals.

3) I have been lucky enough to take a Social Movements class through the University of Northern Iowa where I helped set up a social movement on campus. As a class we decided democratically that we wanted to support the legalization of medicinal marijuana, then we created group emails sent to all in the class, and also created a facebook page. We all worked collectively together to bring awareness to our issue and to get representatives to agree with our beliefs. This was a great experience where multiple people of different backgrounds and personalities came together for a social network and social movement to change our society. This shows two examples of the three dimensions of enhanced autonomy. One we worked with people that we didn't have too much in common with nor did we need to organize our relationships in systems or models. We also got to work in a "formal organization" without being inside the "market sphere".

Benkler

1. I agree with both Kacie and Heather. Kacie, to say that the most interesting development of information on the web is autonomy, and Heather because I, as well, think that we are sort of "under a magnifying glass" when we are online. Although I agree with both, I think autonomy is a much more massive PLUS that it outweighs everything you’re doing being watched and scrutinized. Benkler states it so well when he writes “individuals can do more for themselves independently of the permission or cooperation of others”. That, to me, is the overall best improvement of our society and it just so happens that the privilege of doing things on your own and without another’s permission or opinion cam through the invention and evolution of the internet. We can do anything on the web nowadays. We can upload pictures of anything, record video of our own opinions, edit web pages, and even write blogs like this one with the thoughts of ourselves and (when all goes right) nobody can take that away from us. We decide. That is a HUGE development that the entire world can take advantage of, and in turn, creating more of a democracy and the one thing we stand for, being a freedom-based country.

2. The social network sphere is rapidly growing and producing ways to transmit information in a variety of ways on the internet. One that I find most interesting isn’t facebook, or other social networking sites; it’s Google. Things like Google and Yahoo have hundreds of ways to send out your own and search for other’s information. An example of this in the best form is Yahoo Answers. Anyone can post a question on Yahoo and anyone can answer it. This means contact and conversation from another human. That contributes to social networking. After writing that efforts available via the web have led to the emergence of coordinate effects, Benkler states “One needs only to run a Google search on any subject of interest to see how the […] response to one’s query is produced by the coordinate effects and the uncoordinated actions of a wide and diverse range of individuals and organizations acting on a wide range of motivations […]".

3. One example of social networking that I’ve personally experienced was for a class I took last year. The class was online. The lectures were online, the notes were online, and we got points for participating online. It was done through eLearning on the UNI website. We would be graded on whether we left comments in the section that was deemed the “discussion board” and we would learn everything by watching lectures on our own computer screen. We even took the tests online. They were timed sessions so it was like you were in class. I’m not surprised that we have classes online, but some people go to universities that aren’t even in the state that they live in and get an entire degree online. That amazes me.

Benkler

1. Benkler definately sees the social networking on the internet as a positive way to have more freedom. He talks a lot about freedom and human development. Through these two avenues he presents the freedom for humans now to take part in whatever interests they have. Since the internet has so many topics to be involved in, our society can pick and choose which ones they want to be a part of. For example I could be a fan of mission organization on Facebook or follow one on Twitter. I can basically choose what I want to hear and learn about versus the television news where I may have to hear about golf which I'm not very interested in. Through the internet and freedom to post or make personal websites, society can use the internet for self-help. It's a big positive to the internet. Instead of having to buy a book, program at 24-hour fitness, or DVD, I can just go onto the Internet and search for body workouts. It's a specific topic that I can get a lot of information on and make a plan that is suitable for my life. Through this I can have human development on my physique and increase in a healthier lifestyle. It is very practical and accomodates our societies busy lifestyles.

2. The first social networking that I thought of was eharmony. Maybe it's because there are so many commercials on TV. Through eharmony our society can find friendship, love, or even soulmates. They really don't even have to leave their home to have a relationships (although I would not advice this). On eharmony the profile can be anyone you want it to be. It can be true, made up with half-lies to look more appealing, or completely false. That's the hard part about social networking in that who knows if the information is really true. There has to be a lot of trust in these types of websites if you're really going to put a lot of investment in it. For example, I could say I was a 30 year old, attractive model who lives in New York. This is completely false, but the person on the other side of the screen wouldn't know that. They might fall in love with a completely different person than who I am and it sets them up for failure. I think social networking is great if the world could be completely trustworthy. I love facebook for the fact that I can connect with old friends, but I have known them in person and know that what they are saying lines up with who they really are. The only dilema in social networking is as I said before, who knows if what they are saying is true unless they somehow can prove it. It's taking a big risk. But somehow I have heard of amazing relationships forming from websites like eharmony, so it must work some of the time. (I haven't used eharmony, but it was one I have heard a lot of and have many opinions on.)

3. I have primarily used social networking the realm of Facebook. Last year I headed a Relay for Life team on my dorm floor, and I used Facebook to get information out. One girl on my team knew how to create a google.dox page and she did that so we could send out information to our friends and family. It was a great way to advertise what we were doing and ask for support in organization. We used Facebook to communicate as everyone had different classes and times they could meet. It worked really well, in that everyone posted thoughts, ideas, and some suggestions for something they didn't like. Writing on a wall versus complaining in person is much easier to communicate feelings and you're not so vulnerable. By using Facebook everyone could democratically be a part of the team and we came up with the best solutions for our team after hearing both sides of the argument or idea. I think we had the best team we could come up with because of the benefits of communicating on Facebook.

Benkler

1. Benkler believes that social networking is a positive aspect to human development by having the freedom to participate in the production of information. He is referring to the free social networking sites that don’t require permission to be part of the network, which is discussed on page 9 and 10. Another part of freedom Benkler is talking about is open sharing; the networking sites available are open to share and build on with others and at times made into their own. This is done by multiple interactions.

2. Social networking has become one of the most talked about topics in my own experience. If you Google social networking sites the list is endless and it not only list the networking sites, but also rates the best sites available with Facebook at number one right now. I say “right now” due to the fast changes in social networking. Myspace was at number one a couple of years ago, but now Facebook has taken over and you never know when something like “Spacebook or Myface” becomes available. Social networking in my experience has helped me develop long lasting relationships with friends and family. It can be addicting, but social networking can also be helpful in a time of need. Such as CaringBridge which is a social networking site that caters to people that need help during a serious health event.

3. A form of social networking I am involved in is an online non-profit organization that deals with young adults suffering from different types of cancer. In this social networking, personal stories are shared along with money raised for foundations that work with cancer patients. I find my experience with social networking a positive experience due to the money being raised for young adults suffering from cancer and making their dreams and their parent’s dreams come true.

Benkler

1.) Benkler draws from the great John Stewart Mill's On Liberty in a section of this reading. He speaks about how humans are like ever growing trees, not set to do one thing, but to always be branching into new areas. He makes this point in a reference for how communication works. Humans will not always communicate in one specific way, the world is ever changing and the way we communicate changes along with it. This, therefore, makes human communication a very positive thing for democratic communication. When our social network spheres change, our world views, perceptions, and ideals change with them and what could be more democratic than that?

2.)Social networking has been on the rise for as long humans have been able to communicate with one another. I feel though, that the recent trend of taking social networking online has nearly limitless possibilities. It allows family, friends, and whoever else to stay in nearly constant contact regardless of time zones or other boundries. I would agrue, however, that social networking serves an even more important role, the emerging world of online economics. Starting with Ebay in the early 2000's, people could talk about, argue over, bid on, and eventually purchase goods that they had never seen or touched. People merely relied on the online community and it's sense of social networking to convince them that they would recieve the goods that were paid for.

3.)This summer, I interned with the Des Moines Arts Festival in their PR wing. The DMAF has about 20 full time year round employees and the interaction with this group was incredibly interesting. When the DMAF came closer to happening, the 3,000 artists became a factor in the daily routine of the office and this community both in real life and online life became such a buzzing place with different perspectives, lives, cultures, and values coming together in a democratic way, it was truly amazing to see how people interacted. It was gratifying to know that I played a role in such a dynamic community.

Benkler

1. He obviously thinks that the social networked spheres allow people to be connected on a global level. We are able to better understand more societies than just our own by connecting with them through multiple mediums. Benkler believes the social networked sphere is a positive development due to its emergence of a new information environment. He mentions the areas of investigative reporting and multiple player videogames. With these developments come new opportunities and even more innovative ideas. He also mentions the fact that we are able to reach and inform millions around the world. This leads to much more diverse information. Not only does Benkler believe in the new information environments, he believes in the freedom the spheres provide. One is able to freely communicate with others that are more diverse than themselves. We are able to gain a plethora of information across the world and use it however we chose.
2. As mentioned before, a great example of a social network sphere is multiple player videogames. This allows multiple players around the world to not only play against each other, but to also communicate via headset. I have enjoyed partaking in this type of networking and believe it enhances the autonomy of the game because it allows each player to either work together or do more by themselves. Another example would be dating sites such as E-Harmony. I have never personally used one, but I know a couple of people who have created profiles and met dating partners online. These spheres are useful for people looking for their perfect match or just a good time. It is a formal organization, but it does allow people to do something great for themselves. I could go on to mention social networks like Fantasy Football Leagues, MSN Messenger, and intranet sites through work. I have used all three and each contributes to the user in some way of the next. Through Fantasy Football, one is able to better enjoy watching the games and interacting with those whom he/she would normally not. Though intranets and communication channels sponsored by employers one is able to better perform and are more knowledgeable at work.
3. An example of a social network I participated in was an online book club. I was young and we had to join through school, but we got to choose which books to read and chat about as long as they were on the list. I remember that I would always choose the book that no one else in the class would read so I could have my own ideas and not have to talk about with them in class. Two years ago I helped start a GREEN Club at my school and since it wasn’t there before I consider it to be decidedly democratic. We chose to begin an environmentally friendly club and from there it grew into a fairly large student organization that continues to do great things on campus.

Benkler

1) Benkler sees the social networking sphere as a positive development for democratic communication for many reasons. Through the social network sphere individuals can work together to create things of value without being limited by the capital requirements of production (pg 6). To me this means that people can work together without having restrictions. They don't have to answer to a "boss." People are able to work alone or with other people through social networking to create whatever they want. They are free to be crative and express themselves and their ideas without limitations. I think this is a positive thing too.

2) The social networking site 2nd Life allows people to work with others from around the world. 2nd Life is a way for people to express themselves as well as share information with others. I have never tried it but it looks pretty interesting. I have heard of companies holding meetings online through 2nd Life. It is a great way to get people from around the world all in one "place." In another class I took we talked about some of the people who use 2nd Life and how it is easier for them to talk to people through 2nd Life than it is to actually talk to them in real life. Social networking is changing the way we interact with others and share informaition.

3) One of my good friends spent the summer in LA and was extremely busy. We didn't get to talk as often as we would have liked, but she was keeping a blog. I would read her blog to find out what she was up to and how her summer in LA was going. It was a good way for me to know what was going on while she was gone.

Benkler

1. Google has taken the development of democratic communication to whole new levels. With google docs you are able to share your work with someone across the globe instantly. Not only are you able to share it with them, but they are able to edit it, critique and add/remove sections of it, just as long as you set their permissions. Wikipedia is also a great example where you can openly share and contribute any amount of information that you could possibly want.

2. Social networking has grown in leaps and bounds over the past five to ten years. I remember graduating high school and and freshmen year of college when Facebook was still in its infant stage and only open to students at certain universities and with an approved university e-mail address. When it was more of a tool for college students to communicate with fellow students in their specific classes, and specific resident halls, instead of today where you can make a Facebook page for your dog or cat. Along with Facebook, there have been other large social networks that have popped up. Last spring I took a Media Literacy class that mentioned Second Life and World of Warcraft; people have actually begun romantic relationships in World of Warcraft that have led to marriage. I also have a friend who took a class here at UNI where one of the two classes of the week was actually held in Second Life.

3. I typically abstain from posting in forums, blogs or other public forum other than writing on friends facebook wall posts and select forums. One of forum that I do tend to follow is on a web site geared toward pilots. In which I tend to only read other experiences post by fellow pilots on the stupid things that they have done and how the corrected their situation, along with what other pilots that found them in similar situations.

1. Technology has helped the public communicate in more ways then we could even imagine. We have so many resources we can use when it comes to facebook, myspace, twitter, email, google docs, there is still new blogs and forums being created everyday! I feel the message that big message Benkler was trying to get across is that we can instantly communicate with anyone around the world with great resulty. I think another point he was trying to get across is that we have to be aware of some things that are said and actions that we take while using the online media, an example I can think of is with facebook and how people are not being aware of certain pictures they are getting tagged in. Social networking give friends the ability to stay in touch across the world without having to wait to write letters or even pay big charges to talk on the phone! Freedom of speech is being used by everyone now around the world when they are using social networks online by having there own blog or profile on a site.


2.A great resource for students here at UNI is WEB CT! Many students can connect with one another through messaging if they are in the same class and help one another out if they do not get certain assignments or just need to study for the class.
This past summer I was having some problems with my Itunes on my lab top and wasn't able to burn some compact disc for a friend, I stumbled upon this blog where thousands of people would post certain problems they were having with itunes and people would respond with tons of different ways on how to fix the problem. I cant find the blog because i did a pretty deep online search for it. Blogs like these are really valuable cause it saved me a lot of time and money from not having to take my computer in to get it looked at!
Skype is becoming very popular it is allowing friends to video chat and see one another without having to pay phone fees! I skype with some of my friends who go to out of state schools and it is a great resource to have!

3. My best friend just returned this past year from his two year mission trip in Warsaw Poland. We did not have very many options to communicate to one another about what was happening in our lives. We could email rarely but it was not enough, so we both started our own blogs. He would have one free day a week and would read my post and then type a post about what happened during his week and it worked out really well. Benkler talks about how technology can hinder relationships but our relationship stayed strong because we were able to stay in touch through our own blogs and hearing about one another experiences.
I am a passionate sports fans and I love reading sports blogs and forums from many different sites! It is just interesting to read so many different view points that sports writers write and just debate with thousands of people online about it.

Benkler

1. The availability of resources through which one may communicate is a remarkable advancement that has accompanied the information revolution. Benkler makes not of this and explains how beneficial it is for humans to have technology at their disposal that allows them to communicate with millions of people with ease. Freedom of speech and the press (in reality, our press may not be so free after all when one considers the amount of weight privately held interests carry with the media, but that's another story) allow for creativity and personal expression to be practiced at new levels when coupled with social networking.

2. Ratemyprofessors.com is an excellent social network that allows students to see how others feel about instructors. Students may freely enter feedback on former instructors to assist future students in their class selection. Tons of students use the site as a reference prior to class registration, making it a valuable social networking tool. Another intriguing social networking site is called Second Life. This online virtual reality site allows for users to generate their own virtual version of themselves, and then attend business meetings, parties, etc. with their online character.

3. One example of the social network sphere that comes to mind is the blog my summer boss asked me to keep. I interned at an insurance company, and with more than a dozen interns altogether, the business needed to find ways to distinguish between all of us. One way they did this was to keep track of our blogs, which were to be completed on a weekly basis. We were given a topic to write about, whether it be our goals for the summer, our personal mission and vision statements, or our reflections on the summer. Without social networks such as the one with which my office was equipped, it would have been much more difficult for our employers to draw feedback from us.
Another example that comes to mind is from another class I took with Bettina, Media Literacy. We were asked to communicate with our classmates through Google docs, by posting discussions as en entire class, and also planning group projects. For the most part Google docs made communication easy and accessible for us, despite the occasional minor technical difficulty. Forums such as these help us facilitate discussions in ways not possible prior to advancements in social networking.

Benkler

1. On pg. 7, Benkler talks about how the social network sphere has taken some of the power away from the "owners of communication" and placed it into the hands of those with access to the sphere. He goes on to talk about how this gives people a "greater role in authoring their own lives" and allows them to "perceive a broader range of possibilities" when making choices.

I once heard a story about a man that was asking for a jar of jelly from someone who didn't speak his native language. The store clerk kept asking if he wanted jam, jelly, or preserves. He just kept saying he wanted jelly. It turned out, in his language, they didn't have words for jam and preserves; it was all called "jelly." He didn't have a framework to understand what was different about the three kinds because in his world, there was only one kind- and it was all jelly! I think this illustrates Benkler's point, when we can access so many opinions and ideas from other people and cultures, it broadens our worldview and understanding. We are provided with so many more possibilities than we could ever have been aware of in our own little corners of the world. The people that had the power in our corners of the world (aka the "owners of communication") are no longer the sole "constructors" of our world frameworks. We can see beyond what they tell us to see. Therefore, we can make choices during the course of our lives that they never even told us we could make.

2. I have a recent, real life example of social networking that really fits into Benkler's idea that this sphere allows people to become aware of possibilities you hadn't previously known. I have a friend that just took the DAT to get into dental school. He had studied a lot, and also took a Kaplan prep class. This was the most he thought he could prepare and he went into the test thinking he had done everything he could to be ready. After he took the test, he was doing some checking into how his score matched up to what his top dental school choices accepted, and he stumbled upon a message board of dental students. I can't remember what the website was called (sorry!), but it had messages and posts from dental students all over the world giving suggestions about how to prepare for dental school and the DAT. They had links to many websites that provided free practice tests, exercises, and flashcards that they found extremely helpful in preparing for the DAT. He wouldn't have known about these other possibilities for preparing without this message board. Where else could you find such a diverse collection of preparation suggestions from dental students all over the world, who all took the same exact test he took? He had asked all of his friends who had also taken the test, and he'd spoken with his advisors at the university he goes to. The possibilities they had suggested were certain study strategies and the Kaplan prep class. However, the ability to "plug into" this social networking sphere allowed him to "ask" thousands of other people he wouldn't otherwise be able to ask.

3. I had an internship this summer with a convention and visitors bureau. We helped with lots of the events that occurred in the Greater Des Moines area. After each event, our boss would email us a link to fill out an event evaluation. These evaluations gave feedback to the company about how the event went, what the general demographic was, if the event was worthwhile etc... They used Survey Gizmo, which I have also used for many of my classes. The surveys can be completely anonymous, which allows people to be more honest in their evaluations. She then uses our feedback to compile data and present to the company and event planners about who is at the events, what they are looking for and lots of other imperative information. I realize that this can all be done with the internet, but like Benkler says, "things that are easier to do are more likely to be done." SurveyGizmo makes it a lot easier for her to compile, organize and present the data. It is also more convenient for us to complete the surveys, and we feel more comfortable to be honest because of the anonymity the site offers. I've also used SurveyGizmo for a research project that I completed last year for a class. The project was focused on international students' perceptions. Using an online survey tool allowed us to access international students studying in universities all across the country. This way, we weren't limited to international students studying in our immediate vicinity. Using this site allowed us to broaden the perspectives we received in response.