Since my earliest experiences with the internet, I had always been aware of Copyright laws, but in the most part, chose to ignore them. When I was only 8 or 9 years old, I used to illegally download music and games from Napster. I had been told in school that downloading music on websites like napster was illegal and had always heard stories from friends who had friends who had friends who had gotten in trouble with the government and had to pay thousands of dollars in fines, but because I had never experience such punishments first hand, I completley ignored them. After Napster I moved on to Limewire and continued downloading music, videos, and games without paying. Later on after Limewire began making my computer run slower, I began file sharing off of applications like Mojo, where any users on the same network can transfer songs, videos, or pictures to one another through itunes.
In terms of the morality of what I am doing, I am deffinitley fully aware that I am stealing somebody elses property, and that it is wrong and illegal. This is especially a problem when it comes to illegally downloading movies as my family owns a chain of movie theatres and film piracy has led to major drops in the cinema market. At the same time, there is also a side of me that wants to simply state that if it is available on the internet for free, then there shouldnt be any punishment for viewing it, and that part of the responsibility and challenge of these media producers is to adopt to the online age and figure out ways to provide free media to audiences while still profiting off of advertisements, like Hulu, being able to pay off the media creators.
Showing posts with label participation 5. Show all posts
Showing posts with label participation 5. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Copyright
Admittedly, I have downloaded thousands of songs from the internet using various programs such as Napster and Limewire. Growing up I really had little to no regard for breaking these "laws" as I felt it was something that everyone was doing and I wasn't really doing that bad of a thing. Since then I have started either buying albums on iTunes, listening to radio stations on Pandora, or even most recently listening to music online for free using Spotify. As I've grown up and become more aware of this ongoing problem, I tried to stop using these file sharing programs, mainly because I want to support the hard working artists that are producing these jams. I actually don't even know if Napster and Limewire are still running. Another reason I have stopped downloading illegal is because, its illegal. The recent focus on online piracy and cracking down on users has definitely scared me off a little bit, I'm not going to lie. There are so many ways of listen to music online legally and for free, that I don't even think its worth it to go through the hassle any more these day. Even though I do pay for these albums and movies, I try my best not to pay full price for them. I do a lot of shopping on online markets like Amazon where I usually find what I am looking for at a much more reduced price than what stores like Best Buy offer. Plus, if I purchase a movie from iTunes for example, I can instantly watch that video on my computer and I don't have to worry about loosing/scratching a DVD, like I have done hundreds on times in the past. Amazon gives me the video instantly as well, but they send a hard copy of the DVD to me also, which is why I like taking my business there as often as I can. I like how I get my music and movies much more today than how I used to do it, and I feel much better about having the media. I think it was very unfair to music/movie producers and artists who were just getting the short end of the stick, while everyone downloaded their hard work for free.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Online Copyright Experience
I think the most common experience related to online copyright would be downloading. When I lived in the dormitory during my high school years I constantly challenged myself against the online restriction done by the school internet system. They blocked every download sites, and at that time I wasn't mature enough to acknowledge the significance of copyright. I remember searching for the files everywhere to get through the school internet and find a web site that allowed free download.
Now, however, I pay for every files that I download online. I believe that the producers of the content of various media- music, films, and so forth- should be respected and be acknowledged.
The issue of copyright is very vague in some cases, such as YouTube. YouTube has become the largest video site worldwide. However, with increased participation of the amateur publishers, there also is an increased use of the content from other texts. One example is the fanvideo for various television shows or movies. The makers of fanvideos borrow scenes from the original show to create a new story or make their own interpretation of the show. Should fanvids be considered as a form of expressing interest in that certain shows? Or should they also be restricted in terms of copyright? The term copyright is definitely a complex topic to be discussed and I wonder what the others think of the issue..
Now, however, I pay for every files that I download online. I believe that the producers of the content of various media- music, films, and so forth- should be respected and be acknowledged.
The issue of copyright is very vague in some cases, such as YouTube. YouTube has become the largest video site worldwide. However, with increased participation of the amateur publishers, there also is an increased use of the content from other texts. One example is the fanvideo for various television shows or movies. The makers of fanvideos borrow scenes from the original show to create a new story or make their own interpretation of the show. Should fanvids be considered as a form of expressing interest in that certain shows? Or should they also be restricted in terms of copyright? The term copyright is definitely a complex topic to be discussed and I wonder what the others think of the issue..
Copyright Experience
Copyright experience for me has been a constant battle and a very interesting experience. I grew up with a few CDs (from birthday gifts) but mainly relied on Limewire for my music needs. When I learned about torrents, that was the next great thing for me. I don't download all my music from online sources (I buy CDs from artists that I really enjoy and support), and especially now, I use Spotify for most of my music needs. However, I do remember having to struggle a bit in the past few years looking for new music blogs to replace the many outlets I use that are now shut down. Movie and Television show-wise, it is also a big toss-up. Copyright affects my experience only if I actually missed a TV show that I really want to watch right away. Since most shows are posted online by the network anyways, for me, it is pointless to download them unless I really wanted to watch that show the night after. Otherwise, I have hulu and Netflix to rely on for television shows that I don't get on broadcast TV. As for movies, I am also sort of split on the issue. On one hand, I love to own movies that I know I would watch over and over again. For movies that I am sort of interested in but aren't willing to drop $20 to buy it, I usually find it somewhere to watch once and dispose of the copy. It has been harder and harder however, to find and download movies fast and easy. New laws and crackdowns has made this a much harder task. I often just go to a nearby Redbox for movies that I want to watch once. These new copyright crackdowns and new laws have made online content experience a much harder one and a much more cautious one. It'll be interesting to see where this goes in the next few years.
Copyright
When I was younger and more foolish (and with no money), I illegally downloaded music all the time and had little respect for copyrights online. I used the file-sharing service, Limewire, a lot, and I think that has since been shut down.
Now that I have some money to spend, I only get music, movies, and books online by paying for them. I don't really attempt to get around copyrights at all, whether because I'm too lazy to try, afraid of legal consequences, or just reluctant to visit fishy foreign download websites. But I also don't like to illegally download because I think the artists and production companies should be compensated for the content they produce. And, as someone who hopes to produce creative content for a living someday, I would like to see that business more protected from piracy and illegal repurposing.
One way I reduce the price of getting albums or movies is by ordering used copies on Amazon, which gives me a physical as well as a digital copy of the content. As Danny said in lecture today, it's thought of as more acceptable to pass around a physical copy between friends than it is to copy a piece of digital content, and my friends and I sometimes will let each borrow CDs or DVDs. In this scenario, the artists and production companies don't get compensated for the resale of the used copies, but as long as they all keep shoveling out more and more content at a quicker pace, they should do just fine in the money-making department and I feel little sympathy at this point in my life.
Now that I have some money to spend, I only get music, movies, and books online by paying for them. I don't really attempt to get around copyrights at all, whether because I'm too lazy to try, afraid of legal consequences, or just reluctant to visit fishy foreign download websites. But I also don't like to illegally download because I think the artists and production companies should be compensated for the content they produce. And, as someone who hopes to produce creative content for a living someday, I would like to see that business more protected from piracy and illegal repurposing.
One way I reduce the price of getting albums or movies is by ordering used copies on Amazon, which gives me a physical as well as a digital copy of the content. As Danny said in lecture today, it's thought of as more acceptable to pass around a physical copy between friends than it is to copy a piece of digital content, and my friends and I sometimes will let each borrow CDs or DVDs. In this scenario, the artists and production companies don't get compensated for the resale of the used copies, but as long as they all keep shoveling out more and more content at a quicker pace, they should do just fine in the money-making department and I feel little sympathy at this point in my life.
Copyrights
I personally haven't had a direct impact on copyrights personally that was anything terrible serious. The only notable instance was during my freshman year here at UW when I was living in the dorms and using Res Net. In my high school years, I had a fair bit of pirated music on my computer. Res Net happened to notice that one of my songs was infringing on copyright protection and sent me what was basically a cease and desist email. Now, I never pirate music since I've found the music quality to just buy the CD on ebay for a couple of bucks is far greater and there is no danger of acquiring a virus.
While I don't pirate music anymore, I have, on occasion, pirated sports streams. Most recently, during the NCAA tourney, I noticed that they are now charging to watch the tournament online. I was not about to pay the $4 for the stream when I'm already paying for the channels it airs on via my Charter subscription. So I went to my stand-by site that I use to stream NFL games to watch the tournament while in class. Seeing as the NCAA and TV networks make billions off of unpaid student athletes, I didn't feel terribly guilty about doing it.
While I don't pirate music anymore, I have, on occasion, pirated sports streams. Most recently, during the NCAA tourney, I noticed that they are now charging to watch the tournament online. I was not about to pay the $4 for the stream when I'm already paying for the channels it airs on via my Charter subscription. So I went to my stand-by site that I use to stream NFL games to watch the tournament while in class. Seeing as the NCAA and TV networks make billions off of unpaid student athletes, I didn't feel terribly guilty about doing it.
Copywrongs
I suppose copyright has affected my online experiences quite a bit since I often you the internet to find media content, but also in my personal music. Copyrights affect musicians/producers in a very strange way now, especially those who engage in the electronic/dance music community. Remixing someone else's song, for example, is a somewhat strange legal endeavor. Some artists use remixing as a marketing tool, offering the multi-track recordings or "stems" of a new song to be downloaded for producers to remix and then re-upload to submit to a contest. Winners usually get money, gear, or a spot on the record. The catch is, this almost always takes place on a single site that is obviously run by a large recording conglomerate. The terms of agreement nearly always state that the remixes can only be distributed through their site. This, however, never happens and the remix files always end up on mediafire, zippyshare, putlocker, etc, as well as a host of remix-orientated file sharing sites. It seems this sharing of content, and the sharing of content in general is so widespread an pervasive, that I rarely ever see copyright laws being enforced other than content being removed from file upload sites.
Other than this, I really don't care too much about adhering to copyright laws because I see no utility in living by the backwards logic that surrounds the "stop piracy" campaigns. Unless 100% of the money is going directly to the artist, I think it's actually detrimental to the creative nature of the content's creation in the first place. You no longer need a big media giant to push your name onto the internet through stupid ads, etc. The internet gives artists the ability to get their name out through online creativity alone, no matter how big or small they are. If you don't believe me, look at Odd Future.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Copyrights
I have never really experienced any sort of affect from copyrights while consuming online content. But I do know of someone that has. One of my friends will often use websites to download television shows that are not made easily available online like Netflix or Hulu. Thus, he will find ways of surpassing these restrictions by seeking out the content in other forms. His most common use is torrent.
I myself avoid such websites for fear of acquiring a virus on my computer as well as I dislike the thought of being penalized for seeking out limited television shows in a more applicable way. I'd like to think that copyrights don't affect my consumption of content on the internet but as I think more and more about it, I've realized that it may in more subtle ways. I endeavor to find out.
I myself avoid such websites for fear of acquiring a virus on my computer as well as I dislike the thought of being penalized for seeking out limited television shows in a more applicable way. I'd like to think that copyrights don't affect my consumption of content on the internet but as I think more and more about it, I've realized that it may in more subtle ways. I endeavor to find out.
Online Copyrights
My first thought is that copyrights don't really affect me online. When I was younger and had no idea what I was doing on the internet, I would download music using illegal file-sharing services. I didn't really realize I was doing anything wrong until my mom told me that people my age were getting in huge trouble with the law doing this. I stopped dead in my tracks and have been terrified of doing something illegal online ever since.
When I think about it more though, the internet is really a very unsure place. I've used images from websites on my blog or on Facebook without permission from anyone; I try to list the source, but sometimes forget or get lazy. I've also made videos with music in the background that I've posted online. I suppose that breaks a copyright law, but I've never even thought about that fact that it might be something wrong to do. It's just weird that something that I think would be so normal is actually something that you shouldn't be doing. I do run across a lot of videos on Youtube also that say they've been altered in some ways due to copyright laws.
Overall, I try to be very respectful of using someone else's property online, but there are times when it doesn't seem like you're doing anything wrong. In order for these laws to be more affective, I think they need to be more apparent. When something isn't apparent, that doesn't mean that it's ok to do or use, but I think it would stop a lot of people if it was more obvious that what you're doing is wrong.
When I think about it more though, the internet is really a very unsure place. I've used images from websites on my blog or on Facebook without permission from anyone; I try to list the source, but sometimes forget or get lazy. I've also made videos with music in the background that I've posted online. I suppose that breaks a copyright law, but I've never even thought about that fact that it might be something wrong to do. It's just weird that something that I think would be so normal is actually something that you shouldn't be doing. I do run across a lot of videos on Youtube also that say they've been altered in some ways due to copyright laws.
Overall, I try to be very respectful of using someone else's property online, but there are times when it doesn't seem like you're doing anything wrong. In order for these laws to be more affective, I think they need to be more apparent. When something isn't apparent, that doesn't mean that it's ok to do or use, but I think it would stop a lot of people if it was more obvious that what you're doing is wrong.
Copyright Online
Like many others, I have experienced the effects of copyrights online in accessing other media (music, television shows, films, etc.) Although I understand the reasoning behind it, it can be frustrating for selfish reasons. I think that the copyright laws online can cause a lot of confusion. Like the Lessig article pointed out, the type of "sharing" has changed due to the increase of Internet use. Before video/file sharing online, if a friend of mine taped a television show from their TV and wanted to show me, it wouldn't have violated any copyright laws. Now, if someone tapes a show from their personal television and uploads it online and shares it with me it does violate copyright law.
Another place that I have come across copyright regulations is with my personal blog. I often use pictures/content from other bloggers or websites online. Although I always credit the author or photographer etc. I am sure it still violates copyright law. I do not use my blog for commercial use and I do not claim credit for any of this information but there is still potential for punishment. I think the scariest part about this is the lack of knowledge. Other people who blog or use websites may not know to even credit the author which could cause more problems. I think that most people who use pictures/media on their blogs think that crediting the author clears them of any legal issues, and this is not the case.
Overall, I think that at the very least there should be some widespread education about copyright laws on the Internet and their consequences. Whether they are right or wrong, as of now they are in effect and people should understand the risks of their actions online. Although we frequently see anti-piracy campaigns for illegally downloading music or videos, other forms of copyright infringement are more complicated and less widely known. We should all be aware of these strict regulations.
Another place that I have come across copyright regulations is with my personal blog. I often use pictures/content from other bloggers or websites online. Although I always credit the author or photographer etc. I am sure it still violates copyright law. I do not use my blog for commercial use and I do not claim credit for any of this information but there is still potential for punishment. I think the scariest part about this is the lack of knowledge. Other people who blog or use websites may not know to even credit the author which could cause more problems. I think that most people who use pictures/media on their blogs think that crediting the author clears them of any legal issues, and this is not the case.
Overall, I think that at the very least there should be some widespread education about copyright laws on the Internet and their consequences. Whether they are right or wrong, as of now they are in effect and people should understand the risks of their actions online. Although we frequently see anti-piracy campaigns for illegally downloading music or videos, other forms of copyright infringement are more complicated and less widely known. We should all be aware of these strict regulations.
Copyrights Online
When looking at how I use the internet in regards to Copyright laws throughout the week it occurs to me that most of the time I don't even realize I'm breaking copyright laws. For instance, much of the content I watch on YouTube is likely breaking copyright laws, but we don't even think about it most of the time. Apart from this I noticed that much of the time if I do break a copyright law it's to watch a TV episode or download an album that I want. I honestly never worry or think too much about copyright laws because I feel like much of the time they don't make sense, many countries don't even have copyright laws.
Regardless though of whether or not they make sense, I would say there is the largest amount of copyright infringement online, unsurprisingly. Because the internet presents this sense of anonymity I think that people feel much more comfortable breaking copyright laws online than they would offline. Most people seem to think that nobody will know who broke the copyright so it doesn't matter if they break it.
Regardless though of whether or not they make sense, I would say there is the largest amount of copyright infringement online, unsurprisingly. Because the internet presents this sense of anonymity I think that people feel much more comfortable breaking copyright laws online than they would offline. Most people seem to think that nobody will know who broke the copyright so it doesn't matter if they break it.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Copyright Materials Online
In my personal experiences, copyrights have affected my opportunities online. The thing I think of immediately in regards to copyright is when I am searching for an episode online. While I understand that it could be considered copyright infringement to upload these episodes without consent, I will admit that I still tend to look for these episodes. That being said, typically I don't come across many successful attempts. For example, when using ch131.com to look for movies or videos a lot of times the content ends up being slightly altered or does not even end up working at all - copyright regulations don't allow for it. In regards to this issue, I sometimes think that copyrights should be a bit more flexible. As we've talked about in class, we are living through a "produser" internet experience and in order to people to be able to produce or upload things online these constraints are sometimes a bit overbearing. On that note though, I personally have never produced my own content for online so I am not sure how I would feel if I didn't want this information redistributed without compensation. While I'd hope that people who are producing or uploading things illegally are not doing it for financial gain, I guess you can never for sure know! While I definitely find myself experiencing a variety of different copyright constraints every time I go online, I think that people are finding ways around copyrights and ultimately copyrights may become less bearing in the future, or maybe they'll become even more strict? Who knows... I've come to the conclusion that the internet is pretty unpredictable - it's a crazy place!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Blog Post 5-Copyrighted Material Online
Another copyright issue that I've had in the past is trying to download pictures. I am really into photography and am always looking at other peoples work. Sometimes I see a picture I really want on my desktop or to post to my Facebook, but most photography is highly copyrighted and will not let you download or do anything with it. In this sense I am very understandable of copyrighted content because a persons personal photography is something that they own but also want to share, but to download it would be like stealing it from a studio. So, in this sense I do agree with copyrighted material and its effect on internet users.
Copyrights
Personally, copyrights have affected and still do affect my experience of content online. The first thing I think of in terms of copyright and how it affects content I'm looking for is Youtube. Sometimes I like to look up old TV shows to watch on Youtube, even though I know it is considered copyright infringement to upload these episodes, etc, without the consent of whoever produced it. So I try looking anyway just to see if someone has managed to work around the copyright by altering the videos slightly, in an effort to keep the video online. Usually they're unsuccessful.
Now for me I find this slightly annoying because I'm willing to assume the people who uploaded the content are not using it for financial gain in any way, but rather just for entertainment purposes. I understand the perspective of businesses and companies that produce the content in that they think it is stealing and distributing their property without consent, however I don't agree 100%. I know they want me to buy the DVD of whatever show I'm trying to watch online, and I understand that's how they make money but obviously it's more convenient to me to just look it up online and have it right there.
Basically, I think copyrights sometimes are a little overbearing, but then again I've never really had original content that I did not want redistributed without receiving compensation, so I feel my opinion might be sort of selfish. I do actually have first hand experience with some copyright things through Youtube in that in some videos I have uploaded, songs are copyrighted and either cannot be used, or just get tagged below the video with the song name and artist. I've never had any videos removed yet though. So that's my experience with copyrights.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)