Copyright in the Digital Age

Is sampling a form of copyright infringement?

Sampling is a form of copyright infringement to me, because if you are using someone else work in yours and getting paid for it you should definitely ask the owner for the permission. Even if one uses just a tad bit of the other persons work they still took their time to put it together and put in a lot money to develop their art. So if someone wants to sample another persons work they should absolutely as permission first and pay them a percentage of their income from what they made. Although, I find the previous cases harsh in how  they punish the samplers and I feel that they should not just overly execute them because it is not like they are presenting the sampling in the music as their own and trying to get away with it but instead I think that the sampler should just award the person they used work from and then all will be well.

Do you agree that, as was stated in the film, hip-hop’s sampling
is no different from other artistic work (e.g. Andy Warhol’s paintings
of soup cans or a photographer’s taking scenes and reconstructing
them)? Why or why not?

 

Yes, I do agree that  sampling is no different from other artistic art work, because in sampling they are taking pieces of another art work to form a much more grander thing. And the fact that someone is taking time to put their ideas out through hip hop is art work because it is a creation and has meaning behind it although some may not understand what the person is displaying it still is a creative way to do things and it is an art form in itself. 

 

The film quotes Igor Stravinsky, who once said, “A good composer
does not imitate; he steals.” Was Stravinsky condoning plagiarism and copyright infringement? What did he mean?

 

No, I do not think that Igor Stravinsky was condoning plagiarism and copyright infringement. I think that he was actually saying that a real artist does not just steal and copy someone else work and call their own but instead use the idea of the artwork to create something much more grand. 

 

 

 

 

Discussion with Invincible and Waajeed

I thought it was really exciting being talked to by successful underground artist like Waajeed and Invincible. It was really interesting to hear their stories about where they came from and how it impacted their careers.  With the discussion we had I learned that underground artist are not just artist who could not make it into mainstream but they actually are just as successful as artist like Emeniem. 

The story that Invincible told us about the offers she has received worth $1 million to step out into mainstream was completely respectable. The fact that she turned the deals down instead of molding herself into someone else like they wanted her to do shows how important her art is to her and she is someone that everyone can look up to. It was so true about how once something is successful for someone else such as how they wanted her to be the female Emeniem how labels tries to play on it and keep it going just like the whole "Jersey Shore" which has had other shows just like it, like "Jersey Couture," "Jerseylicious" and so on.

Also after looking up Waajeed I learned that he worked on the project Rize, which I have seen and loved and meeting someone who has done other things like that was totally cool. Even though he did not talk that much he was hilarious and successful which shows that fame does not equal to someones success and that one can reach as many people as they would in the mainstream. 

How Charlie Sheen and Other Celebrities Get Paid to Tweet

Celebrities Getting Paid To Tweet

Twitter has become largely populated with celebrity branding these days and now their is a new addition to 

the family, Charlie Sheen. Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Lamar Odom, Soulja boy, Lauren Conrad 

and 50 cent are just some of the top brand endorsers on Twitter. Every tweet that the celebrities tweet they 

get paid, for instance, every tweet Kim Kardashian and Soulja Boy do they make $10,000. Companies 

result to more advertising on social media because it is much more difficult and a longer process to do it the 

old fashion way such as the Hanes commercial with Michael Jordan because they have to go through a 

process that last months and has to work with all the celebrities "people." But the whole Twitter phenomenon 

has been much more easier because they do not have to go through all of those steps and it gets out to more 

people due to celebrity and the use of social media which almost everyone uses. Basically in this

article, the whole idea surrounds around social media and its use of branding and advertisements 

with celebrities.

Week 7: Facebook (Catfish Film & Blog Assignment)

What makes us put so much trust in social-networking sites?

 I think that Nev put so much trust into Facebook as he did because he truly believed that there was a normal family out there who's daughter was really into art and it was inspiring to him. I personally feel that it is not so much as trust that we put into social-networking sites but more of us not really thinking about things for example, when we receive a friend request or whatever we do not necessarily say "oh, this might be a crazy person" we just go about our day and accept. I think we just think everyone is on the site just as we are just being sociable even though we know we want probably ever talk to them its just social networking "courtesy" to accept. I just think we do not take into account that there are total creepers outside our social networking world and that people can really learn about us from our pages and harm us. 

How come Nev did not see the red flags ?

I do not understand how Nev did not see all the alerting factors that something was quite fishy about the whole Abby situation. First, the whole point that Abby was allowed to email pictures of herself to a grown man is completely unbelievable. I understand the whole thing about how parents do not always have control over their kids and the internet but that whole problem does not even factor into this situation because the mother did have knowledge of it and the fact that any mother would allow that should have been the number red flag to him. Another reason I feel Nev should have known something was up is because of how the whole family just for some reason had to chat with him about Abby most of them saying the same thing and the fact that Abby was never around when he talked to her mother and sister and stuff. I think Nev did not see these alerts because he probably just could not believe that someone would waste all this time to have a ploy like this and actually put there daughter and family in it. 

What are the chances of what happened in the film happening in real life?

 I think that the chances of what happened in the film happening in real life is very high. Since this documentary was over a long period of time I think Nev just felt more and more comfortable with the family as it went on and that if someone did this in real life they could totally form a relationship with a person for their on odd reasons. I have a friend who started dating a boy that she met off of Facebook which is really weird to me. And he has like 12 different pages with different girlfriends on each and I think that if it is so easy for me to find it how come she couldn't.

Week 6: Myspace

Impact of Identity on Myspace

Most agree that using social networking websites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter can impact ones identity greatly, but I totally disagree with that. Instead of these websites impacting our identity, I think people alter their own identity to how they want to be perceived as online for example some people may be pedophiles and they represent themselves as someone young, super attractive, as someone that a younger person can turn to in order to trap them. Or some people just have altar egos that they themselves get absorbed in and let leak out to their personal offline lives. Ultimately, I do not believe that sites like Myspace impact our identities at all because it is in fact just a website created for you to come and communicate with others a device cannot impact someones identity, people just alter themselves and change their on identity.

Real World Results of Using Myspace

From the required reading, I have learned  that not only does websites help users to make friends and communicate with their peers, but that through us putting our lives all out for the world to see that it has also resulted in other ways such as helping the police. It is absolutely bazarr how people set their on selves up unknowingly just as the gang that is talked about in the reading who were ignorant enough to talk about a "snitch" on Twitter putting out all their business and showing the police that they will be after the snitch williingly snitching on themselves. Myspace has been used in the real world as a way to catch sexual predators online basically resulting as a free and easy tool to help investigators without having to put in as much work as in the past to find creeps like that. 

From the reading, I have learned that we are making more things way more possible by using the social networking websites and that they have different types of values for all of us. For instance without these sites, it would be less more likely for police officers to find many criminals. I have also learned that this century is completely ignorant to these websites although they may think they know everything about everything they absolutely do not, for example, criminals just go around using these site building up evidence on themselves thinking their pages are private but little that they know there are officials patrolling the whole site. By bragging on their pages to their friends and their "friends of friends," they are just making things so much easier. But on the other hand, criminals can also use these sites to their advantage also by using it to communicate with other criminals and warning one another of any dangers to come. Social networking sites have not just only been a way to come together but in other ways such as in law enforcement, politically, online bullying etc. It has become more dangerous.

Social Networking & Virtual Revolution

The BBC's Virtual Revolution

After watching the YouTube videos on Virtual Revolution, I found it interesting on how we pay for information over the internet not necessarily with money, but with ourselves. Basically, "a little tracker in our computer called a cookie," archives everything we have searched on the web so that we have more modified ads to us. (episode 4) As said in episode 4, "we are being traced, tracked, and traded in pursuit of profit," so ultimately we are being spied on then harrased by all of the annoying advertisements popping up on our computers because they summarize our identity to who they think we are and what we are interested in by a click of a mouse. (episode 3) Not only does the web go so far to tracking every site that we visit, as I learned in episode 3, Google actually records our emails to further help advertisers figure out our consumer habits. In the end, we actually do pay for our free services on the web by selling ourselves like prostitutes in return for internet which is perfectly fine with me because with out the World Wide Web I do not know how I would get half of my work done.

What is Myspace?

Myspace formally known as "MySpace" to now "My_____" is a social networking website where people can come together and share themselves with one another. Just as YouTube, Myspace is a place where many people went to get discovered, not only in music though, but also in the fashion industry, many people have launched modeling careers in response to using MySpace. Myspace is a place to share just as other social networking sites.

When did it come in to being? What was its purpose?

Myspace came into being in 2003. The purpose of Myspace was to bring people together for networking, music, business etc.

Was/Is Myspace cool?

Myspace was cool once upon a time back in June 2006 until their main competitor Facebook came in and took over in April 2008.  Since then Myspace has tried to gain some fans back by redesigning their site making it look like a "music store" and changing its colors and name display.

Are you on it?

No, I am not on Myspace and never have been.

What did you learn from touring the site?

What I learned from touring the site is that it has totally changed from what it was in the past. The whole layout is much more intriguing than Facebook is but since Facebook is basically the "it" social networking website right now that no one really cares.  I also learned that they surround their site around music and seems to be a creative place.

The Anthropology of YouTube

What is YouTube?

  According to Wikipedia, YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, share, and view a wide spectrum of videos. But the meaning of YouTube varies throughout users where some find it as a way to broadcast themselves; a window of opportunity or just a means of entertainment.

While watching some videos on  YouTube, I came across some users who actually use YouTube as a guide for tutorials such as the Fairy Barbie Makeover which was a very intriguing tutorial to me and probably would be something I would look up because I absolutely love fairies. 
Another way that I see YouTube being used is for news and politics where Christina Aguilera is ultimately scrutinized for so called messing up "The Star Spangled Banner"giving the opportunity for us YouTube users to replay her mistake as many times as we feel. 

YouTube's Impact

        By YouTube giving users complete control over what they upload besides their censors they put on the videos just in case they are not appropriate for everyone, they are unknowingly impacting our lives significantly. From what we wear, to our presidential elections, to businesses, or even causing controversial issues between states YouTube is much more apparent in our lives than we know. 
 Though some may not have realized, even our presidential elections had an impact from YouTube. Because of YouTube, our presidential election in 2008 was very much more greatly publicized and promoted through all of the new opportunities that YouTube was offering. For instance, YouTube made it possible for viewers to watch presidential debates on their site and even allowed users to post a question that was then sent to the candidate for them to answer like it was shown on CNN with Obama and McCain . 

YouTube Memorials 
Not only does YouTube offer viewers with entertainment, window of opportunity to be discovered, insight on political views etc. they also provide a place for users to come and commemorate lost ones through videos memorials. I just now found out about how YouTube provides a different culture in which people can create a virtual memorial opposed to the traditional ones in a public area. While I was on YouTube I typed in a few because I never noticed that people did this to celebrate lost ones and I am always on YouTube so I typed in Marilyn Monroe Memorials because I just think she was so pretty.

Future of Television
 In The YouTube Reader, they ponder on whether or not YouTube will be the "next-generation tv." To me, I feel that YouTube will not hurt today's television in anyway, but if in any way YouTube does affect television I believe it will on enhance the experience of television such as how 3D at home has made watching television even more fun. Although YouTube has had ultimate success and plenty of riches, in the further future I believe that they will not be changing television in a threatening way.