...well maybe exciting isn't the right word, but hopefully the title caught your attention.
For my final project I am taking a more in depth look at how the citizen media interacts with the mass media when it comes to news reporting. I will be looking at it from a scholarly standpoint, applying the readings and lectures from class as well as conducting a qualitative analysis based on public opinion. According to James Suroiecki the inclusion of citizen media into the mass media’s news reporting really began after the Tsunami. He says in THIS video clip that this is the time when the “public sphere came of age.” I intend to find out how much this change effected the traditional news reporting practices by the mass media conglomerates.
I am still collecting empirical evidence right now, and given the nature of the topic, it seems fitting that I am using a form of citizen media to inform you all of my project. I would really appreciate if as many of you as possible would take this quick survey to help me understand how we as a society view this change. The survey is only two little questions long and completely anonymous. Feel free to let me know what you think in comments on my blog as well.
Thanks in advance for your help :)
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Hacktivism
This weeks topic on hacktivism and digital activism is increasingly relevant to a contemporary change in politics and counter culture. Everett says that, “it is my contention that the recent “dot-com bust” or “meltdown” occurring in the high- technology sector of Wall Street represents an important reprieve for the grassroots’ organizing efforts aimed at democratizing the Internet in ways that existing mass media corporate interests disallow” (Everett, 2002).
Those who participate in hacktivism in my mind have always been linked to some sort of mischief, accompanied by poor morals with the intention of causing problems for the rest of us. After the topic was brought up in lecture this week I was inclined to look further into whether this conception of the activity is accurate or not.
As it turns out, I am most definitely not the only one with these preconceptions in my head, but there are a wide variety of interpretations. Many respected newspapers and public figures have involved themselves in the discourse surrounding the topic, many participating in increasing the moral panic that surrounds it. Terrorism has been a prevalent topic in modern discourse and so, of course, it has been assessed that the terrorists are participating in hacktivism. The LA times is quoted to have stated that, “from charismatic clerics who spout hate online, to thousands of extremist websites, chat rooms and social networking pages that raise money and spread radical propaganda, the Internet has become a crucial front in the ever-shifting war on terrorism."
On the opposite side of the spectrum of opinion, the U.S Department of State’s 2009 Human Rights Report discusses the topic from a different angle. The report assess that use of the internet and the public domain as being highly important to democracy, freedom, and human rights. The report states that “Despite official monitoring and censorship, dissidents and political activists continued to use the Internet to advocate and call attention to political causes such as prisoner advocacy, political reform, ethnic discrimination, corruption, and foreign policy concerns”
A site that considers itself an expert on the topic is called thehacktivist.com. The writers of this page state that, “both hacking and activism, and thus hacktivism, are loaded words ripe for a variety of interpretation” and that, “hacktivism is a continually evolving and open process; its tactics and methodology are not static.” When discussing this topic in the future we should step back from a technological deterministic point of view and remember that no technology is inherently bad, it is up to the individual or group as to how they will use it. In the case of hacktivism, there have been instances in which it has been used for good and evil.
Those who participate in hacktivism in my mind have always been linked to some sort of mischief, accompanied by poor morals with the intention of causing problems for the rest of us. After the topic was brought up in lecture this week I was inclined to look further into whether this conception of the activity is accurate or not.
As it turns out, I am most definitely not the only one with these preconceptions in my head, but there are a wide variety of interpretations. Many respected newspapers and public figures have involved themselves in the discourse surrounding the topic, many participating in increasing the moral panic that surrounds it. Terrorism has been a prevalent topic in modern discourse and so, of course, it has been assessed that the terrorists are participating in hacktivism. The LA times is quoted to have stated that, “from charismatic clerics who spout hate online, to thousands of extremist websites, chat rooms and social networking pages that raise money and spread radical propaganda, the Internet has become a crucial front in the ever-shifting war on terrorism."
On the opposite side of the spectrum of opinion, the U.S Department of State’s 2009 Human Rights Report discusses the topic from a different angle. The report assess that use of the internet and the public domain as being highly important to democracy, freedom, and human rights. The report states that “Despite official monitoring and censorship, dissidents and political activists continued to use the Internet to advocate and call attention to political causes such as prisoner advocacy, political reform, ethnic discrimination, corruption, and foreign policy concerns”
A site that considers itself an expert on the topic is called thehacktivist.com. The writers of this page state that, “both hacking and activism, and thus hacktivism, are loaded words ripe for a variety of interpretation” and that, “hacktivism is a continually evolving and open process; its tactics and methodology are not static.” When discussing this topic in the future we should step back from a technological deterministic point of view and remember that no technology is inherently bad, it is up to the individual or group as to how they will use it. In the case of hacktivism, there have been instances in which it has been used for good and evil.
Since the topic of remix culture was brought up to me, I seem to see it everywhere. The more I think about it, I can see the extent to which this aspect of culture has grown and evolved in our recent history. Lessing says that, “they (or at least the “young people of the day”) add to the culture they read by creating and re-creating the culture around them” (Lessing, 2008).
As I have previously pointed out, the copyright laws are the only aspect of this culture that havent evolved at all. In recent conversation with my roommate on the topic, she brought to my attention the extent of the punishment for ‘piracy.’ After dedicating a little bit of time to google on this topic, I came across this article. The author discusses the topic using satire, but it does bring up some serious points. According to the article, to date, the largest sum of money that has been handed out as punishment for ‘piracy’ is $2 million US dollars, for the 24 songs she was found guilty of downloading from Kazaa. The money is to go to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) to makeup for the damages caused by her actions.
It seems to me that there were zero or at leas extremely minimal damages to the recording industry, so I have to agree with the defendants analysis that these fines are "excessive shocking and monstrous.” The decision to uphold this heavy fine was later supported by the federal government as they felt it was necessary because “actual damages are hard to quantify, the government wrote, “furthermore, in establishing that range, Congress took into account the need to deter the millions of users of new media from infringing copyrights in an environment where many violators believe that they till go unnoticed.”
I must go back to Lawrence Lessing for a concluding thought, he states that, “the twentieth century was the first time in the history of human culture when popular culture had become professionalized, and when the people were taught to defer to the professional’ (Lessing, 2008). In response to that I ask, isn’t it time that the laws reflect contemporary culture, and stop trying to destroy it?
As I have previously pointed out, the copyright laws are the only aspect of this culture that havent evolved at all. In recent conversation with my roommate on the topic, she brought to my attention the extent of the punishment for ‘piracy.’ After dedicating a little bit of time to google on this topic, I came across this article. The author discusses the topic using satire, but it does bring up some serious points. According to the article, to date, the largest sum of money that has been handed out as punishment for ‘piracy’ is $2 million US dollars, for the 24 songs she was found guilty of downloading from Kazaa. The money is to go to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) to makeup for the damages caused by her actions.
It seems to me that there were zero or at leas extremely minimal damages to the recording industry, so I have to agree with the defendants analysis that these fines are "excessive shocking and monstrous.” The decision to uphold this heavy fine was later supported by the federal government as they felt it was necessary because “actual damages are hard to quantify, the government wrote, “furthermore, in establishing that range, Congress took into account the need to deter the millions of users of new media from infringing copyrights in an environment where many violators believe that they till go unnoticed.”
I must go back to Lawrence Lessing for a concluding thought, he states that, “the twentieth century was the first time in the history of human culture when popular culture had become professionalized, and when the people were taught to defer to the professional’ (Lessing, 2008). In response to that I ask, isn’t it time that the laws reflect contemporary culture, and stop trying to destroy it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
