According to Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis (2003), citizen journalism refers to “the act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information.”
In recent years, citizen journalism has certainly blossomed. There are now hundreds of participatory news sites such as Indymedia, OhmyNews, Slashdot and Kuro5hin that receive considerable traffic. Though there is concern that citizen journalism produces inferior and inaccurate content, Bowman and Willis (2003) argue that “the intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires.”
One of the most positive elements of citizen journalism, as Axel Bruns mentioned in his Week 10 podcast, is the encouragement of public discussion. Comments, corrections, opinions and additional information are emphatically welcomed in the citizen journalism arena. As a participatory media platform, it gives all citizens a voice and strongly supports collaboration.
In this sense, I believe citizen journalism is an important force in combating bias in the traditional news media. It is no secret that bias exists in many of our trusted news sources, sometimes it borders on shameless. A study conducted by UCLA political scientists revealed that “almost all major [US] media outlets tilt to the left.” (Sullivan, 2005) Citizen journalism allows us to question the content of these media outlets and contribute to public discussion about important issues. If we happen to swing to the right, we are able to publish content that reflects this, and present the world with a different view.
It is this collaboration from citizens with all varieties of social and political opinions that help to create a balanced news environment which is, as Bowman and Willis say, essential for democracy.
Another reason I believe citizen journalism is so important is that it combats the culture of apathy threatening to conquer many of us. By encouraging us to speak our minds, contribute to something worthwhile and share our insights, citizen journalism encourages us to care. We are empowered to publish content that is not bound by rules and regulations and the possibilities we are presented with are limitless so...why wouldn’t we? Citizen journalism works on the assumption that everybody’s contribution is important and worthwhile, whether this is true or not, we are motivated to reflect not only on our own viewpoints and those of traditional media sources, but the lesser considered perspectives of our peers. We are given new insight into issues and therefore encouraged to keep questioning them.
This is perhaps the MOST important element that citizen journalism brings to the table. It pushes us to keep thinking, keep questioning, keep sharing and stops us from becoming complacent and indifferent. Through citizen journalism we are empowered to make a difference whether small or large and this is certainly a gift that should be put to good use.
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Sullivan, M. 2005. Media Bias is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Media-Bias-Is-Real-Finds-UCLA-6664.aspx?RelNum=6664 (accessed May 13, 2008)
Bowman, S. and C. Willis. 2003. We Media – How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information http://www.hypergene.net/wemedia/download/we_media.pdf (accessed May 13, 2008)
Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
open source software: so i say thankyou for the music
The Open Source Initiative (2007) defines open source software to be “a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.” Though this is a valid explanation, open source is not all rainbows and puppies, there are certainly downsides. Let’s consider the recorded music industry…
Incredibly popular programs such as Kazaa and Limewire allow users to illegally download copyrighted music completely free of charge. Despite being considered a criminal offence, illegal download is still, by far, the most common form of music acquisition. According to a recent report by Music Industry Piracy Investigations, “tens of billions of illegal files were swapped in 2007”. They also report that “the ratio of unlicensed tracks downloaded to legal tracks sold is about 20 to 1”. (MIPI, 2008)
As we are all aware (and are reminded by these statistics), piracy is a colossal thorn in the side of the modern music industry. Open source software allows users to create and share programs such as these that cheat others out of rightfully earned revenue. Technically this is stealing. Most of us understand and respect the fact that stealing is wrong and against the law yet millions indulge in the act of music piracy.
Why?
I believe several factors contribute to the ‘who cares’ mentality. The lack of accountability for one – there are very few consequences for people who download illegally: in most cases the worst that occurs is a virus or two.
Secondly, I believe that the more common this practice becomes, the less ethically opposed people are to it. Music piracy has simply become the norm.
Finally, the fact that it is very hard to imagine who we could possibly be hurting when we engage in this behaviour. When ‘the music industry’ brings to mind cocky rappers drinking champagne out of diamond studded flutes and rolling around in Egyptian silk and wads of cash… it is easy to turn a blind eye to the fact that music piracy is stealing and stealing is wrong.
Despite best efforts by companies such as Apple to provide legal alternatives to music piracy, use of open source software such as Limewire and Kazaa is continuing to increase. There is no doubt that a culture exists that supports the notion that music piracy is acceptable, commonplace and harmless. Until people face punishment for the crime, I honestly do not think anything will change.
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Music Industry Piracy Investigation. 2008. IFPI Digital Music Report http://www.mipi.com.au/reports/musicreport.htm (accessed May 8, 2008)
Open Source Software Initiative. 2007. Open Source Software http://www.opensource.org/(accessed May 8, 2008)
Incredibly popular programs such as Kazaa and Limewire allow users to illegally download copyrighted music completely free of charge. Despite being considered a criminal offence, illegal download is still, by far, the most common form of music acquisition. According to a recent report by Music Industry Piracy Investigations, “tens of billions of illegal files were swapped in 2007”. They also report that “the ratio of unlicensed tracks downloaded to legal tracks sold is about 20 to 1”. (MIPI, 2008)
As we are all aware (and are reminded by these statistics), piracy is a colossal thorn in the side of the modern music industry. Open source software allows users to create and share programs such as these that cheat others out of rightfully earned revenue. Technically this is stealing. Most of us understand and respect the fact that stealing is wrong and against the law yet millions indulge in the act of music piracy.
Why?
I believe several factors contribute to the ‘who cares’ mentality. The lack of accountability for one – there are very few consequences for people who download illegally: in most cases the worst that occurs is a virus or two.
Secondly, I believe that the more common this practice becomes, the less ethically opposed people are to it. Music piracy has simply become the norm.
Finally, the fact that it is very hard to imagine who we could possibly be hurting when we engage in this behaviour. When ‘the music industry’ brings to mind cocky rappers drinking champagne out of diamond studded flutes and rolling around in Egyptian silk and wads of cash… it is easy to turn a blind eye to the fact that music piracy is stealing and stealing is wrong.
Despite best efforts by companies such as Apple to provide legal alternatives to music piracy, use of open source software such as Limewire and Kazaa is continuing to increase. There is no doubt that a culture exists that supports the notion that music piracy is acceptable, commonplace and harmless. Until people face punishment for the crime, I honestly do not think anything will change.
---
Music Industry Piracy Investigation. 2008. IFPI Digital Music Report http://www.mipi.com.au/reports/musicreport.htm (accessed May 8, 2008)
Open Source Software Initiative. 2007. Open Source Software http://www.opensource.org/(accessed May 8, 2008)
Friday, May 2, 2008
a second life for produsers?
As we know, the term ‘produsage’ refers to the new “hybrid form of simultaneous production and usage”. (Bruns)
This concept of ‘produsage’ is particularly evident when we consider online, user-led MMORPG's such as The Sims and Second Life. Instead of following traditional game structures, these MMORPG’s are becoming increasingly dependent on the gamers themselves, rather than the game producers, to create content. In fact, Herz , (as cited in Bruns), reports that that “some 90% of content in The Sims is now created by its users.” It is clear that the computer games paradigm has shifted significantly from its traditional boundaries to now “providing a rich narrative and social environment in which multiple gamers cooperate in creating their own narrative paths, based on cues placed in the game by its developers or other users” (Bruns)
Produsage has been taken a step further in the Second Life game created by Linden Lab in San Francisco. Not only are users encouraged to create their own content, but they can also sell it online for real money. In this case, the in-game economy is directly linked to that of the outside world with produsers spending their cold, hard cash in exchange for Second Life’s currency (Linden Dollars). According to the game’s website the value of the Linden Dollar fluctuates based on supply and demand but “over the last few years, rates have remained fairly stable at approximately 250 Linden Dollars (L$) to the US Dollar” (Second Life, 2008) The purchase of these Linden Dollars is almost essential when beginning to use the program as they allow gamers to purchase virtual items to increase their social status online, and gain the necessary tools to build a virtual business (if desired). Once they are underway, the sky is the limit for produsers who can create and sell any content they can dream up.
When we take this into account, it can be seen, as Bruns suggests, that the notion of produsage in online games such as Second Life should be viewed as a producer/consumer hybrid also. Online gaming has been redefined by the commoditisation of content and we must now consider the economic, legal and ethical dilemmas this presents.
Bruns (p4) explains that “the community-based development of any form of content necessarily requires members of the produsage community to adopt more permissive approaches to legal and moral rights in intellectual property than is the norm in traditional, corporate content production. While content producers by legal default hold copyright in their work, this is not feasible for content produsers, who after all are participating in a collaborative, ongoing, and iterative process of content development which explicitly requires its participants to work on the content already contributed by their predecessors.”
With the existence of these real-world issues, many argue that online MMORG’s (such as Second Life), can cause users to confuse the distinction between their virtual game-world and physical reality. When we consider Second Life’s economy however, it is clear that the program cannot really be considered virtual at all. The economy is entirely real with real-life value in real-life dollars.
When produsers are using real money to run real businesses and buy real products... can Second Life really be considered a game? Or, as the name suggests,...an actual second life?
----
Second Life. 2008. Economy http://secondlife.com/whatis/economy.php (accessed April 25, 2008).
Bruns, A. n.d. The Future Is User-Led: The Path towards Widespread Produsage http://produsage.org/files/The%20Future%20Is%20User-Led%20(PerthDAC%202007).pdf (accessed April 23, 2008).
Bruns, A. n.d. Produsage:Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_29175_1 (accessed April 23, 2008).
This concept of ‘produsage’ is particularly evident when we consider online, user-led MMORPG's such as The Sims and Second Life. Instead of following traditional game structures, these MMORPG’s are becoming increasingly dependent on the gamers themselves, rather than the game producers, to create content. In fact, Herz , (as cited in Bruns), reports that that “some 90% of content in The Sims is now created by its users.” It is clear that the computer games paradigm has shifted significantly from its traditional boundaries to now “providing a rich narrative and social environment in which multiple gamers cooperate in creating their own narrative paths, based on cues placed in the game by its developers or other users” (Bruns)
Produsage has been taken a step further in the Second Life game created by Linden Lab in San Francisco. Not only are users encouraged to create their own content, but they can also sell it online for real money. In this case, the in-game economy is directly linked to that of the outside world with produsers spending their cold, hard cash in exchange for Second Life’s currency (Linden Dollars). According to the game’s website the value of the Linden Dollar fluctuates based on supply and demand but “over the last few years, rates have remained fairly stable at approximately 250 Linden Dollars (L$) to the US Dollar” (Second Life, 2008) The purchase of these Linden Dollars is almost essential when beginning to use the program as they allow gamers to purchase virtual items to increase their social status online, and gain the necessary tools to build a virtual business (if desired). Once they are underway, the sky is the limit for produsers who can create and sell any content they can dream up.
When we take this into account, it can be seen, as Bruns suggests, that the notion of produsage in online games such as Second Life should be viewed as a producer/consumer hybrid also. Online gaming has been redefined by the commoditisation of content and we must now consider the economic, legal and ethical dilemmas this presents.
Bruns (p4) explains that “the community-based development of any form of content necessarily requires members of the produsage community to adopt more permissive approaches to legal and moral rights in intellectual property than is the norm in traditional, corporate content production. While content producers by legal default hold copyright in their work, this is not feasible for content produsers, who after all are participating in a collaborative, ongoing, and iterative process of content development which explicitly requires its participants to work on the content already contributed by their predecessors.”
With the existence of these real-world issues, many argue that online MMORG’s (such as Second Life), can cause users to confuse the distinction between their virtual game-world and physical reality. When we consider Second Life’s economy however, it is clear that the program cannot really be considered virtual at all. The economy is entirely real with real-life value in real-life dollars.
When produsers are using real money to run real businesses and buy real products... can Second Life really be considered a game? Or, as the name suggests,...an actual second life?
----
Second Life. 2008. Economy http://secondlife.com/whatis/economy.php (accessed April 25, 2008).
Bruns, A. n.d. The Future Is User-Led: The Path towards Widespread Produsage http://produsage.org/files/The%20Future%20Is%20User-Led%20(PerthDAC%202007).pdf (accessed April 23, 2008).
Bruns, A. n.d. Produsage:Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_29175_1 (accessed April 23, 2008).
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