COM125 Week 3: © Be A Creator, Not A Re-creator.

It seems that in today's world, the technologically advanced society we have put our name on has created among itself, a kind of grey area regarding what is "right or wrong". Many questions stimulate people's curiosity about copyright laws and overall, this curiosity has not killed the cat, but has generated a whole other world full of haziness and hysteria. Does the everyday Joe Schmoe know that some of the actions he may view as normal daily activity may be classified in some way as copyright infringement? Although the world is anxiously waiting for the next technological advancement to arise, what they may not know is that new technology is a breeding ground for the violation of copyright laws.

From VCR's to Digital Music Creators, people have invented products that have made easier and more enjoyable, the lives of humans. With the creation of new technology though, comes a price; the price of the lack of knowledge regarding ethics of copyright could be a very high one if one is uneducated or chooses to ignore the laws that are expected of them. Wikipedia defines technology as the relationship of society and its tools. Today, we think of these so called "tools" as our iPods, our laptops, our TiVo, etc. What we do not think about is how the use of these tools can sometimes lead us to violate copyright laws. For instance, let's say you and a couple of your friends miss your favorite show on television and you call another friend to have him tape it for you. When he records that television show onto a videocassette and then later the next day brings it over to your house for you and your friends to watch, that is considered a violation of copyright by law. "So what? It was a harmless act; it was just a couple of me and my buddies watching our favorite show, we can not get in trouble for that. Nothing will ever happen." Let's just say for this example that further action is taken and one of the boy's other friends wants to see the show. He tells his friend that he is a little low on cash lately and he can have the tape if he gives him five dollars. The friend gives in and pays the boy for the tape and they are on their ways. They did not do anything erroneous. WRONG! The boy essentially sold the show to someone else without the permission of the television show itself. This is a direct violation of copyright laws. If things were taken to court, Ovalle (2005) states that "For each case of copyright infringement, the infringer can be fined from $750 to $30,000. The courts can also decrease the amount awarded in cases where the person did not believe that they were infringing, and in some cases damages can be dismissed altogether…." I know that chances something like this goes to court are small, but I also know that chances of people recording television programs onto videocassettes are high. It is just something to think about next time someone asks you, "Hey, can you record that for me?"


© 2003 Ted Goff

Technology provides a world in which one can get lost in. Sometimes however, things are unclear with the regard to how a certain technology can be used and what it can be used for. It is not always black and white when it comes to the laws of copyright. An interesting lawsuit to look at is the case between record labels and XM Satellite Radio. Oswald (2007) states that "The record labels say this violates the agreements struck between the two groups, as it only covered live broadcasts and not the right to record programming from it. However, XM says the effort is without merit, and is confident that it would eventually prevail in court." This new technology of satellite radio broadcasts thousands of radio stations and brings them together for your listening pleasure. Who knows weather or not XM Satellite Radio knew they were infringing before the information was put in front of them. If the agreement was not crystal clear weather or not XM could record programming, then the battle will begin in court. Often times, large corporations such as XM Satellite Radio and Google are being sued for copyright violations. The Associated Press of Wired News stated (2005) "An organization of more than 8,000 authors accused Google on Tuesday of "massive copyright infringement," saying the powerful internet search engine cannot put its books in the public domain for commercial use without permission." Google, the internet search engine technology, failed to look at the smaller scale of things in this case. These technologies are just a few of the examples of how the use of such emerging products and services can be misused and how they can lead to violations of copyright by law.

References

Associated Press., (September 20, 2005). Copyright Lawsuit Targets Google. Wired News.Retrieved January 31, 2007, from http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,68928,00.html

Oswald, E., (January 19, 2007). Copyright Case Against XM Set to Proceed. Beta News.
Retrieved January 31, 2007, from http://www.betanews.com/article/Copyright_Case_Against_XM_Set_to_Proceed/1169232215

Ovalle, C., (2005). An Introduction to Copyright. i312 Information In Cyberspace. Retrieved January 31, 2007, from http://sentra.ischool.utexas.edu/%Ei312co/1.php

COM125 Week 2: What would I do without you, Google?

I do not know about anyone else, but when I am on the internet, it is for entertainment. Mostly, I use this technology to search for current information, friends, and other non-pressing issues. Occasionally I use the internet to do research on a topic when I have a term paper, but most of the time it is very casual. No matter how many times I use the internet throughout a day, I would say that 85% of the time, the first thing I do when I sign into my computer is go to a search engine. I believe that these online web directories have shaped the use of the internet by creating necessary organization of information on the World Wide Web.

This video is a fictional yet objective view at how Google works. I thought that it displayed in an inventive way that it appears Google and other search engines can actually think as well as respond.
The start of search engines came in 1990 when McGill University developed Archie, a place where files could be explored. This first search engine was nothing like the ones you and I use today, it was only updated about once a month and it was used to search for FTP archives which allowed file transferring between two computers to take place. After the World Wide Web came into the picture, other Web directories developed to help organize Web pages available to internet users. One problem that arose when search engines were developed was something called "search ranking"; this is the order in which pages appear after a search has been performed. Many companies have fashioned software that improves their search ranking to better assist and support the best results the users of their search engines desire.
In today's society of an "Internet centered world", everything is centered around search engines. One reason may be that there are so many websites on the Internet, it is extremely complex to remember every single one, what information is available on it, and how the information can be used to make you more knowledgeable. I believe that companies expect internet users to search for their websites, not necessarily know them right off the top of their head and because of this, company's may have ties with certain search engines. Going back to search ranking, if a company pays a search engine to put them in a high search ranking, more people will visit their website, become more knowledgeable about the company's products, and in the end their business will become more profitable. Many corporations now solely rely on the internet as a way to make money.
In the year 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 41% of households in the United States had internet access. (Guess how I found this information? A Google search!) With this number increasing rapidly every year, it is no wonder why there is a direct correlation between the number of households with internet access, and corporate advertising on the internet.
Without search engines available to internet users, most people would get frustrated with the internet and finding information; information as small as movie show times, to global changing information such as the fall of the Roman Empire. Search engines provide a fast and easy way to locate any website you are seeking, or on the other end, not knowing what website would have the information desired, they provide a list of appropriate websites matching your search.
In other words, to sum up this post, search engines make my life easy and I am thankful for that!!!

Introduction

My name is Dominick Lisi and I am a freshman here at UB. I am from Corning, NY and I am an intended Communication major and minor in Marketing.
When I originally became interested in this field, I was involved in a cooperative opportunity in which my high school participated in. They allowed seniors to take half a day of classes and then spend the other half of their day participating in some aspect of the field they wanted to pursue a career in. I was put into an office run by Corning's Gaffer District Events and Promotions Staff. The experience was an enormous eye opener and I knew as soon as I started that I had chosen the correct career path for myself. At the office, I did everything from copying, filing, planning parades, talking on the phone with other companies and arranging meetings, attending meetings and giving input when asked on marketing and advertising strategies, etc. When looking back at the opportunity that was given to me, I am truly thankful I did not pass it up because without it, I do not know if I would have found my passion.
On top of marketing, I also have an interest in advertising and public relations. I plan to get my bachelors degree in Communication and a minor in Marketing and then go on to receive my Master's Degree.
Looking down the road, I hope to work for a PR firm, advertising company, or work as part of a marketing staff at a corporation. Eventually, I want to work for non-profit such as The American Cancer Society. I feel that I have found excitement in this field and I am eager to see what the future holds for me.