Pirates That Share Podcast

The podcast I recorder was based on an exert from the module 6 article by Ian Condry. I wanted to focus on the motivations for online piracy, more specifically sharing. I thought the argument about sharing being a motivation to be a very strong one, because as I could relate to it and I assume many of my peers also can.  

Condry, Ian. (2004). Cultures of Music Piracy: An Ethnographic Comparison of the US and Japan. International Journal of Cultural Studies. 7 (3), pg. 343-363

Steinmetz, K., K. Tunnell (2013). Under the Pixelated Jolly Roger: A Study of On-Line Pirates. Deviant Behavior. 34 (1), pg. 53-67 

image courtesy of mashable.com.

Consumer-Producer

I have to say I found Kirby Ferguson’s four part documentary; everything is a remix most intriguing. I mean the way he opened our eyes to the lies Hollywood has been feeding us unintelligent movie goers and music listeners was like no other. That previous statement was very much an exaggeration, but either way I found the documentaries very fascinating and entertaining. I especially loved when Quentin Tarantino’s kill bill was the topic of discussion. When scenes from game of death, once upon a time in the west, Lady snowball and so on, were put along side scenes from Kill Bill I was amazed at the similarities. I must say that being a mash up king like Quentin Tarantino takes a lot of work and creativity (the very word that brings about so many debates). At the end of Kirby Ferguson’s videos he then asked so politely if you -- the viewers -- could donate a little money for the production of the next part to the documentary.

Now there is a reason I mention Kirby’s request, not just because he was so polite with his request, but something much more relevant than that. How many of us viewers at the end of that video felt the obligation to donate money to Kirby Ferguson’s next video. As much as I enjoyed it I must say it would take a little bit more motivation for me to f make a donation whether small or large. I don't feel as if this makes me a bad person, its just the way us viewers tend to react more often than not. Now this is not the first time we have seen such pleas, on a similar but not so similar angle many of us can remember the plea by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales for donations that was on top of every Wikipedia page not to long ago. How many of us felt the obligation to donate to any of the various pleas we have encountered by the creators.

As little as the decision of whether or not to donate may sound, I feel it plays such a big role in copyright issues at hand. That decision is what feeds at a consumer when he or she has to decide whether to buy a record or illegally download it; buy a movie or illegally download it. Hana posts, “I have to admit, that I wait patiently for my favourite shows to be posted right after they air on third party websites; links that are posted in violation of copyright laws” and Jordana adds, “That being said, I myself have probably not been the most ‘ethical’ consumer. I am saying this in regards to my consumption of music (the first thing that comes to mind when I think about copyright and the internet).  For years, I have downloaded music without always paying for it. I understand this is considered illegal, yet when it is available in every which direction, and done so commonly, it is difficult to pay for it.”

These are the words of the consumers themselves; these are the very people that you the producers are hoping will support your creativity by purchasing (donating in some cases) what you have created. I do not intend to shy away from myself, because just like Hana and Jordana I mentioned earlier,  cannot bring myself to buy an entire album or movie when it is so easy to retrieve without a cost. Maybe in our confessions are the solutions to the problem. Maybe me saying that I will not purchase because it is so easy to find elsewhere is the solution. Maybe continuing to find ways to crack down or these file sharing sites is the solution. I know what I am writing is not news to anyone but understanding the consumer is so important to working towards a solution. I am not far when I say this because number seven of the nine sites Henry Jenkins writes about reiterates my claim. Jenkin’s states that in the games industry, the major success have come from franchises that have responded to peer-to-peer technologies by establishing feedback from consumers during product development rather than through legal action and name-calling like the recording industry (Jenkins 2004).

Convenience and affordability are key obstacle to overcome. I believe that more people like myself have began to make gradual changes to the way they retrieve the media they consume. In the past 2 years I can say that I have been purchasing many more songs from itunes than ever before, I am beginning to take a relativist approach to my decisions on media intake. I believe that the subscription-based model that Jenkins talks about is also key to working towards solutions. As you can see in this article by GQ’s Nancy Hass, Netfilx is already changing the game for everyone.

image courtesy of http://wordquadlife.blogspot.ca

I also hold that another approach to a solution is a drastic move to make a statement by either the consumers or the producers such as boycotting. While I am well aware that this is not a very viable means to an end, it sure would be interesting. Who am I kidding no one is going this route as long as money needs to be made.

Jenkins, H. (2004) The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence  International Journal of Cultural Studies March 2004 7: 33-43

My Online Contribution

I usually start of by navigating to my favorite sports website, that is the nation basketball associations website (http://www.nba.com). I check out highlights from the previous game of my favorite team (http://www.nba.com/heat/), from there check out any news on the teams websites, about trades or trade interests, post-game interviews and so on. Then I do the same for other interesting teams in the league. I then get on my favorite online magazines for fashion arts design and culture, such as hypebeast, gq. From there I check out a few of my favorite bloggers websites. I then browse for new music on sites like hotnewhiphop, thisisrnb and so on. I will from there navigate to my favorite new outlets such as cnn, nytimes, yahoo.

It does not just stop there because from these individual websites there are links to things that catch my eyes. From there I get navigated to another site where I can find something even more interesting. This is just a brief synopsis of how I can easily accumulate hours on the Internet browsing. I didn’t include architectural sites, or tumblr pages, or youtube vdeos, or social networking sites (twitter specifically).

Through the brief synopsis it is quite evident that my contribution to online content is slim to none. As Lev Manovich (2008) put it I can be considered the 98.5 % of people that are consumers to the most popular social media sites. Although at one point I must say I manage a tumblr page. Also the blogger page I use to this course can be considered a contribution to online content produced.

Teresa Rizzo’s talk of the exhibitionist tendency, which often times leads to spontaneous postings on video-sharing sites, is unappealing to me. Unlike many today transparency through online content is a concern to me. Our reach online goes much further than in real life. Making a video and posting it on a site like youtube is  a very brave move, due to the fact that the viewer more often than not is not someone who know or will ever know.

Manovich, l. (2008) The Practice of Everyday (Media) Life: From Mass Consumption to Mass Cultural Production?

Balance and Adaptation

 This article targets the youth of today, those primarily between the ages of 16 – 25. I want to tell you the importance of keeping a balance. Not a balance financial life or a balanced spiritual life, a balanced virtual Life. So many of us (I fall into the age bracket as well) are forgetting the importance of face-to-face communication. We are forgetting how relationships are built, how trust is instilled. Instead we are building up our virtually identities. Everybody knows what John is like on Twitter and Facebook, but do you really know what John is like in person? Sperrier686 mentions that “with people so focused on their cell phones that they almost forget the real world around them”.

Could there be some truth in the Leung and Wei (2000) argument that the major motives for mobile phone use are for fashion status? We would hope not, what happened to functionality. I believe at some point functionality was an important aspect of mobile phones, but the world has come far from that (some parts of the world). There are still some areas where the basic functionality of the mobile phone is the main purpose. Many of us are victims of the trade off factor  (Campbell & Jin Park 2008). We know that option A can do everything we need it to do, but option B looks slick and can almost do everything we need.

To an extent it is almost uncontrollable to not be part of the virtual world. When changes in the real world are being made to accommodate those of the virtual world compromises have to be made by the resisters. For example businesses that force customers to make appointments via a social networking tool, or a course that makes top hat monocle mandatory for the students. Top Hat Monocle is a participation system where students/users must text in or log on to answer a question correctly. Benedict mentions how she almost feels alone when she does not see that red light blinking. How many of you blackberry users feel the same way? I can assure you she is not alone on the issue. Participation in the virtual world is almost uncontrollable. Balance is key.

“I hate that I need”, says susiemedia  as she talks about her relationship with her smartphone. This is the attitude that those of us that understand the problem at hand take. They dislike the idea of being to reliant on their smartphone, but understand that it is in a sense necessary. Access is the problem at hand and in some way the revolution. A simple citizen has access to so much from the little smartphone device they pocket. I have to ability to translate a language I have never learned instantaneously; I can tell you what time it is on the other side of the world instantaneously (close to an instant depending on what mobile network you are on and how Siri might be feeling today). We the people have power than ever before.

Goggin talks about this power that I speak of, “the appearance of multimedia mobile phones-especially so-called "smartphones", kin to other ubiquitous "smart" technology (Kuniavsky 2010)--had increased the space, power flexibility on such devices software development" (Goggin 2011).

Now can we overthrow the problems that have come with this social system that has been created through the world of mobile devices? Can we save our youth from the pressures of the digital locus as Fabio Josegrilberg calls it? I believe the answer to that is no, to me its not about saving anyone, its about balance as well as adaptation. It is now up to individuals to realize the importance human to human intimacy. As I mentioned in a previous post, as human beings no matter where we go and what we create, whether a newly discovered planet, virtual world, a mobile device, along comes all the social issues we face in the present world.

Campbell, S. W. and Park, Y. J. (2008), Social Implications of Mobile Telephony: The Rise of Personal Communication Society. Sociology Compass, 2: 371–387

Goggin, G. (2011). Ubiquitous apps: politics of openness in global mobile cultures. Digital Creativity, 22(3), 148-159.

Josgrilberg, Fabio B. (2008). A Door to the Digital Locus: Walking in the City with a Mobile Phone and Michel de Certeau. Wi: Journal of Mobile Media. Spring 2008 (10).

Ubiquitous Devices

It is hard for me to find ways in which we are constrained by ubiquitous mobile communication. We seem to be the furthest thing from constrained. To think of how far the world has come from the desktop computer is unbelievable. The idea that an individual can connect with another across the world instantaneously is surreal (of course in areas where service is available, and if your willing t pay ridiculously high phone bills).  As Campbell & Jin Park mentioned, it is the portability and wearability of the mobile phone that makes this possible.

I found the idea of an involuntary eavesdropper quite humorous because I could relate to it so well. I can’t count how many times I have been in a situation where I wish I hadn’t overheard a certain conversation (coincidentally on the days I forget my ear buds at the house).  I have never thought about the situation as an embarrassment for the listener, but it makes sense (Campbell & Park 2008).  There have been situations that I overhear certain things that can make a person very uncomfortable. One might ask why not just relocate, but sometimes that is not an option, for example on public transportation where space is scarce.

I found the idea of urban superorganisms in relation to the use of smartphones to be very interesting (Zambonelli 2012). As Dale mentioned, putting aside the science fiction feel, I can picture the future Zambonelli describes. With the overload of data being collected today, I don’t see why it cannot be used for more useful purposes, such as energy awareness as mentioned in the article.

The reading about ubiquitous apps by Gerard Goggin was also very interesting, more specifically the talk of the importance of the app and the origins. It is amazing what apps have done to the capabilities of today’s smartphone (Goggin 2011).  The functionalities of the smartphones are in a way limitless with the number of apps more that tripling in 2 years (Goggin 2011). 

Productivity Growth Through Transformation

As I mentioned in my minor blog (link to minor blog), the topic of the economy was the most compelling of all in the readings - more specifically and productivity of the economy. I feel it is only appropriate to draw upon the recent United States presidential election that just place as my fellow classmates; afcallaghan and PEARLSGLITTERANDPOLISH  did so, although in a different manner.

As many of us know, the economy was one of the top issues during the most recent US presidential election.  It was interesting to hear the kind of numbers being called out during talk about the deficits. During the second presidential debate moderator Candy Crowley brought up the question about shipping jobs overseas, specifically to China. Barrack Obama’s response about continuing to develop the educational system to educate the current and upcoming generation was an intelligent response. To me he understands what adaptation means in relation to ongoing capacity of technological advancements.

Manuel Castels (2005) writes about the three processes that researchers have associated with productivity growth in this period. One was the diffusion of new microelectronic/digital technologies. The second was the transformation of labor, with the growth of highly educated individuals. The third was the diffusion of new forms of organization around networking.

The second about the transformation of the labor force to me is the most essential of all. The generic labor force is becoming obsolete in our economy (Castels, p. 10), as China has found a way to compete by substantially increasing production levels at a lower price of labor. Electronic factory jobs are a great example of the before mentioned. It is rare to see mass production of electronics factories in the US and Canada. Although the down fall of these jobs being moved overseas have been the allowance of poor worker conditions, something that would in a sense would never go unnoticed In the US or Canada.  

In order to compete and be on top I agree that the education system is the key to doing so.Ruty224 , posted a video in her minor blog that mentions that we live in an exponential era, resulting in the top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010, not existing in 2004. The education system is the backbone of a country's educated population. If a country is able to figure out a way to keep its population educated in line with current network society that we live in, then factory jobs being shipped overseas can become a thing of the past as new industries creating new jobs will continue to flourish.