Copyright is this weeks topic. In class we watched the documentary called, Copyright Criminals, and our main focus was on Rethinking Copyright in our Remix Culture. If there’s one concept that has suffered more damage than just about anything else as a result of the web and the ongoing explosion of digital media, it’s copyright.
Generally speaking, remix culture can be defined as the global activity consisting of the creative and efficient exchange of information made possible by digital technologies that is supported by the practice of cut/copy and paste. Today, Remix (the activity of taking samples from pre-existing materials to combine them into new forms according to personal taste) has been extended to other areas of culture, including the visual arts; it plays a vital role in mass communication, especially on the Internet.
To understand Remix as a cultural phenomenon, we must first define it in music. A music remix, in general, is a reinterpretation of a pre-existing song, meaning that the “aura” of the original will be dominant in the remixed version. After doing some further investigating and researching I discovered that there are three types of basic remixes based on its history. The first remix is extended, that is a longer version of the original song containing long instrumental sections making it more mixable for the club DJ. The second remix is selective; it consists of adding or subtracting material from the original song. This is the type of remix which made DJs popular producers in the music mainstream. The third remix is reflexive; it allegorizes and extends the aesthetic of sampling, where the remixed version challenges the aura of the original and claims autonomy even when it carries the name of the original; material is added or deleted, but the original tracks are largely left intact to be recognizable. However, it is noted that the extended, selective and reflexive remixes can quickly crossover and blur their own definitions.
Lastly, vering off in a different direction, other than remixing songs/music, I now turn to social media advances. Pinterest is the latest Web addiction for millions. Pinterest has been around for almost two years, but has seen a meteoric rise in
interest over the last couple of months. In December, Pinterest became one of
the Web's Top 10 social networks, according to tracking firm Hitwise. Pinterest is a visual bulletin board for the Web.
The service allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections. The site's mission statement is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting." It thrives on beautifully simple images of ideas for the home. Users of Pinterest curate themed image boards, populating them with media found online using the "Pin It" button, or uploaded from their computer. In essance, users are copying there favoiate online images from; places of interests - how to ideas - favoraite clothing items and post them their boards. This is a legal site,however; tiptoes around the idea of copyrighting/copycating.
Pinterest Copyright Content:
Content creators on sites such as iStock have expressed concern over their work being reused on Pinterest without permission. Getty Images said that it was aware of Pinterest's copyright issues and was in discussion with them. Pinterest has a notification system which allows copyright holders to request that content be removed from the site. One journalist questioned the "safe harbor" status of Pinterest. A "nopin" HTML meta tag was released by Pinterest on February 20 to allow websites to opt out of their images being pinned. On February 24, Flickr implemented the code to allow users to opt out their photos.
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