QotW3: Sharing, Copyright & Creative Culture

Better start reading…
Here’s the Question of the Week (QotW):

1. How can we accommodate both the interests of content creators and the public good? What technical and social structures are needed to do so?
2. Make a specific argument in 700 words (proper written English), supported with at least three APA-style citations.
   
3. Cite facts from this week’s readings, including external sources where possible.
4. Start the title of your blog post as “QotW3: _____”
5. Drop a comment here with a permalink to your blog post.

Deadline
Extended to 3rd Feb, Saturday, 5pm
(Warning: Late work will not be graded)

Readings
A design goal of the Internet was to simplify the sharing of information. By all accounts, it has succeeded in achieving this goal. The popularization of the Internet brought this capacity for sharing into conflict with some existing philosophical, social, and legal institutions. Next week, we will be discussing copyright, sharing, and the impacts of the Internet on creative culture.

Copyright and Conflict
• An Introduction to Copyright (pp. 2-10)
• Copyright Myths and Misconceptions

Piracy
• Sharing and Stealing (pp. 2-36)
• Effect of file sharing on record sales (Intro and Conclusion)

Optional
• What’s the Download?
• Real story of the rogue rootkit (Sony DRM fiasco)
• Layperson’s guide to filesharing lawsuits
• Is suing your customers a good idea?

Creativity and Culture
• The mouse who would be king (review of FreeCulture)
• Remix culture: a rights nightmare

Optional
• The Shadow Internet

On this week’s Internet History class…

For this week, it’s all about the History of the Internet. Here’s what we have in store:

1. Would you like some COM125 blog medals?
2. Highlights of the best blogs of the week, including:
   1. Kenny’s “Evolution of MMORPGs“
   2. Yepp’s “Is The World Still Round?“
   3. Melissa’s “Just How Interconnected Are We?“
   4. Amanda’s “Evolution of MUD (to IRC and IM)“
   5. Liyana’s “Pros and Cons of E-mail“
3. How to format APA references and in-text citations.
   (See Wikipedia’s examples, Purdue University’s APA Guide, Long Island University’s APA Citation)
4. Group Presentation Sign-Ups (See updated Calendar)
5. In-class presentation on the History of the Internet.
6. Watch a historic documentary called Nerds 2.0.1 (see official web site)

I’ll be posting this week’s mission soon, and it’ll be related to next week’s readings as stated in the class calendar (i.e. Sharing, Copyright and Creative Culture). Do read ahead. Finally, group presentation topics are from Week 4 onwards.

Week 2: History of the Internet

While we cover blogs this week, this week’s mission will be on the readings for next week:

Blog assignment: History of the Internet
(Deadline: 27th Jan, Saturday, 5pm)

1. Elaborate on a particular Internet technology from the year 1994 or earlier (e.g. newsgroups, IRC, email, hypertext),
2. Present an argument on how the Internet you use today was influenced by this development.
3. Cite supporting facts from your Internet history readings (as seen below and in your syllabus).
4. Start the title of your blog post as “COM125 Week2: _____” so I know which post to grade.

Requirements
Blog entries should be around 700 words in length, and follow standard conventions of written US English, including APA-style citations.

Readings: History of the Internet
The history of the Internet extends further into the past than most people realize. Next week, we will discuss the origins of the Internet, its development over the past decades, and its current status.

Required
Rheingold, H. (1993). Visionaries and Convergences: The Accidental History of the Net. The Virtual Community. New York: Perseus Books. Retrieved from http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/3.html

History of the Internet. (2006, August 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:07, August 23, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_Internet&oldid=70771572

History of the World Wide Web. (2006, September 5). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:58, September 8, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_World_Wide_Web&oldid=73974490

Optional
Internet History Timeline.
See http://www.computerhistory.org/exhibits/internet_history/

Internet History.
See http://www.mkaz.com/ebeab/history/

Hobbes’ Internet Timeline v8.1.
See http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/

On this week’s Blogging 101 class…

For this week, it’s all about blogs. Here’s what I have in store for both days:

1. A roundup of what you’ve been blogging about.
2. Introducing our Blog Squad:
   Ho Viet Hai, Andrea Ng, Felicia Song, Su Ying, Renhao
3. How your blogs will be graded
   (refer to syllabus + related academic blogs).
4. Continuing last week’s presentation (about blogs & RSS feeds)
5. How to use Blogger.com (major hands-on session).
6. If time permits, we’ll explore Google Reader, flickr and del.icio.us

I’ll be posting this week’s mission soon, and it’ll be related to next week’s readings as stated in the class calendar (i.e. History of the Internet). Do read ahead. Finally, group presentation sign-ups coming soon (choose from Week 4 onwards).

Next Week: Blogging 101 @ Labs (Updated!)

Next week’s classes will be held at the computer labs instead of our usual classroom. For Week 2, COM125A will be in Rm 5.33 (30pax) while COM125B will be in Rm 5.23 (48pax).

These rooms have just enough computers for each class size, so if you’ve swapped classes without my knowledge, you’d do well to keep me posted next time.

Readings for Week 2 (via our Calendar):

• “What’s a Blog?” by Blogger.com. Retrieved Jan 3, 2007 from http://www.blogger.com/tour-start.g
• Blood, R. (2000, Sept 7). Weblogs: A History and Perspective. Retrieved Dec 31, 2006 from http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html
• Blog. (2006). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10:30, Dec 31, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blog&oldid=98042185
• RSS (2006). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10:30, Dec 31, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=RSS_%28file_format%29&oldid=97567833
• Folksonomy (2006). ). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10:30, Dec 31, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Folksonomy&oldid=97210123
• WIRED: Weblogs will outrank the New York Times Web site by 2007. The Stake: $1,000. See http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.05/longbets?pg=8

 

For the Blogging 101 class:

1. Bring your blogging questions to class.
2. You are responsible for clearing any doubts you have about blogging, since I will start grading you based on your blogs once I start handing out assignments.
3. I’ll need “unofficial blogging assistants” since it’s unlikely that I can assist everyone in class. For those of you who are experienced with blogs, let me know if you’re interested in volunteering here in the comments.

Week 1: Update Info & Join Blogger.com

Your first week’s mission has been updated:

Part 1: Email your photo
Part 1: Update your Student Information Sheets
(Deadline: Next Week)
Some your submitted photos ended up in my enormous Gmail spam bin. Please assist me by taking your Student Information Sheet and doing the following :

1. Glue a passport-size photo of yourself to the sheet’s top right corner.
2. Indicate the classes you’re in with me (i.e. COM125a, COM125b, and/or COM242).
3. Add your new COM125 blog address.

Part 2: Blogger.com
(Deadline: 19th Jan, Friday, 5pm)

1. Set up your blog on Blogger.com
2. Write your first blog post about yourself, including your name, photo, age, other URLs (e.g. flickr, friendster, etc) and what you want me to know about you (e.g. your special abilities such as photography, videography, musician, programming, gaming, etc). Express yourself creatively for maximum impact!
3. Drop a comment here with your name and a link to your blog.

Part 3: Facebook.com (Optional)

1. Set up your profile on facebook.com (if you haven’t done so)
2. Join the COM125 facebook group which I’ve setup.

Note any questions you might have about your Blogger.com blog so you can ask me on Week 2 where I’ll be doing a hands-on session on blogging. The Facebook group would allow me to learn more about you, as well as for you to learn about me.

Welcome to COM125: Intro to Internet

Welcome to the blog for COM125: Introduction to the Internet. I’ve put up the syllabus and class calendar. You’re advised to keep up with your readings in order to participate in class activities. Pop quizzes can occur at any time. Standby for further instructions.