Jeff in the Media

Right Click Copy & Paste

2009-04-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

It's as easy as right click , copy and paste to infringe on Copyright laws. No thanks to the internet.

This infringement doesn't just extend to pictures but also stories, software, novels, screenplays etc. It is estimated that 30 million people are surfing the internet in the U.S Where over 35% of American families have household computers and 50% of American teenagers use household Pc's to connect to the net. Even though these figures are old by the time i post this blog it is obvious that the task faced by our government in CopyRight protection is an ever increasing battle. With the amount of teenagers surfing the net begs the question :How much do they know about copyright laws and infringement ? Is it ok to download mp3, mpeg, avi, text from sources like Kazaa and Limewire without paying. Ever since the Napster saga more of these pirate websites have popped up. It's stealing -- stealing someone else's ideas and hard work violate the copyright law. How does one go about dealing with a "growing" culture that simply believes it's ok to right click copy and paste a picture you like or download some form of media as we please. This will be hard to do without becoming like a "big-brother" of some sort.

One idea to deal with this problem is Creative Commons a non- profit organization that allows others to build on the ideas and works of others. They basically grant licenses to those who wish to expand on the creative works of others. These licenses specifically out - line the scope in which those who obtain them can operate and explore in. My thoughts on this : while the plan is good, it is aimed at the big fish . What about the little fish in the pond that make - up the majority of the up and coming next generation.

Power of the Media

2009-03-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

American Politics has always been a strong focus in the media. While i was growing up in Cape Town South Africa we were very limited when it comes to television stations. We had 3 local channels and in the late 80's one (subscriber) channel were added and also CNN started to dominate the airways in the afternoon.

CNN and BBC was seen as the most trusted News gathering source in South Africa. When I moved to the states I realized that there were other major networks that also gather news. At one point I was told that CNN was too liberal and I should not watch it, that Fox was the best source of news. I even heard preachers making suggestions as to what news source to watch. It took me a while to understand the different ideologies between Republicans and Democrats. These ideologies results in preference. Rome Hartman - executive producer of BCC World News America, and former executive of CBS news thinks that "brand " matters more and that those in the mainstream media aspire to tell the story "straight". "A trusted brand means something to people" - like the AP - brands that are impartial and have value tends to be important to people.

As one spokesman put it - the role of a news network these days is to make sense of what is going on. In order to do this a lot of discussions and debates form the core of this. Where experts get invited to share their professional opinion. Multiple opinions help to make a new network seem impartial.

To add another twist to this, the recent election saw the web as a driving force for setting the agenda , adding fuel to debates that mainstream networks televised. One area websites that makes websites handy are opinion polls and this sometimes acts as the plot for todays news story. In the end it all comes down to selling the brand and chasing after rating points in my opinion.

Contextual Media

2009-03-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

I recently watch an old video from the Media Conference in New York, where the concept of contextual media was one of the topics discussed by a panel of experts on Media.

One interesting explanation was given by Frank Cooper marketing director for Pepsi. "having to think about the context we are telling a story to market a product no longer do we only have for example think in a 30 sec spot. Now we have to know what 's going on in video games , broader story based entertainment, alternate reality gaming, mobile devices etc. We need to think of the structure and platform in terms of context. "

In general, companies are in the process of evolving to adapt and trying to make the leap. However it is a difficult leap cause it's those areas where people/ companies have not played in traditionally. When trying to make that leap infrastructure have to change. Example the HD conversion has posed several challenges to advertisers. Brand managers have to take the lead role and evaluate the context and sometimes structure goes out the window. It's a fairly new experience for most companies making or promoting stuff that's contextually relevant to the consumer.

Facebook turned 5 years old this month.

2009-02-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

A recent poll shows that facebook is currently ranked as the number one social network site on the internet with 1,191,373,339 monthly visits. What makes facebook such a successful site ? One theory is that it has always something new to offer. I remember way back in the day when msn gaming zone were a hot favorite for social networking. The on - line games like spades and checkers were what attracted people to their site. Now it seems that the idea of meeting up with old acquaintances offers a huge attraction.

Facebook has been around for 5 years .. and I'm just now starting to get in on the action and already I've been in contact with people I haven't seen in years. I know friends that spends hours on - line just chatting -- is this healthy or is this site really causing us to behave anti - socially.

The Hollywood download

2009-02-18T15:02:00.000-08:00

We are all too familiar with music downloads, MP3's and whatnot. The film industry has taken a leaf out of this trend in an attempt to offer full Disney movie downloads over the net. The company pursuing this is Tech-Crunch.

In the past not a lot of attention has been paid to movie downloads due to the massive file size. But with the growing bandwidth and easy flow of internet traffic, movie downloads has become much easier.

Now you'll have to bring your popcorn and move in front of the p.c.. All the technicalities are not yet finalize but I'm sure some tycoon will find away to iron out the legalities and get in on this .

The Limitations of iweb

2009-02-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

I have been recently introduce to iweb for Mac and the more I work in it the more research I have to do ...for example one of the huge "flaws" in iweb is the ability to import another html page. The only way is through a widget and this does not always work . Also the steps involve in displaying a simple flash animation in iweb is not that simple ...it requires one to alter some cold and have access to the server you'll be uploading your site to.

Here's a tip to insert flash animation into iweb. Have to create a new folder on desktop, and call it flash.Copy the .swf file into the folder. Place folder in the web/sites/ folder on your server or site you're going to upload to.

The return to iweb and insert HTML snippet : Copy the following code:

650" height="450">http://web.mac.com/yourdotmacname/flash/myflashfile.swf">http://web.mac.com/yourdotmacname/flash/myflashfile.swf" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" name="obj1" width="650" height="450">

You can alter the code http://web.mac.com/yourdotmacname/flash/myflashfile.swf to the site you'll be uploading too. Note I used web.mac to publish my site. You may use a different server. myflashfile.swf is the flash file you copied into the flash folder.

Wireless Volts

2009-02-04T16:26:00.000-08:00

I recently read an article on fastcompany.com about wireless electricity. Imagine floating volts and amps filling the airwaves.

"You can drop any number of devices on the charging pad, and they will recharge -- wirelessly. No more tangle of power cables or jumble of charging stations. " Even tho this technology is in it's infant stages, just think about how it will affect the future. We are getting closer and closer to a futuristic "Minority Report" kinda lifestyle. Cars being propelled by electricity just like trains. Who knows? .... traveling at the speed of light might just be possible after all. Nicoli Tesla (best known for many revolutionary contributions in the field of electricity and magnetism ) dream will soon become a reality. I don't even want to think about the health implications. We might be in for a big shock :)