Abiding By Copyright: Live, Learn & Adjust

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It’s ironic that by discussing technology and copyright that you can so easily come across online as though you’ve entrenched yourself in a particular viewpoint. One of the great things about my years of blogging and interacting with those that subscribe to my blog and follow me on other social media sites is that my journey has been shared. In fact the information I learn about, write and share in relation to technology and copyright issues are a shared journey. We’re all in the same canoe trying to navigate changing trends and make sense of the laws that govern our journey. No journey can be made with out making mistakes, resetting course, trying new things and learning as you go along.

I most certainly do not walk on water and aim to share what I learn as time passes. I always aim to be as transparent as possible in how I adapt to technology and copyright trends & laws through my blog, the writing I do for magazines and my podcasts. If I’m able to pass on nuggets of information as I learn it, I consider that leg of my journey a success and if I make a mistake I’m happy to share the experience.

Blogging and social media is a two-way road… it’s conversation. I look to converse with you, other bloggers, other artists and other writers ideally in a civil manner. Unfortunately sometimes these conversations take a turn for the worst. I’m reminded of this given a recent exchange with Andrew Peterson, who goes by Thomas Hawk (Who The Hell Is Thomas Hawk? – PDN), on FriendFeed, regarding the LA Times’ recent infringement of Flickr photos. Rather than stick to the conversation it seems to be easier for him to avoid civil conversation and to label others who challenge his viewpoint through name calling. In my case I’ve been called “a copyright zealot” and “hypocrite”, not just in a discussion within FriendFeed, but on his blog as well.

Why the harsh words?

A previous version of my web site had a ~30 second photo slideshow with a brief clip of embedded music. The slideshow and music have long been removed. Once I had a better understanding of appropriate and allowed use of the music I was quick to remove it. No big story and no big drama… live, learn and adjust.

To be honest I find the whole thing comical considering just last week I posted 10 Great Audio Resources for Photo Videos that detailed some of the fine print in using Creative Commons licensed music in photo slideshows that is not widely known. My interest in the subject would have been absent with out my previous experience with the photo slideshow on my previous web site. Again… live, learn and adjust.

Life is too short to get sucked into a conversation with someone who can’t explain his or her views with out insulting you. It makes me appreciate the great community of people here who regularly visit my blog. In 3 years I’ve had great conversations whether we’ve seen eye-to-eye or not and I’ve learned as much as I’ve shared. For that I thank you all.