Copyright, Copyleft

It is interesting to read about the idea of changing copyright into copyleft. After studying the origins of copyright in the Comm law class last semester, I learned that copyright was developed originally when mass media and distribution started trampling over the rights of the author or artist. It is interesting how this concept has developed to match the mass media that we know today: the internet.

I love that this service, or this application, is tailored to the person for customization much like many other internet services and websites. Not only can the author choose if they want to allow readers to reproduce their work, they can also specify if they are open to commercial use, to derivative works, etc. While copyright is limited, copyleft opens up the possibilities to the availability to information through the internet, but also the protection the author is asking when they put this information online.

I've always thought that once information is online, it would be hard to keep protection from others and information would be completely open to readers to reproduce or use the information without the author's consent. This new development however shows that steps are being taken to protect original works online, but still allowing room for information to be used by readers and users of the internet- -showing the real meaning of internet (a means of dissemination for information for others to use).

Webware and Picnik

So, yesterday I was experimenting with Picnik online for photo editing. I haven't quite figured out how to take screenshots using this editing tool, but I did like the taking screenshots and editing in Powerpoint was really simple. It felt like there was a limit to the things you can do to editing photos through Picnik. I need to explore a little more, but I feel like it was just a sample of a few things a photo editor can do.

I also just got started with Flickr for my website that I will take screenshots of. I uploaded some pictures to this site, so hopefully I will have some stuff to play with when I look at taking some screenshots of this site. I want to take screenshots of how to edit, but maybe display some different options of the website like sharing photos, sending photos, or restoring photos to their original state.

Right now, I'm also downloading Gimp right now. Hopefully looking at this site a bit will help me familiarize myself with some of the ins and outs of this site before I start some screencasting. Just some initial thoughts as I'm tinkering away at homework this evening that I thought I would send out to Blog-land.

Happy Wednesday!

Open Sources

After talking about open sourcing I was thinking about all the programs I use on my computer and all of the programs I rely for on the web. I use Microsoft Office obviously, Itunes, but I can't think of any other software I have bought to use on my computer. I have used an online photobucket similar to that of Flickr, can't remember the name though, I've constantly use online dictionaries and despite my argument in class, I'm a major supporter/user of Wikipedia.

I still however feel uneasy about relying completely on open sourcing for all of my computer work. Take Microsoft Office for example. I know when I buy the CD that it comes with a ready help number (that is programmed into my phone, just kidding), with the familiarity that I have used the program before and trust the brand, and with the reassurance that I can still crowd-source for information even if it is a licensed program. On the other hand, there are extremely stringent protection laws against using this program in multiple computers and that gets pretty pricey. So...

I found that using an online Photobucket for my pictures when I was in Rome was a cool way to store, edit and share pictures to many people with the copying and pasting of a simple link. However, I had to be cautious of this because I didn't want this link ending up where anyone could see my pictures and I didn't want my pictures out there for the world to see, only those I selected.

I guess the idea of open sourcing is out there and waiting for us to catch up to technology and its many evolutions. The idea of putting anything online is scary and unique because we trust that we can read the information, but unless you are a top-notch FBI, secret computer code-reader, you never really know who else is reading this information. For example, I may never know everyone who reads this blog post and I have to be cautious not to trust the internet too much and send too much information into the unknown of cyberspace.

My E-Portfolio in the Making

Today I finished setting up my E-portfolio on Google Sites. I based the different pages in the sidebar to reflect different aspects on my resume such as career goals, education, work experience, writing samples (to show my work in the PR field) and contact information linking this portfolio with my other social networking sites used for the class.

I don't like that Google Sites doesn't allow you the flexibility of designing a layout besides the simple options and I need to experiment some with text to make the site stand out. I played around with the different color schemes for a long time to find the right tone and professional look and feel I wanted the site to convey. In my Mindmap blog I posted my mind map through which I display that my website will have a different page for my resume points. I wanted to include in this website writing samples because that is such a key focus of public relations industry and I am looking for a job, so I want to display the writing work I have done for previous internships as well as the skills I have to contribute to other areas of public relations as well.

In my FATP blog I talked about the tone of the website was a big factor and I wanted to make sure that I presented my skills and qualifications as if I was presenting to a potential employer. Since I am starting to look for a full-time position after I graduate I'm really trying to be aware of my digital footprint and what people will see when they search my name on the internet.

I loved Google Sites in the sense that you can have the easy access sidebar and link all the pages together and the general theme carried throughout the entire website instead of each page being displayed as drastically different than the one before and after it. Also, as I was editing, I kept using the "preview page as a viewer" option to make sure that the changes I was making appeared how I wanted them to to the visitors of the website. It was tough getting started, but once I practiced and made some mistakes and figured out how to correct them, I feel I have a pretty good grasp on how the basics work, with still plenty of space to expand upon. I hope to add to this basic website with all the skills and applications I'm learning in the Web Communications class to make this site the main display of my communications and web skills for future employers to see.

FATP

Form: (How: Website, Slideshow, Video, Essay, Letter, etc.)
Audience: (Who are they/When or the context/Where are they from)
Topic: (What: content or themes)
Purpose: (Why: To entertain, inform, sell, persuade, etc.)

In setting up my e-portfolio website I needed to do a bit of brainstorming about the purpose and topic of my site. I will be using the FATP method to look at form, audience, topic and purpose.

The form is through a website, with different pages that mirror information like a resume such as education, work experience, skills and career goals. These pages are all linked to the home page in the sidebar.

The audience would be potential employers, class professors and colleagues. These audiences can be related to education, prospective jobs and potential employers that could be located across the country or really anywhere in the world since this information will be posted on the web..

My topic, or these, is to present all of the professional information about myself as well as learned skills, participation in the college community and career goals and objectives.

The main purpose of this website it to help practice my skills on developing websites, practicing hyperlinks, video embedding and linking this website to all of my other internet participation such as my class blog, LinkedIn account, twitter feed and any other website i sign up for in this class that will be used to display skills in web communication. I want this website to inform the audience of my skills and job interests as well as sell myself as a potential candidate for job opportunities.

Mind Map!!

Today, I completed a mind map to lay out some ideas about how I am going to design my E-portfolio for next week.

Some FATP is coming up soon for more brainstorming, but as for now, I'm going to work on setting up the site on GoogleSites and picking a design to get started!

~Rachel

Tweets and Links

I signed up for Twitter awhile ago but just recently learned the awesomeness of the website. I'm following Kristen Chenoweth (singer and actress, also an Oklahoma-native) and Christina Applegate an amazing and awesome actress while I get updates from groups such as MuggleNet (a Harry Potter fanbase website) and the CareerCrossings office here on campus for upcoming and happening events.

I just learned about the hashes in posts to target groups and I'm going to start using that to target my posts to particular groups and people. Twitter is definitely a site that is quickly growing and keeps everyone in touch with others' lives and activities.



I'm really excited about my LinkedIn account because I set this up last month so I could find a job and start networking with the right people. It will be neat to use this in my online portfolio and market my skills and activities to other people in the business world.

I also found this funny comic while online yesterday about the competition and differences between Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.



I really liked the video about classroom implications of Twitter and backchanneling in the classroom. My best friend goes to a big school and says that there is less room for comments in the classroom and I think that Twitter (especially with hashing and specific targets to groups) helps engage everyone in the participation and is a way that all can "attend" class even if they are not physically present. I think this would be an interesting experiment to try sometime to see if we still get the same conversation out of Tweets than we would face-to-face. While it adds more flexibility to the conversation it would be harder to develop a conversation fully between different Twitter posts and it would be delayed from real time to fit the times everyone checked the posts and comments online.

I'm having trouble uploading video feed to my blogpost, I'm going to try and figure that out. :D

~Rachel