Since the interim version of Digital Britain has been released, industry figures have been asked for their opinion. Their voices contain both raise and blame. The following text provides some keypoints from the report as well as responses by industrualists.

Digital Britain – Interim Report

Since 17 October 2008, Lord Carter has worked on Digital Britain – an action plan that should secure the UK’s place at the head of new media. He released an interim version on 29 January; the final version will follow in June. Keypoints:

• Universal access to broadband for all by 2012, connecting the last 40 % of the population. Internet speeds of 2Mbps will be delivered.
• A new legal regime to protect copyright with a deal for digital content rights and a programme to educate and protect people.
• By the summer, the review will decide whether the government needs to invest in a new broadband.
• A reformed Channel 4 rival to the BBC.
• Migration of the radio to digital.

See the Carter report and comment on it: http://writetoreply.org/digitalbritain/

Responses

• The report is light on detail in key areas, much remains uncertain.
• The report hardly comments on DAB digital radio although UK’s digital radio business is in a mess.
• The report does not provide a simple solution to child protection/online safety.
• It would be more ambitious to targt 5Mbps than 2Mbps by 2012.

To read the the responses fully and see further reactions please have a look at Maggie Brown’s article in The Guardian, Monday 2 February 2009.

Hi all…

I can’t believe it…I was so busy with editing my first post that I didn’t say hello to all of you using my blog. So – welcome to my little space. This blog will cover different issues under the umbrella ‘information societies’ that are related to the content of the module M36CMC Information Societies, Coventry University. Hope you enjoy your visit. Sandra

Today, there are not only many different cultures. There is also a shared culture – a culture where almost everyone can participate via internet and create goods that build upon the works of others. Individuals remake cultural products of big companies. A group of German youngsters, for example, turned Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Jackson 2001) into the parody Lord of the Weed whilst others mixed Star Trek (Roddenberry 1966-2009) with Monty Python (Chapman, Cleese and Gilliam 1969–1983).

Lord of the Weed.

Star Trek meets Monty Python.

Citizens build upon the works of companies but companies build upon the works of citizens, too. Just think of Noah you took a photo of himself everyday for six years, inserted them into a video, uploaded the video on YouTube.com and, finally, was remade in The Simpsons (Groening 1989-2009).

Noah takes a photo of himself everyday for 6 years.

Trailer – The Simpsons.

But remaking is always an issue of copyright. How can we build upon the works of others without breaking the law? Well, we could ask for permission. But that can be tough even if makers don’t mind a reuse of their work. Imagine our sort knocking on the doors of big labels, asking our way through several offices…no that kind of experience to have.

However, we like to express ourselves through sharing, remixing and reusing. We want to use the new technologies of our age that allow us to share. And we want to get the restrictive law out of the way that constricts our creativity.

Creative Commons (CC) might hold the answer to our problem. It is an American non-profit corporation dedicated to make it easier for people to build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright. With Creative Commons authors, artists and scientists can change their copyright from ‘All Rights Reserved’ to ‘Some Rights Reserved’ and let them make a choice about the use of their products. Permission has not to be asked, it has already been granted. How Creative Commons facilitates to build upon the past, how it enhances the old copyright is explained in a short film.

Creative Commons – Get Creative.

Basically, creators have the choice between four license conditions to mark their work with the freedoms they want it to carry: ‘Attribution’, ‘Share Alike’, ‘Noncommercial’ and ‘No Derivative Works’.

Read about the four license conditions and six ways how they can be combined: http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/

Indeed, many people use CC licenses. Since Creative Commons has been founded in 2001 over 130 million works have been marked with a CC license to date. In audio, video and print creators decide about what they let people to do with their content.

Audio. Jammin-Inc. – a colourful German newcomer band – distributes for free under a Creative Commons license. Check the mixture of rap, reggae and ska and feel free to remake it:

http://jammin-inc.de/category/downloads/

Video. Seven artists and animators of the Blender Foundation and the Netherlands Media Art Institute made Elephants Dream (Kurdali 2006), a computer-generated movie using open source applications. The film is marked with a Creative Commons license and is open to new interpretations. It tells the story of two people with different visions of the surreal world they inhabit.

Elephants Dream.

Print. Danish students first published a beer recipe under an Attribution-Share Alike license – perhaps as a joke in reference to the free software movement’s mantra, ‘free as in speech, not as in beer’. Creative Commons members, among others, redefined the recipe:

http://freebeer.org/blog/recipe/

In fact, what is shared is re-done soon. Individuals use Creative Commons material to create new legally versions of cultural goods. Watch the music clip by Jonathan Coulton using public domain and Creative Commons pictures.

Jonathan Coulton – Curl.