Defenestration, a Celebration

LIS 753 Blog

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Post 2: Podcasting.

Podcasting was created by an MTV VJ named Adam Curry. The name was meant to sound like the word broadcasting and iPod, even though you don't need an iPod to listen to it (you can use any audio device that supports mp3's,). Podcasting is great because its usually free and it lets you listen to what you want, when you want it. Its kind of like taping your favorite radioshow to listen to later, except without the hastle of trying to remember to tape it...in fact, you can subscribe to your favorite Podcasts and have them waiting for you til you're ready to listen to them. Also, the other great thing about Podcasts is that anyone can do it.
I have never listened to a Podcast before. So I went online to find some Podcasts to try out. The first place I tried was PodCastAlley. PodcastAlley was very helpful, it had a forum which had a section on how to get podcasts. The forum also had information about other websites that had Podcasts. It also had information on how to do a Podcast and how/where to put it on online. On the homepage, it has a section where you can pick a genre of podcasting or you can search for a specific podcast. I thought that was great, especially since I don't know any specific podcasts yet. I subscribed to about 10 podcasts, all music related. I love the little blurbs about each podcast, to give you an idea of what you're getting in to. I have only listened to one, Punky Radio, and it was alright.
Podcasting is a powerful tool. Anyone with access to internet can access a Podcast or even record one. There are tons of free Mp3 players online. Podcasts are powerful because anyone can make one and they aren't regulated by the FCC. This is great because people can feel free to say whatever they want. I think it would be smart for libraries to start podcasting. One of my good friends already enjoys books on mp3's which she gets from her library. I did find quite a number of podcasts related to the library, such as Open Stacks which is "one librarian's perspective on things of interest to the Library and Information Science profession", or IR Conversations which is "a PALINET institutional repository discussion for librarians, archivists and others in university/institutional settings". Lansing Public Library has multiple podcasts for each of the sections in their library. I hope more libraries will put podcasting on their websites. On the CPL website, they have audiobooks that can be downloaded, but not if you have an iPod or are using a Mac. I was hoping to find a podcast on the website, but I didn't find one...but maybe there is one there, really buried...anyway, what I guess I'm saying is that Podcasting would be a great tool for a library.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Post 1: Late night thoughts about copyright...very unconnected...

In 1998, a new law was made that extended copyright by twenty years in the United States. So, now, works created by an author are protected for the rest of the author’s life and another 70 years…works created/owned by corporations are protected for 95 years. This extention, while good for the author/owner, is extremely detrimental to the public. Its always nice to be able to profit off of your ideas, and maybe even provide for your children…but on the other hand, especially when it comes to education, not being able to use certain books or pamphlets or clips can hurt the public. Is it really fair that a teacher could get sued for trying to get his/her kids interested in a subject by using their favorite cartoon character? There is always the Fair Use Statute which gives some leeway for use of copyrighted material…but it can be hard to determine if a particular use is actually protected under the statute.
There was one website that I really enjoyed, (which I also learned about back in 701): Creative Commons This website showed that there were more than two options in copyright (not just public domain and full copyright). This website has a few different types of licenses, which all follow copyright law…but are not as restrictive as a full copyright. I wish more people would promote the use of these less restrictive copyrights…some allow the work to be altered, some don’t allow for alteration. I like this because it allows the public (and libraries and teachers) to use/distribute/alter (in some cases) a work for their own commercial (or noncommercial) use…mostly, I like it because then I could potentially use a photo from someone with this license on a website I created, or maybe use a bit of a song to help promote something I cared about.
I remember, back in 99-00, when I received a notice that I needed to refrain from using Napster, or get involved in a lawsuit…that whole ordeal was part of the reason I stopped listening to Metallica.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Post number two

We read this great article last night. I thought it was interesting to read about the NextGens, and how they did not like to be labeled. It was also interesting because I am not a NextGen (I missed the cut off of 1982), but my sister is. And it is interesting how different we are. She can multi-task like I can't. She is able to watch tv, listen to music, text message her friends (with a cellphone and AIM), and do her homework...all at the same time. Its nuts.

Its all out the window

This is my first post, here on blogger...I guess I should do a tiny intro...my name is Kristin, and this is for my LIS 753 class at Domincan University...Internet Fundamentals!
No #FFF394 to get colors here!