Thou Shalt Not Use a Computer to Steal

Hamelink (2006, 117) discusses various ethical issues of Internet use within society; Piracy in particular was of interest to me – “Thou shalt not use a computer to steal”. As a film student I have a variety of opinions regarding Internet piracy.

Film piracy is illegal and unethical but I’d be lying if I said I’d never downloaded or watched a pirated film. Even though I’m aware my Internet use, in this regard, is unethical, there are reasons for my actions. My DVD collection is huge and made of legitimate film purchases and I happily pay to watch a new release film at the cinema.

On the other hand, there are films that I have admittedly chosen to download, but for specific reasons. There might be an international film I’d like to watch, but it may be difficult to get a hold of, in that case I may choose to download it. There are also films I’d prefer to watch before I buy the DVD and therefore download it first.  I also know others who pirate television shows because they are released overseas earlier than in Australia.

Though I can be considered a film pirate, I disagree with those who download almost every film they watch, with little legitimate purchases.  

                                                                                                                                        

References:

Hamelink, C. J. 2006. “Chapter 7: The Ethics of the Internet : Can We Cope With Lies and Deceit on The Net?” In Ideologies of the Internet, edited by Katherine

               Sarikakis and Daya K Thussu, 115-130.  New Jersey: Hampton Press Inc.

Entertainment in the Age of the Internet

With the ever-increasing growth of the Internet, you can’t avoid admitting to the influence it has and will continue to have on our entertainment – Music, Games and Films.

Madhur Singh wrote the article Bollywood's Viral Videos, which outlines the Internet’s impact on the Indian film industry. This article suggests the future of the film industry will be reliant on the Internet.

The expanse of the Internet has allowed films to easily be illegally downloaded; this is a huge problem for the film industry. Rajshri Media’s solution to this issue is to simultaneously release films in theatres and online. Though this might allow easier piracy it also has advantages.

I can see the benefits - in most cases - to pay to download a film on its release date, especially if it’s cheaper than the DVD and is released earlier. It also provides ‘value for money’ to own a downloaded copy of the film rather than pay the same price to have a single theatre viewing.

However, I don’t believe Internet films will ever fully replace the worth of film theatres.

There are many films that are vividly enhanced when viewed in a cinema. Films of our age, such as Avatar and Inception are examples of the benefit of this theatre viewing.

As long as there are blockbuster hits, audiences will use theatres. 

                                                                                                                                     

Singh, M. 2008.  "Bollywood's Viral Video." Time International (Canada Edition), 171 (14) Accessed March 18, 2011.

               http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1713342,00.html

The ‘Clear Curtain’ of Social Networking

In order to establish an understanding of New Media, we recently examined the opinions of Donath and Boyd (2004) as well as Pearson (2009) on the privacy of Social Networking sites. 

In order to form this understanding, we are adopting the metaphor of the ‘Clear Curtain’, which uses the same concept as Pearson’s ‘Glass Window’. That is, any expression or conversation a networker openly publishes without their ‘curtain drawn’ which is available for any of their connections to explore and witness if they choose (Pearson 2009, ¶11).

However, this may be their aim, as most social networkers are using these sites as a means of expression, communication, connection and sharing. These applications may be seen to resemble the ‘physical means’ of connection mentioned by Donath and Boyd (Donath 2004, 72).

Alternatively they may wish to address a friend or group in particular, consequently they would ‘draw the curtain’ and address them directly.  This suggests to their network connections that the content doesn’t concern them, however the ‘curtain is clear’ and they may therefore choose to witness the interaction or not.

Though this may be seen as a lack of privacy most networkers are aware of this and may avoid it with the use of another platform. There are however many more detrimental privacy breaches within social networking sites, which the examined authors have elaborated upon.

                                                                                                               

Text References

Donath, J. and D. Boyd. 2004. Public displays of connection. BT Technology Journal. 22 (4): 71-82.

Pearson, E. 2009. All the World Wide Web's a stage: the Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks. First Monday. 14 no. 3.

Image Reference

Personal Shoplifter.com. 2011. Art. http://personalshoplifter.com/tag/art (accessed March 13, 2011).