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Student Resources > Technology Tools > Research 2.0

 

 

 

Web 2.0 is a concept coined by Tim O'Reilly to mean the many layers and dimenions of interconnectivity now opperating on the Internet.  To help explain the concept, in 2007, Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Kansas State University made a video titled "Web 2.0, The Machine is Us/ing Us," that he released on YouTube .  The video is provided below.

 

 

 

Organizations

 

• Digital Future Coalition

  http://www.dfc.org/

The Digital Futures Coalition strives to find "an appropriate balance in law and public policy between protecting intellectual property and affording public access to it."  Created in 1995, this 42-member group is made up of academic and professional organization  monitors and advocates on intellectual property issues. 

 

• Creative Commons

  http://creativecommons.org

Founded in 2001 as a response to the tensions caused over copyright with digital developments, this organization developed the Creative Commons License to provide creators a way to protect their work while at the same time encouraging open and creative use of it through a "some rights reserved" licensing.  In addition to the explaining the Creative Commons license and proving a easy system for using it, the site also offers links to Creative Commons-licensed media

 

 

Publications

 

• Lessig, Lawrence. (2004). Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity.

  Available online at http://www.free-culture.cc/index.html

Lessig, Standford law professor and new media intellectual property scholar and visionary, examines how media companies are using technology law to limit "the public domain of ideas." The book is available for free as a downloadable pdf file through a Creative Commons license. There is also a video of Lessig speaking about Free Culture from the 2002 O'Reilly Open Source Conference.  

 

 

 

Wikipedia 

Wikipedia, a marvel in demonstrating the power of social networking in buildling content  is not without its controversy.  Below are links to examples of the challenges presented with audience generated content

 

Nature versus Britannica over Wikipedia Accuracy

In 2005, an article was published in Nature that claimed that information found on Wikipedia was as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica.  Britannica printed a 20 page rebuttal on its corporate web site.  Nature responded with its own press release rebuttal.

 

Wikiality

This segment from a July 30, 2006 "Colbert Report" from Comedy Central brings a humorous look at the benefits and liabilites of audience generated content.