Issues of authorship, copyright and open access

I am not as affected personally by issues of authorship, copyright and open access as I would be professionally. This is because I am more competitive in the professional world, and want recognition for my hard work. I don't mind sharing my ideas but I don't want someone taking credit for them. In my personal life, I am more relaxed because I don't weigh these issues as seriously.

Produsage Assignment 2

Well, I have finally narrowed down my topic for project 2. I am really excited about setting up a profile on purevolume.com for my brother's band. This task will present new challenges for me because I will be uploading music files onto the website, which is something I have not done before. I have already created the shell of the profile- the band's basic information, but I need to include a biography, photos, video and the music files. I also need to make sure that their site is interesting-looking and catches the attention of browsers. I am looking forward to the challenge!

StumbleUpon, Technorati & Citeulike

Tonight I visited the sites Dr. Dennen recommended this week. Maybe I should have paced myself, but now I feel like I have information overload. Has anyone seen the commercials for bing.com?

I think each of these sites has something to offer, but I couldn't get over how many links and ads were on each site. Citeulike seems like a good website, one that I will visit in the future when writing papers or doing other schoolwork. Technorati and StumbleUpon were a little more intimidating- I was amazed at how much information was available on each site. I would click on one link and would be taken to the video/picture/blog, only to see links for more information that had similar keywords. By the time I was done browsing on technorati, I had moved so far from the link I originally clicked on.

Expertise on the Web

I used to think that information on the Web was never as credible as information I receieved face-to-face because I could see the person in front of me. Now that I think about it, anyone can open their mouths and say something, just as easily as they can put bogus information on the Web. After reading the Bruns text, it seems that someone who takes the time to publish information on the web has motivation and therefore credibility in my eyes. I realize that there is still junk out there, and sometimes there will be people who repeatedly publish false posts, but in the grand scheme of things, I think that most people are legit.

Comments on my peers' produsage assignments

I have looked over the assignments of some of my classmates and I think they all did a great job. I have learned a lot from just reviewing their projects and I now have some ideas for my next produsage project. I liked the fact that my classmates chose a variety of topics- ranging from bbqs to traveling to ukeleles. I have more confidence about how to tackle the next project and I think I will be more creative this next time around.

Produsage Assignment 1 complete

I just submitted my first produsage project and I am feeling pretty good about my experience. I was intimidated at first, and found it hard to get started. Once I spoke to Dr. Dennen and looked at the Diigo and del.icio.us websites, I started to get some direction. I think it was good to start with the Web 2.0 tool that I did, because I think that Second Life would have been a little overwhelming.

I am also glad that I started reading ahead this weekend, because Chapter 7 had a lot of information on del.icio.us that I ended up using in my paper. I guess it is good that I was an over-achiever this week!

My contributions this week

This week so far I have been talking to my classmates about Diigo versus del.icio.us. I also commented on the post about the shift of using Web 2.0 tools in formal education. I think that in some cases, Web 2.o tools may be helpful, but should not replace traditional education.

I am starting to reconsider using del.icio.us for my first produsage project. I have already begun using this site, but many of my classmates seem to think that Diigo is more user-friendly. Did I miss something when I was on Diigo? I thought that it was loaded with information and did not seem very user-friendly to me. Maybe I will stick with del.icio.us for my first project, but then give Diigo another shot in my spare time.