The wild wild Web, where copyright is becoming an oft-repeated word

I read a post at a discussion forum—the author found a Web site had copied her content verbatim. She contacted the owner of the site, who basically told her to shove it—there was nothing she could do. The site owner did remove the content, however. In August, I wrote a column about a lawsuit filed by an author who took issue with a bad review of his book. The reviewer didn’t just bash the book; illustrations from the work were reproduced. The author had provided the book, so the case isn’t black and white.

In a perfect world, no one would lift your content without asking. But people do. One reason I added the ‘Copyscape’ banner to both my sites involves providing notice that I do check for copied content. Copyscape works beautifully to this end.

Technically, you don’t have to officially register a work to protect it. The U.S. Copyright Office Web site notes:

No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. (See following note.) There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration.

Here’s the note referenced above:

Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time.

It is a good idea when you post to your blog or Web site to add a copyright notice, and it’s an even better idea to file the forms to protect your work.

And if you have your eye on sharp content written by another, ask before you lift. Chances are if you run a quality site, you’ll receive permission unless you’re asking a large commercial concern. And always, if you’re given permission, be mannerly and include a link to the site where the work was first featured.

There’s an excellent site explaining the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, organized by the Association of Research Libraries. This government act offers some protection for your Web content, and restricts use of your content to fair use guidelines, including the amount of content in relation to the whole work. Fine to lift a line or two when you’re reviewing a book or poem. Not so fine to lift the whole item.

Meanwhile, you can drop your URL in at Copyscape to see if your work is being used without your knowledge.

©KayBDay/2007

Billionaire says Internet ‘dead and boring’

I learned to navigate Facebook by enlisting help from my daughter, a graduate student at a Florida university.

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I read part of an interview with Mark Cuban in Lloyd Grove’s column at Portfolio.com. Cuban made his primary fortune by plying his entrepreneurial skills as a partner in Broadcast.com. This Web TV company was sold to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in stock, and then, Lloyd writes, “cashed out before the tech market imploded.” Cuban’s remarks about the Internet are based on what he perceives as an inadequate broadband speed to your home, that limits potential for “technical innovation.” I’m not a computer expert, so I won’t argue Cuban’s point. I guess I’d call myself a “creative expert,” though, using the Web for everything from finding markets for my writing to locating old friends and enjoying the seemingly limitless potential at sites like the social network Facebook as well as the eclectic BlogHer community.

I’d have to say those of us in the arts are having a field day with the Web. Even the U.S. presidential candidates (or their strategists) are beginning to respect the power of YouTube.

As a journalist, I learn something every day, courtesy of the world’s largest information resource. Naturally, using the Web has diversified my publishing portfolio. I write regular columns and articles for some sites and publications, but I often simply write something, email it to a publication I've never done business with, and learn, with pleasure, it suits the editor I sent it to. This happened recently when I spotted a story that no one had covered yet. I did some research, put the copy together and sent it on its merry way. In a short while, I had an acceptance and shortly thereafter, had emailed the invoice. This happens quite frequently. The process once took weeks, even months in some cases. I deal with every editor I provide content to by means of email and on lesser occasions, fax by email. If I have a question related to freelancing, I can post it on any of several message boards at professional organizations I belong to and receive an answer quickly, sometimes immediately. If I need quotes from experts, they're keystrokes and a few URLs away.

As a poet outside the collegiate writing industry, I am certain my poems would have never connected with the number of readers who've found them and then bought the book. Same goes for the readings and programs I speak at. The Web is a writer's best ally.

So maybe those of us in the creative arts, non-geeks that we mostly are, simply look at the Web with a different perspective than someone who is an expert in matters technological. The beauty of the Web, like other media, is in the eyes of the beholder.

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Visit my column Web Savvy at The Writer, and drop by my blog Covering Florida.

Zeitgeist: what people search for on the Net

I admit it. I’m a fan of Google™ . I discovered this search engine in its infancy and shortly thereafter, began to turn to it first. One reason Google stays on top is the focus on developing products that help users and customers. No one comes close, in my opinion.

I discovered this cool page, Zeitgeist: Search patterns, trends, and surprises. Part of the company’s press center, this page lists gaining search queries for the previous week. For the week ending Feb. 24, it came as no surprise to me that our conflicted celeb Britney Spears was a top search term, as were Lunar New Year and Tom Brady. Ash Wednesday was up there too, making the Internet community lean rather towards faith, what with Lent also in the mix. It’s helpful to anyone who maintains a site to know what surfers are looking for.

American Idol, not surprisingly was up there too, ranked in fifth place. It’s one of the few shows on a regular network I enjoy watching. I like it because it’s talent- based, and I love music. I’m always amazed. You can sing, people will love you. It’s a lot like poetry, where you sing with words.

I’m sitting in the office waiting on a source to call me for a newspaper story due Monday. Polished off a column this afternoon and set up questions for another. As usual, I ended up with more deadlines than expected over the next few days. No freelancer will complain about that. So I tuned into American Idol, just in time to see them cull out the singers who were voted off.

There was an amazing moment when a female contestant—I think it was Alaina Alexander, but I have problems with names (sorry)—was voted off. She tried to sing the Dixie Chicks song, ‘I’m not ready to make nice.’ Her voice absolutely left her. Then the other girls slipped onto the stage to help her sing it. Sundance (I know him; he’s distinctive) was even teary. Then the girls hugged her.

It was a stellar example of American sisterhood. It was a lovely moment for this viewer.

I figure Google is like American Idol. You do something better than everyone else you win.
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Information about Google Zeitgeist is, of course, courtesy of Google, based on information from the Press Center.