Are copyright laws old-fashioned ?

Nowadays, new media have utterly shattered the meaning of  copyright. An entrepreneur trying to launch a new way of entertaining, or even a broadcaster wanting to put a programme in an online archive, will encounter a lot of obstacles (laws, permissions).  To become a real high-tech hub, we need laws for the Internet era. Let's face it : looser laws.

In Britain for instance, creative works are protected by copyright. In America, by contrast, an exception is made for the “fair use” of content. Together with rules that protect technology firms from being sued for naughty behaviour on their platforms, that has benefited companies such as Google.

I do not think that we have to make a mix of these two laws, but copyrighted works should be protected. People should be allowed to copy CDs and DVDs to their computers. Governments to prod should  create a kind of digital copyright shop, in order to trade licences properly, without infringing laws.

Let's take an example : music industry admits  that people should be allowed to copy CDs to computers, and it  has been common practice for a decade. We can imagine some ways to erradicate piracy, like new kind of search engines that can detect directly on the results websites with pirated items.

Of course, creative firms have a right to be awarded for their talents, time and investment. But i'm pretty sure that copyright have to fit to the new media. I have found an interesting website which assess the value of your work.

What do you think about this website ? Do you think it could be useful ?

When music meets a cause

If mankind will fade away, as fast as a star in the sky, what the Earth would be ? That's the question asked by a metal band : Gojira. In their beautiful song called "Global warming", they express through moving words how fragile we are, how ephemeral the Earth is, and how obsolete things are.
Here is a very powerful part of this song :
I feel like glaciers are my eyes
And mountains are my head
My heart is ocean
And I feel all alone

According to Gojira, there is no way out. World is down, and countries have a long way to go before gathering. If you listen carefully to the song, you will see how powerful it is. Listening to this song gave me chills. Goosebumps. Because I have to admit that we heard a lot about global warming, and it's just so difficult to put words on feelings. That is why songs exist.

Why is global warming not accepted ?

To answer straightforwardly, I would say that it's because of culture. Let's focus on the Americans. I have heard that some of them do not believe that there are some climate changes. But why ? I have also heard that there is an "American Exceptionalism" that could justify this denying...

American Exceptionalism is rooted in the idea that they are the greatest because God gave to them some principles through the Founders and then through the Constitution. They cannot be wrong about their culture because that would deny God. Maybe they refuse to allow foreign countries to say how to use their resources because that would deny Go

Then, making a compromise could be difficult since the compromisers are seen as misleaders. Even as heretics working for evil ?

Is Mark Zuckerberg...shy ?

Guys, you MUST look at this video if you still have not. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO, is shy. We all know that. But he is getting so awkward when a journalist ask him some questions about...privacy. A burning issue Mark, isn't it ? I recently discovered that privacy settings on Facebook have ONCE AGAIN changed. And it's even more difficult to understand ! Every year, a new version appears. Sometimes at the expense of users, since they are  often not able to grab the meaning of these new settings. Nevertheless, we still keep on logging on Facebook. People are still addicted and Mark Zuckerberg, this brash young man has still shiny days to live. Palo Alto will be as powerful as the White House. And when privacy will be the motto of Facebook ? 8 years after its creation, I think it will have to be NOW. My birthday is on November. If someone wants to make me a gift,  buying a "Facebook's help guidelines in 10 volumes" could be a good idea.

Ready for an Orwellian science-fiction ?

On the 11th of September, everyone was remembering this event that completely twisted the world. While we were talking about privacy related to new technologies, i thought it could be also linked to...cyberterrorists. I do not know to write a plea for security -we all know that quest for security can entail disasters, like killing innocents...among all other things.

In my opinion, September 11th terrorist attacks clearly reveal that modern technology can at once be a bonus and a threat. I have read an article published on 2001 on Newsweek, entitled Tech's double-edged sword. The columnist has said that modern tools can sometimes be used against us. And thanks to the Web and appropriate software, anyone can become a specialist in any sort of trade !
The more sophisticated technology becomes, the more dangerous and destructive it is when used as a tool by terrorists. Some non-conformists have devised means of privacy such as steganography or anonymizers for instance. So I have a question for you : should we drive technology further and run the risk that it should be misused and turned against us ?

Let's discuss !

Advertising on the Internet, that's great !

Last time, we talked about a burning issue dealing with the Internet : privacy. I know it's not necessarily the most important thing right now, but I think it's rather interesting to discuss about the specific case of advertising on the internet. The internet has fostered new practices, such as banners, classified ads, or search advertising that allow advertisers to target interested consumers and assess the impact of their ads on them.


Brands are now allowed to create their own pages on some social networks and are given access to members' data. I think this is a revolutionnary way to communicate with brands. Brands are no longer impersonal. On the contrary, they are trying to be closer and closer to us. They can reach a whole group of customers just by sending friend requests or thanks to newfeed alerts.
I think this is a double-edged sword for the brands but it can also frighten users ! As for me, i know i'm afraid to know that my personal data can be observed, monitored. And sometimes, information colletected may turn out to be unreliable...