UGC & The Use of the Internet = Confused Students

Study: Students Don’t Understand Copyright Rules

By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable, 4/10/2007 10:34:00 AM

The majority of students (87%) who upload copyrighted material to user-generated video sites like YouTube, Facebook or MySpace don’t get permission from copyright owners, even though most (74%) believe it is fair to pay people for their use.That’s according to a new, albeit limited, study of college students who upload video to Web sites conducted by a pair of professors at American University and the Washington College of Law.

The study concluded that students were, “universally underinformed and misinformed about the law.” While they were generally concerned with staying on the “good side” of the law, they were “making up rules themselves” about what and how to use intellectual property.

The study is meant to be a discussion-prompter for a “confidential” meeting of user-generated content companies on April 10-11. The issue of copyright control and content management have become increasingly important issues as major media companies begin to team up with user-generated sites to reach that audience.

Study: Students Don’t Understand Copyright Rules - 4/10/2007 10:34:00 AM - Broadcasting & Cable

Check out that article for stats and names of the companies involved in the UGC copyright control meeting.

A little off topic, but along the same lines– I have a lecturer friend who has had a lot of problems with students & wikipedia. MASTERS students (yes, post-collegiate) have been using Wikipedia as a VALID source of information & research. Sad, sad, sad.

Online Rules & Understandings (Copyright, Academics, Etc): What is truth? What is real? What is valid? Apparently students have no idea. Zoinks.

technorati tags:education, wikipedia, youtube

Kajeet’s new buddy, Whyville: Tween Networking Beyond

Whyville, the tween/teen targeted online social network, has partnered with kajeet, the new tween-aimed pay-as-you-go mobile phone service, to offer its members the ability to use customizable chats functions through kajeet Chat Factory. Additionally, kajeet is offering an online Friend Finder service that Whyville members can use to contact one another with a personal invitation to meet and hang out at a destination within Whyville.

Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis - Cyn Kids 4/26/07

What a funny/ideal partnership between whyville (tween social network) and Kajeet (tween phone/service).  Kajeet has offered new functions to the whyville chat arena to spice up the tweens chatting life (visually)– S.S. Marketing ahoy!  Good idea.

Here is a definition of Kajeet from a Whyville worker.

Here is a review by a Whyvillian based on the Kajeet Chat Factory found on Whyville (giving both good/bad reviews). 

Now on to my ramble about accessing social networks via a cell phone (as sparked by the idea of Kajeet– a tween phone company, and Whyville– a social networking company linking up.  I’m not saying they’re doing this now, it just seems like a natural progression based on such a deal):

Do tweens really need to have their fingertips in online social networking at any given moment, like they would if a phone service provided easy access to particular social networks??

I fear this. Instead of hanging out with the family at Grandma’s and listening to her stories, BobbyJoe will be talking to his friends on his tween cell phone. Instead of watching & supporting her teammates play soccer on the pitch, DarlaJane is sitting on the bench surfing her friends in some online community. <— Yes those are silly instances that probably won’t (fingers crossed) happen for some time… but we need to at least ACKNOWLEDGE that these are possibilities. The only people who can really put limitations & controls over kids are parents.

Too much of a good thing is never good. But don’t tell a kid that. There’s nothing wrong with a little desire for kids… gives them something to work toward.

My Grandfather wasn’t really one of those “cuddlemuffin” Grandpa’s my friends had. When we went to his place in Chicago, there wasn’t anything fun for kids/tweens to do. He didn’t really have TV– just three black & white channels. Every time, we would end up coloring newspapers with pens & pencils while Mom, Dad, Gramps, etc sat around the table talking. We may not have been participating in the conversations, and were probably quite bored, but MAN– am I glad I was there. My ears were open– I heard stories that gave me some sort of subconcious identity to my family. Understanding WHY my grumpy grandpa was so different than the cuddlemuffin grandpas– and somehow I learned how to appreciate that. Today, the man is my hero. I can’t help but wonder if I would still feel that way if I had been physically present but mentally elsewhere (i.e. the web).

The weird thing about this is– yes, I’m an online community manager who supports the exciting world of imagination and multicultural friendships that is gained through online communities for kids/tweens/teens. And as I try to build this career, enjoying all the amazing new opportunities popping up for kids… I can’t help but notice the power– not empowerment– that kids are wielding. I look forward to the day that parents truly understand what’s available to their children on the web– both bad and good. Because that would mean that I can concentrate on my job–building & sustaining awesome communities & safety & imagination empowerment through communication and brand evangelism.

In the world of secret structure for kids (we work in the shadows to ensure everlasting daylight for youth):
Moderation = parents. Moderators = online communities.

What sayest thou? Agree? Disagree? Cookie?

technorati tags:Kajeet, whyville, tweens, mobile