Weblog
2009 February
The Commons Video
The Commons Video is a 3 minute 46 second animation (licensed under CC BY) from On The Commons and The New Press making the case for an expansive conception of “The Commons” as a means to achieve a society of justice and equality. From the video’s description:
In a just world, the idea of wealth–be it money derived from the work of human hands, the resources and natural splendor of the planet itself–and the knowledge handed down through generations belongs to all of us. But in our decidedly unjust and imperfect world, our collective wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. There is be a better way–the notion of the commons–common land, resources, knowledge–is a common-sense way to share our natural, cultural, intellectual riches.
A good portion of the video from the captured point above (1:53) on concerns intellectual commons, based on the writing of David Bollier and others. Bollier is author of Viral Spiral, a history of CC and related movements (previously blogged).
Some readers will find the expansive and social justice oriented conception of commons described by the video compelling. Others will find the argument that tangible goods thought of as commons confuses the unique case in favor of a commons of intellectual goods, given the latter’s non-rival nature. But such confusion is often willful, certainly not informed by subtle and historical arguments about the nature of commons.
Agree or disagree with the perspective presented in The Commons Video, it’s a useful reminder that lessons concerning the management of real and intangible goods don’t always flow in the direction or say what one might expect.
For more on the expansive commons point of view, watch for an extended featured commoner interview with Bollier soon.
No Comments »Summer Internships 2009
CC’s popular summer internship positions are now posted on the Opportunities page! We are looking for motivated students who can spend the summer at the San Francisco office to work with the staff on various projects. This year, we are offering technology, legal, international outreach, and graphic design/media development positions. Please spread the word to qualified students, or apply yourself! We are accepting applications now through March 13th.
4 Comments »CC Community Call recording now online
On Monday, February 23, 2009, we hosted our first community conference call. Donors who have given a gift of at least $250 to CC were invited to join members of CC’s staff and board, including CEO Joi Ito and Board Chair Jamie Boyle, to discuss what 2009 will look like for Creative Commons, in terms of work to be accomplished and how our work is vital to facilitating a more open and participatory culture. We also took questions and comments from participants. The call was a great success and a valuable opportunity to reach out to and connect with our supporters; we will continue to host community conference calls quarterly and anyone giving $250 or more will be invited to take part.
An audio recording of the call is now available online. Thanks to everyone who participated, and as always, we would like to extend a big thanks to all members of our community for your continued support!
No Comments »Day Of Sharing
Techdirt’s Mike Masnick, responding to a proposal for a day of sharingstealing:
Gibbs is simply showing his own ignorance of the difference between scarce and infinite goods. That’s because his “Day of Sharing” is a recommendation that people steal (yes, steal!) physical things. He claims that this will show people that sharing music is stealing — but, of course, he’s wrong. Making a copy of an infinite good is entirely different than taking a scarce good away from someone
Masnick follows with an excellent proposal for a real Day of Sharing:
However, if he wants a “Day of Sharing,” perhaps we should give it to him. On the day he’s chosen as his Day of Sharing, November 29, 2009 (the day after Thanksgiving) we should all send him copies of free, public domain or Creative Commons-licensed music from musicians who actually have an open mind on this issue and who encourage sharing, knowing that, with the right business model, it actually helps them tremendously. That would be a true Day of Sharing and would perhaps show Mr. Gibbs that perhaps things aren’t so bad as he thinks they are.
Read the whole post and mark your calendars.
If you haven’t already, also check out Masnick’s case study on the digital music business, Connect With Fans (CwF) + Reason To Buy (RtB) = The Business Model ($$$$).
3 Comments »February CC Salon NYC Followup
Thanks to the presenters and everyone who made it out on Tuesday for our Salon at For Your Imagination‘s studio. I’ve posted photos from the event here.
If you have a minute, we’d love it if you could fill out a quick survey about the Salon here. Don’t worry if you’ve already filled one out for a previous Salon, we’re always looking to improve, so don’t hesitate to let us know your thoughts.
Couldn’t make it to February’s Salon? Our next one will be in mid-April, so subscribe to our blog and keep an eye out.
1 Comment »CC Salon Boston is Tonight!
In conjunction with Pecha Kucha Boston 8, there will be a CC Salon tonight in Boston. Here are the details:
CC Salon Boston 1
Wed Feb 25
Mantra, 52 Temple Pl, Boston (near Park St T)
Co-hosted by Creative Commons, Participatory Culture Foundation and Pecha Kucha Boston.
Doors open at 630p for drinks and chit chat. Talks start at 715p.
The event is free and open to the public. Cash bar.
Join the most talented and creative people in Boston for the first local Creative Commons Salon.
Check the Pecha Kucha site for more details, and remember, anyone can start their own Salon in their own community.
No Comments »Beijing Symposium on Common Use Licensing for Scientific Literature and Data
An international symposium on Common Use Licensing for Scientific Literature and Data will be held on March 25, 2009 in Beijing, China.
This one-day symposium, initiated by Creative Commons China Mainland, will review the rationale, practice, and issues associated with the application of Creative Commons/Science Commons “common use” licenses to scientific literature and data in government and academia.
The event will also explore the possible implementation of these licenses for publicly funded scientific literature and data in China. The symposium, designed to provide a basic introduction to the subject, aims to address the interests of both the science policy and the science research communities.
There will be a wide array of speakers from the PRC and abroad, bringing together a large group of participants from various universities, research institutes, governmental agencies, libraries, and the Internet industry.
Symposium Theme: Common-Use Licensing of Scientific Literature and Data
Hosts: National Science Library of Chinese Academy of Science, the U.S. National Committee for CODATA of the National Academy of Sciences, and Creative Commons China Mainland
Date and Time: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., March 25, 2009
Location: Lecture Hall, 1st Floor, National Science Library of CAS, Beijing
Language: Chinese and English, Simultaneous Interpretation provided
Admission: Free
No Comments »TweetCC Lets You CC License Your Twitter Feed
Until now, the only way to mix your microblog and Creative Commons licenses was to sign up for the free-as-in-speech service identi.ca (or run your own instance of Laconica), which requires all posts to be under our Attribution license. But as of February 18th, thanks to the work of UK author Andy Clarke, you can CC license your twitter feed via TweetCC.
The idea is to post a tweet to Twitter letting @tweetCC know that what license (or waiver, in the case of CC Zero) you want your feed to be under, and then the service keeps track of your choice for the rest of the web’s reference. Users can also look up whether and how a given Twitter user has chosen to license their feed. Right now, our Public Domain Dedication is the default and thereby most popular choice, but take a look at the rest of our licenses offered on the site, and CC license your twitter feed today!
2 Comments »New Swag in CC’s Online Store!
If you haven’t stopped by our online store recently, now is the time to do so, because we’ve stocked up on new items and brought back old favorites!
We’re excited to now offer two varieties of the I Love to Share shirt, now available in cranberry in addition to brown.
We’ve also reloaded our stock of sea foam green Creative Commoner shirts and the very popular black CC logo shirt. Both are now available in women’s medium as well as adult sizes S-XXL. CC shirts are a great way to support CC and make for great conversation pieces as well!
We’ve also brought back the original black and white CC buttons, which you can load up on in addition to our stickers and lapel pins to stick on your shirt, bag, jacket, or computer, and show your love for CC!
Stop by the store today and stock up on CC gear.
2 Comments »Remix Georgia Wonder via Mixable
Georgia Wonder, the UK band who made headlines earlier this year for encouraging their fans to share their music, is participating in this year’s annual MIXABLE contest to support UK schools. The band has made the separated audio tracks from their song “Girl You Never Knew” available for download in both WAV and AIFF files and available under our Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license:
Whoever comes up with the best version as chosen by the band will get to work further on the track in a full studio, and this new version will then be featured on an upcoming release with full production and performing credits!
Check out the site for more information and the details for starting your remix!
1 Comment »
