How
many people do you think would still visit You Tube if there was a fee per view
or a fee to become a member? Would you continue to visit the site or would you
just visit less often? I know I wouldn’t pay. Unfortunately, the fact that
there is already a mechanism in place to pay for postings that generate a
certain number of views is an indication that we are heading in that direction.
YouTube, once a central source for all types of creative, entertaining,
educational and information works, will gradually become a clearing house for
cheap attention grabbing sound bite videos created for the sole purpose of
generating hits.
You
are right in saying that copyright issues are bigger in the new media age. This
I believe is due to the fact that it is now so much easier to edit work than to
create it. There is a lot more effort put in when something is original, but
with the technology these days, it is really easy to take a video, edit a few
things and post for yourself. An issue that also comes up is work being created
freely, and then someone else takes it and tries to gain a profit. This is the
main cause for copyrights; protection of the original artist. The person that
creates something should also have the right to profit from it and to determine
who else, if anyone can also profit from it. If you created something for which
there was a huge demand, would you be okay with someone else profiting from it
instead of you? Of course not!
I
would personally like to see You Tube maintain its original purpose. Unfortunately,
the more it tends toward being a commodity itself, the more it needs postings
that will generate profit. I personally feel that when posting on You Tube or
any free site, the work should be based upon wanting to voice an opinion or
helping to inform others. Unfortunately, more and more we are seeing postings
created specifically for entertainment; a quick trill. I feel there are already
enough venues for entertainment. Let’s try and keep You Tube unique in the
world of education and information. It has been my experience that life’s
everyday trials, tribulations and happenings are the purest form of
entertainment and often the funniest.
Is
it fair for our viewing to be restricted? Is it fair that we should pay for
something that was once free? Take Justin Bieber for example. He was just a
regular kid on You Tube posting videos of him singing. One day a celebrity came
across his video and thought he was talented…now he is a celebrity. Now that he
is a celebrity we need to pay for his music, concerts, videos, and even to just
see him. Is it right that just because he now makes millions off his music and
people think he is famous, that we should be paying to hear him? We used to be
able to hear him sing the same way on You Tube, so what makes him more
privileged than other You Tube posters? I guess the answer is, demand. Once his
work became popular and people were willing to pay to see him, he had a right
to profit from that; but it was his right; not the owners of You Tube. As I
said before, it is the creator that should profit; not those who stand on their
shoulders.
Overall, I
feel that copyrights are a good thing. Might not sound like it from what I have
talked about. But I believe that people should get the credit for what they had
come up with originally. No one should be able to take credit for someone
else’s work. This has always been the case and modern technology doesn’t change
it. If I’m going to buy a Rembrandt I want the original; not a knock-off.
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