Monday, October 13, 2008

The Media Challenge: Millennials Need News -- But Also Opini

There are true Millennial leaders, but their voices need a platform.

read more | digg story

Saturday, October 11, 2008

The Prez Candidates on Net Neutrality

You know how the candidates feel about net neutrality by those who support the candidates.

See who supports them, and you know their position. Simple enough.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4286547.html

Remix Culture


I am at the Free Culture 2008 Conference at UC Berkeley. After coming off of working on Lessig's Remix, interesting to hear the perspectives involved in Remix culture.

Panel 1: Remix: An Ethnomusicological View

Mark Perhlman

**Remix has more meanings that one.

**Star Spangled Banner melody was from an 18th Century English Drinking song.

DJ Ripley

**Distinctive nature of Baltimore Club music, picking up on what has been remixed to produce the songs (A little of The Police at 11:32 a.m., the Spiderman theme song, and disco--Also, It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right)

**Dance Hall music

Much of our popular music calls on common history.

Dance party tonight--working demonstration.


Anthony Falzone--Fair Use Project, SLS



Protecting Fair Use..right on!

When and how you can use existing works to create new ones...Campbell v. Acuff Rose--2 Live Crew case

"Might not be an 'aesthetic improvement' over the original song"--case focused on what YOU actually did with the copyrighted work--Ah, yes, was it TRANSFORMATIVE.--2 Live Crew as a Parody

No answer to the sampling question yet--> law is moving in the right direction, law can be pushed to a place where a right to use music to make new music will be embraced

Got to push FAIR USE!

Even Biggie got sued...Bad Boy built on unlicensed samples. Nobody argued Fair Use. "Combs dropped the ball, he did not pick up the fight."

"We don't know if fair use works because no one has picked up the fight."

Fair Use Victories

Tom Forsythe--Barbies and Fair Use

Jeff Koons--Niagara--borrowed one of the pairs of feet which appeared in Allure...Gucci sandals...How I loved Art Law! (Court focused on transformation, OK for Koons to use the photo)

Parallels to Remix with Music...Got to bring this into music remix.

Global Lives Project

Background Music in Documentary Films

Global network of collaborators based on Creative Commons licenses

http://globallives.org/

The issue is using music as the background music for a non-profit documentary.

United Nations University has a Media Studio--http://mediastudio.unu.edu/en/

Questions


Whether Girl/Talk is fair use or illegal art?

Falzone-hard to translate literary and artistic paradigms to music

Friday, October 10, 2008

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Legalista

As I meet with people in LA and work on expanding my business, I have people referring to me as a "lawyer." I politely correct them (**State Bar, I should get some bonus points for that), and let them know that I will not be official for another 42 days. (If I pass that is...knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder, pray).

So, for now, I will call myself a "legalista." As I define it for now, it for women in the interim period to esquiredom.

Itching to practice...

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

InternetNews Realtime IT News - McCain, Obama Agree to Open

The Open Debate Coalition succeeds in making the debate format more open and user-generated.

read more | digg story

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Remember This?



Just found this from a presentation I did a while ago...as I type on my Macbook and check my Iphone.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Mobilize.org's Democracy 2.0 Report

Upgrading our Democracy starts here.Democracy 2.0: Millennial-Generated Change to American Governance is a comprehensive report developed by members of the Millennial Generation in an effort to reflect the six years of Mobilize.org’s civic engagement work.

read more | digg story

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

On blogging more often

Yea, I write all sorts of stuff for a living so I neglect my blog(s) (my company blog is also pretty sad right now). So, I decided I should blog more often. I also think I may use WordPress instead...can I say that on here? Will they kick me off blogspot?

So a few observations...

1) Name dropping on your cellphone at 7:22 p.m. on a Tuesday at LAX...who are you impressing lady? Me and the old guy who is asleep next to me?

2) I really wish baby carrots were a standard sale at the airport. I have been without those for the last week.

3) Annoyed when I get forwarded on my iphone (not by the forwarder but by the article itself) yet another article about how Millennials suck...I hope my response gets published this time.

4) I shop online a lot. Like right now.

5) Continental Airlines has a slogan flashing on their monitors: "Work hard. Fly right." That's why I do not fly continental. Oh, and they do not have mood lighting and plugs for my laptop. I even put up with the Southwest cattle call over flying Continental.

6) I am scanning emails and have a lot of bullshitting to do this week.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Comfort in Division

I wanted to share this from another blog post I wrote on Leadership (Re)Defined, leadershipredefined.blogspot.com.

-----------

Despite the chants of “Victory” and the illusion that the battle for America is over with Barack Obama clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, a man whose message is one of change, hope, and unification for a better America, we remain divided on many fronts. Yes, I have stated the obvious.

What remains concealed though, at times, is our comfort in division. Any time we can find a way to create an “Us v. Them” dichotomy, we seize the opportunity. Unfortunately, on the heels of what has been a remarkable primary season, a new division is being created: the Millennial Generation v. the Baby Boomers. Let’s get ready to rumble?

Yesterday, in the Huffington Post, Elizabeth Cermak implored Baby Boomers to “let go of the torch.” In the end of her piece discussing the impacts of the Millennial Generation in this election cycle (synonymous with Generation Y depending on who you get your age demographics from), she wrote,

“We Millennials have gotten our way in this primary, and Barack Obama's nomination is contagiously exciting to the vast majority of us. So I beg you, if you ever really believed that this country should pay more attention to the future desired and fought for by its young generation, support Barack Obama just out of your old respect for that idea regardless of your personal beliefs. Let go of your anger and the idea that a protest vote for John McCain in November would be better than voting for Obama just because you're frustrated you didn't get your way. That is a completely selfish and self-centered idea based only on the notion that this is still your country to steer. It isn't, so get down off the soapbox and hand over the torch. You may think that we're wrong, but what my generation wants is clear and we deserve our parent's respect just as much as your beliefs did.”

What she did, whether she realized it or not, is lay down the gauntlet in a battle that has been raging behind the scenes in American politics, the mounting tension between the Baby Boomers and the Millennials.

Baby Boomers have stereotyped Millennials as lazy and entitled. Their researchers, scholars, and media take every chance they can to explain to America what the Millennials are about. Millennials feel it is their time to step into the spotlight, in both the private and public sector, as well as on the political scene. The Boomers are recalcitrant to let the proverbial reigns completely go; Millennials have little patience.

Millennials cannot create Port Huron. We cannot relive the Free Speech movement at Berkeley. We cannot retool the Civil Rights Movement. We cannot recreate the culture of the 1960’s. We cannot replicate the same conditions, especially when the environment we have come to age in has been so entirely different from that of the Baby Boomers.

I have not seen the great political leaders of my time brutally assassinated in front of my eyes. I do not know what it is like to see thousands and thousands of young men come back in body bags or to pray their draft number was not called. I did not live 25 or more years of my life under the specter of the Cold War. So admittedly, there are some things I just do not know or do not understand. But as is evidenced by the growing division between the generations, ignorance, on either end, will not be bliss.

Whether anyone acknowledges it or Millennials themselves recognize it, we have our own set of experiences, ones that share some commonalities with that of the Baby Boomers. They experienced communism; we sat in front of the TV as people tore down the Berlin Wall. We saw the later chapters of our relations with the Middle East unfold. We saw the blowback of Cold War maneuvers in a post Cold War world. We have seen genocides, and the advent of terrorism in our backyard. We have grown up in a world of new wars: The War on Drugs, The War on Terror, The War on Poverty, and the newest of these, the War Against Global Warming. These are all experiences to which we ourselves will cling 25 years from now. It is hard to believe that we cannot find some way to bring the experiences of both generations together to move forward.

Running track in my youth, I remember the importance of passing the baton on to a teammate who was responsible for running the next leg of the race. As I approached the person who, outside of my control, would determine a piece of my future, I had to be sure they knew I was coming with that baton and that they had a firm grip on it before I let go.

Millennials have the baton at the tip of their fingers. Individuals like Cermak want the Baby Boomers to open their clenched fist on the baton that is 21st century America. Many Millennials feel they will have to run the next leg of this political and cultural race ever so much faster. This is not a feeling that I can disagree with, as many members of my generation, including myself, believe there is so much more to be done to bring about change in America. But, it will take both generations to pass the baton to move forward. The comfort in generational division brings with it the inherent risk that the baton will be dropped. And together, we will have to watch our common future, real change, whiz by as we fumble to pick it up.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

FCC...Yea, You Know Me

I am blogging from the FCC hearing being held at Stanford today concerning Net Neutrality. Despite the warnings to get here early, I am sad more people are not here with t-minus six minutes til the hearing starts.

The hearing is broken up into two panels: one focused on Network Management and Consumer Expectations and another one focused on Consumer Access to Emerging Internet Technologies and Applications.

Many of the panelists from the Net Neutrality Symposium my law school bulletin, the Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, hosted in January including George Ou, Markham Erickson, and George Ford.

More to come...Larry is here too.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Baracking the Vote?




Let me first comment that I will be ordering this hoodie.

BUT...

The reason I comment on this is because this "hoodie" presents a unique situation: A for-profit company taking the logo/trademark of a national non-profit corporation and using it for profit by selling apparel.

I am on IP overload.

The first thing that may jump to mind is consumer confusion. If this case, people may think that Rock the Vote, the non-profit whose trademark has been slightly modified in an effort to sell apparel supporting Barack Obama, has endorsed Barack Obama.

Although the company using the logo is not in direct competition with the organization, it may confuse parties regarding the work of Rock the Vote, which is primarily a youth voter engagement organization that works with all youth despite party affiliation (yes, the organization does have a progressive tinge.)

So what happens in this instance? If Rock the Vote were to care, could they successfully pursue a trademark claim against Barackawear.com?

When it is two companies, it would seem a little more clear cut. And normally, it is a non-profit trading on the mark of a for-profit, merely to gain recognition of a campaign for social good (Think of Greenpeace's Kleenex ad on YouTube).

Food for IP geek thought.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Framing Net Neutrality

I just presented at the Local Media, Democracy, & Justice Summit at Cal Tech today. Along with Media Alliance's Tracy Rosenberg, we discussed the issue of Network Neutrality and Digital Inclusion.

One part of the discussion went a point I often grapple with when it comes to issues that appear uber-technical at first glance, but in their essence, can be boiled down to simple values and language that is digestible to the average American.

The discussion was this: Why frame the debate using the moniker "Net Neutrality?"

I understand that with the issues involved, content discrimination, traffic shaping, and tiered access, we really do want networks that are "neutral." But there has to be a better way to frame this debate to enable the public to come to judgment. The public must come to judgment, and take some sort of stance/action, before Congress is to pass anything bearing resemblance to the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008, or its predecessor legislation.

Further, how do we build a united front on this issue when people are concerned, such as independent artists who want their content protected and not shared illegally over a file sharing application, with the prospect of a neutral net where no one is looking for what they feel is economically-crippling file sharing?

The problem is that the Commons movement does not have a united front. We cannot just assume all supporters share the same points of view when it comes to copyright, privacy, "net neutrality," and other issues that arise in the discussion on how we manage the Internet "commons."

Friday, February 8, 2008

Save the “Street”


In another turn at eroding America’s cultural fabric, the Bush Administration proposed drastic cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the federal budget proposal. While slashing the funds this non-profit organization receives in half, the budget also does not commit to funding past this budget cycle.

I grew up watching PBS, as did many of my contemporaries. This is not just a fight to save the broadcasting of my childhood favorites, Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. I want to implore upon everyone what we stand to lose.

PBS is all things to all people. As a child, its educational programs teach children the three “R’s” they need in today’s world: Reading, Writing, and my addition, Reason (this also includes the arithmetic). Shows like Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood not only impart letters and numbers upon children, but teach children how to navigate life, treat others with dignity and respect, and inspire curiosity.

As children continue to grow, shows like the 1990’s Ghostwriter, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and my personal favorite, Wishbone, further develop skills and provide wholesome entertainment for the 7-12 age demographic.

Even if one departs from “save the children” arguments, PBS has broadcasting for all ages. The Nightly Business Report delivers financial news and information. Masterpiece Theater delivers those much-loved murder mystery movies. I remember at 8 p.m. on Saturday nights, the British comedy “Keeping Up Appearances” would air, exposing Americans to the entertainment enjoyed in another nation.

Saving the most important for last: PBS Documentaries. Anyone who watched Ken Burns’ “The War” knows how important it is to use channels everyone can watch, which are not driven by profit motive and the sexual appeal of wanting advertising dollars, to educate people about our collective history.

Ok, and I will not forget Antiques Roadshow. Who would have thought a show about old junk people bring to get appraised could be so interesting? I cannot resist getting excited when an old black couple from New Orleans brings a cigarette case to get appraised, one of the only meaningful possessions they have, and finds out it is Cartier and worth like $75,000.

PBS is a part of OUR culture. It is truly a reflection, and a part of, the American spirit. Most important, it is accessible to those who cannot afford cable.

My mom always told me, “The one thing no one can ever take away from you is your education.” I should only hope this should remain true, and organizations like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting can continue to teach three-year olds to seventy-five year olds their letters, numbers, and life’s lessons.

Save the “Street!”

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Drop It Like It's Hot

As candidates continue to drop out of the presidential race, I have to appreciate the strategy of the graceful “bow out.” Amidst claims of “taking one for the party,” let’s look at the reality: dropping out of the race at this stage is essentially putting in a bid for a V.P. spot.

Both Edwards and Romney are positioning themselves as the “go to” guys. Edwards is likely in a better position to be a viable running mate, as either Clinton or Obama would pick him up. Romney, on the other hand, dropped out when it was still a four-man race in the eyes of many Republicans and Libertarians. Voter results may not be indicative of this sentiment, but each candidate, namely Huckabee and Paul, have their cadre of followers who are not ready to give up, evidenced by Huckabee’s Super Tuesday wins and Paul’s fundraising success.

Before you “drop it like it’s hot,” remembers donkeys and elephants are different animals.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

The Importance of Being Honest


Rarely will this student of life and politics go on a moral diatribe. I am not in a station to do so. Yet, I was struck by the comment of one of my colleagues yesterday, a comment so self-important and audacious that it forced me to comment.

There is an importance to being honest with oneself. One thing I can criticize the peers in my generation for, and myself often times, is a a sense of entitlement and self-importance.

The gist of the comment was "We're kind of a big deal." That line is funny when it is said in a comedy movie, true if it coming from someone in the position to say so, and absolutely ridiculous coming out of the mouth of who it did.

What I urge to all of us in this age group is to try to be self-reflective. Not in a meditative sense, but to be active evaluators of our successes and failures. At this age, more often than not, we are liable for failures since we still do not know any better.

In the sphere of assessment tools, whether it be international or corporate, there is this concept of "Lessons Learned." Lessons Learned are meant to take a hard look at what was done, comment on its merits and failures, and discuss what should be the strategy moving forward.

It seems as though we have been taught to see our failures, but not to truly discuss what those failures were and how we can learn from them in the future.

Or maybe it just takes falling face forward for some people to realize this is the more prudent way to go through life.

And for my moment of using a cliche, pride before the fall, right?

Saturday, February 2, 2008

The Pizza Hut-ization of Youth Electoral Politics


Recently, political “hub” Pizza Hut released an ad on YouTube encouraging youth to vote in the upcoming election. With the tagline, “It’s your choice. Please vote,” Pizza Hut likely feels it has done its civic duty to encourage the lazy, sofa-lounging, pizza-eating members of the Millennial Generation to get up off the couch and go vote.

This is the Pizza Hut-ization of youth voter politics. The message: You are incapable of even listening to a normal election ad telling you to go vote.

Let’s give Pizza Hut a little credit and assume for the sake of argument that its portrayal is accurate. If this is the case, then youth, after viewing the commercial, will likely just call their local Pizza Hut or place an order for a pie online. If youth really are this stupid and lazy, it will not cause them to go vote.

Yet, if we take a second view of the Millennial Generation, as a generation with many questions and a critical eye, they will react to the commercial as I did, wondering whose idea that commercial was and why they were ever put in charge of developing a piece to target youth voters. Slapping something on YouTube does not give you instant “street cred.” (Caveat Emptor Corporate America)

This is but one example of the “dumbing” down of the American polis. Have we lost so much so much faith in young America that we have resorted to such amateur methods to reach out to a group that by other measures, education, technology, and networking, is an advanced generation.

What would help is if Pizza Hut would instead of creating ads for their pizza, donate pizza to all the young poll workers, precinct walkers, campaign staffers, and youth voter groups around the country, comprised of driven and capable members of the Millennial Generation. I may be at the tail end of this Generation and often wonder “why” at some of things they do, but even I will give them a little credit.

Even more dangerous is the prospect that this is just one example of the wave of corporate-sponsored political ads to come. It somehow cheapens the electoral process when marketers invade the political market using the same tactics they use to sell pizza to sell politics.

The ironic part of this ad to me is the fact that in college, I constantly had debates within student government with my colleagues about giving out pizza to get students to participate in campus politics. If I had known that five years later this would become a national trend, perhaps it would have been prudent to pitch this tactic.

Damn pizza.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Life Under the Big Top


In my daily peruse of Real Clear Politics, I came upon this:

"Only Hillary Can Reunite the Republican Party"

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/01/gop_candidates_fail_to_unite_t.html

The focus of this article was the current division in the GOP, but the biting last three sentences read:

"Both Sen. McCain and Gov. Romney are too flawed to reunite and reinvigorate a dispirited Republican party. There is only one candidate who can do that. And she might lose to Barack Obama."

This is life under the big top. As a Democrat, my party never seems to experience this, but it is evidence of the "big tent" theory which leads to GOP organization and GOP wins.

The GOP has become masterful at getting its members to "take one for the team." So on the issues, a member of the GOP may say to themselves, "Well, I only agree on 4 of 6 issues with a particular candidate, but I will go with the flow."

Democrats do not like the "flow." It is the issues that too often divide us because we cannot see the value in a common cause.

Like this election, for example. If we just want a "D" win as a party, then we ought to act like it, and put up a candidate who will not cause mass mobilization by the other party. So, thinking strategically, who has the best chances of beating the GOP #1 OR, alternatively, who will not cause a rally cry to be raised throughout the GOP to defeat our candidate.

I am afraid of the angry mob, especially after the last eight years. It might be time for the Democrats to spend some time under the big top, at least until November 5, 2008.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Net-worked Neutrality


Yesterday, a handful of students, including myself, hosted the inaugural Symposium for the USF School of Law's Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, The Toll Roads? The Legal and Political Debate over Net Neutrality.

It was not until the end of the day that someone stopped me for a substantive question (not a "Where is the bathroom?" or "I need....") about the issue that was the topic of discussion.

I was finally asked what side of this important debate I was on.

I will be honest: I lean to the CopyLeft. And when I think about why I do, I remember that my main concern, starting with Eldred v. Ashcroft, is the fact that "information" is getting locked up for longer than need be (or profit motive really even warrants. I still urge the Supremes and Congress to really peruse the Economists' Brief submitted in that case.)

So, where does this leave me in the prospective world of information access online, specifically the free flow of all information.

Once again, perhaps NetLeft?

I do not know.

What I do know is that I had hoped that by bringing together a group of brilliant minds, with such diverse backgrounds, that the 19 of them, 20 including CPUC Commissioner Rachelle Chong, could provide a communicative framework that would round out the issue for the average law student.

My colleagues at school were still left lost in the midst of technical jargon, the work of econometrics and equations, and rhetoric.

Did I fail?

No. Not in the sense that I know where I need to intercede myself in this debate.

It needs a communicator. The lack of traction in Congress, the lack of public adhesion, and the lack of common knowledge will continue to hurt this and other uber-technical issues.

Some say its premise is simple....but I still do not see the "stickiness." (Thanks, Gladwell.)

Well, let's cross our fingers and hope the good people at USC pay for me to figure this out over the next three years.

But I truly thank my fellow students who helped me yesterday. Out of the many people I go to school with, they allow me to leave SF knowing 4 other capable, intelligent, and passionate people who care about this and other IP issues.