Are Pictures on Twitter Public Domain? - AllTwitter - #DIY10

An interesting debate has sprung up as a result of a lawsuit over ownership rights of photos posted to Twitter. The lawsuit between a large press organization and a photojournalist boils down to one simple question: do you own the content you publish on Twitter?

As reported on PaidContent, Agence France-Presse (AFP) is suing photojournalist Daniel Morel against his claims that they stole photos that he had taken and posted to Twitter.

Morel asserts that the AFP took his photos without his permission – while the AFP maintains they’re free for the taking because of where they were published.

The details of this litigation really point to a sticky situation when it comes to copyright online.

The photos in question were taken by Morel during the earthquake in Haiti back in January. Morel had uploaded the photos to TwitPic, and advertised that they were for sale on Twitter, linking back to the pictures.

These actions are nothing new, and are an attractive, low-cost way to advertise products and services as a photojournalist.

However, the photos ended up being published by AFP and a number of other news organizations – including Getty Images, ABC, CBS and CNN, all of which are also named in Morel’s suit – without Morel receiving any compensation.

AFP’s response to the allegations that they stole his content was a counter-suit. It claims that Twitter’s terms of use clearly state that third parties have a right to the broad re-use of content posted on Twitter.

However, within the “Your Rights” section of Twitter’s Terms of Service is the following statement:

“This license is you authorizing us to make your Tweets available to the rest of the world and to let others do the same. But what’s yours is yours – you own your content.”

This would appear to deflate AFP’s claims and bolster Morel’s, as the photojournalist should own his own content if bound by these terms as all Twitter users are.

This lawsuit is one to watch if you’re a publisher of any type on Twitter. Ownership is a big deal online, and you deserve to know your rights when you post images, video or content that you created.

Betaville: an open-source multiplayer environment for real cities

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From the site:

"Betaville is an open-source multiplayer environment for real cities, in which ideas for new works of public art, architecture, urban design, and development can be shared, discussed, tweaked, and brought to maturity in context, and with the kind of broad participation people take for granted in open source software development...

The Betaville platform is designed to be deployable by individuals, small groups (say, a project class or a neighborhood association), all the way up to professional design firms and planning offices of major cities: any group that is serious about offering a proposal in the spirit of a programmer's RFC (request for comment). In this case, the proposal takes the form of a 3D model set in a "mirror world" of the local context, with a built-in discussion forum, and provision for multiple iterations... the environment can accept models from authoring tools as simple as Google Sketchup, or as elaborate as Autodesk Maya. Anyone with access to a web browser can contribute, and every contribution remains accessible...."

beautiful beautiful installation in Venice by Japanese architect Tetsuo Kondo: Cloudscapes

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‘ One of the most talked about installations at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice was Cloudscapes. Japanese architect Tetsuo Kondo and a German climate engineering firm Transsolar came together to put a cloud in a large interior space called the Corderie, a 316-meter-long space where ropes for Venetian ships were made. Visitors to the exhibit can walk through the cloud via a circular ramp that ascended 4.3 meters high. This feat of climate engineering is produced by blowing three layers of air into the space at different temperatures. Cool dry air at the bottom layer keeps the cloud up; warm, humid air in the middle creates the dense fog; hot, dry air sits on top. Click through for photos and video from the exhibition which will be on display in Venice through November 21, 2010. ‘ (via Flavorwire)'

Natalie Jeremijenko's Zoo without Cages: WHAT IS OOZ? « OOZ #DIY10

Description from the site:

"WHAT IS OOZ?

BRONX OOZ provides technological interfaces to facilitate interaction with nonhumans. Computer games and online communities are now popular ways to interact with virtual and simulated environments. By contrast OOZ —ZOO backwards and without cages—involves interfaces to facilitate interaction with natural systems, local environments and particularly with nonhuman urban inhabitants. The distributed OOZ interfaces are designed to script playful and generative interactions that demonstrate and explore the interconnections in urban ecosystems; that concretize new ideals and formulations of human/non-human interaction; explicating the environmental services these organisms provide; and augmenting nutritional and habitat resources for these human cohabitants.
Implemented interfaces included robotic water strider, geese, ducks for interacting with biological counterparts.

The BRONX OOZ is a cultural and ecological program in development, supported and hosted by the Bronx River Arts Center (BRAC). Support has also been secured by Van Allen Institute awarding The New York Prize Fellowship in Sustainable Cities and the Social Sciences (jointly with the Social Science Research Council): A fellowship supporting critical inquiry and experimental practices that explore, challenge and expand conventional definitions of public architecture. Additionally, it’s supported by the Architectural League of New York – as a finalist in their recent commission architects, artists, designers, technologists, engineers and related practitioners to produce urban interventions that demonstrate alternative trajectories for imagining this near future Sentient City. Situated Technologies."

A Peek Behind Previously Closed Doors with Power to the Pixel | ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network

Unless you’ve presented a slide deck to potential production partners and financiers, the process of pitching a transmedia property probably seems like a foreign concept. Since 2007, Power to the Pixel’s Cross-Media Forum has sought to make this process more transparent. The centerpiece of the conference was The Pixel Pitch, where nine transmedia projects were pitched in an open forum before a jury of decision-makers, commissioners, and industry executives with a £6,000 prize on the line.

Michel Reilhac, the Executive Director of ARTE France Cinéma, gave the first of two keynotes kicking off Power to the Pixel’s Cross-Media Forum on October 12, discussing The Game-ification of Life. In his keynote, Reilhac recognized that the ubiquity of gaming culture is a reality that cannot be ignored in storytelling and experience design.

Reilhac traces the gamification of life through cash incentive, loyalty, and status reward systems. He notes that in gaming culture, the status / bragging mechanic is the most powerful tool for interaction, citing the prestige of having a platinum airline mileage card, earning Foursquare badges, and gaining social equity through Twitter followers as examples. Just as players turn to games to satisfy different motivations, transmedia participants seek different methods of interacting with stories. Specifically addressing alternate reality games, Reihlac celebrates the genre’s ability to empower players, not through an avatar, but as themselves. Alternate reality games engender trust that extends beyond the game and into the real world.

The second keynote was delivered by Campfire Media’s Mike Monello with the alliterative title Babies, Buns and Buzzers, a historical look at the last century of experiential entertainment told through the framework of Coney Island, and running through an ARGFest-spawned obsession with tiki bars (along with a brief mention of Campfire’s work, including the multi-platform viral campaign leading up to author Andrea Cremer’s Nightshade).

Monello explains that in his mind, “transmedia is not just a buzzword. It’s…the form of story that’s closest to how we perceive the world.” He hearkens back to early examples of experience design with George Tilyou’s death-trap experience design at Coney Island, where lines would be longer the day after a ride killed somebody. Monello noted that “Blowhole Theater” viewing platforms were key factors of the experience, where men were assaulted with electric prods and women were pushed over blowholes for the edification of an excited audience. Reiterating Tilyou’s philosophy, Monello explained that “customers would pay for the privilege of entertaining other customers, and that people liked seeing shows, but they liked seeing other people more.” Monello continued discussing elements of design through other Coney Island fixtures: baby incubators that helped make the issue of premature birth tangible; Nathan’s hot dog stand’s launch fostering self-discovery; and culminating in The Tingler, a horror film wired with buzzers.

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