Monday, May 09, 2005
What Does Blog Reflections & Copyrighting Have in Common?
There has been a rash of blog news making headlines (NYTIMES article) lately. New bloggers are also blooming up everyday; and in my humble opinion, it's a great time to be a writer.
Just this morning, I was having some watercooler talk about the power of blogs. I then started reminiscing as to why I started blogging. Initially, it was out of pure frustration. There are great stories happening within every school. But I actually wanted to profile people, theories, events, news and educational/library happenings for the 21st century learner (among other things of course). In the past, I tried to "shop" these ideas to local newspapers and broadcast stations only to hear "it's not newsworthy enough for us." Well it is to me! And personally, I find it hard to understand how a reporter can give information on the "state of education, technology and libraries" if they're not stationed in schools (as their beat). But that's another story. I have also found in the past that if a news crew came to your school to do a story, you probably would never see them again. So blogs allowed for these stories to germinate and continue without MSM (mainstream media) approval. Why should I have to wait for MSM to decide if something is a good story or not? I promise I am not bashing....just reflecting.
That's why I took to blogging. In the past, a web page (I'mHTMLclueless) was just too darn difficult to make and who wants to constantly badger a tech department employee to post winning scores, teacher profiles etc.? They have enough to do.
So when do I get to the copyright issue? I got way off track...sorry. Well, I am still not 100% clear about what to tell new bloggers regarding copyright and their personal blogs. However, I do know if you blog for a company, your work becomes owned by the company you work for. I did find a pretty comprehensive article People are starting Weblogs in growing numbers, but the owner of the content isn't always clear By John Foley InformationWeek
I am also open to the copyright experts out there to provide some expertise.
Just this morning, I was having some watercooler talk about the power of blogs. I then started reminiscing as to why I started blogging. Initially, it was out of pure frustration. There are great stories happening within every school. But I actually wanted to profile people, theories, events, news and educational/library happenings for the 21st century learner (among other things of course). In the past, I tried to "shop" these ideas to local newspapers and broadcast stations only to hear "it's not newsworthy enough for us." Well it is to me! And personally, I find it hard to understand how a reporter can give information on the "state of education, technology and libraries" if they're not stationed in schools (as their beat). But that's another story. I have also found in the past that if a news crew came to your school to do a story, you probably would never see them again. So blogs allowed for these stories to germinate and continue without MSM (mainstream media) approval. Why should I have to wait for MSM to decide if something is a good story or not? I promise I am not bashing....just reflecting.
That's why I took to blogging. In the past, a web page (I'mHTMLclueless) was just too darn difficult to make and who wants to constantly badger a tech department employee to post winning scores, teacher profiles etc.? They have enough to do.
So when do I get to the copyright issue? I got way off track...sorry. Well, I am still not 100% clear about what to tell new bloggers regarding copyright and their personal blogs. However, I do know if you blog for a company, your work becomes owned by the company you work for. I did find a pretty comprehensive article People are starting Weblogs in growing numbers, but the owner of the content isn't always clear By John Foley InformationWeek
I am also open to the copyright experts out there to provide some expertise.
# posted by Mrs.Bowllan @ 12:45 PM 
