Current event

The event i chose to write about is the New York City subway hero ridiculous contract.

Daily News Newspaper Article
Subway hero Wesley Autrey stands by the spot where he jumped onto the tracks to rescue a man who fell onto them during a seizure in January.The subway superman now has his very own set of archenemies.Wesley Autrey is suing a lawyer and her Hollywood hotshot partner - accusing them of ripping him off before he's even made any money.

They persuaded the underground superhero to sign a deal giving them 50% of his earnings - far more than the standard 15% or 20% found in entertainment contracts.

They convinced Autrey he could capitalize on his selfless, death-defying act of heroism - leaping from a Harlem subway platform in January to save a stranger's life as a train rolled over both of them.

Now Autrey, 50, is trying to get out of the contract signed with former Queens prosecutor Diane Kleiman and deal maker Mark Anthony."We're trying to get him out of the water with the sharks," said his sister Linda Autrey.According to the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Kleiman dropped in last month on a Waldorf-Astoria reception where Autrey was a guest of honor and offered free legal services to his family.Two days later, she brought in Anthony - who also goes by Marco Antonio - and talked up how his Hollywood contacts could get Autrey "a lot of money.

"Kleiman said Mark can make things happen, including a movie of [Autrey's] life," the lawsuit charged.The pair allegedly pressured Autrey into signing away 50% of his gross income, and even tried to demand travel expenses from New York magazine, which was profiling him and a Long Island elementary school where he was set to speak.The pair planned to pitch books and movies built around Autrey's life - with fictional tweaks to his life story that would turn him into a terrorism-fighting everyman. They also hoped to secure an endorsement deal with a cigar company."What he was getting was little piddly deals - a few hundred bucks here, a few hundred there," Kleiman said. "We wanted to sign him up for multimillion dollar deals.

"Kleiman and Anthony also pleaded with him to "act fast," the lawsuit charged, because a grand jury ruling in the police shooting of Sean Bell would quickly knock him from the headlines.But Kleiman - who filed a federal lawsuit after she was fired as a U.S. customs agent in 1999 - said Autrey is now trying to come off as a simpleton when he actually knew exactly what he was signing."They knew it was 50%," she said.The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for Autrey and to have the contract voided.

Online Article

Wesley Autrey Sr. says in court papers he signed the contract Feb. 12 without reading it, agreeing that lawyer Diane L. Kleiman would represent and advise him in financial and other matters stemming from his subway heroism.

Autrey, a 50-year-old Bronx construction worker, says in court papers that the contract is "a one-sided agreement" he was induced to sign by "fraud" and that it gives the lion's share of everything he earns to Kleiman and her business partner, Marco Antonio Esposito, operator of an entertainment production company.

Autrey's lawsuit asks the court to declare the contract void. Kleiman, a former prosecutor, denied on Monday that she had cheated Autrey. She said Autrey and several family members read the contract after keeping it for several days.

"Somebody made him a better offer," Kleiman said, speculating on why Autrey wanted to get rid of her. "They (Autrey's family) are playing people off against each other.

"Autrey's lawsuit, filed Friday, says the contract gives Kleiman and Esposito exclusive rights to exploit his name and reputation and gives them ownership of intellectual property rights to his story. The contract also gives Kleiman and Esposito the right to receive all gross receipts from commercial exploitation of Autrey's name and to keep half those receipts, whether or not they helped generate the money, court papers say.

Autrey must give up his right to a trial by jury in any dispute with Kleiman and instead go to arbitration, in which he could be required to pay her legal fees, court papers say. Autrey grabbed public attention on Jan. 2, 2007, after Cameron Hollopeter, a 19-year-old student at the New York Film Academy, suffered a seizure and fell onto the subway tracks at the 137th Street/City College station. Standing on the subway platform with his two young daughters and scores of other commuters as a train approached, Autrey saw Hollopeter convulsing on the tracks. He jumped down and pulled the teen into the 12-inch-deep drainage trough between the tracks and lay on top of him as the train passed over their heads. The train grazed the top of Autrey's hat, and he and Hollopeter remained under a car for 20 minutes while MTA workers shut off the electrified third rail.

Different but also very Similar

Few differences are found between the online and print versions in terms of news supply. Reader attention to the news stories varies, depending on the newspaper and news category. No consistent reading pattern is evident and the print version readers do not read more than the online version readers. News Consumption seems to be more dependent on the news category, reader gender and interest in a particular topic than on whether the news appears in print or online. Finally, on the basis of cued and free recall questions, no consistent pattern differentiates readers of the print newspapers from the online versions.

Differences

There are several differences between these two articles. The title is the first difference. In the newspaper article the title of the story is "Subway Hero Needs Saving," and the title for the online article is "NYC Subway Hero Sues Lawyer Over 'Unfair Contract." As you can see, the newspaper chose to keep the title short, simple, unique, but still catches the readers eye. But the online article chose to explain what the article is through its title.Another difference is the photos. The newspaper chose to use a photo of the man in the exact subway station where he rescued the man. And the online article chose to just use a simple picture of the man.In the beginning of the newspaper article, they chose to first write about how this man rescued someone off of the train tracks. But online article went straight into the story and why he is suing. It is much easier to find an article online, because all you have to do is type in the subject. But in the newspapers, you must go through pages to find the article that you are looking for.

The printed version of a particular journal may differ in its content, appearance and presentation from its electronic ‘equivalent’.
Some articles may not be available online.
The electronic version may have added-value features such as links to extra related information or other articles.
Most electronic versions are presented in PDF (Portable Display Format) format, which requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader software to be installed on the computer. This enables the article to appear exactly the same as the printed version including pictures, graphs, figures, etc.
Some are also available in HTML format which appears as a normal web page. This has various advantages: extra links can be added to related material; it loads more quickly than Adobe; does not require Adobe to be installed.
Often the electronic version will be loaded and available before the printed version is received, either due to printing/postal delays or because articles are loaded as soon as they have been peer-reviewed and before ‘publication date’.

My Opionion

Yes, there many differences and similarities between print articles and online articles, but they are both very useful, and if you cant find information in one, then you can find it in the other.

References-

JoEy, Journals Electronically, 08 August 2006

Electronic Journal Frequently Asked Questions, 30 March 2007, from

http://www.inf.aber.ac.uk/elecinfo/ejournalfaq.asp

cbs5, NYC Subway Hero Sues Lawyer Over 'Unfair Contract', 27 March 2007

U.S. and World, 29 March 2007, from

http://cbs5.com/national/topstories_story_086095227.html

Leen d’Haenens , News in Online and Print Newspapers: Differences , 2004

Sage Journals Online, 29 March 2007, from

http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/6/3/363

Jose Martinez, Daily News Newspaper article. Tuesday March 27, 2007

Blogz on Politicianz

The blog I decided to choose, was the Politician blog on Hillary Rodham Clinton.

New York Times
The blogs is from the Caucus; political blogging from the New York times and the title is Clinton invokes 9/11 with firefighters. Hillary Clinton discuss ways that she will help firefighters whenever they were in need. She recalled Sept. 11 at length and the sacrifices and burdens of firefighters and first-responders that day and afterward – remarks that only made one wonder what kind of a speech Rudy Giuliani would have given if he had chosen to attend the conference. She also received a cheering standing ovation when she said, about politicians’ vows of support for firefighters, “It’s great for the photo ops but how about taking care of the people who have taken care” of the nation. Basically Hillary Clinton wanted all the firefighters to now that she will be their for them in the future if they elect her for upcoming presidency. This speech was a way for her to get all the firefighters vote for the election.

Blogger
The person who wrote this blog, was a writer for the New York Times named, Patrick Healy. The blog was posted March 14Th 2007, at 1:00 p.m. The blog was basically a good tone for Hillary Clinton. It shows how she is lending a helping hand to the future firefighters in need. This blog was both good and bad for Hillary Clinton. Even thought this blog has note been posted for a long period, there still have been many views from people just checking it out and finding out what the blog is about.

Negative comment on Blog
"I have no doubt that Clinton has what it takes to be president. She has been a politician most of her life for all practical purposes. I just don’t believe her on the issues because she won’t take a stand on any of them. I also resent her exploitation of the 9/11 tragedy to get VOTES. I must admit that she is no guiltier than any of the rest in exploiting the deaths, injuries and maiming of thousands of Americans on our own soil for political gain." This was a comment posted by a woman name Lisa, on March 14Th 2007, at 2:08 p.m.. She feels that Hillary Clinton is using the 9/11 tragedy to get votes and doesn't feel that it is acceptable. Even though the blog was discussing something good, there was still negative feedback from people. Even the good can still be looked at as a bad issue.

Positive comment on Blog
"Now that the fund is running out this year, she has asked for additional funds so that we can continue with the medical treatment of those affected by 9/11. Many people in NY (including me) have voted for her this past election because we have seen what a hard-worker she is in advocating for New York. Even many Republicans from upstate NY have voted for her. I think these firefighters have heard from NYC firefighters what a great leader she is." This was a site comment posted by a woman named Helen on March 14Th 2007, at 2:27 p.m. Unlike the first comment, this woman feels that Hillary Clinton's act and speech was great for New York City. She wants people to realize how good Hillary Clinton has been to the NYC, and hopefully others will realize when election time comes around.

Article
Rheingold argues that when people spread the idea that electronic networks are inherently democratic without specifying the hard work that must be done to harvest that democratising power, they can become unwitting agents of commodification. Habermas makes a distinction between the critical functions of communicative processes and functions that aim to influence the decision of consumers, voters and clients. The critical functions are self-regulated and inclusive, while those aiming to influence are implemented by organisations that aim to promote purchasing power, loyalty or conformist behaviour. These two functions compete with each other. The principle of publicity turns “against itself and thereby reduces its critical efficacy” (Habermas in Calhoun, 1993: 437). This was discussed in the article "Does the internet create Democracy?" by Alinta Thornton. In my opinion I have to agree and disagree with that question.

Yes internet does manipulate
The internet somewhat creates Democracy because there are so many articles and blogs that tries to either manipulate people into voting for a particular candidate. Certain blogs will discuss only good things about a politician and leave the bad issues out. The same thing happens with blogs that bad mouths politicians, so people wont vote for them. Some Americans spend half their day on the internet so they are easily manipulated by blogs and articles online.

No it doesn't
But some people could careless about articles on the internet. Many people may read a blog but pay no mind to it at all. They will go with there cut instinct on who they should vote for. And a lot of people will just look at articles and blogs on the internet just to see how everyone feels about the candidates or politicians. Bu in my honest opinion.

My Opinion
But in my honest opinion, I feel that the internet really does have a huge affect on certain peoples votes, because people are easily manipulated. Anything someone says then they feel that the person is either right or wrong. People don't dig deep anymore and find out the truth, they rather go with other people opinions. Just a bunch of COPYCATS.

Refrences-

Thornton, Alinta, Does Internet Create Democracy?, October 2007
M.A. Journalism Thesis, 25 March 2007, from
http://www.wr.com.au/democracy/index.html. Accessed 2001-10-01.

Healy, Patrick, Clinton invokes 9/11 with firefighters, 14 March 2007
New York Times, The Caucus, 25 March 2007, from
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/clinton-invokes-911-with-firefighters/

My Online Community

Community-

In my Communication 125 intro to internet class, My professor Derek Lackaff defines community as a social institution, comprised of people who identify as a group.

Virtual/Online Community-

Wikipedia defines a virtual community or online community as a group of people that may or may not primarily or initially communicate or interact via the Internet. Online communities have also become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other in real life. The dawn of the "information age" found groups communicating electronically rather than face to face.

There are millions of communities from offline to online. I am currently in so many different communities, but the online community that i like the most, has to be MySpace.

Myspace-

MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos. MySpace also features an internal search engine and an internal e-mail system. Created in 2003, MySpace is currently the world's sixth most popular English-language website, and the third most popular website in the United States. In my opinion, MySpace is definitely one of the largest online communities.

MySpace can be used for numerous reasons. MySpace can help you stay in touch with your relatives and can help you reunite with old high school or college friends by just typing in their full name. MySpace consist of emails and instant messages so you can communicate with others. It also has blogs, where people can post whatever they would like or whatever that's on their mind and have their friends look at it and comment on it. Forums is another huge thing on MySpace. There are so many different forums on so many different topics, so anyone can just go check for a forum they like and go chat about it with other people. Ever since MySpace has been created, it has been known as the site where anyone anywhere can communicate and interact with other people, whether you know them or not. I actually use MySpace almost every single day.

Negatives and some Positives-

But even though there are so many different ways to communicate with others on MySpace, it still has it negatives. So many people have MySpace and anyone can lie about how they look or who they are. Its so easy to put fake pictures up and people can act a certain way online but in person, their character is totally different. Some people say that online communities can also be very difficult to build social ties (relationship) with others. Not seeing the other person face to face can make it very difficult to build a friendship. All people do is type back and forth. They don't meet each other for lunch or see each other during the day. The only time they can communicate is when they are both online. You cannot see the other persons facial expressions, or hear their voice. You can only see letters and words that they are typing to you. how can this be a real community without having a real social relationship with others?

I don't like to discuss my social life to everyone but i slightly disagree with the Non-building of social ties through online communities. I have actually made some close friends on MySpace; all of them are women. It is so much easier to speak to a person online rather than face to face. We would chat for a while and really get to know each other better. Then when we both feel comfortable, we would exchange cell numbers. Then we would set up a date to meet for lunch or dinner. I have met a lot of women online and i have a variety of relationship ties with them. In some ways social ties can be difficult to build with someone online, but in other ways if you feel comfortable with the person and have a lot of conversations with them, then a close a relationship can be made.

Similarities and Differences-

My online communities are similar and also different to my offline communities. It is easy to have a conversation, play games, meet different people and learn different things on bother my online and offline communities. But a big difference between the two can be first impression. You actually see the person face to face on offline communities rather than online. Offline communities also allows you to build social ties much faster than online. But it is easier to discuss private things online rather than actually telling a person face to face on your offline community.

Whether it is an Offline or Online community, it is still looked at as a community; a group of people who has something in common and enjoy the community that they are in. If they didn't enjoy it, then they wouldn't be in it.

References-

Virtual community/Online community, from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia, 20 March 2007, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_community

Myspace, from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia, 23 February 2007, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MySpace

Community, University at Buffalo class- Comm 125UB, 19 March 2007

Professor Derek Lackaff, 20 March 2007, from

Gotta be in the 9AM class ;-)

Steal my Identity, Nah.... Neva Dat

AOL, AIM, Yahoo, etc., these are just some of the many sites that I am a part of. But the site that I am most familiar with would have to be MySpace.

MySpace

MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos. MySpace also features an internal search engine and an internal e-mail system. Created in 2003, MySpace is currently the world's sixth most popular English-language website, and the third most popular website in the United States. So just with those statistics alone, you can see that MySpace a site that rapidly caught every internet surfers eyes, and either majority of people has a MySpace account or knows someone that has a MySpace account.

MySpace is not confusing at all, in my opinion, it is the easiest site to use. If someone is trying to get Myspace, they would have to first create an account which is about a three step process. First you need an email and a domain (which is the organization that provides the account) in order to get a MySpace account. Next, you have to make up a name or slogan that you would like people to call you by and then you can put some information about yourself that you would like people to know. Finally, if you choose to, you can post a picture of yourself on the site. Now you are done and can chat with whoever you would like to anywhere around the world.

Tools

MySpace can be used for numerous reasons. MySpace can help you stay in touch with your relatives and can help you reunite with old high school or college friends by just typing in their full name. MySpace consist of emails and instant messages so you can communicate with others. It also has blogs, where people can post whatever they would like or whatever that's on their mind and have their friends look at it and comment on it. Forums is another huge thing on MySpace. There are so many different forums on so many different topics, so anyone can just get check for a forum they like and go chat about it with other people.

Ever since MySpace has been created, it has been known as the site where anyone anywhere can communicate and interact with other people, whether you know them or not. For instance, I love to talk to woman, so I'm always chatting and interacting with woman while I'm on Myspace. All you have to do is click on search, then check for a particular sex and go browsing for people to start a conversation with. After chatting with that particular person for a while, you then build a bond with them, that can either lead to a friendship or even a relationship. It is definitely not hard to interact with people on MySpace, and it is way easier getting to know a person through MySpace, because there is no shy tension like being face-to-face with someone and getting nervous and hoping to god that you don't say anything stupid. It's a very relaxing and easy way to communicate.

Safety

Myspace also worries about peoples safety, so it allows you to put your page on private, so no one can see your pictures or information about yourself, unless they are on your friend list. Also for people under the age of 18, it automatically puts their page on private because they are under age. But for crazy scenarios, like someone annoying you or maybe harassing you, then you can either block the person for sending you messages and viewing your page, or you can report abuse to the MySpace staff and have that person kicked off the site.

Myself

In my opinion, MySpace is a great site to communicate with friends and others. It has so many different tools to chat or find particular things that interest you, like emails, blogs, forums, music, instant message, etc. Plus MySpace is is free, so instead of wasting your valuable cell phone minutes, you can just chat with all your friends on MySpace with no cost. I just speak to gorgeous woman through a computer. Besides my cell phone, MySpace is my number one use of communication.

Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when a criminal uses another person's personal information to take on that person's identity. Identity theft is much more than misuse of a Social Security number-it can also include credit card and mail fraud. But that is the overall definition of identity theft. There is also online identity theft. People actually trying to steal your screenname, password, account, etc. Have you ever heard of the term "phishing," it basically entails a practice of sending out fake-emails to individuals under the guise of a well-known company such as a bank or even eBay. When the individual receives the e-mail and click on the link contained in the email, they will be immediately taken to a fake website that will request account information. Basically people hardly notice these websites and it really sucks because the fill things out and then get their identity stolen. That's just one way people can steal your identity online. Another way is an example of stealing someones identity through MySpace. Some people like to put their email address on their pages, and then they mention some of their most favorite things or loved ones in their family. Of course a hacker will try to use any evidence on your page to figure out your password and then steal your account.

Protection from Identity Theft

No one would like to see their MySpace light on knowing that its not them using their account. So if this ever happens to you or someone you know, just tell the person to change their password to something complicated. The hacker wont be able to retrieve that password because they would need you email account password to get it. Its a very complicated situation but just make sure you change your password immediately. Another way to protect yourself is Roboform. Roboform is a proprietary software password management program developed by Siber Systems. It is available for many web browsers, but mainly supports Internet Explorer (and other browsers based on it), Mozilla Firefox, and Netscape, as well as support for Palm and PocketPC. It basically Protects your password and automatically logs you into the site. It also generates random passwords that cannot be generated by hackers.

I Hardly worry about identity theft because my password is to difficult for anyone to figure out and also my page is private so no one besides my close friends can view my general information. So until I see my account on MySpace is logged on and its not me, I wont be worrying to much about identity theft

Refrences-

Myspace, from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia, 23 February 2007, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MySpace

Roboform, from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia, 23 February 2007, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roboform

Electronical fact sheet, Identity Theft, (Novermber 2006)

social security online, 23 February 2007, from

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/idtheft.htm

ProfilePitstop, Identity Theft and MySpace Phishing, 23 February 2007, from

http://www.profilepitstop.com/articles/myspace/identity-theft-and-myspace-phishing.php

Donath, J. S. , Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community, (12 November 2006)
Communities in Cyberspace, 23 February 2007, from

http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html

Privacy doesnt exist

Wikipedia defines Privacy as the ability of an individual or group to keep their lives and personal affairs out of the public view, or to control the flow of information about themselves. Privacy can also be seen as an aspect of security.

Wikipedia defines Internet Privacy as consist of privacy over the media of the inrenet: the ability to control what information one reveals about oneself over the internet and to control who can access the information.

I define Privacy and Internet Privacy as information for that person and only that person. So unless that person gives you the right to that information, everyone else should mind there own business.

The internet is full of people trying to get your username, password, or try to read your email, not giving a damn about your privacy. One of the main groups that invades our privacy on an everyday basis is our own government. The government feels that they should know anything and everything that occurs in our daily lives. What ever happen to the Fourth Amendment, saying that our privacy to our home, papers, and other information should be secure and not violated by anyone. Why have this amendment if the government is going to totally ignore it. The government invading our internet privacy has definitely increase after the September 11th attacks on our country. The government claims the the internet can be used by hate groups for recruiting, or for terrorist to coordinate, plan, and fund their attacks. In order to keep terrorist from planning another attack, the FBI has stepped up there internet and other surveillance. So you know what that means. No internet privacy for anyone what so ever. Now the government and FBI can see everything we do on the internet. if its chatting with friends on Myspace, or surfing the net, and even emailing your partner some sexy pictures of yourself, you can guarantee that the FBI has seen them, and its not fair at all. We aren't terrorist, so why should us Americans be violated. Its been six years since the 9/11 attacks, and the government is still invading our privacy. Its not about terrorist anymore, its about the government having control over every single thing we do.

Internet is the main electronic device that billions of people use to chat with one another and communicate with people all around the world. Everyone uses the internet, even children. So that brings me to the advantages of the government invading our privacy. The government has arrested and convicted so many sexual predators on the internet. The internet was the easiest was for predators to attack innocent children, and now the government has done something about it and all those disgusting predators are getting caught.

There are also devices that invades our software such as Spyware. Spyware is a computer software that collects personal information about users without their informed consent. Personal information is secretly recorded with a variety of tecniques, including logging keystrokes, recording internet web browsing, and scanning documents on the computers hard dick. Wow talk about invading our privacy. Spyware basically get access to all your net surfing and every site that you have been on. My old computer back home had caught spyware before. Its crazy because the computer started to go super slow and I couldn't download anything on it. Since the computer was already old we just threw it away and purchased another. Spyware is like a tick, it sticks to your computer and sucks the life out of it.


There is no such thing as privacy anymore. Just turn on your television or open up a magazine, and you will see some famous persons privacy being invaded. Can you imagine being famous and having people try to take pictures of every little thing you do, and try to get access of every site you check on the internet. Well guess what? Every American must be famous, besides the photo taking the government invades our internet privacy just as much as they invade famous peoples. You can now find cameras everywhere you go. Big or small, cameras is there looking right at you. So if you and your partner decides to do something sexual in a public place, there is a 90% chance that there is a camera recording everything. No matter what, our lives are invaded everyday. Our lives is like the movie "The Truman Show," always being recorded and invaded everyday, without us knowing, and definitely without our permission.


References-

Spyware, from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia, 16 Feburary 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyware

Internet Privacy, from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia, 16 Feburaray 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_privacy

Privacy, from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia, 16 Feburary 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy

Wendy Hart and Diana Johnson, Carnivore: Taking a Bite out of Internet Privacy, 2003
Professor Wiseman, Law and Internet, 16 Feburary 2007 from
http://gsulaw.gsu.edu/lawand/papers/su03/hart_johnson/

Sullivan, B., Privacy Lost: Does anybody care?, 17 October 2007,
MSNBC, 16 Feburary 2007, from
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221095/

Gifts

The internet today is a mix of the "free and fee," though it still remains in part of a gift economy. Certain sites and information are put on the internet and don't expect payment or anything else in return. Which demonstrates a gift economy; an economic system in which the prevalent mode of exchange is for goods and services to be given without explicit agreement upon a quid pro quo(the Latin term for the concept of "a favor for a favor"). Being in a gift economy just shows that you are not all about receiving something in return but about giving a gift because you feel good about it. Public good can also relate to a gift economy. Public goods are goods that anyone might benefit from, regardless of whether they have helped contribute to their production. An example can be watching the 2007 ball drop in Times Square. One person can see this the same way everyone else can. This is the same as a gift economy because the government pays money to have the ball drop every year. They don't expect anything in return, but for everyone not just one person to come out, have fun and enjoy the festivities. Another example can be our U.S. Army. The army goes to war for us, and protect our country from terrorist every single day and they don't expect anything in return from us, but respect. There is nothing wrong with giving something and not getting anything in return. The more you give or help someone than later on in life someone may help you or give you a gift.

Back to the internet. There are so many sites that doesn't have a fee and gives you so much information. An examples has to be the very known Myspace. Myspace is totally free, and it allows you to reconnect with old friends, chat and meet new people, listen to music for free, and etc. Another site is NFL.com. You can find out all the scores for football games, see game highlights, find out new information about athletes or team organizations and its all free. The same thing goes for Movies.com. It tells you information about the movie you are interested in, it shows you previews of the movie, and it gives it a rating from A-F. Basically letting you know if it is worth paying for or not. Internet is definitely a gift economy.
















The economy that i can place myself into has to be the economy of family. My family and I are always giving gifts and buying things for one another and not expecting anything in return. I just bought my older sister the new ipod speakers two weeks ago. I didn't buy her the speakers so i could get something in return. I bought it because i knew she wanted it and it would make her happy. Another example is my mom putting money in my bank account so i could buy groceries, she doesn't expect me to pay her the money back, she just knows that i can use it and wants to help out. In my opinion a gift doesn't even have to be something physical, it can even be emotional. I call my grandmother every other day just because that's what she wants and it makes her happy to know that I am ok. I do this to make her happy, not to get anything in return.






















I am not only in the economy of my family, but I am also in the economy of good deeds. Nothing is better than helping another person out. If i see an older woman struggling with her bags or groceries, I stop whatever it is I'm doing and i go help them out. I don't expect them to pay me for helping them, even if they try to give me money i say no thank you. I'm just happy to lend a helping hand. Another example is homeless people. Growing up in New York City, you see homeless people everywhere. There is not a day that i ride the train and i don't see a homeless person sleeping or asking for change and food. Even if it's my last dollar in my pocket, I would give it to the homeless person. Definitely not because i expect something in return, but because i know they need it more than I do. These examples can relate to the Usenet discussion groups, which is defined as a surprising amount of free help and information given out, often to complete strangers whom one may never meet again. Helping someone with directions, I know 99% of the time I wont meet that person again, but i still help them because they need it. But this occurs all the time. I see people helping one another almost everyday. And i Will continue to help people because its just the right thing to do, and hopefully when I am old and need help with groceries, some young woman or man help be just like I've helped others.

Gift economy, the economy of family, and the economy of good deeds, can all be put in the same category. The obligatory transfer, of inalienable objects or services, between related and mutually obligated transactors. Basically in normal people terms, it means giving someone you know or don't know a gift or a helping hand with no expectations of getting anything in return. The internet continues to expand its gift economy, and it is beneficial to every internet surfer.


References-

Kollock, P. 1999,"The economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace
Smith and Petter Kollick, communities in cyberspace, 8 Feburary 2007, from
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm

Kylie J. Veale, Internet gift economy, 12 december 2003
First Monday, volume 8, number 12, 09 Feburary 2007, from
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_12/veale/index.html

Gift economy, from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia, 09 feburary 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gift_economy

You Brought this on YOURSELF!!!!!!!

When something is "Copyright," that means it's for that person and ONLY that person....

Ha ha ha, the funny thing is, NOBODY CARES. Especially not the Internet. Downloading has become a huge factor in the past several years. Instead of paying for it, GET IT FOR FREE or cheap. Sounds great doesn't it? Besides going to jail, there's definitely some bad that comes out of illegal downloading. Let me explain.......

CDs

Everyone including myself has notice that CD sales has gone downhill in the past several years. I know its 2007, but i would like to show you an example with the comparison of CD sales in the year 2004 and 2005. In 2004 CD sales were at 650.8 million. In 2005 it went down nearly 50 million,with Cd's selling 602.2 million. That is a huge decrease, and I'm pretty sure people didn't just decide to all of a sudden not buy Cd's. Could "Illegal Downloading" be the reason why? Of course it is, in 2005 downloaded music reached 332.7 million, an increase of 148% on the previous year. Wow! what a big increase. I'm not even done, during the Christmas period in 2005, downloads shot up with a 9.6 million being sold. The biggest week on record for download sales. So just judging by the 2004-2005 statistics, you could only expect the worse for 2006.

Artist

What really sucks is that artists, such as, Dipset, JAy-Z, Keisha Cole, and Jadakiss are working so hard and putting all there time and effort into making a great album and they end up not selling as much albums as they should have and losing a huge amount of money because of illegal downloading. Whats the point of copyrighting a CD if people are still stealing it and making a profit for themselves. If i was in these artist position, then i would really be pissed off because the government keep saying that illegal downloading is a Federal offense, but its still being done and hardly anyone is being arrested. While Artist are paying there own money for studio time, and trying there best to promote there Cd's, some idiot is already outside with a bootleg copy of there album and selling it on the streets. Very unfair situation for the artist, making good music is there "job," and selling the albums is how they get paid. Artist basically need illegal downloaders to STOP STEALING.

DVDs and Movie Thearters

Not only did Cd's have a downfall in 2o05, but also DVDs with a 23% decrease. But unlike Cd's, DVDs increased again in 2006, so obviously people still want the real DVD instead of the bootleg version. Movie thearters has also felt the negatives of illegal downloading. As if they don't make billions already, movie thearters would make even more money if people weren't getting the bootleg copies. Illegal downloading really hurts some actors and actresses because some of them get paid a little money up-front then gets the rest on movie thearter and DVD sales. So if the movie or DVD doesn't sell, then they don't get paid.

IPODS and LIMEWIRE

This has to be every atrist and actors nightmare that came true. The creation of the IPOD. At first the IPOD was a great idea, and had so many positive aspects. It was small, easy to use, you could download all different type of songs, movies and videos on them. You could purchase your songs on Itunes or just buy some Cd's on put the songs on the album, onto your IPOD. But...... now the Negative aspects. People were doing illegal downloads of Cd's, so the government should have known that they would do the same for the IPOD. And that's where "LimeWire" comes up. Limewire is a site where people could download movies, videos, and songs for FREE onto there IPOD. Could you imagine how much illegal downloading increased after the IPOD was brought into the market. IPOD is a CD player, DVD player, and TV all put into one. So if the government, artist and other people want to blame someone, don't blame limewire, they should blame the creators of the IPOD. Every new device you make, we make sure we use it, either for FREE or CHEAP.

How I Feel about this......

I'm not gonna lie, I have purchased more than 100 bootleg Cd's and DVDs when i was in high school. And I've downloaded more than 1000 songs from limewire onto my IPOD. But......... every year CD prices have increased. Look how much Cd's cost nowadays, $23.99 for a new CD. that's a rip off because it cost less than a dollar to make a CD. Do you really think people want to pay that much money for a CD that they will listen for for maybe a month then forget all about it. Same thing goes for DVDs and movie thearters. In certain stores new DVDs goes from $21.99-$29.99. So much money for a movie that is less than 2 hours long. And in Manhattan, movie thearter prices are ridiculously high, $11.50 to watch ONE movie. That's just crazy. What if the movie sucks? That's nearly $12 down the drain and it could have been spent on something important such as food or transportation. So truthfully, like i said from the beginning, NOBODY including myself cares about what you copyright, when these outrageous prices lower then maybe and i mean MAYBE... people might stop downloading illegally. EYE for and EYE.

References-
BBC News, Entertainment (29 december 2005).

US CD album sales show 7% slide, January 31, 2007, from

http://newsbbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4566186.stm