Over the semester, I have made a variety of edits to Wikipedia. The project showed me that editing Wikipedia is very simple. It is interesting how users do not even need to create a username or sign-in to edit a Wikipedia page. Many people use Wikipedia, but I think few of those people ever consider adding or changing information on Wikipedia. While reading the required blogs, I found a post, "Wikipedia. Just how popular is it?, on the Global Neighbourhoods Blog. The article claims that over one third of online Americans have consulted Wikipedia. Rubel says he believes Wikipedia is 100% accurate as it will eventually correct itself. I think that the community nature of Wikipedia makes it very accurate, and it will only become more accurate and information rich as more and more users understand the ease involved in editing.
Although I found Wikipedia simple to edit, the edits I made generated little reaction from the community. All four articles that I chose had very little information when I began the series of edits. The topics are all very narrow, and there is not much information available. From travel and an internship, however, I knew a bit about each of my topics. Through the course of the semester I was able to add any information I have on the topics. Below I will discuss the evolution of each article:
Paderno del Grappa: While studying abroad, I lived in Paderno del Grappa for over three months. I decided that this would be a good Wikipedia article to edit since when I began editing the article there was so little information. I added everything I knew about Paderno, but since it is such a small town, the article is still very brief. I also added two links to external sites so anyone researching the town will be able to gather additional information. Since the time I began editing the article, only one other user edited the Paderno page. This user only added more information to the article, and did not change any of the information I contributed. After editing the Paderno del Grappa page several times, the page provides a more clear picture of where the town is located, the population, and the schools in the town.
Violet Oakley: This Wikipedia page also began with very little information. Through my series of edits, I added information about the artist's life, works of art, the group of artists to which she belonged, and external links. From the time I began edits, this article also received little reaction from the community. One user Wikilinked dates I added to the article, but did not make any other changes. The other community member who made changes to the Oakley page had previously made numerous additions to this page. This person simply added an infobox with general information about Oakley. It was nice to see positive additions to the article.
Edwin Austin Abbey: During the course of my edits to this Wikipedia page, no community members made any changes or added additional information. Like the others, this article contained very little information when I began the edits. I added information about Abbey's life, education, works of art, and links to outside sources. Although the article is still brief and classified as a "stub" by Wikipedia, I feel as though the article now provides a much more comprehensive overview of the artist.
Henry Chapman Mercer: Through my series of edits to the Henry Chapman Mercer article, no other members of the Wikipedia community made any contributions. Of the four, this article began as the weakest. I added information about Mercer's life, his works of art, an information box, outside links, and re-arranged the article so it is presented in a meaningful order. The article now provides much more information about Mercer, however, more could still be added. The information I added about Mercer is related to his works in the Pennsylvania Capitol Building. The Wikipedia article now slants toward that information, and not some of his other important commissions. This proves the importance of additions from many sources in Wikipedia.
Overall, my edits to Wikipedia generated little (or no!) reaction from the community. The Global Neighbourhoods Blog linked above claims Wikipedia to be 100% accurate. While this may be true for popular topics, my experience shows that for some topics, members of the community may not be watching. As Wikipedia becomes increasingly popular, more and more people will make changes to the site when they notice faulty information. I hope that my contributions provide useful information to Wikipedia users, and users add more information down the road. I have found editing Wikipedia to be very simple, and I will certainly add or change information on other Wikipedia articles in the future.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Teammate's Blog - Digg
While reading my teammate's blogs, I found an interesting post about Digg on
Drew Turner's Blog. We talked about Digg in class, but Drew actually added an article to the site. He said that creating an article and adding a story was very simple. This inspired me to check out Digg for myself. I found that Digg provided an interesting array of stories. This is a completely different way for people to access news. There are stories from a variety of topics, and from a variety of sources. Digg is just another example of how the internet shifts power to the common person. Stories on Digg's homepage were not picked by editors of major news websites, but instead by the users of Digg. Considering the ease of use and the variety of stories offered by Digg, I think Digg will continue to grow in popularity and become more mainstream in the next few months.
Drew Turner's Blog. We talked about Digg in class, but Drew actually added an article to the site. He said that creating an article and adding a story was very simple. This inspired me to check out Digg for myself. I found that Digg provided an interesting array of stories. This is a completely different way for people to access news. There are stories from a variety of topics, and from a variety of sources. Digg is just another example of how the internet shifts power to the common person. Stories on Digg's homepage were not picked by editors of major news websites, but instead by the users of Digg. Considering the ease of use and the variety of stories offered by Digg, I think Digg will continue to grow in popularity and become more mainstream in the next few months.
Slashdot - iPhone
While reading the required blogs, I came across the article FCC Approves iPhone on Slashdot. The article talks about a phone from Apple that is expected to hit shelves in June. The phone will combine a phone and MP3 and will have Bluetooth and WiFi. This product seems very interesting, and I am excited to see the product when it comes out. There are already phone/MP3 players on the market. The other products on the market hold very little music, making them unattractive to many buyers. I would be interested in the Apple phone if it holds a decent amount of music. The Slashdot article is very sparse; few details about the product are being released. Apple usually comes out with innovative products, so I am curious to see other iPhone features.
Wikipedia Edit - Edwin Austin Abbey
I just completed my third edit to the Edwin Austin Abbey Wikipedia Page. I added information about Abbey's illness and death. With the addition of this information about the later years of Abbey's life, I have added everything to the article that I have knowledge of at this time. This section included a lot of references to other Wikipedia pages, so I included links to other pages where necessary. Below is the text that I added to Wikipedia:
Unfortunately, Abbey became ill with cancer in 1911 slowing his work. At the time, he was working on the "Reading of the Declaration of Independence Mural" which was later installed in the House Chamber. Abbey was so ill, that his studio assistant, Ernest Board completed the work with little supervision from Abbey. Later in 1911, Abbey passed away, leaving his commission for the State Capitol of Pennsylvania unfinished. John Singer Sargent, a friend and neighbor of Abbey, and studio assistant Board completed the "Reading of the Declaration of Independence Mural." Abbey's works were installed in the Rotunda and House Chamber. Two rooms from Abbey's commission were left undone, and the remainder of the commission was given to Violet Oakley. Oakley completed the works from start to finish using her own designs.
Unfortunately, Abbey became ill with cancer in 1911 slowing his work. At the time, he was working on the "Reading of the Declaration of Independence Mural" which was later installed in the House Chamber. Abbey was so ill, that his studio assistant, Ernest Board completed the work with little supervision from Abbey. Later in 1911, Abbey passed away, leaving his commission for the State Capitol of Pennsylvania unfinished. John Singer Sargent, a friend and neighbor of Abbey, and studio assistant Board completed the "Reading of the Declaration of Independence Mural." Abbey's works were installed in the Rotunda and House Chamber. Two rooms from Abbey's commission were left undone, and the remainder of the commission was given to Violet Oakley. Oakley completed the works from start to finish using her own designs.
Wikipedia Edit - Henry Chapman Mercer
I just completed my third edit to the Henry Chapman Mercer Wikipedia Article.. The first thing I added was an information box about Mercer. This box should be helpful as quick reference to anyone looking at the article. The information box was extremely easy to add. I simply copied the code from another article which included the information box and pasted it into the code for the Mercer article. I then changed the information in the box to be appropriate for Mercer. I also added some additional text to the article. There was not much more that I could add to the article since I already included almost everything I know about Mercer. I added some information about Mercer's beliefs/influences, and a brief sentence about the Mercer Museum. I made sure to include links to other Wikipedia articles where appropriate. Below is the text that I added to the article in this edit:
Mercer believed that the American society was being destroyed by industrialism, which inspired his search for American Artifacts. Mercer founded Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in 1898 after apprenticing himself to a Pennsylvania German potter. Mercer was also influenced by the American Arts and Crafts Movement.
The Mercer Museum houses over forty thousand artifacts from early American society.
Mercer believed that the American society was being destroyed by industrialism, which inspired his search for American Artifacts. Mercer founded Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in 1898 after apprenticing himself to a Pennsylvania German potter. Mercer was also influenced by the American Arts and Crafts Movement.
The Mercer Museum houses over forty thousand artifacts from early American society.
Class Discussion
A great deal of our class discussion was focused on Search Engine Optimization, and we even experimented with the concept with the stiuqxela experiment. We also discussed vanity searches and person as a brand. Earlier in the semester after discussing vanity searches, I decided to do a vanity search. In the results, I could hardly find my blog as it appeared very late in the search results. I was behind all sorts of birth and death records from hundreds of years ago and even a series of novels with a main character who shares my name. After discussing search engine optimization, I decided I would attempt to optimize my blog to see if I could boost my results. I added a number of links to template of my blog including teammates blogs, class blog, wikipedia articles, and required reading blogs. Also in the template I included a section entitled "Anne Wylde's Blog" which described the purpose of the blog. The only other change I made was posting more. I just did another vanity Google search to find this blog as the top result: Google Search Results
John Battelle's Searchblog has a link to an interesting article, "Judges Say Google Background Checks are OK", about a ruling stating that background checks using Google are legal. This article demonstrates the necessity of performing a vanity search in order to determine what others may be deducing about you from the web. According to this ruing, it is legal for an employer to use information from the web for hiring/firing decisions.
John Battelle's Searchblog has a link to an interesting article, "Judges Say Google Background Checks are OK", about a ruling stating that background checks using Google are legal. This article demonstrates the necessity of performing a vanity search in order to determine what others may be deducing about you from the web. According to this ruing, it is legal for an employer to use information from the web for hiring/firing decisions.
ClickZ News - Google's Universal Search
While reading the required class blogs, I recently found an interesting article on ClickZ News. The article, called "Branding, SEO Implications for Google Universal Search" discusses the marketing implications for Google's new Universal Search. Google Universal Search was launched on May 17, and will eventually provide a search results page with images, videos playable on the results page, maps, and more. The "richer" search results page will have major effects on internet advertisers. Soon, advertisers will optimize videos so they appear in Google's results. It is likely that a "richer" form of multimedia content will appear higher in the search results, changing SEO. The ClickZ article also speculates as to what this means for its paid advertisements. "Brand advertisers" will likely wish to pay for advertising with multimedia content, however this could have an impact on advertisers already using AdWords.
I thought that this article was very interesting, and brought together a lot of the concepts we discussed in class throughout the semester. Google's new search results will definitely have a major impact on search. When videos can be played directly from the search results, this will change the idea of search engines being used in order to get to another place on the web. If Google eventually offers paid advertisements with multimedia content, this could take away from the opportunities small advertisers have with AdWords. An advertiser with a small budget who wishes to advertise using AdWords will likely be less effective when competing against advertisers in the same category using flashy videos. It will be interesting to see the effects that Google's new search engine results will have on search as a whole down the road.
I thought that this article was very interesting, and brought together a lot of the concepts we discussed in class throughout the semester. Google's new search results will definitely have a major impact on search. When videos can be played directly from the search results, this will change the idea of search engines being used in order to get to another place on the web. If Google eventually offers paid advertisements with multimedia content, this could take away from the opportunities small advertisers have with AdWords. An advertiser with a small budget who wishes to advertise using AdWords will likely be less effective when competing against advertisers in the same category using flashy videos. It will be interesting to see the effects that Google's new search engine results will have on search as a whole down the road.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Wikipedia Edit - Paderno del Grappa
I just completed another edit to the Paderno del Grappa page on Wikipedia. This article has become very difficult to edit. Paderno is a very small town, and there is not much information available about the town. Furthermore, since it is located in Italy, a great deal of the information that is available is in Italian. From my time in Paderno (and Italy), I got the impression that the Italians are less inclined to use technology than Americans. This is merely a cultural difference, as the Italians, in general, have a more relaxed way of life. Family is valued more than business. I say all of this, because I suspect that any information that may be available about the history of the town is not available on the web. Since there is no more content I can add to the page, I added an external links section. In the external links section, I put a link to a Google Map of Paderno del Grappa and a link to a translated version of the Paderno del Grappa website. The link to the map will allow people to see the exact location of the town and the proximity to other towns. I chose to put a translated link to the town's website since this is the English Wikipedia article. (There is also an articl about Paderno in Italian). People who choose to read this article on Wikipedia are English speakers, therefore a translated link is appropriate. Should Paderno publish more information on the website, this link will allow Wikipedia readers to discover this information.
Wikipedia Edit - Violet Oakley
I just completed another edit to the Violet Oakley Wikipedia Page. Like the others, there have been no changes to the article since my last edit. I began by adding an external link to the Violet Oakley biography by the PA CPC. I then added some information about the Pre-Raphaelite influence on Oakley. The previous version of the article drew the connection between Oakley and the Pre-Raphalites, but it did not explain the connection. I added the following text which illustrates how the Pre-Raphealite influence manifested in Oakley's work:
Like the Pre-Raphaelites, Oakley's works utilize color, capture luminosity, and portray philosophical beliefs. (Violet Oakley was committed to ideals of world peace, and wished to express this in her work.)
Like the Pre-Raphaelites, Oakley's works utilize color, capture luminosity, and portray philosophical beliefs. (Violet Oakley was committed to ideals of world peace, and wished to express this in her work.)
Wikipedia Edit - Henry Chapman Mercer
I just completed my next edit of the Henry Chapman Mercer Wikipedia Page
. Just like the Abbey page, the Mercer page has not been edited since my last edit. I began my edit by adding a link to the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee's biography of Mercer. This biography gives a more extensive look at Mercer than Wikipedia, especially in his work pertaining to the Capitol. I next rearranged some of the existing text in the article. The opening paragraph in the previous version of the article talked about buildings constructed by Mercer. Since the Wikipedia article is about Mercer, the article should open with background information. In addition, a later part of the article talks about one of these buildings. I did not change any text, but simply cut the previous opening paragraph and added it to a later spot in the article.
In fact, the article contained very biographical information about Mercer. I added a short paragraph about the artist in the beginning of the article. The following is the biographical information I added to the article:
Henry Chapman Mercer was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 1856. He was educated at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Mercer, however, only practiced law for a short period of time. The University of Pennsylvania Museum appointed Mercer as the Curator of American and Prehistoric Archeology in the early 1890's. Leaving his position with the Museum in the late 1890's, Mercer devoted himself to finding old American artifacts and learning about German pottery.
. Just like the Abbey page, the Mercer page has not been edited since my last edit. I began my edit by adding a link to the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee's biography of Mercer. This biography gives a more extensive look at Mercer than Wikipedia, especially in his work pertaining to the Capitol. I next rearranged some of the existing text in the article. The opening paragraph in the previous version of the article talked about buildings constructed by Mercer. Since the Wikipedia article is about Mercer, the article should open with background information. In addition, a later part of the article talks about one of these buildings. I did not change any text, but simply cut the previous opening paragraph and added it to a later spot in the article.
In fact, the article contained very biographical information about Mercer. I added a short paragraph about the artist in the beginning of the article. The following is the biographical information I added to the article:
Henry Chapman Mercer was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 1856. He was educated at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Mercer, however, only practiced law for a short period of time. The University of Pennsylvania Museum appointed Mercer as the Curator of American and Prehistoric Archeology in the early 1890's. Leaving his position with the Museum in the late 1890's, Mercer devoted himself to finding old American artifacts and learning about German pottery.
Wikipedia Edit - Edwin Austin Abbey
I just made another edit to the Edwin Austin Abbey Wikipedia Article. This article has not been edited by another user since my last edit over a week ago. I first added an external link to the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee's Biography on Abbey. Since Abbey completed a lot of work in the Capitol, this biography is useful. By exploring this external link, someone could find out a great deal of information regarding Abbey, and the Capitol as a whole. I also fixed a spot in the page where a link to another Wikipedia page merged with a word. Finally, I added some additional information about Edwin Austin Abbey's artwork. The article completely neglected to discuss his works in the House Chamber, so I made mention of this. I also added more extensive information about his frieze at the Boston Public Library.
The following is the paragraph from the Abbey article to which I made extensive edits. Some of this paragraph existed in the previous version of the article, but the majority I just added. Here is the paragraph as it now reads:
He completed murals for the Boston Public Library in the 1890s. The frieze for the Library was titled "The Quest for the Holy Grail." It took Abbey eleven years to complete this series of murals in his England studio. In 1908-1909, Abbey painted a number of murals and other artworks for the rotunda of the new Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His works in that building include allegorical medallions representing Science, Art, Justice, and Religion in the Capitol Rotunda, large lunette murals underneath the Capitol dome, and a number of works in the House Chamber.
The following is the paragraph from the Abbey article to which I made extensive edits. Some of this paragraph existed in the previous version of the article, but the majority I just added. Here is the paragraph as it now reads:
He completed murals for the Boston Public Library in the 1890s. The frieze for the Library was titled "The Quest for the Holy Grail." It took Abbey eleven years to complete this series of murals in his England studio. In 1908-1909, Abbey painted a number of murals and other artworks for the rotunda of the new Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His works in that building include allegorical medallions representing Science, Art, Justice, and Religion in the Capitol Rotunda, large lunette murals underneath the Capitol dome, and a number of works in the House Chamber.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Google AdSense
As we have been discussing in class, the internet has created a entirely new medium for advertising. I just added Google's AdSense to my blog, and it was an incredibly simple process. This program will show advertisements on my blog that are relevant to my blog's content. It is interesting how Google has combined the availability of crawling sites for content with advertising. In theory, I will get paid for each click on the AdSense advertisement. Since this blog does not likely receive much traffic, it will probably not generate very many clicks on the advertisements. Furthermore, the amount paid for each click is generally very small, depending on the advertiser. This is an interesting tool for sites receiving more traffic. The more traffic a site receives, the more clicks an advertisement will get, and the more profit the site hosting the ad will make. It is also important for marketers to understand this program. A marketer of a small, niche product/service could be very effective with advertisements hosted by AdSense. If a particular website has a lot of content relevant to a niche market, a marketer targeting that niche market can bid to host an ad on that site. Even if the click-through rate is small, this advertisement will be a more effective means of reaching the target (niche) market than an ad to the broader public.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Wikipedia Edit - Paderno del Grappa
My final Wikipedia edit of the day involves the Paderno del Grappa article. Since my last edit, this article has received a significant addition of information. The additional information was added on April 24 and further described the CIMBA program which is located in Paderno. I added basic information about towns close to Paderno, population, and elevation. The following is the text I added:
"The municipality of Paderno del Grappa is approximately 45 miles north of Venice, and in close to larger towns, Asolo and Bassano del Grappa, also in the Treviso province.
"The municipality of Paderno del Grappa is approximately 45 miles north of Venice, and in close to larger towns, Asolo and Bassano del Grappa, also in the Treviso province.
Paderno del Grappa has a population of 2,002 according to the 2001 National Census. The municipality is between 175 and 1.775 meters above sea level."
Since Paderno is such a small town, it is difficult to add information to this article. Hopefully other users with knowledge of Paderno will be able to add additional information.
Wikipedia Edit - Violet Oakley
I just made my second edit to the Violet Oakley Wikipedia article. Since my last edit, this article has only received minor formatting changes including linked dates and an information box. I added information about Oakley's works in the Governor's Reception Room in the Capitol. The following is the text I added to the article:
"Oakley was originally commissioned only for the murals in the Governor's Grand Reception Room, which she titled "The Founding of the State of Liberty Spiritual." In the fourteen reception room murals, Oakley depicts the story of William Penn and the founding of Pennsylvania. She conducted extensive research on the subject, even traveling to England. The series of murals was unveiled in the new Capitol Building in November 1906, shortly after the dedication of the building."
The Violet Oakley article began as a very short article. I have added a lot of additional information about Oakley's life and her work as an artist. Hopefully others will be able to contribute even more to this article.
"Oakley was originally commissioned only for the murals in the Governor's Grand Reception Room, which she titled "The Founding of the State of Liberty Spiritual." In the fourteen reception room murals, Oakley depicts the story of William Penn and the founding of Pennsylvania. She conducted extensive research on the subject, even traveling to England. The series of murals was unveiled in the new Capitol Building in November 1906, shortly after the dedication of the building."
The Violet Oakley article began as a very short article. I have added a lot of additional information about Oakley's life and her work as an artist. Hopefully others will be able to contribute even more to this article.
Wikipedia Edit - Henry Chapman Mercer
Henry Chapman Mercer is another American Artist with works in the Pennsylvania Capitol. Mercer is known for his "Moravian tile" designs on the floor of the Capitol. I just made an edit to the Henry Chapman Mercer Wikipedia Article. This article is also very brief, and has not received any major edits since the fall. I added the following text about Mercer's tile work:
"In the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Mercer created a series of mosaic images for the floor of the building. The series of four hundred mosaics trace the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from prehistoric times. The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the largest single collection of Mercer's tiles. Other collections of tiles by Mercer can be found at Rockefeller's New York estate, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the casino at Monte Carlo. "
I made sure to add links to other Wikipedia articles in this edit. The Mercer article is poorly organized, so I will address this problem in subsequent edits if not addressed by other members of the Wikipedia community.
"In the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Mercer created a series of mosaic images for the floor of the building. The series of four hundred mosaics trace the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from prehistoric times. The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the largest single collection of Mercer's tiles. Other collections of tiles by Mercer can be found at Rockefeller's New York estate, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the casino at Monte Carlo. "
I made sure to add links to other Wikipedia articles in this edit. The Mercer article is poorly organized, so I will address this problem in subsequent edits if not addressed by other members of the Wikipedia community.
Wikipedia Edit - Edwin Austin Abbey
I just made my first edit to the Edwin Austin Abbey Wikipedia page. The information on the page was short and lacking detail, so I added information about Abbey's early life. I also included links to other Wikipedia articles where appropriate in my edit. The last time a member of the Wikipedia community edited this article was less than a week ago, so I expect to get some reaction to my edit. The following is the text I added to the article:
"He studied art at [[the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts]] under Christian Schuessele. Abbey began as an illustrator, producing numerous illustrations and sketches for such magazines as [[Harper's Weekly]] and [[Scribner's Magazine]]. His illustrations began appearing in
[[Harper's Weekly]]at an early age: before Abbey was twenty years old. Abbey was an
illustrator with [[Harper's Weekly]] from 1871-1874."
"He studied art at [[the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts]] under Christian Schuessele. Abbey began as an illustrator, producing numerous illustrations and sketches for such magazines as [[Harper's Weekly]] and [[Scribner's Magazine]]. His illustrations began appearing in
[[Harper's Weekly]]at an early age: before Abbey was twenty years old. Abbey was an
illustrator with [[Harper's Weekly]] from 1871-1874."
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Stiuqxela
This post is part of an experiment for class. Before the experiment began, there were no search results for Stiuqxela. Each student taking BUAD 477 will include the word "stiuqxela" with a link to http://www.packers.com in his/her blog. We will watch how the various search engines react to the word "stiuqxela". It will be interesting to note how long it takes for each search engine to find the word, and in what order the pages are listed. This will help us to understand how the various search engines work and how marketers can use this knowledge to their advantage.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Teammate Blog
I recently found an interesting post on my teammate Kevin's blog. Kevin's blog post is about an individual suing Microsoft and Google for an ad concerning fraud in North Carolina appearing on the search engines. The court ruled that the ads are covered under free speech. Yesterday, in a post discussing the Viacom v. Google lawsuit, I talked about how internet technology creates new legal issues. This is another example the legal system to clarifying laws relating to the internet.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Healthcare and Blogs
While reading the class required blogs, I came across a blog post on Diva Marketing with an interesting subject. The article entitled Taking the Pulse of Healthcare Social Media Marketing discusses blogs covering healthcare information. This is one aspect of blogging which I have never considered. Clearly, the internet has provided consumers with more information than they know what to do with. This is generally a great thing as the more information we have at our fingertips, the better. When considering health, the internet has been both good and bad. People are more informed, and are able to find specialized information It has also allowed some to falsely believe that they are doctors. Reading an article about a particular illness or disease on WebMD does not provide enough information to diagnose and treat that illness or disease. This cases some people to not seek real medical healthcare. In other cases, people see prescription drug-related information on the internet (or television ads) and go to their doctor asking for an unneeded medicine. The internet does not replace live doctors.
The Diva Marketing Blog, however, presents another issue: health information taken from blogs. The article suggests that when looking for health information online consumers look for information with a "personal touch." A personal touch is exactly what blogs provide. According to the article, consumers are also put off by advertising (making them turn away from drug company web sites). The people behind the blogs, however, are not always impartial. No source of health information (blogs, government sites, or general sites) are impartial. People need to weigh all information taking into account where the information is coming from. The internet certainly allows for many outlooks on any given topic. Health related blogs will provide yet another outlook when it comes to health related issues. Hopefully, people will not substitute the personal touch offered by blogs for the personal touch offered by doctors.
The Diva Marketing Blog, however, presents another issue: health information taken from blogs. The article suggests that when looking for health information online consumers look for information with a "personal touch." A personal touch is exactly what blogs provide. According to the article, consumers are also put off by advertising (making them turn away from drug company web sites). The people behind the blogs, however, are not always impartial. No source of health information (blogs, government sites, or general sites) are impartial. People need to weigh all information taking into account where the information is coming from. The internet certainly allows for many outlooks on any given topic. Health related blogs will provide yet another outlook when it comes to health related issues. Hopefully, people will not substitute the personal touch offered by blogs for the personal touch offered by doctors.
Discussed in Class: Viacom v. Google
As discussed in class last week, Viacom is suing Google for $1 billion dollars. As owner of many popular television networks, including Comedy Central, many clips produced by Viacom appear on You Tube. Our class discussion involved a debate with half of the class arguing for Google and the other half arguing for Viacom. I can empathize with the position of both companies. Viacom is in the business of producing television shows. Viacom expects sole profit for the work they create, and Google is earning advertising profits (some of Viacom's shows are the most viewed clips on YouTube) on Viacom's copyrighted material. Google, however, is complying with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. You Tube must take clips of copyrighted material down, if asked to do so by the copyright holder. In the past, as Viacom asked Google to remove clips from YouTube, Google complied.
It is clear that problem is in the law. A copyright holder should be responsible for patrolling the internet to ensure that copyrighted material is not being used beyond fair use. The problem will likely only get worse as the web becomes more of a web 2.0. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act must keep up with changing technology. While reading the required blogs for class, I came across an article entitled Congress Must Make Clear Copyright Laws on Slashdot. The author of the article takes the stance that clips on YouTube are likely fair use, but agrees that Congress must clarify the law. It seems as if Google is protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for now. The law will surely need to be clarified, however, as other internet related copyright suits will likely follow.
It is clear that problem is in the law. A copyright holder should be responsible for patrolling the internet to ensure that copyrighted material is not being used beyond fair use. The problem will likely only get worse as the web becomes more of a web 2.0. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act must keep up with changing technology. While reading the required blogs for class, I came across an article entitled Congress Must Make Clear Copyright Laws on Slashdot. The author of the article takes the stance that clips on YouTube are likely fair use, but agrees that Congress must clarify the law. It seems as if Google is protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for now. The law will surely need to be clarified, however, as other internet related copyright suits will likely follow.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
iPod Tax
According to an article on Slashdot (one of the required blogs), a Canadian Copyright group wants a tax to placed on iPods. This would mean a $75 dollar tax on devices over 30 GB! The tax would be smaller for devices with less memory, but is not limited to iPods. Items such as memory cards would also be taxed.
According to the Canadian Copyright group, the purpose is to compensate artist for "illegally" copied or transfered music. Although this has become a big issue for recording artists and labels in the digital age, a tax is not the way to solve the problem. First, not everyone who owns an iPod is "illegally" copying and transferring music. In fact, many of the features in place on iTunes, for example, make it difficult to do so. The recording industry should, in fact, be thanking Apple for the iPod instead of attempting to tax their product. Many iPod users, myself included, listen to music much more frequently upon owning an iPod. Since I listen to more music, I buy more music. Lastly, if anything, this tax would likely worsen the problem. People may believe that illegally copying or transferring music is justified having paid a tax on their newly purchased iPod.
Doesn't copyright law indicate legality in making copies of copyrighted material for personal use? (Such as burning a purchased CD so one copy can be used in the car.) I hope that this tax does not become a reality.
According to the Canadian Copyright group, the purpose is to compensate artist for "illegally" copied or transfered music. Although this has become a big issue for recording artists and labels in the digital age, a tax is not the way to solve the problem. First, not everyone who owns an iPod is "illegally" copying and transferring music. In fact, many of the features in place on iTunes, for example, make it difficult to do so. The recording industry should, in fact, be thanking Apple for the iPod instead of attempting to tax their product. Many iPod users, myself included, listen to music much more frequently upon owning an iPod. Since I listen to more music, I buy more music. Lastly, if anything, this tax would likely worsen the problem. People may believe that illegally copying or transferring music is justified having paid a tax on their newly purchased iPod.
Doesn't copyright law indicate legality in making copies of copyrighted material for personal use? (Such as burning a purchased CD so one copy can be used in the car.) I hope that this tax does not become a reality.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Editing Wikipedia
I just completed by second Wikipedia edit. This time, I chose to edit an article on Paderno del Grappa, Italy. I studied abroad in Italy in the Spring of 2006, and lived in Paderno del Grappa for the semester. The original Wikipedia article had very little information and was classified as a "stub." Paderno is an extremely small town, so there is a limited amount of information available, but I was able to add information based on personal experience. I added the following information making sure to link to other Wikipedia articles where possible:
"Paderno del Grappa is located at the base of Mount Grappa, a mountain located in the Dolomites.
"Paderno del Grappa is located at the base of Mount Grappa, a mountain located in the Dolomites.
Paderno del Grappa is home to Istituto Filipin, an Italian boarding school. The Instituto Filipin campus also serves as the undergraduate campus for the Consortium Universities for International Studies (also known as CIMBA)."
Once again, editing Wikipedia has proven to be very simple. My last Wikipedia edit generated only one minor change a few days later. The change involved "Wikilinking" the birth and death dates. I speculate that the articles that I have chosen to edit are not frequently viewed articles. In addition, the topics are far from controversial. This is likely why there was not a big response to my previous edits. It will be interesting to see what additional edits the Paderno del Grappa article generates.Friday, March 2, 2007
YouTube Copyright Issues
While reading some of the required blogs, I found an article relating directly to today's class discussion. John Battelle's Searchblog has an interesting blog post entitled "Chill Out, Big Media, We're On It" about anti-piracy technology for YouTube. Google recently made the announcement that it will soon offer this technology to protect copyrighted material on YouTube.
The most interesting part, however, can be found in the comments. According to commenting bloggers, Google has had the ability and know-how to create this sort of technology for years. (One blogger suggested that he told Google to begin creating this technology five years ago!) The primary viewpoint among bloggers is as follows: Google should have had anti-piracy technology in place before purchasing YouTube.
Regardless, it seems as if Google will soon be protecting copyrighted material. Will Google next face copyright issues with its cached pages?
The most interesting part, however, can be found in the comments. According to commenting bloggers, Google has had the ability and know-how to create this sort of technology for years. (One blogger suggested that he told Google to begin creating this technology five years ago!) The primary viewpoint among bloggers is as follows: Google should have had anti-piracy technology in place before purchasing YouTube.
Regardless, it seems as if Google will soon be protecting copyrighted material. Will Google next face copyright issues with its cached pages?
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
First Wikipedia Edit
I just finished my first edit on Wikipedia. I chose to edit an article on the artist Violet Oakley. Oakley is a prominent artist from the late 1800's to early 1900's. She painted a number of murals in the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building. Over the summer, I interned with the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee. One of the many things the committee deals with is the preservation of the art throughout the Capitol Complex. In addition to knowing some information about Oakley from working with the committee, the Oakley article is very sparse, which made it very easy to edit.
I added some more information about Oakley's education, her murals in the Capitol Building, and how she (along with two other artists) came to receive their nickname. In my edits, I included some links to other articles on Wikipedia. Overall, the process of editing the article was simple. Now, I will wait to see how other watchers of this article will react. I am sure there will be more edits to come.
I added some more information about Oakley's education, her murals in the Capitol Building, and how she (along with two other artists) came to receive their nickname. In my edits, I included some links to other articles on Wikipedia. Overall, the process of editing the article was simple. Now, I will wait to see how other watchers of this article will react. I am sure there will be more edits to come.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Blog Purpose
This blog is a class project for
Information Technology Applications in Marketing. By the end of the semester I will hopefully be more familliar with the world of blogs. I will update at least once a week commenting on such things as class projects, class discussions, other blogs, and the blogs of my class mates. Enjoy!
Information Technology Applications in Marketing. By the end of the semester I will hopefully be more familliar with the world of blogs. I will update at least once a week commenting on such things as class projects, class discussions, other blogs, and the blogs of my class mates. Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Introductory Post
Hi everyone! My name is Anne Wylde and I am a junior here at the
University of Delaware. I am a marketing major with a minor in art history. This is my first experience blogging, so it should be interesting. Good luck!
University of Delaware. I am a marketing major with a minor in art history. This is my first experience blogging, so it should be interesting. Good luck!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
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