Ramblings

Bloviating: to you, from me. Chide me if you will. algot@runeman.org

All photos in this blog are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license, unless specifically stated otherwise. If something written seems worth your time and effort, use it under the same license.

This is an archived blog. Those interested in my current blogging, feel free to visit
Runemanations where new posts will go.

Wed, 01 Jun 2011

Copy vs. Share vs. Rights

Janis Krums took a snapshot of the plane crash on the Hudson River in 2009. He's a Twitter user. He posted his snapshot to a photo-sharing web site called Twitpic. The photo became famous, shared widely. Krums apparently wishes he could have been compensated for the commercial use of his photo.

NOT my photo - Not cc-by license.

More recently, in 2011, Stephanie Gordon took a snapshot out the window of a plane, capturing an image of the final launch of the Endeavor space shuttle. She also put the photo out by way of Twitter and Twitpic. She doesn't care about being directly compensated for use of her photo.

NOT my photo - Not cc-by license.

Twitpic's terms of service require that a Web use be done by linking back to the original images, as I have done here. It would be inappropirate to save the photo and simply post it from the copy. Twitpic wants the traffic to go through their site. By this requirement, Twitpic also helps to ensure that the correct attribution to the authors happens.

Both photos offer us important images. Both give us a look at events we didn't see directly. Both photos have become culturaly important because people want to see, even at a distance, what other people are talking about.

Who owns the photos. The simple answer is "the people who took the photos." However, by putting the photos on Twitpic, both author/owners shared the photos with their followers. Any retweets made the sharing wider. Sensing the cultural "viral" spread of the images, the news and online media spread the word farther, often including the images as I have here.

Mr. Krums wants to be paid for the use of his photo; Ms. Gordon doesn't expect to be paid, doesn't apparently care.

I'm glad the Internet has made it possible for ordinary people to easily contribute to the common culture. I hope the trend will accelerate. In a world of short attention spans, making a contribution to the common wealth is a significant feat. Congratulations to both observant, prepared individuals.

[1] Plane on Hudson http://twitpic.com/135xa
[2] Shuttle Launch http://twitpic.com/4yg6hs
[3] Controversy over use TechDirt post