If you weren’t aware, I’m a huge geek.
In the very rare moments when I have spare time, I like to write Star Trek fan fiction in audio drama form. Think old-school radio programs like The Shadow and you’ve got the general idea.
Technically, doing that – publishing and distributing a work of fan fiction the way we do it – breaches all sorts of copyright laws. It’s not like it’s a parody or something that could be considered protected first amendment speech. It’s copyright infringement, pure and simple (even though we don’t make a dime from it).
Even so, Paramount and Viacom leave us and others like us alone. Why?
Because we’ve stolen like artists. We might be breaching copyright, but we’re feeding the beast – the drive to buy the DVDs and costumes and books and movies and pay insane amounts of money to go to conventions and wait hours in line for a chance to say hi to William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Kate Mulgrew, Avery Brooks, and Scott Bakula. We’ve taken our favorite series and expanded on it. We made our own characters, created our mark on a universe that was otherwise limited to what you saw on TV and in the movies. We’ve expanded on the original work, created something new and valuable, and made the original works that much more powerful.
I’ve taken to licensing most all of my work under Creative Commons. It’s a bolt-on to copyright – it doesn’t eliminate the copyright you hold on your work, but allows others to remix your work without having to seek out permission every time. Depending on the license, as long as they credit you for the original work you did, they can use your work to create new works of their own. To me, this is the future of creative processes – it’s the start of new markets, new mediums, new methodologies.
However, it does have a dark side – stealing like an artist can backfire when the new work devalues or damages the intent of the original. Take the commercials from the car dealerships featuring loud “occupiers” demanding cheaper cars and higher Miles Per Gallon. When mindless overspending was partially responsible for the mess that led to the anger which led to the protests, you’re not doing your business any favors by pretending you understand what the movement is about.
All of the header photos you see on my blog are Creative Commons licensed. All of the books I release are Creative Commons. All of my new projects have a creative commons component to them.
I challenge you to steal like an artist in December – taking the best bits and pieces, mingling and merging and molding disparate domains of work together into a new, amazingly complex hybrid. Whose ideas will you improve on? Tell me in the comments!
(Header photo: Sorry Today)
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This post is part of the November Word Carnival series. For more on the Word Carnival, and for more great posts from my friends – check out the Carnival.
The One Without Any Advice
As the year comes to a close, you’re going to get a lot of people reflecting on the last year. Lessons they learned, things they did, all neatly summarized into a cute blog post with a cute image, maybe of some ducks crossing the road.
They’re going to give you advice. It’s going to sound sage. And practical. And you’re going to think to yourself, “Holy crap, I’d better do that.”
And I’m here to tell you: it’s the same as it ever was.
The same as it ever was.
Every revolution around the sun, we try to make some meaning of the craziness. To ordain some life lesson from the heaping mess we traveled through. And, let’s face it – we’re still in a mess.
It’s 2011. About to be 2012. Gay people being gay is still a thing other people get fussy about? We haven’t figured out how to reduce or eliminate poverty? One in seven American households goes hungry?
WTF people? You can take your year-end synopsis and shove it. Keep your silly advice and to-do lists and holiday cheer and photos of ducks. We’ve got some serious shit to do, here.
We’ve got Star Trek level-technology like iPads and iPhones and replicators without Star Trek-level ethics or Star Trek-level living standards to back it up. And don’t tell me that Star Trek is socialist. That’s bullshit, watch some Deep Space Nine and educate yourself, fool.
It’s time to start fixing things. Nobody in charge seems to have any idea what’s going on. Or what to do. Or how to fix these huge problems. And even if they do know what’s going on, or what to do, or how to fix it – they’re being held back by the idiots who like things just the way they are.
This year, I ran the Digital Gunslingers through enough classes to raise $500 for the Larimer County Food Bank, which is 2,000 meals for local families. It’s a start.
I’m going to do an experiment starting in January. Over the course of the year, I’m offering 12 businesses a simple WordPress website – one per month, with a simple store, up to 10 products, a year of hosting, and basic SEO. No crazy custom designs, just a simple, easy-to-use website. $500 is the cost – a lot less than what I usually charge.
The $500 will go directly to the Larimer County Food Bank. At the end of the year – that’s $6,000 or 24,000 meals for local families ($1 = 4 meals), or 12x better than I did this year.
So, I lied a little – this post does have some advice.
First: be a little nicer to everyone – you never know who needs a sandwich, a hug, or a closer bathroom.
Second: get off your butt and start fixing some problems. Doesn’t matter what you do. Just do what feels right.
(Unless it’s being a douchebag towards gay people or beating up hungry hobos – don’t do that.)
(Header photo: Duckies!)