Posts tagged ‘on the blog’

February 6, 2011

more snow but I did nothing about it

by jhon baker

a few more inches or nearly a few inches – I did not step outside today.
I have little to add. Little to express. It is Sunday and I have spent a few hours in my writing room and have not smoked enough or drunken enough coffee to be nearly genius enough to keep going. So the blog suffers.
my mind suffers, but what is new?

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February 2, 2011

beginning of Year 2

by jhon baker

Here it is at my one year anniversary and I’ve been out for the past nearly seven hours clearing the drive and digging out 1 of 2 vehicles. I am exhausted and going to go lay down.
I might post later on, I might not. We shall see how the evening progresses.

a poem though –

@font-face { font-family: “MS 明朝”;}@font-face { font-family: “MS 明朝”;}@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”;}@font-face { font-family: “Century Schoolbook”;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Cambria; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }

hors de combat
        for the dead and dying; to you, I bow low.
it is another footprint we
leave in death, last
of our own,
another in the scores
of the bewildered mourners.
you did not break form when
abandoning the body,
exchanging it to worms for dirt.
those left shall make new footprints
from remembrance of you.
leaving fading impressions in the grass.
– Hoc Scripsi
February 1, 2011

a comment reposted.

by jhon baker

Have I ever mentioned that I studied philosophy with a mind to be come a philosopher – instead going to fine arts as the job prospects were the same while the papers I had to write were less. I am reminded of this when I read blogs like Weaving the Moon today and I comment thusly:

now involves so many things, past present and future all tied into a non-linear fashion, how can one focus on the now without proper regard to a timeless essence permeating the outskirts of consciousness?

of course my bent of philosophy is tempered by my poetic style but there you go. That is my thought for the day.
I was awake last night fairly late and begun work on a magpie write, that’ll be tomorrow probably or later today. Who knows? I don’t know what I should post for tomorrow as it is my one year anniversary of blogging. I’ve damn near made a year! unless I perish while snow-throwing on my tractor today a year will be accomplished.

I can be proud of myself now.

January 24, 2011

Facebook

by jhon baker

This is a direct quote taken from their user agreement:

You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. In addition:

  1. For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (“IP content”), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (“IP License”). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.

It is for this reason that I am going to be ending my relationship with facebook as I have concern over their utilizing my intellectual property and copyrighted works for their own monetary gain – more so that they can sub-license (this means to a third party) without notification, permission or acknowledgment. The obvious question to me would then be “have they done so to my works” – not that I know of, but I cannot be sure as they are not required to report this activity to me.
A light example would be – while using facebook – have you ever seen a friends photo or avatar on an ad saying something along the lines of – “so and so likes this – do you?” – those ads are paid for, facebook sees monetary gain, the friend of yours did not. In an article on Mark Zuckerburg in Time Magazine they talked about how facebook has revolutionized the advertising market with its ability to target consumers directly for companies based on their likes and dislikes – no big deal, it’s actually a little smart – they then use this same information about their users to sell this marketing, advertise it on facebook directly to you, in hopes that you will click on the link because your friend did so. In addition they sell this information, using your photos, other images, words, statements, your copyrights and allow it to be used for further marketing by third party companies – not as small of a deal and while clever, totally evil.
it is possible that while I use facebook you could see an ad for some company – say Pepsi or Coke or that says – “when life gives you lemons, shut up and eat your lemons. drink 7up” This would normally be in direct violation of my copyright, registered copyright and even not copyrighted it would still hold copyright status anyway – and I would be able to sue the living wallet from them and recoup my dignity. With facebook’s user agreement containing the statement above – I would be unable to do that as they would have been able to license this major phrase from facebook for facebook’s monetary gain while not even acknowledging I exist. All I can do in this world is protect my self, my family and my creations from those that would mean themselves gain by our harm. I have weapons in the house for such abuses from criminals but no such redress with facebook.
For those seeking out irony in my direct quote – it falls under the purview of fair-use as outlined by copyright law and subsequent statutes.
When in college I studied copyright law – not because I wanted to be a lawyer, but because I wanted to be able to protect myself from lawyers. In saying that, as funny as it is – my best friend is a lawyer – and a damn fine one at that.
facebook can get away with this because, among many reasons, it counts on its users not actually taking the time to read through the plethora of agreement for use of facebook. They are correct in assuming that the vast majority of us would never read such a thing and if we tried – become too bored with it to finish. I didn’t even read all of it – just enough to learn that I don’t want to be party to an advertising company without my direct consent and applicable royalties paid. Having used facebook as long as I have I am embarrassed to have not read it, I even read cell phone contracts.
A friend sent a link to an article dealing with the following issue – facebook needs some or most of this permission to be able to host your images and other content and to do so worldwide. This is true, however, if they were not intending to use this same content for their own personal corporate gain (which is now a company traded with foreign investors only) they would state that. It would be a simple addendum to the existing language to say that they will not seek gain by your intellectual property and that they can be held liable if they do – but the language is written specifically so that they can seek all the gain they can sell easily.

or maybe I’m just paranoid.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!
GO HERE: facebook_sponsored_stories
 
it feels good to be ahead of the curve on this!