Copyright Laws

Copyright laws protect everything from books, works of art end even items found on the Internet. They exist to protect the works of the authors of all types of works. If I were to publish a website and I wanted to use an image from another source, there are rules I would have to follow. Copyright law include "fair use", a rule that allows teachers, scholars and news reporters to use sources without permission as long an they cite the source. However, this rule only applies if the user is under short notice. If I planned ahead of time to use a picture from another source on my own website, it would be most appropriate for me to ask permission of the original author. Often times, people forget about citing sources, namely the Internet. Unfortunately, the Internet is no different than any other source, and users should be especially careful when copying words, images, or sounds bits from the Internet. Some cites, such as Stock.xchang, offer thousands of free images that require no citation. Nonetheless, if I wanted to use a source online, several websites offer useful advice on Copyright laws and how to cite sources.

Mary-Alice Brown

Web 2.0

In the article, "What To Do About Web 2.0", the author, Andrew Keen, discusses the relevance of Web 2.0 as a marketing tool, and how much impact he believes it will have on online marketing. Keen uses the important example of Google spending $1.65 billion to purchase the much talked about YouTube. Some fear the "revolution" of 2.0, guessing that it will drastically change the relationship between online consumers and marketers. However, Keen compares the Web 2.0 hype to the same anticipation expressed when Y2K was upon us. Despite the terror of what would happen when the year 2000 rolled around, the actual event was pretty anti-climatic.
Keen warns online marketers against consumers who might take advantage of their anonymity, and present only negative feedback. Nonetheless, I must agree that though Web 2.0 seems a little odd and enormously popular, I don't believe it will drastically change our lives. The web just poses a new way of communication, advertising, and media, not a replacement. Though most will adapt and probably even partake in Web 2.0, I don't think it will drastically change anyone's way of life, whether or not they ever explore Web 2.0.

Mary-Alice Brown

Microsoft Word

In the past, I only used Word for writing essays and papers I had for school. I rarely did anything else with Word,or Office in general. I've only done a few Power Point presentations and they were way back in middle school. I'd like to learn how to do much more with Word and Office. One thing I always used to get confused about was citing my papers. When I tried to indent in certain places, Word wouldn't let me, and my Works Cited pages never turned out correctly. I've noticed that the Office 2007 has a section for citing papers, and I'd like to review it.

Mary-Alice Brown