Thought Leaders on the issues of digital media, law and ethics.

1.The Guardian's Director of Digital Content Emily Bell, Digital media cannot be contained by the analogue rulebook:

One key, defining principle of things that are "digital" is that they can be very easily copied, compressed and transmitted. In other words, "digital" and "free" (in every sense, not just the monetary sense) go together like Morecambe and Wise, fish and chips, or banks and bailout.

This is something that the media, their ruling institutions, governments and regulators are all currently coming to terms with: once something is digitised, the ability over time to control it, charge for it, regulate it or contain it exponentially decreases.

2. New York University Professor Clay Shirky, Newspapers thinking the unthinkable:

Revolutions create a curious inversion of perception. In ordinary times, people who do no more than describe the world around them are seen as pragmatists, while those who imagine fabulous alternative futures are viewed as radicals. The last couple of decades haven’t been ordinary, however. Inside the papers, the pragmatists were the ones simply looking out the window and noticing that the real world was increasingly resembling the unthinkable scenario. These people were treated as if they were barking mad. Meanwhile the people spinning visions of popular walled gardens and enthusiastic micropayment adoption, visions unsupported by reality, were regarded not as charlatans but saviors.

3. Google Deputy General Legal Counsel Nicole Wong interview by American academic and commentator Jeffrey Rosen at SXSW 2009, reported by Joanna Geary

JR:  Nicole decides whether links stay up on Google and makes content decision on Youtube 

NW:  The issue of Internet censorship is so complex it’s never about a single person, company, website. It involves government backroom providers, services like google and users. There are many ways that govs seek to control this a different levels.At a company level we may get court orders, police show up at the door, I have had some of my employees detained. In some of the countries we see Governments actively intimidating people in their country. When we talk about what type data ends up on the Internet it’s much more difficult to talk about that as a single company, it’s a more difficult decision.

References

Bell, E.(2009)  0igital Media cannot be contained by the analogue rulebook. Media Guardian, The Guardian, 23 March  2009. p.4.

Shirkey, C. (2009) Newspapers thinking the unthinkable. Skirkey.com, 13 March 2009. [Accessed: 24/03/2009] Available. at: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/   

Geary, J. (2009) SXSW Notes: “The Gatekeepers” - Jeffrey Rosen interviews Nicole Wong from Google about free speech. JoannaGeary.com. 17 March 2009.[Accesed: 24/03/2009]. Available at: http://www.joannageary.com/2009/03/17/sxsw-notes-the-gatekeepers-jeffrey-rosen-interviews-nicole-wong-from-google/