Links roundup for 19 June 2012

[otw_staff]

Here's a roundup of media use stories that might be of interest to fans:

• France's three strikes law against those downloading copyrighted content has been delayed in the U.S. -- for now. "The proposed Copyright Alerts system has been delayed to an unspecified date. Often referred to as “Six Strikes and You’re Out,” the policy was supposed to have been implemented in July 2012. Under it, Internet service providers like Time Warner and Verizon would voluntarily punish their customers who repeatedly use peer-to-peer filesharing software to illegally download copyrighted material." So far the French law has reduced illegal downloading but hasn't boosted media sales the way its sponsors wanted.


• Speaking of downloading, more U.S. fans will run into online restrictions in 2012. C|Net wrote about Verizon and Comcast enacting data caps. "The sad reality is that while it's a great market penetration strategy, unlimited data is simply not a sustainable economic model," said Guy Rosen, CEO of Onavo, a wireless application that helps people control data usage. "Supply is limited by the laws of physics and demand is simply exploding. Verizon's statement adds to AT&T's throttling debacle of earlier this year, ushering us into a future where all data has a price tag. It's now clear that operators will find any loophole they can to eradicate grandfathered unlimited contracts." Most of the heavy use is blamed on "video, particularly high-definition video. Services like Netflix, Hulu, and Youtube account for huge amounts of traffic on the network."


• Meanwhile one particularly popular video was taken down from YouTube temporarily due to copyright claims. "Rickrolling is the practice of promising a victim one link but directing them instead to Rick Astley’s 1987 music video, 'Never Gonna Give You Up,' instead." The takedown was particularly odd given the longevity of rickrolling and how "On April Fools' Day in 2008, [YouTube itself] rickrolled viewers by redirecting every video on the front page to Astley’s video." The video was later restored with no explanation.


• Lastly, major league baseball is sponsoring social media nights at its games. The events "vary from ballpark to ballpark, but some aspects are fairly consistent. The Cubs offered specially priced tickets and put together contests for their online fans. They encouraged their Twitter followers to use the hashtag (hash)CubsSocial to mark their tweets throughout the night. Other teams "hold in-game scavenger hunts that award autographed memorabilia or team apparel, and some clubs put together contests that result in upgraded tickets for their online followers." Other teams follow people's special events and surprise them with gift packs at the stadiums. "It's about fan engagement and the ability then to be able to enter into that discussion, and not being too corporate, but helping lead and participate in that conversation," Nationals chief operating officer Andy Feffer said. "Why? Because the social media platform is now an access point — to the club, to the players, to promotions, to ticket sales, to the story that's being told. And the story really lives now in the social media world. It's extended into that community more than it ever has before."

If you're a baseball fan, or follow copyright issues, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW. Mirrored from an original post on the OTW blog. Find related news by viewing our tag cloud.

Links roundup for 19 June 2012

[otw-staff.livejournal.com]

Here's a roundup of media use stories that might be of interest to fans:

• France's three strikes law against those downloading copyrighted content has been delayed in the U.S. -- for now. "The proposed Copyright Alerts system has been delayed to an unspecified date. Often referred to as “Six Strikes and You’re Out,” the policy was supposed to have been implemented in July 2012. Under it, Internet service providers like Time Warner and Verizon would voluntarily punish their customers who repeatedly use peer-to-peer filesharing software to illegally download copyrighted material." So far the French law has reduced illegal downloading but hasn't boosted media sales the way its sponsors wanted.


• Speaking of downloading, more U.S. fans will run into online restrictions in 2012. C|Net wrote about Verizon and Comcast enacting data caps. "The sad reality is that while it's a great market penetration strategy, unlimited data is simply not a sustainable economic model," said Guy Rosen, CEO of Onavo, a wireless application that helps people control data usage. "Supply is limited by the laws of physics and demand is simply exploding. Verizon's statement adds to AT&T's throttling debacle of earlier this year, ushering us into a future where all data has a price tag. It's now clear that operators will find any loophole they can to eradicate grandfathered unlimited contracts." Most of the heavy use is blamed on "video, particularly high-definition video. Services like Netflix, Hulu, and Youtube account for huge amounts of traffic on the network."


• Meanwhile one particularly popular video was taken down from YouTube temporarily due to copyright claims. "Rickrolling is the practice of promising a victim one link but directing them instead to Rick Astley’s 1987 music video, 'Never Gonna Give You Up,' instead." The takedown was particularly odd given the longevity of rickrolling and how "On April Fools' Day in 2008, [YouTube itself] rickrolled viewers by redirecting every video on the front page to Astley’s video." The video was later restored with no explanation.


• Lastly, major league baseball is sponsoring social media nights at its games. The events "vary from ballpark to ballpark, but some aspects are fairly consistent. The Cubs offered specially priced tickets and put together contests for their online fans. They encouraged their Twitter followers to use the hashtag (hash)CubsSocial to mark their tweets throughout the night. Other teams "hold in-game scavenger hunts that award autographed memorabilia or team apparel, and some clubs put together contests that result in upgraded tickets for their online followers." Other teams follow people's special events and surprise them with gift packs at the stadiums. "It's about fan engagement and the ability then to be able to enter into that discussion, and not being too corporate, but helping lead and participate in that conversation," Nationals chief operating officer Andy Feffer said. "Why? Because the social media platform is now an access point — to the club, to the players, to promotions, to ticket sales, to the story that's being told. And the story really lives now in the social media world. It's extended into that community more than it ever has before."

If you're a baseball fan, or follow copyright issues, why not contribute to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW. Mirrored from an original post on the OTW blog. Find related news by viewing our tag cloud.