Week 5 -- ownership, authorship & copyright -- oh my!

How do issues such as authorship, copyright and open access impact your desire, ability and willingness to engage in produsage, both personally and professionally?

Yes -- access! Copyright -- yes -- honor the work of others.

Now, authorship. Sigh. As a writer, I am sensitive to receiving credit for my own work. I have often given my work away and allowed others to take credit for it (with permission). Sometimes, this is done to gain access to opportunities that would otherwise not have been available to me. But increasingly, I want to be acknowledged for my contribution.

So -- enough confessional -- how does this affect my desire, ability and willingness to engage in produsage personally and professionally? Well, when I am riding the shoulders of giants, I would be happy to collaborate, add my two cents worth, and be thrilled to be numbered among (or associated with) this talented group. When others are riding my shoulders, I am more protective and more concerned about others developing my ideas and products for their own ends -- especially without attribution. Copyright, then, becomes my only protection.

Reminds me of growing up and playing with my brothers: My older brother was always eager for a tennis partner and I was often eager to play. Unfortunately, he only wanted to play with better player so that he could improve his game. He was not interested in play for play's sake if it meant tolerating a lesser player -- that'd be me. This was a catch-22 -- if other players adopted his perspective, he too, could only play with players of equal ability; superior players would not want to play with an "inferior" -- him.

So, in the world of produsage, we're perhaps all willing to play with the stronger players and less willing to tolerate the weaker players. How do we develop a community spirit that mixes it up and makes everyone stronger?

Putting it all together -- access, authorship and ownership -- is this a case of "what's yours is mine" (access & copyright) and "what's mine is mine"(authorship)?

Next week: wrap up