Topic 5: FreeAccess+RestrictedAccess=OpenAccess
Have you ever just went on Google Images, searched for an image of your choice and used it, not caring who made it, how or even when? Well I guess we are all in the same boat. There are lots of advantages and disadvantages to a content producer of making their materials freely available online. The focus of this blog post is to discuss and chew over the aforementioned issue. Below is a picture collage that I made to delineate what is been discussed [1].
FreeAccess+RestrictedAcess
Some of the advantages to a content producer of making their materials freely available online includes popularity and enhancing the future of tomorrow’s leaders. Imagine a truly huge digital library — every book ever published, every movie ever released, all the strata of web history… All free to the public! Well this is the dream of an inventor, philanthropist and digital librarian called Brewster Kahle. Attached below is one of his talks on TED [2].
On the other hand, the disadvantages to a content producer of making their materials freely available online include breach of copyright, which obviously leads to multiplier-effects like lost of wealth, information misinterpretation, etc. For example… (See image below [3])
What do you think?
Some ‘publishers’ have found that one can mock up what looks like a ‘journal’, stick it to a webserver somewhere, charge significant publication fees, and make a lot of money. [4]
Indeed there are lots of advantages and disadvantage to a content producer of making their materials freely available online. As we are now in the 21th century, a common ground needs to be established for example open access also content producers might decide to make their materials for subscribed users only. This will enable them to still retain their ownership, wealth and also minimize data misinterpretation and manipulation. Which is perhaps why an international survey study have concluded that 90 per cent of online content would likely be held behind a pay-wall in the coming years [5].
As Elizabeth Marincola said there are few things in life that are so arresting as a spectacular car accident… science, money and free flow of information. [6]
References:
[1] Me
[2] http://www.ted.com/talks/brewster_kahle_builds_a_free_digital_library#t-84690
[3] https://prezi.com/huh2gl6n7mvb/generation-open-advantages-disadvantages-of-open-access/
[4] Peterson, 2013
[6] http://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=17821
