Challenges for Open e-culture initiatives
In this second blog on the Open e-culture round table we recently organised (see first blog for an introduction on open e-culture initiatives) several challenges are presented regarding the development of the movement in the near future. It became clear from the discussion that the goals and ambitions of open initiatives still give rise to many questions. As been said before, these are fundamental and urgent questions that reach the heart of our contemporary social system. The possibilities of the state of communication technology today confronts us with dilemmas regarding law & policy, economic logic and social organisation.
System & Content
A first challenge for anyone engaged with open e-culture issues is where to focus on. Should most effort be targeted at changing the central system (copyright, licensing, funding, policy, transparency)? Or should one make use of the existing possibilities and start creating within the contemporary situation (i.e. starting an initiative that focusses on providing services or content without necessarily contesting the contemporary legal or policy situation directly.)? Of course people may be working on both challenges at the same time (as most entrepreneurs probably do).
Moreover, what challenges are urgent depends on the specific (national) system in which one is active. For example, during the round table discussion it was mentioned that in comparison the contemporary Dutch system is quite progressive, so entrepreneurs in the Netherlands have certainly different challenges than entrepreneurs in other parts of the world.
Nonetheless, also in the Netherlands changing the system seems to be a central issue in the discussion on the evolvement of open e-culture. The urgency of reassessing existing legal boundaries in the context of contemporary technological developments is very clear to most entrepreneurs. Depending on the particular perspective, people advocate total openness or propose other solutions such as tailor made packages of legal rights for specific segments.
So, among entrepreneurs and stakeholders there exists a general vision which supports the movement towards a system that supports open e-culture, however, the exact realisation is a point of discussion. An interesting case in this regard is the different impact of copyright issues on different forms of content. The specific features of the content (and the related community) has direct consequences for the legal needs. During the discussion it was argued that for a variety of reasons Creative Commons seems a more obvious solution when it comes to images and text than with the production of music. For example, because of different career expectations of musicians, differences in the creative process, their early association with the industry (Buma/Stemra) and the uniqueness of a particular song. So, (professional) musicians generally seem to strive to early association with the industry, and protect their work, because they assume their (financial) success is depending on it. A professional photographer, on the other hand, mentioned that he was paid by the hour, and spread his work immediately under a CC-license.
All in all, it can be concluded that there is still a lot of work to be done to adapt structures to specific needs, and even to find out what exactly is needed.
Convincing Consumers & Producers
Next to the endeavor to change and/or make use of the possibilities of the central system, a main challenge for open e-culture is to confront consumers and producers of content with the possibilities of an open approach. Or, in other words, boosting a paradigm shift.
One can imagine that if pioneers and policymakers still have many questions, a significant amount of consumers and producers must still be slightly puzzled about the changing playing field. So, for the initiators of the movement there is a task to bring the discussion and activity further. And, at least, make people (and institutions!) conscious of the situation and its possibilities. Not necessarily from an ideological perspective but by showing the possibilities and the success stories. An obstacle in this regard is the strong lobby against open e-culture initiated by the commercial industry. That is why solely a political-ideological lobby might not work and presenting practical examples might proof to be a more convincing method. Moreover, general distrust and ignorance by all kinds of agents and stakeholders must be overcome.
Altogether it is not necessarily about convincing everybody to open up everything. The point is that people should be conscious of the state of social media, and are able to make deliberate choices.
Do you think these are really the main challenges for open e-culture initiatives in the near future? Are there more, or do you have any additional suggestions? Please comment! The next blog will be posted next week and is about possible solutions and recommendations for a vital movement.
