Plagiarism

The focus of this blog is digital media. Thus far, the main topic that has been discussed is piracy and the illegal reproduction of digital media. In this post we will introduce a new topic about the ownership of digital media. We now move our focus to plagiarism.

According to dictionary.com, plagiarism is defined as "the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work, as by not crediting the author." I find it interesting that the definition includes without crediting the author. It seems that so much plagiarism could be avoided simply by citing your source of information. However, this is not always the case. Many people plagiarize because it is an easy way out on an assignment or a presentation. They do it because they are lazy and don't want to put in the work themselves.

Why else do people commit plagiarism? What is the cause of this and what problems does it cause? In the next few weeks, we will delve into these topics. Specifically we will look into the effects on the educational system, including cheating and plagiarism in high schools.

Toulmin Analysis

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/03/17/us-eu-piracy-idUSTRE62G3BU20100317

The link above connects to an article addressing internet piracy in the European Union. It is from Reuters.com which reports on business and financial news around the globe. We are all familiar with piracy and what it is. This article goes into some of the potential impacts that it could have on the future of the entertainment industry as well as the economic world.

The main claim of this article is that internet piracy, specifically illegal downloading of music and movies, has cost the world a lot of money and lots of jobs, and that it will continue to do so in the future if nothing is done to stop it. The evidence that the author provides is in statistics saying that in 2008, 10 billion euros and 186,000 jobs were lost to piracy. Also, a study implies that if that trend follows what has been happening, then up to 1.2 million jobs and 240 billion euros of European commerce could be lost within the next 5 years. The warrant in this article is that piracy is bad, and that the audience wants there to be more available jobs and money that is poured into the economy. 

History of Internet Piracy

Piracy is something that we frequently see on a daily basis in this culture and in this time. Most people have stumbled upon a torrent site or a file-sharing program when surfing the internet. However, many people don't just find them on accident, but instead go looking for them. Today piracy is very prevalent, but how long has it been like this? 

Since the time of our parents generations, we have seen music progress from records, to cassette tapes, to CDs, to in our generation, mp3s. Many people wanted to share their music and not have to pay for it. With technology improving the sharing capabilities the piracy of music increased with it. Piracy first became big  when CDs came around. CDs allowed individuals to copy and distribute music quickly and easily. 

However, when mp3s came around, the opportunity for piracy increased exponentially. This website, called computerdjsummit, provides some interesting information on the history of piracy. It reports that mp3 replaced sex as the most searched word on the internet, and that in 1999, over a billion music files were downloaded. This was likely spurred on by the invention of Napster.

Napster was the first of its kind. It was a peer to peer file sharing program. Basically what this means is that people log into Napster to get connected with each other and share files across this platform. They can upload and download. A way to get all of the free music you could ever want! Napster seemed too good to be true... and it ends up that it was. In 2000, the RIAA, which is the Recording Industry Association of America, filed a lawsuit against Napster for copyright infringement, and a year later they shut down. This form of piracy eventually was replaced by the torrent system, as was discussed in an earlier blog. This is often how piracy takes place today. 

Rhetorical Analysis

http://piracy-unlimited.blogspot.com/

This particular blog informatively discusses piracy. It specifically focuses on current events involving piracy, lawsuits, and bills passed. One of the most recent blogs discusses a court case involving the Pirate Bay, which is a big torrent website. The author makes good use of displaying the question and answer dialogue on the website. He often uses satire and sarcasm to convey his message and to ridicule anti-piracy investigations. He reverts some to pathos, but also presents good logical appeal as to why he believes what he does. Although he doesn’t refer to himself often, you can feel him through the tone he uses, especially his use of satire.

http://blogs.balsamiq.com/product/2008/10/19/my-views-on-software-piracy/

This blog portrays a little more of a professional look (being that it is a company’s blog and not an individual’s on blogger). In addition, it also portrays information with what seems to be less bias. However, they are both discussing piracy and current events involving it. This blog focuses more on software piracy as opposed to music and movies. This blog makes good use of visual representations, such as the chart on the latest blog, displaying the different amounts of people who will or will not engage in piracy or hacking.

I feel that both of these blogs are successful at conveying their messages and make good use of their rhetorical devices. However, they are definitely catering to different audiences. The first blog is directed more towards people of likeminded distaste for anti-piracy ideals, whereas the second blog is more informative to someone with little knowledge in the subject of piracy.