Social Media can be quite engaging and entertaining ... However, not all participants are equal; not all participants play by the same rules, and the concepts of rights, privacy and protection are constantly tested. Think of the following:
- Kid using Club Penguin (now a Disney property) ...
- Kid's Dad writing a screen-scraping routine so 'junior' can get money quicker to buy really cool igloo accessories quicker ...
- A kid mashes up a song, then posts on YouTube ...
- Bots and trawlers trying to hack through say, CAPTCHAs or access accounts ... for whatever reason ...
On the mashup in 3. above, check out the You Tube Video of Bad Day - over 2 million views ... At least they credit Daniel Powter at the end of the clip.
All four above are on the same internet ... possbily even the same site / venue - are we all participating equally? Short answer - No. How many potential laws have been broken? Even if now laws have been broken, what are the digital ethics associated with 'cheating' ... Hey, it was only a few fake dollars on Club Penguin to buy digital igloo accessories, right? Cute mashup, however, copyright breached?
The boundaries of social media and social participation will contiune to be pushed. So too, will our tolerance for 'bad' behaviors ... getting everyone to 'play nice' is going to continue to a challenge that will be harder to navigate.
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