Last Wednesday I attended the launch of ‘Adieu auteursrecht, vaarwel culturele conglomeraten‘ the new book by Joost Smiers. In this book he argues that (a) copyright is harmful, because it has led to large conglomerates dominating the production of culture and that (b) the world would be better off without copyright because it would be […]

The presidential campaigns are in their final stage, elections are coming up. Time to already have a cautious look what might happen after November 4th. For instance, what will happen with science and technology policy under the next administration? The people of Sciencedebate 2008 provide us that view. They asked Obama and Mccain about their plans for science and technology. The most remarkable proposal: Senator Obama wants to establish the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer. Here is an assessment of some of the candidates’ answers.

Felix Stalder has posted an interesting review of the recent Economies of the Commons Conference (organized by Knowledgeland in collaboration with the Balie, Images for the Future, p2p fusion and Creative Commons Netherlands) to the nettime mailing list.
His review highlights the increasingly difficult position that large archive projects (like Images for the Future) find […]

Encouraging linkages between the creative industries and the wider economy to spur innovation
‘Do the creative industries support innovation in the wider economy?’ Again an interesting question NESTA asks itself, in this research conducted in cooperation with Experian and Oxford Brooks University. Much of the hurray atmosphere created around the creative industries is based […]

over the weekend the american industrial rock band band Nine Inch Nails released their new album titled ‘Ghosts I-IV‘ via their own website. With this release the Nine Inch Nails - lead by their outspoken frontman Trent Reznor - join a number of artists (Radiohead, Madonna, …) who, after being freed from long running contracts […]

As China’s economy is growing rapidly, cultural exchange between the western world and China is flourishing. However, one of the largest barriers is language. New media technology provides us with creative solutions. Chinese Radio Amsterdam (CRA) presents an overview of state-of-the-art media and technology to bridge the language barrier (e-mail, mobile, podcast, game, wiki).

Chairman Hong […]

A couple of weeks ago someone asked me if I had ever been to Second Life. I nodded and the person then asked me if I knew about a travel agency in that world that could show her around. I have heard about travel agencies within virtual worlds. The uneasy thing about those agencies is […]

Launched recently by the Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation: www.creative.org.au. Have a look there. Already lots of posts and commentaries. Still waiting for the ‘resources’ though, but I’m sure that cateogry will be filled shortly.

Interesting article by Marty Logan about different perspectives on the global obsession to protect (national) cultures as a way of preserving diversity.
I really like the comment made by Gerfried Stocker, director of the Ars Electronica cultural institute in Austria: “by this fury of preservation we forget how to create. We don’t ask what are the […]

KL has just published the final report of the Creative Capital Conference it organized in March. The report includes an analysis of the Amsterdam Agenda for Creative Capital, reviews of the plenary sessions and workshops, and an evaluation of the conference.
Click here to download to the full report in pdf-format. For printed copies please contact […]