Why should we put our work on the Web? Give it a Creative Commons license so people can share it and remix it? Why? What’s the use? Attribution? What for?
I’ve struggled with questions like these for years. Whether asking myself or responding to a colleague, my answers struggled to establish the value of sharing creative works beyond the peers in the classroom or school. I knew the value was there. I just couldn’t articulate it well.
But now I have two real-life stories to tell. Looking for a light read this drowsy Saturday morning, I chose The Story of the Fail Whale by Sarah Perez. Sarah captured my attention with her recount of the Fail Whale’s rise to stardom. But her story about the unknown Fail Whale artist’s work turning into a social media brand really woke me up. In the beginning, the artist of the Fail Whale, Yiying Lu, did not profit from Twitter’s use of the Fail Whale. Twitter grabbed the image from iStockPhoto and did not link to her. The more Twitter crashed the more Fail Whale grew in popularity. Strange, isn’t it? Anyway, a homemade Fail Whale t-shirt appeared at a party one night. It gained a lot of attention, so after the party the owner contacted Yiying Lu and encouraged her to open a Zazzle story where she could sell her work. She did and fans tweeted its arrival. What ensued, Perez describes as a “torrent of social media cooperation” that uplifted Yiying Lu and her work to high levels of recognition that gain her profits from sales and, most likely, some future design work.
Yiying Lu put her creative work out there for free. Eventually, it became a social object. The art work and the people who rallied around it built her success. Yiying Lu made it happen by sharing her work on the Web.
The story of Yiying Lu resembles that of JIm Gourley and his CCTV photos. Jim is an avid photographer, writer, and inspirational member of our school community. On December 4th of last year, Jim began to take photos of the CCTV construction project.
CCTV Headquarters Bldg., Beijing, China — December 5, 2007 Photo by Jim Gourley.
He now has thousands of photos in his Flickr collection called Beijing and Architecture. You can see his CCTV photos in its set called Cite Chaillot. He tagged them and opened them to all with a Creative Commons license. Eventually, some architects interested in the unique CCTV Headquarters rising above Beijing neighborhoods discovered Jim’s photos. In his blog post Footnoted, Jim seems reluctant to tell us “This obsession of mine has seemed to have gotten some notice. A few weeks ago the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine (CAPA), Paris, contacted me to use 120 of my photos of the CCTV Headquarters project in their upcoming exhibit “Dans la ville chinoise,” which includes an exhibition on Chinese contemporary emerging architecture. The show runs from June 18 to September 19, 2008.” Link
This is another example of a person’s creative work becoming a social object, helping to develop a community, and fostering creativity. How? He put it on the Web and leveraged the power of crowds.
The next time I’m challenged to defend a decision to put creative work beyond the classroom walls and bulletin boards, I can talk about the Fail Whale and the CCTV photos. They’re not Sputniks, but these successes can dispel the fear and doubt and cause change.
Note: I also posted this on Watch Your Bobber.
I live in Tianjin, China with my wife Tatiana and son Gabriel.
I am the NPK-12 IT Coordinator at International School of Tianjin.
I advocate teaching and learning with technology
that supports inquiry and action in otherwise unobtainable ways.
New blog post: Tagging in Beijing and the Fail Whale: The Power of Open Content http://www.utechtips.com/?p=779Reply – Quote
Tagging in Beijing and the Fail Whale: The Power of Open Content /U Tech Tips/ – Why should we put our work … http://tinyurl.com/56ys28Reply – Quote
Jeff, Thanks for this insightful post. I hope to use this in a few weeks when I begin the path of senior English/senior project with a new group of students. Both stories send clear messages for “social change, developing community, and fostering creativity.” The use of Creative Commons is something I have only read about but plan to figure out before I talk with my students. Cause and effect comes to mind – energy and change – responsibility and justice. In encouraging our students to think about others – this post lends hope and trust. The generosity of Yiying Lu and Jim Gourley has blossomed for all. What a great story. Just like the many bloggers and twitters (that is where I linked to your story) on the web who have ‘shared’ with me, I continue to pay the learning forward and hope the rest of you do as well. Peace. Lorraine
Keep us informed about the senior project, Lorraine. I think you might be interested in this TED talk called Clay Shirky: Institutions vs. collaboration. It’s on my iPod right now.
Thanks for stopping by.
Tod
Very insightful, Tod! I’ve often struggled with how best to share my work and that of others… even something as simple as my photography hobby. After watching a Wesch video a year or two ago, one phrase really stuck in my brain: “We’ll need to rethink a few things…” and copyright and ownership were two examples. The Fail Whale and CCTV photos are great issues to share with kids (and adults!) about how collaboration and sharing are mutually beneficial.
Thanks so much for posting this!
It’s about contributing to the crowds in the clouds, isn’t it? They take over from there.
Cheers!
Tod
Tod, I hope you realize that when I addressed my comment to Jeff I was referring to his link to your post.(I feel like a buffoon and apologize) I have tagged your page and appreciate your insight. I will keep you posted and will also send you some questions as I undertake the journey. Clay Shirky’s book is on my list to read next. Thanks.
No worries, Lorraine. We know what you mean. Keep us posted.
Tod