Berkman Buzz, week of March 26

BERKMAN BUZZ: A look at the past week's online Berkman conversations
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School
Week of March 26, 2007

What's going on... take your pick or browse below.

*Global Voices finds Iranian bloggers in reflective mood.
*Derek Slater addresses imbalances in copyright penalties.
*Dan Gilmor on the significance of anonymous comments.
*Dave Winer's remedies for ailing media.
*Bill McGeveran has mixed feelings over Joyce settlement.
*Doc Searls: "Sick is the new dead."
*Harvard University Internet & Society Conference Question of the Week.

The Full Buzz.

“Iranian bloggers provide information, share their opinions, and discuss various issues with their photography, illustrations, and text. But that’s not all. Occasionally, they launch plans to make the world a better place. Paris Marashi, an Iranian-American video-blogger has revealed a project that aims to bring Iranian medical professionals in contact with their colleagues around the world.”
Global Voices, “Iran: Connecting the Medical World and Norouz Inspires Reflection”

“’The punishment should fit the crime,’ but copyright law’s harsh penalties don’t match up with this maxim, and the entertainment industry has taken full advantage of that in its misguided war on new technologies. A bill recently introduced in Congress would help address this imbalance and add crucial protections for the rights of innovators and fans. …”
Derek Slater, “Fixing Copyright’s Corporate Death Penalty”

“The difference between an anonymous (actually pseudonymous) comment posting and a blog post by someone who stands behind his or her own words could not be much greater. The former deserves little or no credence — I assign anonymous comments negative credibility in my own reading. Whether the latter has credibility, at least from my perspective, depends on whether it’s earned some of my trust.”
Center for Citizen Media, “Food and Loathing.”

“First, reform journalism school. It's too late to be training new journalists in the classic mode. Instead, journalism should become a required course, one or two semesters for every graduate. Why? Because journalism like everything else that used to be centralized is in the process of being distributed. In the future, every educated person will be a journalist, as today we are all travel agents and stock brokers.”
Dave Winer, “Trouble at the Chronicle”

“This is great news for Shloss and for all Joyce scholars — the author’s estate has been notoriously litigous in the past. But I have to admit disappointment as well. This case was exciting precisely because it seemed like a good prospect to get some binding case law on the books about the scope of fair use for historians and literary scholars. A settlement doesn’t count as “the law” in the same way at all. …”
Info/Law, “Joyce Fair Use Settlement: Good News and Bad News”

“Declaring live stuff dead was old long before techies picked up on the practice. It's always been the fashion thing to do. I've done it myself. I believe I've declared PR and advertising dead. Marketing too. Also brands. I'm not sure, but it hardly matters because all the above are still alive and will probably continue thriving long after I'm dead.”
Doc Searls, “Sick is the new dead"