By
Debbie Weil
June 96, Number
1
There’s no
business like...
well, show business
it ain’t. The
hours are round-the-clock,
ignoring time and
geographic boundaries.
A pretty face, or
a stunning graphic,
no longer guarantees
box office success;
the winning business
model is up for
grabs. But no matter
what the metaphor,
the online word
biz is a pretty
lively place these
days.
The key question
for many is "Who
owns the content?"
From issues of online
copyright and electronic
re-publication rights,
to freedom of expression,
to the broader question
of intellectual
property in cyberspace,
there’s enough
going on to, umm,
take up a whole
lot of bytes.
YET
ANOTHER CYBERCOLUMN?
That’s why
I’m launching
a new cybercolumn
to bring you both
hard reporting and
common-sense musings
on what writers
and editors, publishers
and content developers
are thinking about
when it comes to
the online word
biz. This column
is made possible
through the vision
of Editor
& Publisher Interactive,
which has developed
into one of the
best sites on the
Web for up-to-date
information about
new media and online
publishing.
For starters, my
column will appear
twice-monthly and
you’ll always
be able to find
it from the home
page of E&P.
If you’re reading
Online word biz
for the first time,
you might want to
bookmark the URL
of this page, where
the column will
live on E&P’s
site.
BTW,
THIS IS A NEW MEDIUM
OF COMMUNICATION
You’ll notice
that I resisted
the urge to call
the column "Word
Biz Bytes" but I
make no guarantees
about avoiding other
cyber-isms such
as BTW (by
the way) and IRL
(in real life).
They’re handy
and expressive and
part of the vocabulary
that defines the
Web as a new medium
of expression.
I’ll try to
be restrained in
my cyberspeak, however,
and deliver tidbits
of information which
are, IMHO
(in my humble opinion),
both useful and
intriguing. I want
you to feel as if
you’re reading
an e-mail letter
from a friend who’s
got something worth
conveying.
IT’S
THE CONTENT, STUPID...
Virtually everyone
is asking, in one
form or another,
"Who owns the content?"
A March survey by
the Poynter Institute
for Media Studies
identified ownership
of content created
for online newspapers
and publications
as one of the stickiest
wickets. Publishers
are wrestling with
copyright issues,
re-publication rights,
contracts, and payment
for work done by
freelancers.
What are the rules
for re-using content
in new media? What
are the legal liabilities?
What about libel
and privacy laws
as they relate to
cyberspace? Those
are just some of
the issues I’ll
be attempting to
clarify in this
column. You might
want to take a look
at a free electronic
course just starting
up: Cyberspace Law
for Non-Lawyers.
Another useful resource
is the Copyright
Website. BTW,
neither I nor E&P
make any guarantee
about the accuracy
of information on
a site offering
legal advice.
I’ll also be
keeping a close
eye on Capitol Hill
as challenges to
the Communications
Decency Act
unfold. A number
of sites on the
Web are monitoring
the protest against
this provision of
the Telecommunications
Reform Act of 1996.
One site I like
is the Electronic
Frontier Foundation.
I’ll be getting
acquainted with
key members of the
U.S. Congress Internet
Caucus in order
to bring you Q.
& A.’s with
folks on the Hill
dealing with these
issues.
I’ll also check
in with cyberwriter
Mike Godwin, an
authority on intellectual
property in cyberspace;
cybersavvy
Esther Dyson; cybergod
Bill Gates (just
kidding... ok, I’ll
try); and some real-life
attorneys and law
professors who are
recognized experts
but who speak in
plain English. (If
they don’t,
I’ll translate.)
OTHER
ISSUES I’LL
COVER
So few inches (or
is it screen space?),
so much to write
about... Some other
topics I’ll
touch on: advertorials;
great resources
for online writers
& editors; the Top
Twenty electronic
magazines and publications
to write (and edit)
for; the power of
words on the Web
(i.e., the use of
this new medium
for social and political
advocacy both at
the grassroots and
national levels);
women on the Web
(do they really
shop online? Nope.
I’ll take a
look behind the
misleading statistics
about the number
of women who are
truly wired, and
what they do online.).
And more...
SO
TELL US ABOUT DEBBIE
WEIL
When not in cyberspace,
I hang IRL in Washington
D.C. Hence my interest
in things Hill-related.
Before turning Web
maven, I was a print
journalist for 18
years, first in
Atlanta and then
in D.C. I’ve
been a staff writer
for The
Atlanta Constitution
and feature and
policy editor of
Roll
Call. When not
doing freelance
reporting on Net
and Web business
and technology issues,
I run a Web consulting
company Wordbiz.Net,
that specializes
in the design and
development of content
for Web sites.
I’m the co-founder
of DC
Webgrrls, an
offshoot of the
much-ballyhooed
Webgrrls
of New York City
- the brainchild
of Cybergrrl!
I moderate the DC
Webgrrls mailing
list with a (ahem)
firm hand. What
else? I’m a
Harvard
grad and have a
masters in journalism
from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison.
I’m pursuing
an executive MBA
from Georgetown
in my _free_ time.
Oh, and I’m
married and the
mother of three
teen-agers (they’re
pretty cool).
SEND
ME YOUR TIPS
What would a column
be without readers?
I want your tips
and your feedback.
Tell me what you
want to hear about,
what I’m missing,
and where I strike
a chord. Send your
notes to Debbie
Weil and I’ll
do my best to respond
to each of you.
Seeya
Debbie Weil is president
of Wordbiz.Net,
a Web site consulting
firm specializing
in the design and
organization of
content.
