In the Social Media Reader chapter, it was discussed how some fans of “Star Wars” have used the original concept of the movie, and put their own spins on it to make a very similar style of production. It isn’t just that these fans are making movies. Some of them are gaining an amazing amount of notoriety from these films, which in many cases blatently use the original themes to create “original” material. And the use of the internet allows some of these independent producers to have thier material spread throughout a pretty large network of followers. Although some laes are in place to somewhat protect this type of activity (Copyright Act of 1998), this is still something that we see far too often. You can even see pornography (don’t ask me how I know!!) that is based on actual movie themes. At some point, a more sure-fire method must be developed to prevent this very plagiaristic form of production.

In  A Networked Self, the writer discussed some boundaries between “labor and leisure”, and “consumer choice” which are  topics we’ve touched on before. As mentioned, we as consumers obviously have a choice as to whether or not we choose  to “participate” in many of these forms of social networking. We have a terms of use policy (though you almost have to be an ancient scholar or philosopher to totally understand) that makes us aware of the some of the ramifications of joining and using such networks. However, what if we are not told the entire story, such as that our online behaviors and patterns may be used to advertise to us and in reference to us? I guess fair is fair – once we make the commitment to participate, all is fair. It was further discussed whether or not our participation could be viewed as free labor…well, we are receiving an online service without a “financial” payment being made. So I guess it’s really true that nothing in this world is free.