Post by TM on Jan 13, 2010 23:12:52 GMT -5
Google and the writers
Posted: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 10:10 am
"The do-er and the thinker: no allowance for the other"
-- "Thick as a Brick," Jethro Tull, 1972
It's difficult to illustrate the differences between Google engineers and writers but it seems to me the above quote, written by Jethro Tull musicians Ian Anderson, Jeffrey Hammond and John Evans, might come as close as possible to illuminating the wide gap.
Yesterday we learned that Google was busy apologizing to Chinese writers for digitizing their books before seeking permission.
Of course, as was reported in The New York Times, Google said it was respectful of all copyright laws and, therefore, didn't do anything illegal.
I have no doubt they think that way at Google.
What Google didn't take into account is how authors think of them.
And that's the reason they're apologizing to Chinese writers and find themselves in a legal tizzy with writers in the United States, France and Germany.
The typical engineer, as was reported in Ken Auletta's book about Google, thinks about efficiency. It's faster and far more efficient, as a Google engineer would think, to load up a complete book on a Web page instead of forcing readers to go to a store, buy an e-reader, etc., etc., so they can have access to the tomb.
(And - duh! — that's one of the reasons those ambitious engineers in Mountain View, Calif., started Google News. What's more efficient — surfing a gazillion Web sites or going to ONE Web site where you can read All The News That Fits On ONE Web Page? Please tell me I don't have to spell this out for you!)
The writer — nationality notwithstanding — is thinking about the effort he or she puts into creating the book and, therefore, wants to get paid.
Writers tend to be an old-fashioned group and not entirely trusting of the Internet. Some might even wonder, given what they've read about the newspaper industry's issues with Google, if the Internet giant isn't the devil incarnate.
Anyone who creates intellectual property, whether it's for a newspaper, magazine, a Web site or a book, needs to understand that Google will respect intellectual property laws but they'll also play them as close to the line of infringement as possible.
The reason? It's in their interest to do so.
Google wants to be the world's library, among other things, and it wants to make sure you turn to it ‚ and only it — when you're on the hunt for information.
To Google, apologizing for overstepping the law is simply the cost of doing business. For that matter, so's a day in court over this issue.
Or as rock musicians Anderson, Hammond and Evans wrote:
"And the youngest of the family is moving with authority.
Building castles by the sea, he dares the tardy tide to wash them all aside."
www.newsandtech.com/dougs_page/article_e23d9512-0066-11df-acc0-001cc4c002e0.html
Posted: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 10:10 am
"The do-er and the thinker: no allowance for the other"
-- "Thick as a Brick," Jethro Tull, 1972
It's difficult to illustrate the differences between Google engineers and writers but it seems to me the above quote, written by Jethro Tull musicians Ian Anderson, Jeffrey Hammond and John Evans, might come as close as possible to illuminating the wide gap.
Yesterday we learned that Google was busy apologizing to Chinese writers for digitizing their books before seeking permission.
Of course, as was reported in The New York Times, Google said it was respectful of all copyright laws and, therefore, didn't do anything illegal.
I have no doubt they think that way at Google.
What Google didn't take into account is how authors think of them.
And that's the reason they're apologizing to Chinese writers and find themselves in a legal tizzy with writers in the United States, France and Germany.
The typical engineer, as was reported in Ken Auletta's book about Google, thinks about efficiency. It's faster and far more efficient, as a Google engineer would think, to load up a complete book on a Web page instead of forcing readers to go to a store, buy an e-reader, etc., etc., so they can have access to the tomb.
(And - duh! — that's one of the reasons those ambitious engineers in Mountain View, Calif., started Google News. What's more efficient — surfing a gazillion Web sites or going to ONE Web site where you can read All The News That Fits On ONE Web Page? Please tell me I don't have to spell this out for you!)
The writer — nationality notwithstanding — is thinking about the effort he or she puts into creating the book and, therefore, wants to get paid.
Writers tend to be an old-fashioned group and not entirely trusting of the Internet. Some might even wonder, given what they've read about the newspaper industry's issues with Google, if the Internet giant isn't the devil incarnate.
Anyone who creates intellectual property, whether it's for a newspaper, magazine, a Web site or a book, needs to understand that Google will respect intellectual property laws but they'll also play them as close to the line of infringement as possible.
The reason? It's in their interest to do so.
Google wants to be the world's library, among other things, and it wants to make sure you turn to it ‚ and only it — when you're on the hunt for information.
To Google, apologizing for overstepping the law is simply the cost of doing business. For that matter, so's a day in court over this issue.
Or as rock musicians Anderson, Hammond and Evans wrote:
"And the youngest of the family is moving with authority.
Building castles by the sea, he dares the tardy tide to wash them all aside."
www.newsandtech.com/dougs_page/article_e23d9512-0066-11df-acc0-001cc4c002e0.html
I was on my way here, but I was sidetracked. (likely story)