Thursday, June 25, 2009

Five dangers of the Internet

The recent discussion on plagiarism missed a key element: the traditional rules are being pushed. The widespread availability of free online research and commentary on every subject puts information into a lot of hands, but this same easy accessibility tests claims of originality. Claiming ownership and failing to acknowledge use of original material are different: with almost everything being researched there is very little to be completely original about.

No one has fed the storm of originality and ownership more than Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the online Huffington Post (HuffPo). Described by Time as the “web’s new oracle”, HuffPo attracts one million comments a month: the key word in the debate is “aggregator.”

The internet presents opportunity but also provides danger.

Click the link and read my column on the Five Dangers of the Internet.

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