Aaron+Ford's+FinalAppropriation+and+Social+Media

I'm sure at some point we have all appropriated pictures, or other things, on social media sites. Appropriation is defined several ways depending on the content. Appropriation practice involves the 'appropriation' of ideas, symbols, artifacts, image, sound, objects, forms or styles from other cultures, from art history, from popular culture or other aspects of man made visual or non visual culture. Anthropologists have studied the process of cultural appropriation, or cultural borrowing (which includes art and urbanism), as part of cultural change and contact between different cultures.Typically cultural appropriation, has a negative context to it. But it can be a good thing also, it shows that people admire and want to include someone else's ideas into their own way of life. This is very much the case in the United States Of America, where almost every aspect of our culture has a melting pot effect. Take for example dreadlocks:

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In music, appropriation can be as clear as sampling something directly and including it in new music, or very vague, as in copying a melody, but using completely different tempo, instruments, switching humming for singing, and so on. Still, either way used, credit should be given to the original artists whenever possible.

In art, appropriation is: The use of borrowed elements in the creation of a new work. This can include something as wrong as passing off someone else's art as you own, or paying homage by copying the basic style of art, as in artists in a particular movement feeding off of each other. It can also be done easily online thanks to websites that let you apply an 'effect' on your own photos. Here is a link to a website that discusses that very topic, and still shows you how to Obama-ize your pictures.

@http://www.designgeek.com/obama-posterize-yourself

In my opinion, social media is a culture of it's own. It allows people to share and discusses many things from many perspectives. People from any region, age group, or social class can all join in on ongoing conversations. It is the ultimate melting pot of all humans (with access to internet). For the most part, it's a wonderful eye opening thing, that can help diversify people's opinions, but it can often cross the blurry line of sharing and stealing.

Facebook covers it's self from possible accusations of being involved in aiding appropriation, by giving users the option to "share" things from other users. If you see an image, you like and press 'share', it will appear on your wall and in people's news feed as a post by you. This isn't exactly appropriation, as it also lists who it was shared from, thus giving credit to theposter. More times than not, the person you are 'sharing' it from wasn't the original poster either. Even if it appears they were the first person to post the image, they still probably aren't the original creator of it. I know for a fact that you can right click on anyone's images, download them to your computer or smart device, and then upload it as your own. Doing it this way makes it appear to be an original image from you, and leaves the responsibility of giving credit up to your own conscience.

In my opinion, anything done in public, is understood as subject to viewing by anyone. Does this include pictures posted to public domain websites? Yes and no. There is no real enforceable penalty for appropriation on social media sites. Most websites allow you to contact the owner of the site and request that a picture be removed, either because you own it, or it shows you in it. But that still goes back to the old photography argument of whether the picture is property of the subject, or the photographer. Similar to how certain native tribal members didn't want their picture taken for fear of losing a part of them, and celebrities don't want their picture taken by paparazzi trying to make money off of them.

Yet other things are harder to debate. I see a lot of people who post and share those funny sarcastic e-cards, where it shows an image with a quote over-layed on it. Here are a few examples:

@http://list25.com/25-hilariously-sarcastic-ecards/

It's usually easy to know or find out where the image came from, but near impossible to know who made the text. So many people come up with sayings that have been stated before. Who really knows if they heard it from a friend, read it in a book, or just thought of it themselves? Only they do.

I believe that if nothing else, it's disrespectful to steal ideas and present them as your own, with the motive of making yourself look cool, but not illegal. The line is crossed legally, when someone starts making money off of it. Then it's not 'sharing', it's profiting off of someone else's concept. I am in the music industry and know that if you go online find a beat to use, and make a song with it, then you are supposed to get permission from the beat maker.

@http://www.givemebeats.net/

They usually say it's cool if you are making a mix-tape you plan to give away for free and mention them, because it gives both of you exposure. But if you don't give credit, or start charging for it, they don't look to fondly upon that. The same should be true of images posted on FaceBook, or any other social media site. Always give credit where credit is due, and don't try to make money off of other peoples stuff.

Wikipedia. N.p., 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 03 Sept. 2012. .

Wikipedia. N.p., 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 03 Sept. 2012. .