Chapter 4

  This chapter was rich in new web-related terminology, at least for me. The first thing that was new to me was the fact that the term “Blog” is kind of an abbreviation for web log. This is a low-cost way for users to publish their views about a particular topic on the web. What was completely new for me was the term “Wiki”, I am familiar with Wikipedia, but until now I didn’t know it was a “Wiki” and that more of them existed (shame on me). The book explained that a wiki is a website designed so multiple users can contribute and edit the site information.

   In addition, I learned about wire services and copyright law. To begin with, a wire service (also known as a press agency or news service) is an organization that hires reporters to gather and write news stories, which then distributes to clients that pay a fee. According to the book, the most famous wire services in the United States are the United Press International (UPI) and the Associated Press (AP). Moving forward, I learned that the 1976 Copyright Act is in effect for the whole life of the author and another 70 years. Finally, when the copyright term expires, the protected work moves into the public domain. It is important to note that this does not mean that the work doesn’t have to be cited.