New Zealand

Here in New Zealand our crazy law has made millions of Kiwis into criminals: we’re breaking the law if we buy a CD and copy the music to our iPods or AppleTV.

Fortunately that’s soon to change — Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Bill passes third reading:

Legislation that updates New Zealand’s copyright law to ensure that we keep up to speed with recent advances in digital technology passed its third and final reading in the House today by a vote of 111 to 10, announced the Associate Commerce Minister Judith Tizard.

Apparently though we still won’t be able to put videos we’ve paid for onto our iPods. Nor will we be able to parallel import the movies everyone’s talking about and that we want to watch on a DVD. Key provisions of the Copyright (New Technologies) Bill include:

• It provides a format shifting exception for copying sound recordings for personal use or the personal use of their household provided certain conditions are met. …
• It continues the 9 month parallel importation ban on films from their international release date …
• The purpose of the ban is to encourage investment in and the promotion of film production, distribution and exhibition industries and to protect cinema ticket sales by ensuring a film’s cinematic exhibition does not coincide with its availability on video tape or in DVD format.

I find that last item annoying. I’m all for supporting artists and actors and film production and distribution. But cinema sales? Why should we protect cinemas, when increasingly people are wanting and willing to watch this material on their own screens?

I haven’t looked, but I’d be shocked if all the current movies are not available on illegal sharing and download sites. Plenty of people will turn to those sources that give no revenue back to the creators if they’re blocked from legally obtaining the movies.

Non-Kiwis may not realise that the NZ iTunes Store does not offer movies or TV shows for sale. Perhaps this is one reason why. It definitely annoys me.

Last year, when Saving Grace disappeared from our screens after only 2 episodes I turned to the torrents. I’m normally a pretty law-abiding type and would have happily watched it on TV, or bought a DVD set. Neither was available. I would cheerfully have paid the iTunes Store and downloaded the episodes. That was not an option. With all legal avenues blocked I turned to the only remaining source.

So, once this Bill becomes law, things will be a bit better, but there’s still a long way to go.

Update: the moment I’d posted I saw Colin Jackson’s post on the matter — A dog’s breakfast:

Our elected politicians have voted for a complete dog’s breakfast in the form of the Copyright Amendment (New Technology) Bill. It’s been passed and it’s now an Act.

You should go read what he has to say on the matter. Even a law allowing us to put music we’ve bought onto our iPods may still prevent us from actually doing so. Sigh

Popularity: 27% [?]

In February 2008 Nielsen Online revealed that most New Zealand Internet users are generating web content. (Source: 02/26/2008 Consumer Generated Media: Evolution or Revolution?. )

We like photos, videos, music, blogs

In plain English: we share photos, links and videos, through websites such as Flickr, YouTube, MySpace. We read and write blogs and wikis. We download and stream audio and video content. We like photos, movies, music, and probably podcasts. We edit and comment; we upload.

The report also found that once people are comfortable online, they then often become more involved — they actively edit and comment on content from others and upload video and music to the web.

It’s a revolution in relationships

“We are seeing a revolution in the way in which consumers here in the Pacific and around the world are interacting, communicating, creating and nurturing personal and professional relationships, expressing and publishing their opinions and thoughts, creating and distributing content for and to one another, and entertaining themselves,” says Melanie Ingrey, Market Research Director, Asia Pacific, Nielsen Online.

Nielsen Online found that people tend to take up these activities if their friends and peers are doing them. They join services (such as Bebo) if their friends recommend them.

Problems facing us here in New Zealand are lack of time, slow Internet connections and concerns about security.

Kiwis want to reconnect

A further report tells us that 62% of online New Zealanders have browsed other people’s online profiles within the past 12 months, and 49% have actively updated their own online profile. (Source: 02/12/2008 New Zealand Surfers Ride Social Networking Boom.)

Old Friends, Bebo and MySpace

Their profiles are on Old Friends, Bebo and MySpace. Kiwis want to reconnect with people from the past such as former colleagues and old schoolmates.

” … different social networking platforms cater to varying online identity desires,” notes Melanie Ingrey, Market Research Director, Asia Pacific, Nielsen Online. “Sites such as MySpace essentially promote a fantasised identity where relationships are based on common network interests while Facebook is grounded in real identity and online connections are simply an extension of real friendships. Then you have sites such as LinkedIn which promote social networking for business and career advancement purposes.”

What are you doing?

So, that’s what Kiwis are doing this year. What’s your organisation doing in response?

Do you have a blog where visitors can comment on what you’re doing? Bloggers can also track your activities and write about you on their own blogs.

Do you share photos and videos from your events, using services such as Flickr and YouTube? If you do, then visitors will spread the word about your organisation when they tell others about your content.

Do you recruit volunteers by means of a MySpace or Bebo profile?

Kiwis want to participate. Do you know how to Engage your Community?

Written for and reproduced from CommunityNet Aotearoa Panui, March 2008.

Popularity: 20% [?]

While I was totally occupied with Webstock over the last couple of weeks Mac stuff happened. I still haven’t caught up with it all. Phil Roy though, of NZMac.com has created a tutorial showing the process for ordering a photo book, using iPhoto.

Non-Kiwi readers will wonder what the fuss is, but the fact is it’s taken, what? 4 years for this aspect of iPhoto to reach us.

Over the weekend I completed the preparation of a book within iPhoto ‘08 to have printed using the newly announced iPhoto printing service. As this was a first for me, I thought I would provide users with an idea of the process in images. As with the development of the books themselves, the process is incredibly easy. The only thing you need to be aware of is the size of the data that is sent through to Apple and the time that this process might take.

I ordered a 56 page (double sided) hard-cover photo book. I can’t include any images of the book here sorry due to privacy issues (sorry, but I feel I would be obliged to seek permission from everyone in any photo), but here’s how the whole thing works …

[Via : Ordering a book from iPhoto (in pictures).]

I’ve long wanted to create a calendar from some of my photos. Eventually I aim to try this out from within iPhoto.

Have you tried the iPhoto printing feature from New Zealand? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Popularity: 23% [?]