Web+Mashing

toc Mash-up sites are created by programmers who unite data and features from different sites, and apply them into one site. This allows users to go to one site instead of opening several web browsers to use specific features or tools.

=How the Concept Arrived=

Since 2001, the genre of “[|bastard pop]” arose from the music scene. Bastard pop, also known as mash-up and defined by Wikipedia as:

“a musical genre which, in its purest form, consists of the combination (usually by digital means) of the music from one song with the [|acapella] from another. Typically, the music and vocals belong to completely different genres...” (Wikipedia 2005)

The concept of web mashing arose from the same idea; with the technique of fusing between useful tools on a particular website.

Mash-Up versus Integation
Mash-up is //not// integration. An analogy of a mash-up and integration is mashing bringing two technologies/tools from two particular sites and create a new website which presents both of these technologies/tool. An example of this is mashing [|CraigsList.com] and [|Google Maps] to create [|HousingMaps.com]. As for integration, it fuses two services from two companies. An example of this is the incorporation of the payment system of [|PayPal] into the auction site [|Ebay].

Endless Innovation
By fusing the useful aspects/features from a particular website, it allows people to promote endless innovation, which leads to the open standards movement. The process of open standards was driven by the users.

Customized and Narrowcasted Information
The Internet has created a global village, which makes it more accessible for everyone around the world to communicate and interact with each other. Information is more abundant and easily accessible, which makes it easier to create mash-up websites. The trend of today’s society is customizing information, so that users would not be overloaded with all the information located on the web. Therefore, there is a need for information to be organized in a matter that it deems advantageous, via being useful as in saving time from opening more than one site, to having the available tools all located in one site. Many mash-up sites are being more customizable to serve a particular niche. With the convenience and ease to accessing the Internet, it allows individuals to create mash-up websites in the comforts of their own homes; as a “on- the- side” project.

Betterment of Society
The following is an example of how an individual can create a mash-up site to help serve their community better:

“Chris Smoak, who lives in Seattle, has mashed together several traffic, web-cam, transport-information and map sites to create [|Seattle Bus Monster], a public-transit site for the Seattle area” (Economist 2005)

This example is for the “betterment of society”, where the development and use of technological innovations is used to improve the living standards; in terms of being more efficient and effective in locating information relating to a local area or society. (Haag, Cummings, and McCubbrey 442) The concept of mash-up allows individuals to generate more customized content and then share it to a broader range of people, which may have the same interest or need for the content. The trends of web mashing permit individuals whom are not “hardcore techies” to contribute and be involved in enhancing open source technologies and tools.

The concept of web mashing is being applied to Web 2.0. According to Sigal, the term Web 2.0 is defined as an “applied web service model that blurs the line between software and service.” (2005) Web 2.0 was to be the platform that created “unlimited possibilities available when working on a platform not controlled by a single vendor but instead one built out of discrete pieces with well-defined communication;” which brings in the open standards aspect of “small pieces loosely joined.” (Steinberg 2005) The Where 2.0 Conference is a useful source for people to receive the latest information of web-mashing. Currently, the trend with mash-up sites is the collaboration of “location-aware technologies,” which creates a new class of web applications and services by using mapping and other data.

=Copyright Issues=

Many of the mash-up sites created use data from other websites, whom are not aware that their data is being mashed on another page. In turns, this raises many legal issues for this trendy concept. In terms of the music industry, record label company, EMI fought against the concept of the mash- up album called [|Grey Album], created by DJ Danger Mouse. This album was comprised of words from rapper Jay-Z's Black Album mixed with rhythms and chords from the Beatles' legendary White Album. (Shachtman 2004) This case entered the “gray area” of copyright violation. According to the Executive Director of Creative Common, Glenn Otis Brown stated:

“"It's a great example of our two-tiered copyright system,"… "Labels are saying, 'If you do (a remix) on the underground scene, it's OK. But if it's so compelling that people trade it all over the Internet, then we're going to sue you.'"” (Shachtman 2004)

EMI denied this statement. The concept of mashing is the “new way on the web,” making it difficult for legislators to form specifications or guideline to this matter, for the general public to adhere by. Currently, there is no legislation restricting this concept, and no set licensing fees have been determined. According to Steinberg, “This world of remixing and discovering synergies is familiar in many non-technical settings. The legal issues, business models, and rules of engagement have not yet settled around how web-based mash-ups will work. (2005)

Although there are many intellectual property rights that tried to protect musician’s works. It has been proven that there are ways around these regulations. An example of how emerging technology allows users to sample, mash, and share music is the [|ccMixter], launched by Creative Commons. Although, regulations are effective surrounding the music industry and their intellectual property laws, there will always be the case where these regulations could be violated. The following statement was found on the ccMixter site regarding regulation violations:

“Sometimes, however, a contributor might accidentally upload copyrighted materials he or she doesn't have permission for. If you know of such a case or are the copyright holder of something posted here without your permission or a Creative Commons license, please [|let us know].” (ccMixter 2005)

This shows that although there are regulations in place, there is no guarantee that copyrighted material can be protected. As in the same case with web mashing, this can also occur. There is no defined method of stopping mashers from violating these regulations. Therefore, there are deep concerns of how data from one site can be mashed onto another site, and the provider of the data would not know where their data is presented. In the past, when specific tools were “stolen” and used on other sites, these companies will be faced with an injunction and a lawsuit. An example of this would be the case of Amazon filing a suit again Barnes and Nobles for “copying” their patented one-click shopping checkout process technology.

Current Position
The current position of mash-up website in the online is relatively fresh. The intensity of the impact of mashing on the future of the web cannot be determined. There have been a few predictions. The following are statements made by different individuals whom forecasting whether mash-ups will be the “new way” to the web.

“Mash-ups are emblematic of the direction of the web,” says Paul Levine, the general manager of Yahoo! Local, a subsidiary of one of the web's most popular sites. “This is about participants in the web community opening up their systems.” It may also be about good business. By building their sites using open standards, and so making it easier for customers and developers to build other sites that plug into them, companies can both encourage innovation and boost their own popularity. “When you lower the barriers to entry, interesting things happen,” says Tim O'Reilly, president of O'Reilly & Associates, a firm based in Sebastopol, California that publishes programming handbooks. “The players who figure this out will wield a great deal of economic power.” (Economist 2005)

From this statement, the concept of web-mashing has a bright and lucrative future, but is a biased opinion.