As you curate content, add images to your blog posts or audio sound effects and music to your podcasts or videos, you will find yourself turning to content other people have created and posted online or elsewhere.
Similarly, as a passionate open scientist, you are interested in making sure the content that you create and post is open access and free to use. But you’re still concerned about others stealing your ideas. So how do you keep control of your own content – releasing it into the world, but also asking for attribution, or putting limits on how people can use it (non commercial purposes only, please!).
The answer to both of these questions is the Creative Commons.
The Creative Commons is an organization that provides free and easy to use copyright licenses that give creators ways to share their work. The use of a creative commons license lets creators stipulate how they would like others to repurpose their work, and has become a standard for non-commercial copyright. You can learn more about the Creative Commons and their licenses at their website (link).
The creative commons website hosts a search tool, that allows you to look for images, music, media, and video. You can also share your creative commons licensed work via the same site.
Some platforms offer the option of Creative Commons licenses for those people using them. A full list can be found on the Creative Commons Platform Page of the Creative Commons website (link). When you are looking for content to curate or add to your video, blog post or podcast, whether or not you use the Creative Commons site, always search for creative commons licensed work that allow for reuse. Most licenses also specify attribution. The best way to indicate attribution online is to link back to the original sources. Sometimes, you can embed a video or link from another website (ie. YouTube) directly into your blog or social media post in order to comment on it. These embedded links and videos do not need to be creative commons licensed because they take the user directly back to the original source of the video. You have probably noticed throughout this online resource that I use both methods here. I use creative commons licensed images, but also embed links, YouTube videos, TedTalks and other media in which the creator has enabled an embed function (such as Gifs). All media has a link back, or an attribution, or both.
Next, the final section of Chapter 3 will cover a growing concern. By putting yourself up in the public eye, you may open yourself up to online bullying or harassment. Luckily, there are resources available that can help you deal with this unfortunate event if it does occur.