FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 3 May 2003 M/C - Media and Culture is proud to present issue two in volume six of the award-winning M/C Journal http://journal.media-culture.org.au/ 'share' - Edited by Axel Bruns & Alex Burns As we move into the information age, the network society, some see us also as turning into a culture of collectors, a society of sharers. Electronic information, especially once it is networked, is easy to copy, simple to share, and seems to invite collaborative engagement; this leads to the emergence of filesharing services and open source software development. Financially, ever more people are hoping to share in the commercial successes of the listed companies whose stocks they own, but all too often find themselves sharing predominantly their losses. On a wider and more fundamental level, offline, public, physical resources also need to be shared more effectively: as we exploit our reserves of natural fuels and foods more rapidly than we can replenish them, we attempt to find ways to achieve sustainability. And on the sociopolitical level, too, moves are underway to share the load of governance, administration, and jurisdiction through shared transnational organisations ranging from the UN to the International Court of Justice. What is also becoming obvious, however, is that some are better at sharing than others. Along with the invitation to share more effectively comes the reflex to hold on to one's own property even more stubbornly. Whole industries are now devoted to the development of patents for inventions that are yet to be made, in order to extract immense fees from anyone wanting to share these ideas; countries like Australia and the US have atrocious records when it comes to fairly sharing and responsibly sustaining the world's natural resources; and in the networked environment, intellectual property has now assumed almost mythical status - central to one's success, but difficult to grasp, and almost impossible to protect. Is sharing the answer or the problem: does it open new possibilities for a better, fairer future, or does it destroy existing structures to leave nothing but an uncontrollable mess? The articles in this issue address a wide range of these issues. We invite you to share the insights of our contributors! Feature Article Graham Meikle "Indymedia and The New Net News" Articles Tom Graves "Something Happened on the Way to the C" Andy Deck "Treadmill Culture" Marjorie Kibby "Shared Files: The New Record Collection" Donell Holloway "Sharing Foxtel: The Kids Are Back around the Hearth Again" Tara Brabazon "Black and Grey: Aberfan and the Sharing of Tragedy" Alex Burns "The Worldflash of a Coming Future" Royce W. Smith "The Image Is Dying: Visualisation and Sharing in Catastrophic Times" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - M/C - Media and Culture http://www.media-culture.org.au/