The Usable Commons at the CC Summit
Events
The Usable Commons track at the CC summit contains an exciting array of sessions that explore how to make the digital commons more discoverable, usable, and human-centered. In content communities such as 3D printing, research, and social media, we will focus on key questions of human behavior, including: What motivates people to share online? What social and technical design factors help people to make connections and build relationships? What can CC and its partners do to better facilitate and foster this collaboration online?
In order of appearance on the summit agenda, below are some of the sessions and speakers central to the Usable Commons. Note that all sessions at the summit are tagged across multiple tracks. The Usable Commons is simply one way for you to navigate this year’s excellent program.
We look forward to collaborating with you at this year’s CC Summit in Toronto!
Note: Session times are subject to change. For up-to-date descriptions of each session, check the Sched app.
Sharing norms that go beyond the licenses and CC’s role, starting with 3D design community
(Day 1, April 28) Friday, 1:30-3:30pm
What would it look like for Creative Commons to shift its primary focus to the norms of sharing content online, rather than the precise legalities of sharing? To help us envision this strategy in practice, we will apply it in the area of 3D printing. We will look at the existing norms for sharing 3D designs, and then discuss how Creative Commons could help make the culture of sharing even more pronounced and productive in this domain. As part of the discussion, we will brainstorm specific things CC might do and talk about the potential negative consequences, as we explore this new way of operating. This will be a two-part session, with discussion/debate in the second hour.
Speakers:
- Tony Buser (Thingiverse/Makerbot)
- Meghan Coakley (NIH 3D Print Exchange)
- Jeric Bautista (re3D)
- Ben Malouf (Lulzbot/Aleph Objects)
- Meredith Jacob (CC U.S.)
- Frank Polcino (Thingiverse/Makerbot)
- Michael Weinberg (Shapeways)
- Sarah Pearson (Creative Commons)
- Jane Park (Creative Commons)
CC Search: Usability, Features, and Partners
(Day 1, April 28) Friday, 4:00-5:30pm
In February, Creative Commons released a working beta of CC Search. The initial service indexes about 1 percent of the Commons, and has a few key features, including list making, favoriting, and one-click attribution. Following the release, many partners have come forward asking to be involved. Before CC builds a complete index and service, we should continue consulting with partners, users, and the CC community. We’ll generate insights and map ideas for the future of CC search as a product. We will conduct a user-testing session; share statistics and analytics of CC search tools and partner platforms; work in smaller groups to generate solutions for a vital search product for the commons built to go beyond discovery to support collaboration and human connections
Speakers:
- Ryan Merkley (Creative Commons)
- Liza Daly (Software engineer, lead of beta CC Search)
- Rob Myers (Creative Commons)
- Maarten Zeinstra (CC Netherlands /Kennisland)
How to encourage prosocial behavior
(Day 1, April 28) Friday, 4:00-5:30pm
Healthy collaboration requires a lot more than copyright licenses. Among other things, it requires that people recognize the humanity in each other and behave accordingly, something that is far from a given online. Creating online environments that encourage prosocial behavior requires proactive effort and design. This session will feature platforms who regularly grapple with these issues. Each will explain the processes and infrastructure they use to create online environments where people interact in productive ways. Discussion will follow regarding what else we can do to foster greater cooperation and sharing online, especially with regards to commons content communities. We will explore the lifecycle of sharing, including: the pre-conditions for sharing, the actual act of sharing, what happens after sharing, and then what might feed back into the cycle, which may be ongoing or a one-time act.
Speakers:
- Juliet Barbara (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Ashe Dryden (Programmer, Diversity Advocate and Consultant)
- Alex Feerst (Medium)
- Tony Buser (Thingiverse/Makerbot)
- Sarah Pearson (Creative Commons)
- Jane Park (Creative Commons)
Share or Die: Is the Future of Manufacturing Open Source? Open Hardware Business Models
(Day 2, April 29) Saturday, 9-10am
How can manufacturers open source their design and products without losing their unique value proposition? This panel, organized by Danish Design Centre, debates the challenges and opportunities of designing open source-based business models for manufacturing and looks at the future of production in a new era. An era increasingly defined by not only the technology of the maker movement, but also its major underlying currents of knowledge sharing, co-creation and crowdsourced innovation. A future where manufacturers and designers will have to learn to share – or die.
Speakers:
- Christian Villum (CC Denmark)
- Paul Stacey (Creative Commons)
How to make good on the Creative Commons Promise?
(Day 3, April 30) Sunday, 10:30-11:30am
As use of Creative Commons licenses increases, we are seeing more instances of people misunderstanding the licenses or making mistakes with reuse. Creators who use Creative Commons face the issue that they often do not receive proper attribution that the licenses promised them when their works are reused. Reusers of CC-licensed works are increasingly facing the issue of legal threats from creators if they make mistakes in their attribution. In this session, we will discuss these issues, share our experience with them, and develop strategies for addressing them. We hope to develop an approach for how to proceed to better ensure that people are getting what they expect when they both release their works using a CC license and when they reuse CC-licensed works.
Speaker:
- Charles M. Roslof (Wikimedia Foundation)
Patents: The Next Open Access Fight
(Day 3, April 30) Sunday, 1:30-2:30pm
Even as scientific research becomes accessible to a wider public, some of that same research is falling into the hands of patent trolls, companies that serve no purpose but to amass patents and sue innovators who independently created similar inventions. Those trolls can undo open access allies’ work in bringing knowledge and innovation to the public. Join us for an overview and discussion about current day challenges and opportunities, and the role that Creative Commons might play in furthering a patent commons.
Speaker:
- Elliot Harmon (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
- Jorge Contreras (University of Utah)
- Diane Peters (Creative Commons)
- Ryan Merkley (Creative Commons)
CC Usability: Reimagining CC’s tools for real users
(Day 3, April 30) Sunday, 3:00-5:00pm
If we were to reimagine CC’s core tools for real users in 2017, who would be our core audience? If we didn’t have the constraints of 15 years ago when the licenses launched, how would we design the licenses to serve CC users’ needs and desires today? We will present and discuss current and new designs of the CC licenses, buttons, deeds, and chooser. Content platforms will provide insight into their users’ motivations. Additionally, we invite participants from every region to give us insight into their users’ needs, and an opportunity to help reimagine CC’s tools for the current web and sharing climate.
Speakers:
- Alex Feerst (Medium)
- Melissa Nightingale (Wattpad)
- Cheyenne Hohman (Free Music Archive)
- Charles M. Roslof (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Mack Hardy (Affinity Bridge)
- Eric Steuer (Creative Commons)
- Ryan Merkley (Creative Commons)
- Jane Park (Creative Commons)