brass Blog

Any of you heard of a company called Zenter? Me neither. Apparently, being small and relatively unknown didn’t stop this start-up company from getting purchased by a giant conglomerate.

I read in this blog that a six-month-old, start-up company named Zenter was purchased (for an undisclosed price) by Google (heard of that company, right?) for further development and implementation in Google’s Docs and Spreadsheets department. If you’ve got some time, and if you’re interested in starting a business, you should really check out that blog. I found it really helpful how Yi-Wyn Yen (the writer) focused on explaining just how Zenter caught Google’s attention. She had a pretty cool and informative interview with the founders of Zenter, Wayne Crosby and Robby Walker, where they give the do’s-and-don’ts of making a start-up company something that a corporation can’t live without. Pretty inspirational stuff.

Ever feel like college just doesn’t offer you the chance to learn the skills you want to? After writing the last few blogs on automobiles, I ran into a few scholarships for the car lover…who would have guessed? It got me thinking that there are probably a lot more opportunities for people to pursue their interests in college than I first thought. I actually found three websites that offer scholarships for aspiring auto wizards.

The first one, The Collectors Foundation, carries a list of schools or institutions that receive scholarships or funding for automotive programs and/or equipment. Next up is the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS), which was formed with the intent of providing funding for students who are interested in careers in automotive aftermarket products and services. Information on the GAAS scholarships is available on the GAAS scholarship page, complete with an application page, a phone number and an email address. Finally, the Automotive Hall of Fame offers scholarships that are open for application to anyone entering an automotive field of study at accredited colleges and universities.

While this is by no means a comprehensive list of automotive scholarships, it could get you started in the right direction if cars are your passion. Researching scholarships and programs for untraditional hobbies could help you find a few surprising options if your chosen field isn’t one normally associated with a college degree.

Be sure to check out our next issue of brass|MAGAZINE this August for a brass Ten on unusual scholarships. Who knows? That space exploration jam you’ve been composing on your zither could earn you a grand for college. You just never know…

Fact: YouTube is one of the most popular websites for media these days. You can find anything from backyard science experiments to TV ads to hilarious videos like William Shatner (Captain Kirk from Star Trek) singing to George Lucas (Star Wars creator). I would post a link to that Shatner video, but it’s got a USA television network logo in the corner and you’ll read in a minute why that makes me a little wary.

However popular YouTube is getting, there seems to be one problem: Copyright laws are often not observed. I read an article on Broadcasting & Cable’s website which states that most students don’t understand copyright laws in regards to the content they upload to sites like YouTube, MySpace or Facebook.

I don’t completely blame our generation for misunderstanding. I read the Fair Use Doctrine on the U.S. government’s copyright website, and it is definitely a little hard to make sense of what/how much of a copyrighted unit can be used by someone other than the one holding the copyright before it is considered copyright infringement (whew, that’s a mouthful). From what I gather, posting videos like television episodes, movies, music videos and news broadcastings is illegal. Basically, if you haven’t made the video, you don’t have permission to post it. I remember one time when I watched an episode from the TV show Mythbusters on YouTube. I went back to watch it again about a week later and I couldn’t find it; it had been removed due to copyright infringement.

That being said, it is just a little ironic that the tagline of YouTube is “Broadcast Yourself,” but frequently we post videos that aren’t ours because they’re funny or interesting, and thereby break copyright laws without necessarily meaning to. It seems like, with the progression of technology and informational exchange trends, we need some new and very clear insight on the matter.

How many of you have a MySpace profile? I’ve got one. I use it mainly to stay in touch with old friends from school and to post short stories that will one day make me famous. There are a lot of good things that can come from a social networking site like MySpace, whether it’s staying in touch with friends, finding new opportunities, discovering new music or generating a fan base for your band. I’ve recently been exploring MySpace’s latest social networking move and they’ve definitely taken it to the next level.

Enter MySpace’s Impact Channel.

Basically, the Impact Channel is focused on promoting “political and civic engagement” and supporting “MySpace members that want to make a difference in their world” (according to a MySpace newsletter). Social/environmental action-focused companies or organizations with MySpace profiles are eligible for an “Impact Award” every month by receiving nominations from MySpace members. The top finishers for May were Grease Not Gas, The Black Warrior Riverkeeper, and Surfrider Foundation. Here’s a video from one of the past winners, Skate4Cancer–a youth-lead movement to find a cure for cancer:

This organization posts videos, tour updates and events on their MySpace page for the almost 23,000 people in their network. Not a bad way to generate support.

In addition, the Impact Channel features profiles of the 16 presidential candidates (as of now) for the 2008 elections, so it’s pretty much jam-packed full of information. It is also pretty cool to see the candidates (or their PR teams, I guess) making an effort to reach the younger generations on our own turf. And to top it off, you can now register to vote via the Impact page.

I can get excited that MySpace is using its resources to build stronger communities, online and off. But don’t forget this is a two-way street. If users hadn’t started using MySpace to plug their organizations and causes, they’d have nothing to work with. Nice job Gen Y. And thanks to MySpace for the support.