But are we hiding something?
For those who missed it, Steven Colbert came up with a new catchphrase last night during his interview with John Perry Barlow of the EFF: "Librarians are hiding something". The Shifted Librarian has the video of the segment.
Why was Barlow on the Colbert Report? Well, EFF is suing VIacom on behalf of MoveOn because of Viacom suing YouTube/Google, in small part over Colbert Shows clips/parodies of same.
I have only 2 3 minor observations:
1) What would it take to get Leslie Berger or Loriene Roy on the Colbert Report?
2) Stephen said last night that it was a trademarked phrase, but trademark protection does not work like copyright. The moment a copyrightable expression is fixed in a tangible medium, it is effectively under copyright. But for trademark ... you have to file for TM protection to the US Patent and Trademark Office, there are forms to be filled out, fees to be paid and requirements to be met. And while I'm not an experienced USPTO searcher, I was unable to find a trademark on the phrase "Librarians are hiding something." If you are a better searcher than I (which isn't hard ... I'm slowly losing my mojo), take a look and let me know what you find. Maybe it's not too late for ALA to put its hat in the ring ...
3) I see shirts and mugs and bumper stickers out of this:
Librarians are hiding something ... your privacy.
Hmmm ... whatever happened to my CafePress account?
Comments
Hi. You do realize that Colbert is all about satire and irony? By trademarking the phrase he is actually saying the complete opposite. That's what makes the show so powerful. His ersatz ultra-conservative persona is in the tradition of political commentary that goes back very far.
Stephen
Posted by: Stephen K Abram | March 28, 2007 06:01 AM
Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to register the domain name and the guy that got it says it's not for sale. I had visions....
Posted by: Jenny Levine | March 28, 2007 06:47 PM
Stephen: I am a huge fan of Stephen Colbert and have been for quite a while. But since part of his shtick is to never break character ... why not take him at his word?
Basically, a star with ENORMOUS CACHET has just thrown librarians a bone. We should run with it. Have fun with it, engage him (tongue-in-cheek, of course) and get a good strong message and image out there.
Jenny - getting the domain hadn't occurred to me! Good thought ... too bad about being too late. It looks like something is already up: http://www.librariansarehidingsomething.com/
Posted by: Eli | March 28, 2007 06:59 PM
I love it! That must be Colbert.
Posted by: Lyn Anderson | March 29, 2007 03:51 PM
This is for Eli:
http://slobodkin.org/news/index.html#coiner_of_truthiness
Posted by: librarian lover | April 4, 2007 04:29 AM