This morning I logged into twitter and immediately saw a pal using the @tweetcc. If you’ve been around the web as long as we all have you understand that CC typically means Creative Commons.

Creative Commons basically says, I want to share my work and you can distribute it with these terms. In other words, for those of us who copy web works, at least in some cases we would now legally be ok to do so.

The question has been asked, but what about tweets? Tweets are no larger than 140 character long messages posted to a micro blog called twitter. It’s basically a web based sms, though many use it from their phones, it’s non-threaded conversation that’s surprisingly addictive and easy to follow in spite of itself.

Enter Tweetcc. Tweetcc is a service that makes it possible for a person to agree to make their tweets free for public use and really ends the question about legality. In other words, if I post a tweet and it winds up in a book, if I have a cc license, there is no issue. Here’s what they offer.

Publish & license tweets with Creative Commons

Send a message to tweetcc via Twitter including the words @tweetcc: I license my tweets under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication license

They do have other license options and you can choose what you prefer. One of the nicest things about this opportunity is that they also have a list of people who are using this.

Fair use is good. Let’s just take the guess work out. I believe in Creative Commons licensing. It’s a good thing, and I’m not quoting Martha Stuart. If I get sued, spell my name right and give me credit.

Why this matters.

As a sort of amendment or addition, here is a REALLY good example of why Creative Commons Licensing is so important. Without a CC license, you lose your creative freedoms. New Zealand is facing just such a situation at the end of the month.

Technorati Tags: creative commons, tweetcc, creative freedoms, new zealand