Traditional folk art and online folklore: is comparison possible?

At the moment the globality of its information fi eld became obvious, the information society virtually removed from the agenda the question of the existence of tradition and traditional culture within its borders. Certainly, their importance was not denied and, moreover, against the backdrop of increased ethnic activity, it increased signifi cantly. This is evidenced by UNESCO's attention to the protection of the world's cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage List, 1972), to issues of copyright in the fi eld of culture and creativity (World Culture Report, 1998. “Culture, Creativity and Markets”), the inclusion of intangible aspects in the concept of cultural heritage, including traditions and practices, beliefs and perceptions, languages and dialects, music, singing, dancing, and storytelling (Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, 2001). It is important to note that back in 1998, the World Culture Report considered cyberculture as a subject of copyright. This fact alone indicates that the principles of construction and functioning of the information society were clearly visible not only in the sphere of technology, production, and communications, but in the creativity sphere as well.