Final Blog Post: My Online Presence

I was born in 2002, this means that I grew up with electronics and social media. However, I am the youngest in my family which means I had to follow the same rules my older siblings did. I did grow up watching cartoons and kids shows on television, like all kids my age, but I did not receive my first phone until I was in sixth grade and it only could call and text. I received my first smartphone (iPhone) when I was fourteen years old and was very excited to craft my online presence. Thankfully, people told me to be very careful with what I posted on social media because anyone can have access to it, but that did not stop me from creating these social media profiles and putting my personal information online. 

I have a Facebook account, Snapchat account, Instagram account, YouTube account, Netflix account and a Pinterest account. When I googled myself for this post, the only sites that showed up were my LinkedIn and Facebook. However, when I scrolled down further, I found a website called the Next College Student Athlete (NCSA). I was on the varsity golf team in high school and this website somehow had my personal information such as: my height, my weight, what sport I played, the high school I attended, my home town, and the year I graduated high school. 

Having personal information about me online is scary, but with all of the tools and contraptions the government has put in place such as, the trackers on police cars I talked about in my last blog, and the facial scanners in China that track everyone and rate people on their social grade, does not make much of a difference because our personal information will get released to the government one way or another. 

Even though I feel that I am not on my phone as much as some of my peers, my phone's screen time statistics state that I spend a daily average of three hours and forty minutes on my phone. This daily average does not include how much time I spend on my computer watching television or doing homework assignments. This gives me an unhealthy perception of what the world really is because I spend half my time connecting through a tiny computer.

As I continue to utilize technology in my personal and professional life, I want to create more limits on my habits and attempt to monitor my personal information that is available to the public. While there is always going to be some things that slip through the cracks, the more that we pay attention, the better chance we have of keeping private information private.

Blog Post #12: EOTO Presentations Round 2

The second round of presentations was very interesting to me. I have heard of these terms and concepts without knowing the definitions. For example, disinformation is people deliberately produce wrong information to prove their stature of power. It is also known as "fake news," I have heard of fake news before, mostly associated with Trump, but I never knew the proper term was disinformation. 

Another thing I found out about was the Total Information Awareness Program, they get data on us and release it to the government. An example of this is a website called Next College Student Athlete (NCSA). I googled myself to see what information popped up and this website had some suspicious results a suspicious result. They had some of my personal information that I am not sure as to how they gained that information.This is a scary topic because it applies to almost every person in the world due to the amount of information about us that is online.  

The last term I learned about that I knew of, but never knew what it meant was a "whistle blower." Whistler blowers know of wrong doing by the government and alert the public. For the longest time I thought whistle blowers were the bad people committing the wrong doing, maybe that is because that is what the government wants us to believe. Eric Snowden is a prime example of this misunderstood term. He is a man was put in jail for alerting the public about classified information that was stolen from the National Security Association (NSA) and leaked. However, the man who did the original illegal act is not in jail. Eric Snowden is plastered as the bad guy because it is easier to blame the person who spoke up for the wrong doing they witnessed. 

These terms have gone right over my head in the past, and I was quick to believe anything I was told. This class has taught me to do my own research and create my own opinions so you do not get scammed by these power hungry companies and automatically believe what they tell you. The truth is, more often than not, the major companies are lying or fibbing to cover the possible illegal acts they are committing. 

Blog Post #11: Privacy, Online & Off

While we think that we are guaranteed certain rights as citizens, this class has taught me that many of our rights are restricted and the government does a great job of finding loopholes.

The first TED talk we watched was about four subjects that seemed like they did not go together at all, but ended up tying in nicely with the theme of the presentation at the end. The four topics were: big idea, tattoos, immortality, and the Greeks. Juan Enriquez, the presenter, stated "tattoos really do shout." They tell a story without saying anything. Social media sites are electronic tattoos that "provide as much information about who and what you are as any tattoo ever would." Juan then went on to describe that our online presence is immortal because it will live on long after our lives end. This is why our online presence is so important and we should be very careful what we put on the internet and protect our passwords because who knows what people could find out about us when we are not here to defend ourselves, or even when we are here. 

The second TED talk we watched was less interesting, but still had important information that was shocking to find out. Police cars have scanners on their cars that quickly scan the cars that drive by and pull up a track record on that person and car including their criminal record. These scanners basically rate how good of a person you are and the more things you have on your record, the more likely you are to get pulled over for something minor; where as a clean person might not get pulled over for doing the same illegal thing as the person with the track record. 

I wish that the rights we were given actually apply to us in every situation they are supposed to apply in. The government has way too much power over the public. However, it is our job to educate ourselves about our rights and stand up for ourselves to protect our rights and privacy.

Blog Post #10: EOTO Terms and Concepts

The theory I studied was the spiral of silence. This theory is the "theory that people’s willingness to express their opinions on controversial public issues is affected by their largely unconscious perception of those opinions as being either popular or unpopular." This theory is rooted in the study of human communication and social psychology. Individuals recognize that their actions are individuals are aware that their actions are “seen by all” or “heard by all." It was "developed by German survey and communication researcher Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1960s and ’70s." The spiral of silence involves public opinion which is the opinions or behavior of the public without risking social isolation. This means that the theory is strictly social, is not involved in the legal process, and affects everyone regardless of social class. 

The theory arose with a surprising discovery regarding the 1965 German federal election campaign. The discovery was that most of the population's intended votes were tied between the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP) and the Christian Democratic Union–Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU). Within the last few weeks, the votes changed to be in favor of CDU-CSU. Long story short, CDU won based on public persuasion due to a visit by Queen Elizabeth II to Germany in May 1965. "Interestingly, while voters’ intentions remained unchanged over the course of many months, their expectations regarding the outcome of the election shifted dramatically during the same period." This election included the bandwagon effect and the votes shifted because of this. 

An important element of this theory is the fact that people are innate followers, meaning they will go with the crowd, because most people have a fear of isolation making them monitor their behavior and look for signs of disapproval. Due to the fear of isolation, people tend to refrain from speaking their own views. However, people who are confident theirs is a common opinion do so fearlessly; but there is still fear of isolation, in turn, this equals the spiral. On the flip side, they issue their own threats of isolation also known as "isolation pressure." Some examples of this are "criticizing someone, turning away from someone, scowling at someone, laughing at someone." 

This theory is unique because it is different with every generation and even with every group. For example, a group of activists might be very outspoken and not have a problem saying their opinion. However, they might make their enemies exercise this theory because aggression can make people exercise the fear of isolation too. 

The spiral of silence is one of the most cited and replicated theories in social sciences due to how applicable the theory is to society. However, there are many factors, such as media, that can deceive public opinion and change the rules of this theory. For example, people are more likely to speak out over social media because it is not a face-to-face confrontation with humanity, you can hide behind your screen. Conversely, public opinion stabilizes society and some conflicts are resolved by the spiral. This theory is crucial to society and can be both beneficial and detrimental. 

Blog Post #9: Diffusion of Innovations

YouTube was invented in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It originally started out as a site used for sharing home videos; however, it quickly became more. "By the summer of 2006, YouTube was serving more than 100 million videos per day." People of all ages were posted videos to share with family, friends, and strangers. 

The site spread like wildfire due to its easy access and fact that anyone could post anything with little restrictions. The wide plethora of videos to watch within different genres appealed to everyone because you could choose what to watch. People such as PewDiePie and the Smosh Brothers became celebrities through the website, simply because the audience liked what they were putting out into the world. Now, there are many famous YouTubers, but they are in somewhat of a different category than cinema celebrities. Anyone can become famous on YouTube if you have the dedication and drive. I think this is what makes the site so successful; people love ways to get fast cash, especially if you can film what you do an a daily basis, post it, and make a living doing that. 

Another element of YouTube that I think makes it popular is the vanity of the posters. The so called "YouTubers," or at least some of them, for that matter, make their videos personal to their life and might even film vlogs. Vlogs are a video dairy of what you do in a day. This element of realism and genuineness makes viewers feel close to the person, like they are friends, and offers afresh take from cinema that is staged and rehearsed. 

YouTube is still a huge phenomenon today, however, there are major downsides the the quick and easy access YouTube allows. There are not many restrictions on the site because it was never intended to be somewhat of a streaming service for all types of videos. For example, Netflix subscribers are able to change the settings for children. The "kids mode" only allows them to see shows and movies that are rated PG and they don't even have access to any other cinema. YouTube has some restrictions set in place, such as, if there is a video with explicit content of a certain level of nudity, it will lock the video until you log in with your google account proving you are of age to watch that content. Also, YouTube will demonetize a video if it has inappropriate content, a copyrighted song, or sensitive subjects. A demonetization just means the poster will not get paid for that video, but it is not taken down. However, there are easy ways to get around these restrictions and the videos are not very well monitored. 

I am finding more and more kids watching YouTube as their main source of content, which concerns me. This site does not require the content creators to go through a screening process of any kind or make sure the information they are stating is correct. So, you never know if the information you are learning on YouTube is accurate. A possible solution could be to have different formats for different age groups. Also to screen the content and check for accuracy.

Blog Post #8: EOTO Presentations

This project was such an awesome idea for presenting on the different forms of technology. I learned so many new things about these devices which I have known about for years. Netflix is a streaming site that I use every day. They revolutionized streaming for the modern age and pushed DVD rentals into extinction. Netflix started out exclusively as a rental service, but when their streaming software became fast enough, they ended their DVD production. This was Netflix's biggest controversy because they were one of the most popular DVD rental services. 

Streaming services are very useful today, but would not be around if the TV was not invented. The world's first tv was invented by Philo Taylor Farnsworth. TV originally was in black and white but switched to color in 1954 by the network CNN.  

On the topic of media, Facebook is one of the most popular social networking services. However,  it was originally intended to be exclusively for Harvard and was going to be named The Harvard Connection in 2003.

Without newspapers, we would have never had communicative websites like Facebook. The newspaper started in Britain in the 1640s and was called the British News Books. A form of communication that existed even before newspapers was the telegraph. The development of the telegraph was the voltaic cell in the 1800s which made it possible to power electric devices on a very low voltage. 

One of the most interesting facts I learned from a group presentation was that drones were actually invented in 1782 by the Montgolfier Brothers. The design was a simple balloon such as a hot air balloon. They had simple purposes at first such as filming from a different view, but now they are used to discover areas we cannot access on land and capture images and video of stupendous monuments. 

All of these inventions were crucial to the electronic world we live in now. Also, there will be even more inventions within even the next twenty years that will pave the way for the future electronic world. 

Blog Post #7: The Progressive Era

The questions Prof. Smith proposed on the class blog about why it is hard to find anti-war websites and articles really got me thinking, "why is it hard to find anti-war websites and why have I never thought about this before?" Antiwar.com has a bold statement at the top of their website that states, "It seems like not a day goes by without the US escalating tensions with a major nuclear power, whether it be Russia or China. Antiwar.com is the place to find the news and views on the new Cold Wars. Whether it's US warships sailing through the South China Sea, or the Biden administration slapping sanctions on Russian officials, we cover it all. But we can't do it without you!" This grabbed my attention because I have never been to an antiwar site and they are "hidden" for a reason. 

The Sedition Act, which was signed in 1918 making speaking out against war a crime. This might be one reason why antiwar websites are not mentioned on mainstream television. At first, the Sedition Act dealt mainly with the "quasi war." However, "The sweeping language of the Sedition Act made it illegal, among other actions, to “write, print, utter or publish...any false, scandalous and malicious writing...with intent to defame the...government,”. So, if it is only illegal to write and publish false information about war, it is confusing as to why people do not hear about these anti war websites. 

I personally am Switzerland when it comes to war because I do not know enough about war in general. However, I do think that war is not the solution to everything, especially the way we are doing it now that does not solve a thing. We train America to create a problem and react to it out of angst instead of trying to solve it quietly. Many of the things that our government does that are illegal such as stealing oil from Syria, yet we worry about anti war websites breaking the law.

The lines of illegal and legal anti war speech is very fine and that is why I think these websites are few and far between. Most people are more scared of the punishments than the impact the movement could cause. There is no shortage of strong pro war news articles and statements that are advertised by mainstream media. I wonder if the government was reached out to these antiwar websites and threatened to sue under the first amendment. If so, that is why it is important to know your rights and know for yourself what you are allowed to do.

Blog Post #6: EOTO Project

Cassette tapes, also known as 'the compact cassette', were an amazing invention that revolutionized the way the world recorded information. It was invented in 1962 in Belgium by a company called Phillips. However, they were not released to the public until August 10, 1963 in Europe at the Berlin radio show; then to America in November of 1964. However, cassette tapes were not the only form of technology for recording information. Vinyl and reel-to-reel audio technology were both popular before cassette tapes. Reel-to-reel audiotapes were similar to cassette tapes in the sense that the audio was recorded on magnetic reel tapes and wound by spools, but it was much bigger. Also, reel-to-reel audio required manual threading of the tape to record data.

The construction of the cassette tape was an ingenious design for that time. It has a flat, rectangular container made of plastic or lightweight metal. This container holds magnetic tape that records and replays audio or video. The lifespan of the magnetic tape inside the audio cassette is about 10-30 years. There are two small spools inside the casing that wind magnetic coated film and pass it from one side to the other; this is where the audio content can be stored and recorded.

Audiocassettes were only 0.15 inches wide but carried four to eight tracks. Audiocassettes were introduced to the public in the 1960s. They could be loaded with prerecorded materials or blank. The blanks were mainly used for recording tv programs and home videos. Videocassettes can do the same thing. 

Videocassettes were a step up from the original cassette tapes that allowed people to record videos along with audio. They became available to the public in the early 1970s. Cassette tapes were useful for television production. Therefore, the cassettes used in television were bigger than regular videocassettes by one and a half inches and held more data. Regular videocassettes were only half an inch wide. 

The Walkman was invented in 1979, this boosted the success of cassettes because cassettes needed to be inserted into the Walkman to play music and other forms of audio. This is when the term 'mixed tapes' became very popular. Mixed tapes are equivalent to playlists people create today. Sony stopped production of the Walkman in 2010. 

Cassette tapes hit their peak in the '80s but quickly surpassed in the '90s by CD's. Cassette tapes were originally intended for dictation, so for them to surpass all expectations and still be used today for court recordings is very impressive. Cassette also have braille on the label so they are legible to blind people. Even though they are still used today, they are becoming more difficult to find. Also, portable cassette players are bulkier than MP3 players and do not have as much storage capabilities

Blog Post #5: In The Age of AI

AI is a topic that most people think is as unfathomable and futuristic as aliens arriving on earth. However, AI is prevalent today and is used in some way all over the world; and it is only improving functionality. China is a very electronic country that uses data about ten times more than America. An AI scientist named Kai-Fu Lee stated, "in the age where data is the new oil, china is the new Saudi Arabia." A part of AI is deep learning algorithm, this is the concept that you can program a computer to do a task as simple as winning a game and the computer will figure out how to do that within a certain number of games. 

A common concern with a topic such as AI is privacy. For example, China uses facial scanning and other forms of AI to pay for everything from groceries to fines for j-walking. This is a somewhat scary thing that your face is put into a program and run by a government or tech company to gain access to your personal information. However, there are major benefits to AI such as driverless cars and trucks. About 90% of road fatalities are due to human error, if we could reduce that to 0% due to humans, that could change the way our world operates. 

The topic of "Big Brother" refers to a "higher power" company of governmental body tracking and watching our every move through hidden cameras. I feel that AI can and will be a threat to national security because if the government can get all your information and use facial recognition, why would that stop another country from hacking the system to get that information. Whenever there is a new development in technology or anything for that matter, there is a learning curve and things we don't know about the things we created. So, you take a risk every time you make a futuristic breakthrough and can put the public in danger. This transfers to online security and identity theft as well. 

Blog Post #4: The First Amendment

The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." There have been many movements in the past where

People exercise the first amendment; a great current example is the Black Lives Matter movement. The BLM movement originally began when George Zimmerman, a white American Neighborhood Watch captain, shot Trayvon Martin, an African American high school student, out of suspicion of robbery. Zimmerman was acquitted for the crime in July of 2013, the public spread #blacklivesmatter all over social media after the trial.  

Even though this movement started with the murder of Trayvon Martin, it has continued to make an impact socially and more violence and additional victims of racial violence have continued to bolster support for the movement. A Forest Park coffee shop called Kribi Coffee created a special coffee blend named, The Black Lives Matter blend, last summer "in response to the killing of George Floyd." According to a New York Times article (Evan Hill et al.), "On May 25, Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, after a convenience store employee called 911 and told the police that Mr. Floyd had bought cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. Seventeen minutes after the first squad car arrived at the scene, Mr. Floyd was unconscious and pinned beneath three police officers, showing no signs of life." The owner, Jacques Shalo, of the coffee shop who created the blend stated, "What's going on today with the disenfranchisement of our race, people of color, I see it as something that goes deep in centuries back to the continent. A portion of the sales from each bag of the Black Lives Matter blend goes to Tutoring Chicago. The organization provides educational programming for students from low-income backgrounds." Shalo's customers support his efforts to reduce inequality. He wants to help other social causes with his coffee blends in the future. 

Shalo is exercising his first amendment through freedom of the press. His coffee blends help not only spread the word of the injustice that is currently happening, but also intend to dissolve part of the issue. The customers are using their freedom of speech to spread the word of the good cause and give their feedback to Shalo. While Shalo himself has created a movement within the larger BLM banner to make even more of an impact.

This particular coffee movement is condoned under the first amendment; however, it can quickly move into unprotected territory if someone were to perform an expressive action. For example, during the BLM protests, some people got overly angry and started burning buildings, smashing windows, and setting cop cars on fire. However, an "expressive association" (the right to associate for the purpose of engaging in those activities protected by the First Amendment: speech, assembly, petition for the redress of grievances) moves into protected under the first amendment.  

Blog Post #3: My Favorites of the 8 Values

1. Marketplace of Ideas: 

John Milton has a theory that, to my understanding, if everyone speaks freely and puts their ideas out into the world, the truth will eventually come out and rise to the top. I like this theory because the first amendment follows these same guidelines. If James Madison wanted the first amendment to be more strict and not allow people to speak freely on all topics, then he would have changed his wording to make it less vague. This theory is very prevalent today with our current political state. Not everyone, including me, agrees with complete freedom of speech. However, when our country is going through such difficult times like our current situation, people need to speak freely so we can hear all points of view.

I feel like this theory is not a great argument for freedom of speech. If everyone offers their opinion, we cannot assume that the truth will come out of that. In many situations that America has already experienced, when there are too many opinions and ideas, people get confused and no one can come up with an answer. However, this theory could work better than what we currently have going on which is, too many people having one unified opinion and sticking to it. When James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights, he intended for our country to be separated by parties, but for every party to be equally represented in the Senate and for people to be able to compromise. Even if you don't like what people have to say, how could it be the government's job to control their voice? 

There is a reason these 8 values are just theories and that is because there will never be a way to word the first amendment to please everyone and not allow any room for error. People can have their own opinions about what people should or should not be able to say, but because humans are impressionable, we can be persuaded to any side of an argument. 

5. Watchdog Rule:

Vince Blasi's theory on the first amendment is that everyone needs to have freedom of speech and press to alert people about governmental actions. We can't just rely on journalists and they cannot just rely on the public. Blasi stated, “check the abuse of power by public officials” in his article called, "The Checking Value in First Amendment Theory.” We have to be united in our freedom, but not necessarily in our ideas. I completely agree with this because I feel as if a lot of our rights are already taken away from us, especially as young adults; with an emphasis on adults. Even though we are young we still have all the same rights as older adults and our voice matters. Without freedom of speech, our only liberty would be going to the voting polls every four years instead of being a part of the discussion. 

Even though I agree with Blasi's idea, it is not so white or black. Technically everyone has freedom of speech and everyone can vote, but there are still rules and discrimination that stop people from being able to do so. Just like before the Jim Crow era, living communities were segregated by white people communities and black people communities. This was a de facto law that they had to be segregated, which means 'a fact of life,' but not a law set by a jury such as de jure. Of course rules switched over to de jure during the Jim Crow era and black people legally could not do a lot of things, but it is important to know the difference between de facto and de jure and to know your legal rights in general because people cannot always stop you from doing something even if they think they can. 

The ideal situation would be to stick to the constitution and give everyone their rights. However, it is common knowledge that poor people, people of color, or anyone else who doesn't fit the "classic American" description get's treated as less than. I hope and pray that one day our United States would actually be united and stay true to what our founding fathers intended to mean in the Constitution. 

Blog Post #2: The Supreme Court

I did not know much about The Supreme Court before watching these videos other than a basic description of what it was and knowing that they uphold the constitution while making the most important decisions in America. I learned that, The Supreme Court is the most powerful judicial body on earth. When a body has this much power, it can be scary because they have the power to decide people's fate. The legitimacy of the Supreme Court comes from the constitution, but the power depends on the public faith. This is a very important thing to remind the public because even though the Supreme Court has a lot of power, they only get that from the public. 

In the history of the Supreme Court, there have been about 100 justices serving an average of sixteen years. There are certain positions within the Supreme Court such as chief justice. John Marshall was one of the most influential chief justice's. He was elected in 1801 and under his power, the court asserted, "the greatest of all judicial powers, striking down an act of Congress as unconstitutional." 

Another interesting thing I learned from the two videos assigned was that the Supreme Court receives more than 100 new cases every week equaling a total of about 7,000 cases per year. These cases are sorted through and delivered to the nine judges of the Supreme court and tested in a trial court. When making the final vote on cases, the nine are left alone in a room without law clerks or secretaries to debate their opinions. The final step is writing an opinion piece on the legal reasons of the case and releasing them to the public. The final step exercises the first amendment, freedom of the press.

The most important take away I took from the videos about the Supreme Court were: their ultimate power depends on the public's faith, you have to be extremely smart and hard-working to be on the court due to the amount of work, and it is an essential part of our political system. Even though the videos were outdated a bit and things have changed a lot since then, I feel as though they did a great job of educating the audience on the framework of the Supreme Court.  

The most surprising thing I learned about the Supreme Court was that they make their final decision without any secretaries or law clerks. That means that to be apart of the nine, you have to be very trusted, care a lot about history and politics, and stand your ground on what you think is in the best interest of the public. 

The video made me realize that the public is more involved in the Supreme Court than I thought. Also, that the people on the court matter and that's why voting is so important so the people you support can make decisions you agree with.

Blog Post #1: My Top Five News Sources

 My Top Five News Sources

1. The Washington Post

I would recommend this news source because the Washington Post has great credentials and is very widely circulated. It was founded in 1877 so it has had plenty of time to develop a great team of journalists and work out the kinks of the company. Not only is The Post a well-respected news source, but the format of it is very aesthetically pleasing. When I was in high school, I had to present four news articles four times a year in a very professional manner. My teacher put The Washington Post, along with a couple of others, as reliable news sources we could use to find our sources for presenting. So, this source is very reliable and trustworthy to get information and stories off of. 

2. The New York Times

The New York Times is also one of the most respected news sources. When most people think of news sources, The NYT and The Post are most likely the sources they think of. It has a worldwide readership and was founded in 1851. It is easy to filter the articles to a subject or topic you are looking for by going to the browser bar at the top of the website. However, sometimes I am not able to open some articles because you have to have a subscription to view them.

3. Huffington Post

The Huffington Post is also a reliable source but is not formatted as ascetically pleasing as the first two. I use this source and the first two as my main sources when researching articles for a school project. It was founded in 2005 so it does not have as long  a history as the first two, but that does not determine whether the source is reliable or not. 

4. Buzzfeed News

Buzzfeed is an American based news source that was founded in 2006. It is not a very reliable news source. I use it sometimes as a bad reference if I need one or if I see a story pop up on my social media. The reason they are not reliable is, that unlike The Post, the majority of the stories are not factual. Their stories are more based on assumptions and pop culture updates. 

5. Snapchat

Snapchat has news stories on the explore page. They are not very reliable because they usually are not written by scholarly journalists and have to do mostly with pop culture. The reason I put this as one of my sources is that I view the stories sometimes due to connivance from already being on the app. However, I would not recommend this as a source to use for academic research.