Blog #11- EOTO Reflection

                                                          Group #2 EOTO Reflection

I decided to write my reflection on group #2 because I found their presentation the most interesting and informative their presentation was on the media sphere. The first topic they talked about was whistleblowers. 

What is a WhistleBlower?

A whistleblower is "an individual who without authorization reveals private or classified information about an organization usually related to wrongdoing or misconduct". 

Pros and Cons

Pros- Whistleblowing has protection in many states which means the company the whistleblower works for cant sue for telling information even if that person is involved in whistleblowing they can not go to jail if protected in that state.  Cons- Some of the cons of whistleblowing are espionage, losing social privileges, cutting finances, and the lack of awareness.  Some of the most famous whistleblowers are Daniel Ellsberg, John Kiriakou, and Edward Snowden. 

The next topic group 2 talked about was mainstream media. 

What is Mainstream Media?

Mainstream media is "forms of media especially traditional forms such as newspapers, tv, and radio rather than the internet that influences large numbers of people and is likely to represent generally accepted beliefs and opinions". 

Pros and Cons

Pros- the ability to reach the masses on a scale, awareness of politics, and government activity. 

Cons- authenticity is not always genuine, the spread of misinformation, the strong bias between networks, and unnecessary sensationalism. 

The next topic is Echo Chambers.

What is an Echo Chamber?

An echo chamber is where a person only receives information or opioids that reflect on their own. Both people would get different types of data on the same topic and both would not know one another's perspective on that topic due to echo chambers because of the data you receive and the opinions you have. "A social media chamber is when one experiences a biased, tailored media experience that eliminates opposing viewpoints and differing viewpoints".

The next topic is Filter Bubbles

What is a Filter Bubble?

A filter bubble is an algorithmic bias that limits the information and individual use sites on the internet, this affects social media platforms like Youtube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Pros and Cons

Some of the pros of filter bubbles are you get some type of information on the topic doesn't mean it's a correct or complete story, boosts people's confidence. Some of the cons of filter bubbles are it cause misinformation, limits people's problem-solving, and people can stop thinking for themselves which is not a good thing in today's society and should be avoided.

Overall the information learned by this group was super helpful and super informative and very easy to follow and I truly think this information is important to have when looking things up and trying to find good media to read and trust and not get so sucked into social media and to not believe anything you see on the internet and to voice your opinions.

Blog #10- EOTO terms and Concepts

                                          Total Information Awareness (TIA)

What is Total Information Awareness(TIA)?

Total Information Awareness was a program created by the United States government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency known as the DARPA. The program was created in the early 2000s. The program's goal was to develop technologies that would allow for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating large amounts of information about individuals to identify potential terrorist threats. 

The program was controversial and faced criticism from privacy advocates and civil liberty groups who were concerned about the potential for the program to violate privacy rights and lead to unwarranted surveillance of people. "In 2003 congress passed legislation that ended funding for the program".

What might be good/bad about the TIA?

The concept of Total Information Awareness was definitely controversial and few people argued that the TIA could have good benefits in terms of national security and law enforcement. An example of this is the TIA could help authorities identify and prevent terrorist attacks or other criminal activities before they happen. Another good thing about the TIA is that it could improve coordination and information sharing with different agencies and branches of government. Some of the downsides of the TIA is definitely an invasion of privacy due to the TIA collecting big amounts of your personal data which can include financial records, medical history, and what you look up online. Another downside is the potential for misuse or abuse by people who have access to the information like law enforcement officials who may use it to target individuals. The last downside of TIA that is major is the chilling effect on free speech and expression. People may speak less out loud about controversial topics if they think they are being monitored or tracked. 

How might TIA affect different people differently? 

Total Information Awareness could affect different people differently depending on a range of factors such as age, ethnicity, and personal circumstances. TIA could impact marginalized groups more especially ethnic minorities and those with lower socioeconomic status who are already subject to discrimination. Such groups may be targeted more by law enforcement based on race, religion, and other characteristics which could worsen their exclusion. Another way this could affect people differently is people who are normally concerned about their privacy or who participate in activities that they consider to be controversial may be more negatively impacted by the TIA. The fact that people are being monitored or tracked may cause them to feel uncomfortable leading to an effect on free speech and expression. Which people want to be able to express what they want without feeling like they have to watch what they say due to TIA. 

How does this affect me? My generation? 

After learning about Total Information Awareness this certain topic could have affected me by making me feel uncomfortable about being tracked and looked at being able not to say things freely would have had an effect on me but now that this program is no longer in use I feel very free to be able to talk about what I want without feeling like im being watched or tracked by the government just for them to be able to see if I was a terrorist or not. I see the potential of this program but the way they could have gone about it could have been different and then maybe people would have liked the program more and actually wanted it to be a thing that the government used more frequently. I like the thought of security from terrorists and criminals doing bad things but there definitely could be a different security technology to use than this. Privacy is a big thing that people want and shouldn't be afraid to do certain things due to the government watching our every move my generation would hate the thought of this program due to invasion of privacy and would not go for it at all. My generation likes to do things without thinking and if this program was still a thing I would sadly say there would be problems and lots of debates so im glad in 2003 this program died. 

Blog #9- Diffusion Of Innovations- The VCR

                                                    Diffusion Of Innovations- The VCR

The VCR was invented by Charles Paulson Ginsburg in 1956. Charles Paulson Ginsburg was known as the "father of the video cassette recorder". He was born in 1920 in San Francisco.

  The VCR Idea-

The idea behind the VCR was a way for people to. record, store, and playback television programs on television. The earliest devices were massive and they cost thousands of dollars to have they were the size of a piano, by the Ampex Company. VCR is rectangular in shape and silver, black, or gray in color. The videotapes used in VCRs are much smaller, but also rectangular and usually black. Outside of major television studios and broadcast centers, they were unheard of. People caught on to this new invention due to wanting to watch whatever they wanted whenever they wanted they wanted a way to rewatch something they'd already seen. People became early adopters because they heard of how big this new invention was everyone was talking about a VCR and how beneficial it was then going out and spending money on a movie people thought this would save them money and satisfy them by watching what they wanted from home. Other people became late adopters because the VCR was the cheapest thing ever invented in fact the VCR was an expensive thing to own once it first came out now in today's time it's about 40 dollars to own one because no one really needs one anymore in today society. The idea of the VCR was in fact a good idea the vision was there but only lasted a decade and people just sort of forgot about it since DVD came out. 

Downsides and Negative Consequences

The downside to the VCR was that it was an expensive thing to own back in the day and if your home had one you were considered rich. Lots of people wanted one but just couldn't afford it. Another downside to the VCR was copyright this played a big part in the downside of VCR. People were sharing and recording certain videos and sharing them with others then a law was then passed that it is illegal to record or share videos from a tape without permission from the producer of the film. Then there were main downsides like poor quality of video and picture, trouble with the tape getting messed up, having to rewind taking forever to use, and overall it was just a bulky piece of technology to have and wasn't the cutest looking thing invented but it did the job at the time of it being an actual thing people used. But it did have many positives not trying to diss
the VCR but people just got bored with it not quickly but once something new came along people were quick to buy the new invention rather than keeping their VCR at home.

Would the Positive Outweigh to Negative? 

Yes the VCR had a positive impact on communication technology and the way we communicate being able to watch things from home without having to go anywhere and rewatch your favorite shows and the fact you could record and keep tapes of your favorite movies, shows, and important events you may want to keep in the future. But if im being honest that's about all the VCR did and people realized it wasn't that popular after a while and wasn't that crazy of an invention and was way overpriced to be that poor of a product for people to constantly used. So people decided to ditch the VCR which is when the positive turned into a negative when people were overusing it and found something way cooler and less expensive to use which was the DVD which had way better quality than the VCR and wasn't as bulky and ugly looking as the VCR. The death of the VCR will never be forgotten but will honestly never be used again unless your grandparents saved you one to use.

Blog #8- Com Tech Reflection

                                                             Com Tech Reflection

   When listening to people present their communication technology they researched the ones that were very interesting and that stuck out to me were the invention of the United States postal service, the radio, and the invention of the lightbulb. Both are used to this day and have had such an impact on our world. I could say that all three of these inventions had such an impact on communication and changed the way we could communicate in such a positive way. 

United States Postal Service 

When listening to the presentation about the United States Postal Service I learned that it was appointed by Benjamin Franklin and he became the first postmaster general in 1775. The U.S. Postal Service played a big role in the growth and development of the U.S. It helped connect people through the mail instead of having to travel to talk to them. The only communication between the American colonies was mail being transported by riding a horse. The postal service helped to facilitate the westward expansion. During the civil war the U.S.  postal service played a major role in keeping up with communication between soldiers and families from all over the responsibility to have those letters be sent was major. The kind of death of United States Postal Service will mail technically die when digital communication became popular people just sent emails rather than sending letters but people still use mail today just not as much as they did back in the day. What is really popular today including the United States Postal Service is packages that people order online are majorly popular today and magazines are still somewhat popular but those as well can be read digitally.

The Lightbulb

The lightbulb I found interesting was because I learned that the first electric lightbulb was created by Humphry Davy in 1802. This then led to Edison's model of the lightbulb which I never knew a guy before Edison created a different type of lightbulb, was mind blown, to be honest. Many people played such a big role n paving the way for Edison to create the first lightbulb. I learned that in 1879 Joesph Wilson Swan enclosed a glass lightbulb with no air, lead wires, and a light-emitting carbon element part but the light in that bulb didn't last very long. From hearing all of the information about the process of the lightbulb it makes me truly think about all the time it took to make the lightbulb and how many people had to get involved to create such an invention. Another thing is how it took a while for people to figure out what makes a good bulb and what needs to go into it to make the light last which I can see how hard that could be with all of the elements needing to be involved in the equation had to be perfect and that is exactly what Edison did he made the perfect lightbulb for people to use back in the day. The end of the old lightbulb made by Edison was taken over by LED lightbulbs which these lightbulbs lasted such a long time without going out you rarely needed to replace them which put the old lightbulbs to waste but greater technology was invented to create such an amazing LED lightbulb. The lightbulb was obviously necessary so people didn't have to use candles for light and other methods of light this way people could just turn on a light and be fine without any complications the lightbulb is a must-have in today's world and will forever be used. 

The Radio

I learned that the Radio was invented in 1895 by an Italian investor names Guglielmo Marconi who sent and received the first-ever radio signal. The first ever signal received was in 1902. The importance of the radio was to have people's voices heard not just from on TV but on something you listen to every day either driving to work or just chilling in your home. Lots of people had radios they were extremely popular due to the popularity of music back in those days everyone wanted to own a radio so they could listen to music nonstop without having to go and actually be there to see the person perform. In today's society, we don't really use the radio but it is surely still a thing people use to mainly listen to the radio but now with such advanced technology we have music on our phones with just a click we can hear whatever music we wanted instead of having to wait for a certain song to come on. 

Blog #7- Age Of A.I

                                                                            Age Of A.I

After watching "In the Age of A.I.", I learned lots of new information I never knew before about A.I.  One thing I didn't know but now know is that A.I. was a computer-generated coded software that pulls information from the entire internet and uses that code to pick information based on what you want to know and translate it to a human form of language.  A.I. just got introduced to me and I still am confused about why we have it and what it is capable of which is scary to think about, but I also think it's a great source to use if needing help. 

             

                                                                                      The part in the documentary that stood out to me was when this amazing Go player who won lots of championships where he was from game to this event where he had to go against an A.I. The A.I. was made by Google and they wanted to test if an A.I. could beat a professional Go player. In the end, the score was 1-3 the A.I. defeated the professional Go player. What was really scary about this was that everyone now knew that computers were smarter than human in the game Go and this made people question how much does an A.I. actually know. This also questioned how an A.I. knows what to do and for it to think for itself how does it know what to do and how to do it. It's beyond crazy to me how smart A.I. is and is scary to think about what is to come in the future.

What frightens me about the use of A.I. is how it knows all of the information you ask it. It's like Google or Alexa but knows way more and is so much more advanced. When using A.I. help when asking a question the feedback you get to your question is insane and makes people understand it more than just reading it off of Google, it changes up the words for you to understand it better. Another reason A.I. scares me so much that is it is such a strong source to use to find out certain information quickly. People aren't really needed for their jobs if A.I. knows the answer to everything years of research could just be looked up and figured out within seconds with the use of A.I. which is even scarier to think about how much power A.I. has on the world. 

    I have so many questions about A.I. and what it exactly is, I recently just found out about this new A.I. website that everyone is talking about and making such a big deal about. This website is called Chatgpt and is used to get information fast without having to look it up. Convenient yes but in school not really Chatgpt is so advanced in the information if gives you back you could ask it absolutely anything and it could tell you which is insane it's better than Google and smarter. But recently teens have been misusing Chatgpt on homework and paper getting caught cheating which is why teachers are making such a big deal about the new uses of A.I. technology yes, in my opinion, I wouldn't want kids to just cheat on the work but actually try and do it. I still love the idea of Chatgpt but I honestly think teens are just going to use it to cheat which is why teens are so into A.I. right now not because of its design of it but what it actually offers to us teens and what we can use from it. 

My last thought about A.I. is the security side of it and my concerns foe where the information we look upon an A.I. or using an A.I. does. When using websites like Chatgpt O happen to wonder if people can ever see what I look up and what if I were to look up something life-threatening to the world what would happen yes national security might bust through my door but do people ever wonder where information goes when using A.I. "However, the use of generative AI raises significant privacy concerns, as companies that develop these tools may collect and analyze the data entered by users as prompts. Users may enter a wide range of information as prompts, including personal information, images, and other sensitive data".

Overall the privacy concern is a big controversial thing and will still be continued to be talked about. The use of A.I. I see is a smart choice in having but who knows what will come in the future. 

Blog #6 AntiWar

                                                                        Anti-War

When looking at the websites listed in the blog prompt, I noticed I'd never seen them before or knew such websites existed for people to read.  When reading through these websites the articles listed are based on what's happening n the world that no one really talks about or doesn't want other people to read or find out information about which is an example of censorship. 

What is censorship?

Censorship is when the government blocks out certain things for people to see, like news, books, and even movies. Censorship, the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are "offensive," happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others. Censorship is used daily to censor ourselves from actually talking about what's really going on in the world which is really frustrating at times when you just want straight-up news. I've also seen censorship in youtube videos where some creators get their videos taken down for talking about their beliefs and opinions on certain topics which I personally think that's really messed up. The thing about censorship is that the people controlling it generally think that it is protecting us from reality which in reality is just making us more scared and eager to find out what's going on. 

AntiWar.com and The American Conservative

When visiting this website I found it very interesting that on the AntiWar page, you can read articles from all over the world knowing what's going on in their country which is super interesting and I don't think I've ever seen this before. In our mainstream news today we don't really talk about other countries as much unless it affects the United States in any way or form so I think it's really cool that we can read straight-up articles about other countries. Another interesting thing about these websites is that the writers are very straight up and say what they which I enjoyed reading because it taught me a lot about what's actually going on and things, I never knew about even after watching the mainstream news. 

Reasons Why I've Never Seen Websites Like These

The main reason is definitely censorship but thinking about why I have to dig so much to hear strong anti-war voices is a tough one because it really shouldn't be that hard to get good straight up information but in today's world it is and that's so frustrating to not actually know what's going on and I truly think websites like these should be explored more and talked about, or because I genuinely enjoyed reading them and learned so much from them that I healthier super useful. I know these websites won't be praised due to censorship but I wish more people knew about them to fully get educated on certain topics. 

Blog#5 Com Tech

                                                                     The VCR

When you think of the VCR you automatically think old, ancient, and a device that now no one uses. But back in the 60s the VCR was a major hit and everyone wanted to get their hands on one. It changed media and communication forever. VCR stands for Video Cassette Recorder. 

History: The VCR was invented by Charles Paulson Ginsburg in 1956. Charles Paulson Ginsburg was known as the "father of the video cassette recorder". He was born in 1920 in San Francisco.       

 

The Idea Behind the VCR

The idea behind the VCR was a way for people to. record, store, and playback television programs on television. The earliest devices were massive and they cost thousands of dollars to have they were the size of a piano, by the Ampex Company. VCR is rectangular in shape and silver, black, or gray in color. The videotapes used in VCRs are much smaller, but also rectangular and usually black. Outside of major television studios and broadcast centers, they were unheard of. Everyone wanted a VCR even when they were so expensive.  The creation of the VCR allowed for entertainment to be fully observed instead of a one-off experience people could go back and watch the tv shows they wanted again and again as many times as they wanted as long as they recorded it. People could record up to 3 things at once and it was super convenient to have in your home. Live TV was now a thing of the past and monumental television events could now be relived over and over.  

The Impact of the VCR

The VCR made the media viewing experience easier and that's why media companies hated it. Studios were upset that people could record things on TV and share it without the studio getting a cut of the proceeds. People loved the VCR due to being able to pretty much have a home theater in their house rewatching recordings of their favorite shows and movies was so convenient right in their homes. People didn't have to leave their houses to go watch shows or movies anymore they could simply just record them. The freedom of choice was something that the world had not experienced, and little did we know we would have access to anything and everything we wanted to watch from all over the world decades later.

How the VCR Became Popular

A lot of people complained about how the VCR was so expensive so companies were able to make much more affordable VCR units, making, recording, creating, and watching home movies something that every household could now afford. VCR changed the way that people consumed media forever. With the rise of home movies, people were given the power to what they wanted to watch. VCRs gave the power back to the people.

Pros and Cons of The VCR

Pros- easy to watch from home, could record whatever you wanted, could watch what you recorded over and over, affordable in the end, a great way to consume media, a great source of entertainment, movies anytime you wanted, lasted over 60 years.

Cons- not great quality, expensive in the beginning, copyright scandal, kind of big, not very convenient after the 2000s, not everyone could afford one.

The Death of the VCR

In July 2016 the VCR officially died. It lived to be about 60 years old. With new technology on the rise people really didn't find it convenient to own a VCR anymore,  but the VCR will never be forgotten. People already thought that the VCR was being no longer used even before 2016 but Japan-based Funai Electric Company continued to manufacture the machines even as several generations of superior entertainment technology have come to the market. Executives say that a lack of demand has convinced them to cease production of the VCR. No one will forget the VCR and the impact it had on communication it will forever be missed but im so glad for on-demand and Netflix now. 

Blog Post #4 Eight Values of Free Expression

                            Eight Values of Free Expression

                    

Before our lecture about the 8 values of free expression, I knew nothing about it like I do now.  Free expression is a major part of being American and being able to voice our own opinions. Which is super important to have as an American. The definition of free expression is that it protects your rights to hold your opinions and express them freely without government interference. Examples of free speech are like writing a book writing whatever you want to say, making a podcast saying whatever your heart wants to there are lots of examples of free speech, and it's super important that we have the ability to say what we want in today's society. All of our 8  base values of free expression are super important because they are key to our fundamental human rights. When looking and reading over the 8 values, the one I connected with the most was individual self-fulfillment, also known as self-actualization. 

            

                                                What is Self Fulfillment/ Self Actualization?

Self-fulfillment or self-actualization is a concept where free speech enables individuals to express themselves and thereby create their own identity and in the process find kindred spirits. Freedom of speech thus becomes an aspect of human dignity, human agency, and autonomy. (Edwin Baker, Human Liberty and Freedom of Speech)The purpose of self-fulfillment of self-actualization is to encourage individuals to let their voices be heard and to pursue whatever in life they want without government interference. I truly believe this is the most important base of free expression because it allows people to be themselves and pursue the goes that their heart wants them to do without fearing interference.

                                                           Values of Free Expression

The value of free expression is to voice your opinions without fearing the fact you may get in trouble or face government interference. But with free expression, you won't get in trouble at all. Voicing your opinions and believing in what you want to believe in is free expression. I think free expression is super important to have because it truly brings out the true side of people allowing them to be themselves and voice their interests and goals is such an important thing to do and want to express to the world without feeling all balled up with emotions holding who you truly are back from the world which is an awful feeling. I like that I can be who I want to be, and believe in what I want without the government up my butt. Yes, you may have different beliefs from others but that's okay everyone is different in this world but at the end of the day, we all share the value of free expression. Another great part about self-fulfillment is that everyone over 18 can participate in voicing their opinions in the election and this allows individuals to contribute to the growth and development of our society.

                                     The Importance of Self-Fulfillment/ Self Actualization

Self Fulfillment requires us individuals to step outside of our comfort zone to make a change and an impact on the world. Which thus can be hard to do for most considering there are risks to it due to criticism of people's beliefs and opinions. But with the use of free speech, we can learn from others side of their own opinions and beliefs even if we may not believe in them or like them we can gain knowledge from one another's opinions. This demonstrates having all of our voices being heard and the power that our voices have. This is something truly really to have again being heard and voicing what you want to say is so important because how else are things going to change if people don't voice their own opinions. It is a key essential to have free speech n this world in order for things to happen. 

Conclusion

Overall free speech and self-fulfillment/ self actualization is such an essential to have in today's society being there are truly lots of things going on that people need to talk about and voice their opinions on. And if we didn't have the freedom of speech life would be a lot different and people would just have to deal with what is happening and I feel like there would be a lot more violence in the world if there was no free speech. I think it's super important to be yourself and believe in what you want to but also giving it I feel is super important because it may gain knowledge of others and then they may believe in it. It is a form of freedom and happiness that comes with free speech and self-fulfillment and self-actualization.