Blog #8: Social Media Footprint

How do these issues affect you? You friends and family?

Luckily I do not have any issues with my online footprint. I was raised to never post anything that could receive any form of backlash. Nothing that could jeopardize my career in the future. My family and friends are very similar. I do know people, that have not been so lucky though. Inappropriate images, hurtful words, or just embarrassing photos have been shared around and have ruined their image and likeness. 

What should the government be doing about these issues?

The government does not have to do anything about these issues. If you got yourself into that situation, why should you get a second chance and maybe do the same thing again? People need to be more forward-thinking and conscious about how they portray themselves.    

What can we do to protect ourselves from invasions of our privacy?

Once you are on social media, you kind of set yourself up for invasion of privacy. You have given them your name, picture, email, password, and other private information. If you stay away from social media then you are more protected, but you are never fully protected. Everything about you is in a database somewhere. For example, the DMV, insurance company, doctor's office, and your workplace has all of the valuable information about you. 

 

Blog #6: Antiwar in the News

Why is antiwar never talked about in the news?

I wonder why that is, don't you?

Antiwar is most likely not talked about in mainstream news often because it will receive both negative and positive feedback from the viewers. This will lead to a decline in viewership for the news source which is not good for business. Most of the time the news source also does not have all of the correct information and do not want to make themselves seem less credible. There is also the possibility of them jeopardizing their connection to the government speakers.  

You've probably never even heard of these websites. I wonder why that is? 

After my first glance at these websites, I would never use antiwar.com due to their website format. I felt like my computer was going to get hacked after looking at their poor format and the very bold and big letters used by them. The second website,  theamericanconservative.com seemed much nicer. It is still all over the place from football news to their own book promotion. Most people are also very skeptical about where they get their news from.  

This is not appealing in any way:

 

Why do you think you have to seek out obscure websites in order to hear strong antiwar voices?

Yes, I do think so. It is a very niche group of people interested in this type of news. CNN and Fox would never partake in something like this because of the controversy. Some people will love that type of news and others will not. As I said previously; there is a lack of information, jeopardizes their connection to the government, and is controversial. 

Blog #9: EOTO, Echo Chamber

What is an Echo Chamber:

A situation in which people only hear of one type or opinion that are similar to their own.

What are some examples of Echo Chambers:

News platforms and social media are excellent examples of an echo chamber. Like Fox News, everything that they speak about is republican based. When it comes to social media (TikTok, Twitter, Facebook) your feed is an echo chamber. It pushes you information that you have previously liked and enjoyed.

More examples of Echo Chambers:

A non-social media echo chamber is the group of people you surround yourself with. Echo Chamber are one of the main reasons people love social media, you get to see what you want to see.

Why are Echo Chambers Dangerous:

In today's society, 61% of millenials get their news from social media. Social media is full of false news and propaganda. Another reason echo chambers are dangerous is because they promote unhealthy habits for people, and create negative mental health in people. “One of the biggest dangers and most calamitous aspect of echo chambers is that they tend to lead to a lack of original thoughts, dissenting opinions, and challenging ideas.”

Why do people like Echo Chambers:

Like I said previously, why do people like Fox News and CNN? They tell you what you want to hear based off of their followings. Another reason is because they shelter people from the real world, and let people live in their own little fairy tale. When you are trapped in an echo chamber everything is exactly how you want it to be. You are also surrounded by like-minded individuals.

Blog #5: The Emoji

How Emoji’s and Emoticons Have Changed our Daily Lives 

We learned about several different aspects of technology, but the one that stuck out to me the most was the emoji and emoticon. These are used in everyday conversation but I never really thought much of it. Like who created emoji’s and why were they created. Now after learning about them I can answer these questions. The emoticon was crated by Scott Fahlman the Carnegie Mellon professor in 1982. They thought that he could spice up his emails and the use of a smiley face would be a good “joke marker”.  This was the first emoji every created and it looked like this; :-) . In 1997 emoji’s were added to Japanese phones. In 1999 Marco Hüsges created the emoji brand we all know and use. Since then they have been everywhere. In 2010 major phone companies such as Apple, Samsung, and Android have all added them into their data base. All phone now come with pre downloaded emoji’s.  Merriam-Webster even added emoji to the dictionary; “any of various small images, symbols, or icons used in text fields in electronic communication (as in text messages, email, and social media) to express the emotional attitude of the writer, convey information succinctly, communicate a message playfully without using words, etc.”. The emoji made such a big ripple effect on the world that they event created a movie in 2017. Emoji’s are a great way of communicating without using words. They also allow for people to portray emotion in messages, because they couldn’t before. There are 3,000 + emoji’s in the world, with endless combinations. 

Blog #4: History of Youtube

 The History of Youtube; The Biggest Video Sharing Platform in the World

If you look at technology as a whole Youtube is still on the newer side of it. YouTube launched on February 14th, 2005. The streaming platform was created by three men who all worked at PayPal together, Jawed Karim, Chad Hurley, and Steven Chen.  The idea was proposed by Karim to Chen and Hurley at a dinner party.  It was not supposed to be the video platform that we all know, love, and use daily. The original concept was for the service to be a dating app, but that quickly feel though. Than they created a new concept for the company, “They had the idea that ordinary people would enjoy sharing their “home videos.””.

On April 23rd, 2005, history was made. The first ever Youtube video was posted by one of the creators himself, Jawed Karim. On the channel called Jawed. As of today, September 27, 2023 the video has amounted 287,462,680 million views, 14 million likes, and 11,116,775 million comments. As well as Karim’s channel (Jawed) has around 4 million subscribers. This alone should show how massive the Youtube operation is. In that same year another major milestone was accomplished. The first video to reach 1 million views, Nike’s advertisement showcasing one of the world best soccer players Ronaldinho. In this video the star player is awarded the golden boot, the most coveted award in all of soccer. Unfortunately, the original video is no longer on the site for unknown reason, but there are re-uploads with similar view counts. All within the first year launch the site has been blowing up. 2006, the following year after launch Youtube was bought by Google for $1.65 billion. 

In 2007, Youtube created a partnership program for the creators. This program allowed for creators to get their videos monetized. This paved a new path in the job hunt, people for getting paid for just posting videos as long as they managed to get views. Nothing major happen to the site again until 2009. In 2009, the Youtube corporation won the Peabody award. “Since 2005, millions of people in 19 regions around the globe have answered YouTube‘s call to “Broadcast Yourself.” Indeed, 10 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every 60 seconds. Hundreds of millions of videos are viewed each day. With an endless stream of content that ranges from banal to breathtaking, YouTube is the place online where audiences flock for news and entertainment. But YouTube is more than just the world’s most popular online viewing community. YouTube has become our speakers’ corner, promoting a free exchange of ideas, expressed in video formats, around the world. Through YouTube, important information is often widely dispersed before it reaches conventional electronic channels. Moreover, it has become an international video library, an archive making many of media’s greatest achievements instantly available to one and all. In all these ways, YouTube has transformed electronic media. It’s selection continues the tradition of the Peabody Award, a tradition committed to a free press, to free speech and to the use of electronic media as a form of public service for all citizens.”. This is important because the Peabody award is considered to be “an honor like no other” it is only give to the best of the best in the entertainment industry. Also in 2009, Youtube was raking in about 1 billion views per day.

In 2011, Youtube Live was launched. Youtube live was a site where people could livestream themselves going what they please. Such as, playing video games, cooking, or even just talking to the camera with a live audience. Fast forward to 2012, the first video to ever reach 1 billion views. It was the music video of the song Gangnam Style by Psy. This is a massive accomplishment not only for the artist Psy but also for Youtube. Later in 2015, Youtube release another new service called Youtube Red. Youtube Red was a paid subscription service, similar to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime+. In 2018 Youtube Red was rebranded to Youtube Premium. 

Now let’s jump to just last year, 2022. YouTube was deemed the second most poplar social network worldwide just behind Facebook. Today in 2023, Youtube has around 122 million site visitors per day, around 50% of the internet used Youtube once a month, and has generated around $14.4 billion in 2023.

Blog #2: SCOTUS History

 What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?

• While reading this article, I learned that “For more than 100 years after the foundation of the Supreme Court, the justices were required to hold circuit court twice a year in each judicial circuit—a grueling duty (given the primitive travel methods at the time) that Congress formally abolished in 1891.” I found this interesting because this was a way to make sure that all of the justices were up to date with all of the state laws an opinions of the community. To me this makes me think that they are in touch with what the community has to say and cares about their opinion. 
  
  
  

  What is the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court?

  • In my opinion the most important take away point from the Supreme Court is that all people have equal rights under the law. That is why there are so many cases based off of the amendments. As citizens of the United Sates of America we should follow and expect that the amendments are correctly followed. That is why cases such as Engle v. Vitale are important. You cannot push things upon people.  

  
  

  What was the most surprising thing you learned?

  • The most surprising thing that stuck out to me was that, as of June 2022, 115 Justices have served on the Supreme Court. I thought that there would have been more justices. In perspective I guess that does make sense. Based on the fact that they are appointed for life. I assumed that there would have been many more justices since the Supreme Court has been around since the 1790s. This shocked me a little bit. 

  
  

  How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court?

  • The video showed a deeper look inside of the Supreme Court. I learned more in this video than I would have without seeing it, as dumb as that sounds. I learned more about how thing are conducted on the inside rather than from an outsiders view on the whole situation. I give the upmost respect to the justices that have chosen to take this as their profession 
  

  
  
  

Blog #3 Speech Theories

 8 Values of Free Expression...

Think about which one resonates most with you. 

There are a few that stick out to me. The first one that resonates the most with me is number four, Individual Self-Fulfillment. This is also known as self-actualization. This sticks out to me because essentially it allows me to have my own identity from others. In today's world that is very important because people live in social media. People try to be like others that they see online. 

Which ones feel most important? 

Value number one, the marketplace of ideas, is the most important. This is because the discovery of the truth makes the world go round. This separates right from wrong. That is super important in today's world. Take the show on CBS Reality called Wrongly Accused. This entire show is to shed light on people who were falsely accused of a crime. 

Which ones feel most personal to you? 

Number seven, promoting innovation, is the most personal to me. This is similar to number four because it is about freedom of speech as well. People are allowed to do whatever they want within the laws. What others do that is fine by a legal standard should not affect you in any way. Let people do what they want to do as long as they are not breaking any rules.

Which one do you see in action today? 

The one that I see in action the most in today's world is number eight, Protect Dissent. This is because people are allowed to disagree with the government. Take a lawsuit for example, a large amount of lawsuits are based on people's disagreement with a law in today's world.  

Blog #1: Top 5 News Sources

1.)  The first news source that I am choosing is New York Times. The NYT is one of the most well-know and reliable news sources out now. NYT has been around and kicking since 1851, a true testament of time. It is one of the best fact-checking and solid sources of all time. It is also the most popular new paper in the world, and the name is very fitting. "New York" Times, New York is on of the most popular and busy places in the world with thousands of  business savvy people. They have around 740,000 hand held print subscribers and 8.6 million digital users. They have also won several awards.

2.) The second news source that I am choosing is the BBC. The British Broadcasting Company is know for their vast global coverage. It is the biggest new source in all of Britain. They touch on everything from sports to the royal family. They have something for everyone. They also have some of the best writers in the UK on their side. 

3.)  The third news source that I am choosing is AP News. AP News is an independant, non-profit new source. It is said that they have researchers in all 50 states and in over 100 countries. The NYT even has an entire page titled "Top News From the Associated Press" if that doesn't tell you how good of a new source than I do not know what will. They are also on the list of being the most trusted news source.

4.) The fourth news source that I am choosing is Google News. Google news is a great gateway to reach other news sources. If you go to google and type in google news not only will their new articles come up, but so will thousands of others to look through. It might not be the most well-respected news source but but it is surely one of the most convenient. It all one search away. 

5.) The fifth and final news source that I am choosing is Reuters. Reuters is more of a business news source.  Here you can learn anything from the stock market to the sustainability of the coco fields in Brazil. This is one of my top choices when I want to learn about anything on the business side
. It is also a huge global source in over 100 countries.