Aside: Internet Rising Documentary

I thought this was a very interesting documentary.  It covered so many of the topics we discussed in class.  It described the Internet as a means of creating a direct connection between people and ideas.

They brought up the issue of if Internet access should be a human right.  I think this is an interesting topic because in developed countries that are run based on the connectivity of the Internet, I think people that do not have a stable, high speed connection are put at a severe disadvantage.  This is only because our society as developed in a way that we have become dependent on this technology.  When thinking about the Internet in terms of the virtual world, it creates an alternative reality were a majority of people, to some extent, act in a way they would not in a face to face interaction.  The documentary mentioned how it creates a realm of fiction and fantasy.  I believe people use their digital lives as an escape to reality or as a way to recreate themselves in a different ‘life’. 

     The Internet is also used as a means of empowering individuals and giving them more freedom.  People are able to express themselves and connect to one other in a way that was never available in the past.  The documentary stated that the Internet has transformative power, but I think this is only in a certain context.  I think of the Internet as an enabler for change, but for anything substantial to actually take place people must take action. It enables communication and offers a tool for formation and spreading information. 

     I thought it was very interesting when the video discussed how these new emerging technologies are transforming us into ‘something else’.  I have read articles in the past about how technology has made physical changes in the structure of the human brain.  The video discuses how the image of an individual has been extended to the image of an individual holding an iphone.  This is an interesting idea because we are at the point where many people, mostly the younger generations, literally feel lost if they do not have their phone with them at all time.  When my phone has been broken for a few days, I have the constant feeling that I am missing something.  Our phones have become an extension of ourselves that allows us to be in constant communication with one another.  It scares me to think we have come this far and been this dependent in such a short period of time, where will we be ten years from now?

Week 15

Remix Culture:

When I hear “Remix Culture” I mainly think of the recent change in the music culture, with the large transition to using the works of others to create something new or entirely different.

I think the biggest consequence of the remix culture is it is hard to determine who is the real creator of a work and who gets credit or recognition for their creativity. It hard to determine the point where the new author has changed the original work enough to create something entirely different, versus if they are just stealing someone else’s idea. 

The remix culture is affecting innovation because people are creating less original works and are basing their works on something that has already been created.  I think this is creating a different type of innovation as the culture in our society changes.  Especially with the switch to the digital realm, the increased availability of creative works and use of new tools for innovation. 

Aside: What is Peer-to-Peer?

             I think the idea of peer-to-peer is very interesting and I see many benefits and chances for further innovation that can be created from this sort of sharing and access to resources.  I also think there are many limitations and situation where this type of approach would not work or would not be the most effective choice.  The video discussed how peer-to-peer is a result created by forming a network of people where there are no limitations on how people can connect to one another.  Building this type of network, also begins building relationships between the people in that network, or between ‘peers.’ 

There were three main factors discussed.  The first was peer production, which is the creation of the work.  This is the stage where innovation happens because people in the network volunteer to join a project and contribute the knowledge and expertise they have.  I think this is a great idea, because people are often inspired by works or ideas of one another.  Each person in the network has something unique to add or learn through the creation of the project.  The video discussed how in the corporate work world; many relationships have become dysfunctional because in a highly competitive culture the relationships are based on what is given in return for ones input.  In a peer-to-peer environment the relationships are based on all users freely giving as much as they can with little or no concern over what they will get back in return.  The second factor was peer governance, which was how are the relationships in the network managed.  I don’t know much about how peer-to-peer networks initially begins so I was curious if there is a limit for how many people can join a network, if only specific people can join, or if it’s open to everyone regardless of your skills and abilities? The third factor was peer property, which covers how do you protect what you have created.  This confused me, because if the whole point is to create an open, common work for anyone to use, why is there a need to protect it.  

Aside: Google Street Artist : Doug Rickard

            I chose this video because I thought it was very interesting that someone was able to use something so simple that most people just see as a navigation tool and turn it into a form of modern photography art.  I’ve looked at Google Street view many times but have never considered it an art form or never even saw any true meaning behind the photographs. Once I saw some of the images Rickard created from this and heard his explanations, I saw the images in a whole new way.  Google Street view is a very interesting concept because it is capturing people, unexpectedly at a specific place and time.  It gives us the ability to look back at that moment in time/history and creates a feel for how things were at that time.  It ranges from the style of the buildings, the fashion, the wealth and poverty levels of certain areas ect.  In the clip, the images were described as digital artifacts that could be used for social documentary purposes.  I thought it was interesting that Rickard said the images could be used as a ‘deep political message’ because they give a glimpse of the reality of what its like to be at a certain place in our current times. 

            As we move into a digital age, I agree that the tools and potential for creating art has shifted into a new territory.  The possibilities for art are expanding but I think it is also increasing difficult to create something special and unique.  I think the new digital tools that are available today have raised expectations for art. I liked that Rickard claimed that he was ‘looking through Google as his lens.’  The Internet has opened new doors of possibility, and has created new ways of looking at things.  In my opinion, it takes a great photographer to look at something that most people see as ordinary and turn it into something special that has meaning.  

Aside: Time to Socialize Social Media

            This article raised a very interesting point concerning the right citizens have in regards to their freedom of speech in the realm of social media.  It suggested that citizens personal communication online would be more protected if the government was the provider of social media.  The argument was that our rights online would be protected like they are with the postal service.  I had never really thought of it in that way but it doesn’t make sense that the government can easily access our digital conversations while it is much more difficult for them to read our mail spent through the postal system.  Seeing as there is no difference besides the medium of communication the protection should be the same.  I think since communication via the Internet and social media is a relatively new concept, there are no laws in place yet to protect citizens speech and privacy in these spaces.  How can we assume that if the government begins running our electronic communication it will be protected under the same rights as our mail that is sent through the post office?

            I think the solution besides making it a public service run by the government is there needs to be more competition in the private sector for electronic communication and social media websites. This will allow consumers who are not satisfied with one site, to switch to an alternative.  The problem is that social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, have a monopoly over the social media industry.  Many users are unhappy with changes that are made or how these companies use and distribute our personal information but there is no other option available so users just have to accept that way things are or not participate in the system at all.   

I think the possibility of either of these solutions taking place to protect our privacy rights is very unlikely.  I do not think the government will every take control of the social media sector, especially if they benefit from the setup and legislation of the current situation.  I also don’t think there will ever be competition among the social media networks enough so that consumers have a choice of which network to participate in or not without opting out of the entire social media system.  A think a major benefit of a social media network is that a large number of the people you know and associate with are all using the same network.  So if people were given choices of which network or sites to be a part of, people would have different preferences, resulting in the use of different sites which defeats the purpose social media was created for in the first place.  I think it will be interesting to see what changes will be made in the future to protect the privacy of citizens in the digital realm. 

Atlas Speaker Series -‘Earth Imagery Industry’

For the Atlas Speaker Series, I chose the Earth Imagery Industry.  Walter Scott was the presenter; he is the founder and chief technology officer of DigitalGlobe.  DigitalGlobe is a provider for commercial high-resolution imagery products.  Going into the presentation I knew very little about satellite and commercial imagery products, all I really knew is that the quality of images has greatly improved in the recent years with the increasing technology.  I’ve always been interested in how location providers like Google maps collected there data, and curious about how they were able to collected so many specific images across the entire globe.

         I liked that Scott began the presentation with the history of satellite images, beginning in the 1970s. It made me realize what a dramatic difference has been made with the creation of new technologies in such a short period of time.  He started with images that only portrayed relatively blurry outlines and eventually moved to satellite images of today which were crystal clear pictures where one can pin point their house. The improvement in quality images began with the improvement of resolution and accuracy.  I thought it was interesting that he said the accuracy has improved to the point of being able to hit a quarter from three miles away. Scott also discussed how drastically the capacity of the industry has increased, meaning the area that can be collected in a certain time and space.  The capacity of the Earth’s area that can be collected has increased by a factor of 25 since 2002.  I thought it was interested that the satellites orbit the Earth from pole to pole.  I’m curious how many satellites are currently in orbit collecting this type of data.  I also wonder if all the data and images collected by the satellites is shared among many different organizations and the government.

         Many of the advantages of this new technology were discussed.  One was the location-based service that consumers use all the time.  As increases in technology is made, and consumers have more and more data and information available, the expectation for this instant information is created.  Another advantage that was discussed was how these images are used to help with disasters. One example was the wild fires in Colorado, this new technology allowed us to better track the fire and allowed for quicker notify of any changes.  Scott also discussed that these high-resolution images have helped with our national defense.  I think this can be seen as both a helpful tool but also another factor we must protect ourselves against.

         Scott mentioned that in the future the goal is to have real time video with sound included.  I don’t like the idea of this; I would feel like I was constantly being monitored and recorded.  I think there needs to be a boundary for how far this technology should be taken. From the presentation, I realized many of the benefits high-resolution imagery can provide.  It also made me consider where this technology is headed in the future and at the current rate it is increasing where will we be in 30 years?  

Week 14

Group 11: Digital Divide Presentation
Here is the link to our presentation; each slide contains the relevant sources used:
http://csel.cs.colorado.edu/~vargasp/#(14)

Group 12; IPR, Copyright / Copyleft Presentation

Do you think the general patent period of 20 years is an acceptable time frame? 

I think intellectual property right is very important because it provides an incentive for further creativity and innovation.  At this point in my life I think the only intellectual property I create is my writing and photography, which is just for enjoyment purposes rather than profit.  I think it is important that intellectual property has a limited amount of time it is protected for because often times, good inventions can become great with only small changes or additions that other people can help contribute.  Something can be perfected or created most effectively with the impact from many people rather than just one sole creator. 

Week 13

Music & Digital Media (Group 10):

I think music sharing is at the point where it will probably always happen especially as the younger generation grows up, who is used to music being ‘free’ in some sense or another. I think the new best strategies would be to take advantage of the new situation and find creative ways to make a profit.  Finding ways to serve the new market that is emerging will also help to provide a profit to the musicians.

IT & War (Group 9): 

In general, describe the relationship between I.T. and war as it has existed throughout history and into the present.

In the past, I think war has been a huge driver in technological advance.  Every country wanted to have the most advanced technology because it creates a huge advantage during wartime.  Advancement is technology have changed the way wars are fought.  Currently, I believe an increasing number of technological advances are coming from companies created for consumers rather than war. 

3 quotes and short response stating conclusion addressing the relationship between I.T. and war:

Supports:

“Technology shapes warfare, not war. War is timeless and universal... Warfare is the conduct of war.”

“Technology defines, governs, or circumscribes warfare. It sets the stage for warfare. It is the instrumentality of warfare.”

“The most important verb describing the impact of technology on warfare is that it changes warfare. Technology has been the primary source of military innovation throughout history. It drives changes in warfare more than any other factor. “

“However much technology may change warfare, it never determines warfare—neither how it will be conducted nor how it will turn out. Technology presides in warfare, but it does not rule.”

In conclusion, technology has changed the way war is fought.  It changes the weapons that are used, but people are still the ones who decide if and how we fight against one another.  Technology is an enabler, but it not by any means the cause of war. 

Week 12 Questions

Group 8: Virtual Reality 

"A Brief History of Virtual Reality and its Social Applications" 

My initial understanding of a virtual reality is a computer or technology-generated world, where a virtual life or interactions can be created. I rarely interact with virtual realities, if ever.

1) What is the different between virtual environments, artificial reality, and augmented reality?

2) In the article, it says that virtual reality is “an alternate world filled with computer generated images that respond to human movements”, so would the video game Wii be consider a virtual reality?  What qualifies as an alternate world?

3) Does a communication medium need to be present for the digital world to be classified as a virtual reality? Would internal communication within the game itself (so communication with fictitious characters of the game) count as the necessary interaction or communication component? 

Group 6: IT Privacy & Security

“The Transparency Grenade”

1) Why is it necessary for Corporate and Governmental transparency?  If this type of information is made publicly available how will this impact our national security and for businesses how will this affect how they maintain their competitive advantage?  Concerning businesses, why should they have to disclose their private information to the public is they not involved in the decision?

2) Is ‘network insecurity’ necessarily a bad thing just because it impacts our freedom of speech?  There are many things in the real world, not digital world, that also impact the extent to which we express our freedom of speech but I think this type of informal restriction provides many advantages as well.

3) What does it mean when the article states that it is a ‘one-off object’ and how will this original core concept still live on as an app for Android devices by ‘invisibly’ running as a background application?

“Device identification in online banking is privacy threat, expert says”

1) When did companies begin using the 41^st Parameter technology? Has this new technology been useful in preventing fraud?

2) Are there any laws specifying exactly what the companies can and can not do with this data?  Do consumers have the option to opt out of this data collection during log in?

3) If this information is not personally identifiable when it is sold to advertisers how do they use it to market to specific individuals? 

Week 11 Questions

Richard Stallman on Free Software –youtube video

1) Stallman discuses how if users do not have control over the software they use this creates an imbalance of power, but if user’s have control over ever software program they use how what would the effect on the overall Internet be?  Wouldn’t this create a whole different type of imbalance of power, being the computer savvy people would have the knowledge to change these program and the people with limited computer skills would be put a disadvantage instead?

2) If developers could no longer restrict the use of the software they created through copyright law, would this slow innovation because people would have less incentive to create new software because they can’t protect it from others infringing on their ideas?

3) What are some current examples of programs that use ‘copyleft’ and have they been successful? If copyright laws did not protect educational material, how would the author and publisher make money on their work?  Wouldn’t this put authors, innovators, and creators at a disadvantage? 

What is Open Source? – Computer Floss

1) Even if all software was made to be open source and all the source code was available, wouldn’t only a small number of the population be able to understand the source code to make changes or fix problems?

2) Since companies currently consider source code to be a trade secret, what would be the effect on their competitive advantage if all this information were made public?

3) What was the effect of the GNU project to develop free software?  Was it successful, why or why not?

4) Is there a program to convert the machine code back to source code? A program that undoes what the ‘compiler’ did, which was discussed in the video. 

"Open Source vs Proprietary Software"

1) How is proprietary software designed to meet the needs of the user more than Open Source?  What are the advantages that come from the fact that Open Source does not have censorship and monitoring? 

2) The article states that open source is great for ‘DIY project’, what is a DIY project? 

3) One of the arguments against Open Source is that the quality is questionable and I think this relates to the other argument that there is no responsibility.  Is there a way to add accountability to increase quality, without connecting it to a single company? 

“Life on the Electric Frontier: An Interview with Howard Rheingold”  

1) Are there more dangers now in making the transition from an online to a face-to-face community? How can these dangers we prevented or overcome in our current society?

2) When The Well became part of the Internet and ‘went global’, do you think the types of relationships and communities formed using this platform changed?

3) What do you believe is the best way to overcome the isolation that technology has the potential to create?  Do you believe it depends on the individuals to use this advancing technology as a tool for increased personal community or further isolation?

“Howard Rheingold’s Virtual Community”

1) When discussing Japan, and why the Net does not automatically result in Internet, the article states that “people are waiting until the Net has acquired a more visual character…”  What does the author mean by a ‘visual character’?  And how can this be accomplished?

  

2) In relation to relationships and forming communities, what are your expectations for the Internet in the future?  What are your predictions about how it will progress?

3) Do you believe there is a solution for ‘disinformocracy’? Why do you believe this is such a big problem? 

Week 10 Questions

“A Deep Dive into Facebook and Datalogix: What’s Actually Getting Shared and How You Can Opt Out”  (Reitman)

1) Why are the data trails that are collected as a result of our purchases with loyalty cards such a bad thing?  Don’t they have many positive aspects as well, like coupons targeted to benefit the consumer’s particular needs?  Is it really that big of a problem for companies to have information about what products we buy?

2) What does ‘hashed data’ mean and how is it different from the normal term ‘data’?

3) Other than using this data to increase personalized marketing to consumers, what other affects can an increase in availability of data have on the consumer? 

“Has Viral Gone Viral?” (Bilton)

1) How has the increase in the speed of spreading information affected our social system?

2) Now that everyone can contribute to delivering new information, how was this affected the reliability and truthfulness of the information in our society as a whole?

3) With an increasing amount of websites available, what factors are most prominent in determining if the website will be successful or not?  The article mentions the rapid growth of the site, Chatroulette, so for this example want specific factors about this site contributed to its successfulness? 

Aside - “Welcome to the first digital presidential election”

Aside - “Welcome to the first digital presidential election”

            The article discuses how social networks have made groundbreaking changes in the President election process through their uses of raising money, communicating with supporters, and their allowance of citizens to directly communicate with their peers.  I want to focus on the last point, because I think it this creates both good and bad consequences relating to educating people about “true” information.  Social networks have enabled and increased the spread of information and opinions, but along with this it has an effect on the bias opinions and also spread of information whether it is true or misleading.  The spread of information is important, but how users interpret and use this information is also important, especially in relation to politics.  

The information that is on an individuals social feed that they will give their attention to will mainly come from their friends, which a lot of the time have similar views.  It is important to check the sources and how the information in portrayed.  Users may just post an article, with one main headline, which may be a manipulation of data or information.  How one frames the issue makes all the difference, and with the increased amount of information available to users, they may not take the time to read the articles and find out the facts.  On the other hand if user do take the time to look into information social media creates a space for a variety of perspectives and people to comment if the information is wrong.  Often times, controversial political posts gain the most attention and foster debate because of the variety of views on the issue.  This is good to decrease bias as well. 

The article discussed how Republican’s are no longer trailing in their utilization of social media tools as opposed to the Democrats.  I think they have seized these new social media platforms, but success through social media depends on the supporters who are using these social media platforms.  I think a lot of the success in the first Obama campaign came from the citizens they were targeting.  Obama already works to target young voters, and young people make up a large percentage of the social media population, I think this also helped the successfulness of his social campaigns. 

Aside - "Waterwheel " site

“Waterwheel-an online space where you can interact, share, perform and debate about water as a topic and metaphor with people around the world.”  I thought this site was very interesting, I hadn’t seen many other sites like this.  It creates a unique way to discuss a problem and gain perspectives of other.  I also thought the use of metaphors was very clever.  It took me a little time to explore and read the different sections to understand how the site fully works. 

By sharing different perspectives on water it helps us to understand how some resources are viewed in other countries as opposed to our own.  Our use and how our society views a resource will shape how we view the resource. By gaining different perspectives from other societies we gain a new outlook and may think twice about our use in our own society. 

Growing awareness and finding out issues, is important because as discuss the as Suzon Fulk discussed in her interview, sometimes were unaware something is even an issue.   In relation to water, people may view it as a commodity opposed to a a scarce resource depending on what part of the world you’re from and your first hand experience with this resource. 

The creator of the site wrote that it, “fosters creativity, collaboration, inter-cultural exchange”, which I believe are some stills people do not always utilize when they attempt to solve a problem.   The Internet along with social media, allows normal citizens to decide what topics and problems should be discussed and how to solve them.   I think this is important, because now instead of the news/media companies deciding what issues are important, citizens can help to determine the important topics of our time.  This is also good because there are multiple perspectives provided so this lowers the probability of getting a biased perspective

A few questions I had were: Besides spreading awareness and gaining multi-cultural perspectives is the site also suppose to be a mechanism for change, or fixing the problems that are associated with water?  If so how does it do this? 

Week 8 Question (Part 2)

The Emerging Role of Social Media in Political and Regime Change (Safranek)

1) The article states that the attraction from the big three social media services is that “the average person with little or no advanced computer skills can have good success using them.”  In my experience, my parents, aunts, uncles who have at least proficient computer skills, still struggle or do not fully understand social media platforms and how to utilize them to their full potential.  This also makes sense because the article claims one reason social media use has gotten so big in the Middle East and Northern Africa is due in large part to their young population.  So in conclusion, do you think age or factors or computer proficiency influence social media use more?

2) How do social media services change the presentation of a biased view of an issue, when it is no longer the media/news deciding what stories to air, but instead people posting undisputable footage of real events? Seeing as social media increases in areas where there is political or social turmoil, how does the amount of social media usage in the US increase when it is an election year? 

3) Now that we have the ability to film a situation at any moment using our cell phone, how has the role of the journalist changed? Have citizens now become the top journalists, catching the biggest stories on film, because from use of a cell phone and being in the right place at the right time.  Now do journalists and media stations just have to look to social media websites to find the top stories?

4) How were supporters in Egypt able to subvert the censorship of the government? How much of an effect does not having the infrastructure of only the smart phone decrease the effectiveness of social media?