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?