Privacy Revised

In my previous blog, I talked about privacy online. The blog stated that the Google story that I have chosen to write my post about is called “CONFESSIONS OF A GOOGLE EMPLOYEE”. This story is about Doug Edwards, a former director of consumer marketing and brand management at Google. Edwards has written a book title “I’m Feeling Lucky: Confessions of Google Employee Number 59” and he is being interviewed based off the information within the book.

                Within the interview, Edward said that the Google Toolbar scared people because of its ability to rank a website that you’ve visited. This means that Google keeps track of the sites that you’ve visited. He also mentioned that the beginning of Gmail also scared people because users believed that Google was reading their Email in order to show them advertisement. He gave another example of Google’s tracking ability when he referred to what happens if you’ve misspelled a word in Google. If you do misspell a word, the computer will ask you if you meant another word or phrase. This can only be done if Google stores your previous searches in its memory. This relates to our classroom discussions because in one of our classroom power point slides, it said that by us signing up to websites, we are giving them information that advertisers can use to try and sell us things, develop products, and track our activity.

What I did not mention is that all search engines operate differently. Most sell top billing to advertisers. Google’s top billing is calculated according to an algorithm based on relevance, popularity, and other factors. When we use these search engines, they automatically share our information and if the process were used by jobs and other organizations, then we would have to monitor every second of our lives. If it affects our lives in a negative way, I believe the law should change.

Hears the season to be Jolly, lalalalalalalalala

Our flash mob was a true success. I had never participated in such a group activity and it was a true experience.  In this blog I will talk about the sequence of events that played in my mind as my classmates and I prepared to shock the McFarland Student Union Building.

            Thirty minutes before the event I was extremely nervous. I had never participated in a flash mob and was curious on the outcome of the event. As the McFarland Student Union Building became flooded with students, my nerves became uneasy. As we walked outside of the multipurpose room, an unexpected smile came to my face. The whistle was blown and as I made snow angles in the middle of the floor, I could only laugh as my friends watched. It is said that all communication makes statements, and I believed that our flash mob made a huge statement. It was a heartwarming experience and the snow angles represented the coming of the holiday season. Some people thought the flash mob was entertaining and were brought into the holiday spirit. Gemeinschaft is the feeling we have when we’re really together and feel a shared we-ness. The Flash mob brought to my attention that my classmates and I, for the first time, were doing something as a group. I believed that by my classmates and I doing something together, my nervousness disappeared and I was comfortable with performing. When you believe you are apart of a big group, you feel obligated to partake in-group norms. When you are an individual among a group of people you do not feel obligated to associate yourself with everyone.     I was thrilled to participate in this once in a lifetime experience. I will always remember this college experience thanks to Dr. Bock.

My F2F Experience

            When I was given this assignment, I felt joy. This gave me an opportunity to exercise my communication skills with someone that I am not accustomed to spending time with.

            I decided to complete the assignment by going to dinner by myself. As I walked into the upstairs section of Kutztown University’s South Dining Hall, I saw a girl that was eating by herself. I walked towards her timidly and said hello my name is Brandon. She told me her name was Isha. I asked her was she sitting with anyone? She said no, so I politely asked might I eat with you? She graciously said yes, so I proceeded to get my food and sit with her.  I have never seen her on campus so I asked her was she a freshman or a transfer? She said that she was a freshman and asked what year am I? I told her that I am a junior. I noticed that she spoke with an accent and I asked her what is your ethnicity? She said she is Dominican and that she lived there for most of her life. She told me that she moved to Philadelphia when she was 10 years old. I told her that I currently live in Philadelphia as well. I asked her, what is your major? She told me anthropology. I told her I was majoring in Speech Communication with a minor in Electronic Media. As the conversation continued I learned that we are both family orientated and are the same zodiac sign.  Goffman would have said that Isha saw my front stage behavior. He would have said that by us meeting face to face, she did not see my true self. He would have also said the same thing about her. Since I was not using my cell phone during our conversation, Isha seemed more interested in the conversation because she believed that I was genuinely interested in her.

            I was nervous in the beginning of the conversation but the nerves quickly went away during the conversation. Good communication skills are essential do the human beings existence and should not be taken for granted. This assignment was a well-needed experience

Twitter News

            Twitter is the new wave of information distribution and is extremely useful.

            Since most people choose to receive their news from online sites, Twitter has become a valuable source of information.  Twitter is accessible twenty -four hours a day and three hundred and sixty-five days a week. This gives it the ability to be constantly updated with news from all over the world. This information is efficient. Unlike the morning paper, we do not have to wait until the next morning to receive the news. Thanks to Twitter, breaking new can happen at any time of the day.

`           Twitter also gives raw information. Which means it is not digested and regurgitated by the media. This filters the lies and unsaid information that new stations do not wish to expose. The media puts out stories that are relevant to the population such as killings in urban areas, but they do not expose information that is overlooked such as drug seizures in suburban areas.  A video or picture from twitter can capture breaking news as it is happening. Twitter gives play-by-play updates of events such as sports, television shows, and broadcast events. Twitter can give detailed updates of a game or interview.

Twitter is a strong and explosive wave of information. It is turning into one of the biggest sources of education. Twitter is the perfect blend of resource and current trend.  Since the world is making a gradual move into a world operated by technology, Twitter will remain an essential factor for information

We are not safe

Privacy is a delicate subject because what is private is based an individual personal belief.  Through out the world of Facebook, people privacy settings are set for different options and characteristics. Which leads me to ask what if your privacy is evaded.  This is a sensitive topic because there is no way around keeping everything private. Some things like profanity and obscenity can be avoided but what about searching the Internet for information on herpes infections or your ISP knowing about you political activism, are we safe?  

I do not believe that our Facebook pages should be public to the world but on the other hand, if you do not want your Facebook to be public to the world then do not make a Facebook page. People say that once its on the web its there forever. That is the scariest statement anyone can tell someone of this generation. I wish that out information we put on the Internet could only be use by us or by us giving permission to someone else.  There is information that is acceptable to the public like your real name and the school you attend. However, pictures of you drinking obsessive amount of alcohol or doing obscene things should not be placed on the Internet. These incidents should be kept in the privacy of your phone or camera, and not on the Internet.   I do not want drug marketers and ISP’s knowing everything I do while on the Internet and in these cases I wish we could keep these things to ourselves.

In conclusion, I wish we could implement a law that puts us in more control of all things that the public can see. The topic is too broad to say specifics because a pedophile should be watched if they’re preying on teenagers but we should be allowed to look up certain information without been scrutinized. I do not believe we will ever come to an agreement on a universal privacy law but I know that as of right now our privacy is being evaded.

           

The World of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

            Imagine being able to create a perfect person with no flaws, no insecurities, and every characteristic you wish you could obtain. This is what Second Life allows you to create. It is amazing that your allowed to communicate with people around the world without revealing your true identity. I will take you through my journey of second life snf explain the headaches I went through but also my experience of a world with unlimited possibilities for interactions.

            After going through the process of making my Second Life account, I was now responsible for creating and operating my created character. If taking care of a pet is anything like operating a character on Second Life, then I will never have a pet. Moving the character was extremely difficult. I had to press the arrows repeatedly before the character would move and if I pressed it too many times then the character would move to far. Controlling the angles of the camera was a huge part of which direction the character would move. I believe that my previous knowledge on how a character in a game moves cause me to have a lack of patience with my Second Life character. Once I finally got my character to move with the slightest amount of my control, I followed the direction arrows found on the floor. These arrows led me to land marks that helped me make the Second Life experience more enjoyable. There was a landmark for teaching me how move, how to sit, how to fly, how to chat, and how to find destinations. Second Life allowed me to be a completely different person and allowed me to show other people the emotions I wanted to display. When you are face to face with someone, your natural reaction shows first instead of your revised reaction.

            In conclusion the name Second Life gives it justice. Websites similar to this allows people to live two different lifestyles and also gives others courage that they are lacking. This was interesting to witness but a headache that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. This was an eye opening assignment and extremely educational.

            

Technology is not the problem, you are the problem !!!

After reading the article, the fact that there was not a gradual increase in test scores did not surprised me. I am also not surprised that scores have decreased. Some people think that it’s the technology that will help the scores increase but its society that will increase the scores. Technology doesn’t change people and definitely doesn’t make students who get low grades magically get high grades. In this blog I will break down who I believe is responsible for the consistent and depleting grades

            I believe that the software is not making a difference because the people using the software have not changed. Technology can play a valid asset in education because videos and pictures can bring light to an unclear topic and enhance understanding. Even though technology has increased the college tuition, technology is needed in certain situations like electronic media courses. If society wants test scores to be higher than more parents should get involved in their child’s education. There are parents who are not helping their child learn the basic essentials of education which causes them to suffer throughout their academic career. If the child cannot read, then technology will not miraculously make the child read on a scholar reading level. The test scores did not increase because the students did not become smarter. They have also decrease because some of them have found loop holes on how to pass the class without learning anything. On the other hand, some teachers have used technology as a crutch and are no longer teaching the students but are actually making students teach themselves. This would be a great idea if some students actually took the time to learn the subject but some take it as an opportunity to not do work.

            In conclusion, technology may be wonderful but it does turn students into Albert Einstein. If parents helped their children learn the basics, then the scores would increase. Eventually a parent can not be a crutch for the child but if the parent instills certain morals into their child, those values can possibly be learned and retained. Technology is the future but don’t forget that children are the future and the children will control the technology.

You can't build a house without a good foundation

            In life, a person’s upbringing, experiences, and natural instincts molds them into the person of the present. They affect the way the person’s thinks, acts, and carry themselves. The UN scene data that is stored into these individuals is just as important as their physical characteristics. What rises to the surface is the finish product but the preparation is where real works begins. The wrong coding of an individual can cause a person to be either Bill Gates or the next ax murderer. It is the same for web pages. The wrong coding will either cause a negative result or nothing will happen at all. While making my html page, I realized that there’s correlation between human and WebPages. In this blog you will hear about my journey.

            While making my page, I was astounded on how the html codes made the web page. The complicated symbolic equations actually made a simple background color, heading, or font size.  The preciseness needed to make a simple background color is the equivalent of a physics equation. One simple error such as a missed quotation mark or misspelled word will result in a negative effect. My experience shows me that the average web site is constructed of billions of codes that would make Einstein head hurt. I am happy that I’ve witnessed such an extraordinary secret. I have a new respect for web page designers and computer sciences.

            The correlation between people and computers is extremely accurate and that explains the increasing amount of people using the internet throughout the years. We are built similar but we have our differences. One thing that was brought to my attention while doing this project is that whether its people or WebPages, the foundation has to be stable in order for them to operate successfully.

Just when you thought you were all alone

The Google story that I have chosen to write my post about is called “CONFESSIONS OF A GOOGLE EMPLOYEE”. This story is about Doug Edwards, a former director of consumer marketing and brand management at Google. Edwards has written a book title “I’m Feeling Lucky: Confessions of Google Employee Number 59” and he is being interviewed based off the information within the book.

                Within the interview, Edward said that the Google Toolbar scared people because of its ability to rank a website that you’ve visited. This means that Google keeps track of the sites that you’ve visited. He also mentioned that the beginning of Gmail also scared people because users believed that Google was reading their Email in order to show them advertisement. He gave another example of Google’s tracking ability when he referred to what happens if you’ve misspelled a word in Google. If you do misspell a word, the computer will ask you if you meant another word or phrase. This can only be done if Google stores your previous searches in its memory. This relates to our classroom discussions because in one of our classroom power point slides, it said that by us signing up to websites, we are giving them information that  advertisers can use to try and sell us things, develop products, and track our activity.

                In conclusion, there are pros and cons to this Google characteristic. Yes, Google has the capability to make your searches efficient and less time consuming. On the other hand, there is a natural uncomfortable feeling you will always have if you know that someone is tracking the sites you go on. This story makes you value the minimal privacy you actually have in this world.

The Tree of Life

           The relationship between humans and nature is an ongoing partnership dating back to the beginning of human civilization. Since nature and humans correlate so well, sometimes you can find similar characteristics between the two. I have chosen this relationship to explain what object best relates to me. The tree and I have a perfect correlation.

            The tree is a valuable component to the circle of life. It is a permanent and temporary home for many animals. It is a source of food for animals and humans. The tree also provides shade from sun rays. In my eyes, trees and I have more in common than great height and long branches.  I am also a valuable component in the circle of someone’s life. I believe that God has placed me the lives of certain individuals and they were placed in my life for the same reason. When it comes to relationships, my ex girlfriends have had a temporary home in my heart. I have not yet found a woman to live there permanently, but I am always open to the right buyer. I cannot produce food but I can produce words of knowledge for those who are willing to listen. Due to my protective nature, I believe that I can provide shade from life’s sun rays. I try to protect my love ones from danger when they’re in my presence.

            In conclusion, the tree and I not only had a physical relationship but a spiritual one as well. I am someone’s tree and I am happy to be that tree. It brings me joy to bring comfort and security to those whom pass my way. I have accepted my role in the circle of life and hope I can continue to be the tree God wants me to be. Whether I am in real life or online, I like to keep my personal life private. I am more verbally cautious online than I am in real life.

Does Media Equal Real Life ?

In the article, “Media Equation”, the author writes about human’s natural instinct in giving electronics human like characteristics or also knows as anthropomorphism. The article talks about human’s ability to show emotion towards the object as if it would respond. The article gave examples such as the emotion we feel during a scary movie and also the movements we show as an actor moves towards us while on television. It then explains that our reaction has nothing to do with our mental capacity but actually gives credit to our ability to adapt our minds to entertainment. The article explains that certain forms of entertainment will no longer be amusing if we took it in a realistic point of view. The theory that is presented is that media equal real life.  Throughout the article the author gives points on how the theory is false and true. I believe that media equals real life.

            I came to this decision after I realized that media directly transfers into our daily lives.  Most of the shows on television are based on real life experiences and situations. When it comes to the internet, whatever you put on the internet can be used against you. Even though actors are not who they portray, the situations they perform open our emotional doors of fear or happiness. They touch us because they are easy to relate to and show empathy towards.

            In conclusion, you cannot deny the feelings, emotions, and responsibility that media acquires. In life there are plenty of things that give us satisfaction that is not the original art form. A hug can comfort you but so can a comfy bed. A doctor can take care of you but so can a reliable vehicle. Just because it’s not the original that doesn’t mean it isn’t as good as the original.