Post #10: Reflection of EOTO #2

Upon watching and listening to all of the EOTO presentations, I really took interest in Anna Claire Miller's presentation on The Total Information Awareness Program. The Total Information Awareness Program (TIA for short) is a way for your information to be collected even when you do not know about it. That information can be used by the government in multiple ways and it can even be used in some ways that the government likes to keep confidential to the public. This ability to collect peoples' information could also cause the abundant use of power. What I mean by this, is that the government could use your information for more than just to see if you are a terrorist, they could use it for other concerns or situations that they see fit. 

This program really started to take off after it was created in 2002. The main reason for the creation of the TIA is because of the terrorist attack that occurred in New York City on 9/11. After the attack, security and surveillance around the world grew stronger. The TIA helps provide information on people to make sure that they are not a terrorist. Some might say that the overall program violates peoples' rights and that it is "secretly" taking peoples' information without their consent. While some might say it is a violation, others might say that it is helpful because it aids in finding terrorists and those who want to harm our country. For those that believe that the TIA is violating your privacy, there are many ways in which you can avoid your personal information from getting out. You can use a fake email and password when creating an account for something and you can even use a fake profile picture to really keep your personal information safe. Overall, the TIA can be both beneficial and harmful to the public. It is just up to you and how much you are willing to keep your personal information more secure. 

Post #9: The Diffusion of Innovations Theory Takes On YouTube

YouTube has been one of the most popular websites for many years now. Some may argue that the overall popularity of YouTube is declining, but if we use Roger's Diffusion Theory, we can take a closer look to see if YouTube is still on top as the Critical Mass, or if it is in their maturation faze and are becoming less popular. The Diffusion Theory helps us to get a good grasp of how platforms, movements, ideas, and more, start out and then eventually either stay at the top, or fall and become less popular and unfamiliar. YouTube originally came out in 2005, ever since then, the platform has been top three of the most visited websites. 

YouTube can be used by all ages, but we are often seeing more and more adults and teenagers use the platform. The age group that uses and watches YouTube the most falls under the ages 15-35. This app became popular so fast, due to the fact that there was no easy way to post and share videos with people from around the world at the time. The early adopters that instantly got hooked to YouTube simply starting using the platform because it was the newest and coolest thing at the time. Even though YouTube is one of the fastest growing and most viewed platforms, there are many who choose not to even fool with YouTube, those people would be called the non-adopters. They may just see the negatives in the platform and they may find that other social media apps are better. For me personally, I watch YouTube very often, however, I do use Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook more than I watch YouTube. After the non-adopters, there are the late adopters. The late adopters will join YouTube or start a channel many years down the road. The reason for the differentiation of adopters is because YouTube changes constantly. If YouTube never changed and upgraded its content, then it would loose so many people and eventually be in the saturation phase of the Diffusion Theory. 

I believe that YouTube has gotten even bigger and more popular over the years. According to Global Media Insight, just from 2013, to 2020, YouTube has gotten more than 1.3 billion more users. So how did YouTube become so popular and how did YouTube become one of the most popular websites not only in the U.S., but in places like India, Brazil, and Japan? Well, YouTube allows people from all over the world to create and experiment on postable content. This website initially started out in the experimental phase, but it quickly went over the curve and through the uptake to become a critical mass. Some might say that the platform is starting to burn out and get less popular, but according to Newsweek, as for YouTube, "growth will only continue." 

Post #8 EOTO #2:

Have you ever been persuaded to do something from seeing an advertisement or a tv commercial? Have you ever seen posters promoting a certain event or cause? Well, that would be considered propaganda. Propaganda is the spreading of either true or false information to the public. Propaganda can influence and manipulate people into believing and doing things that they never intended on doing in the first place. The term propaganda was originally introduced in 1622. It began as a term, but then grew to become a manipulative tool that people still used today. 

Propaganda can be both good and bad. Most people that think of propaganda only think of the bad forms. For instance, like posters promoting and advertising a war or a tv commercial that tries to make a certain president look bad. Most of the time what would be considered the bad propaganda is usually the only propaganda that the world sees. This type of propaganda is not only false advertisement, but this type of propaganda can also cause arguments within families and friends. One side may agree with a certain type of propaganda, while the other side may disagree and vice versa. The bad propaganda can also harm the younger generations. Millennials I would say, have more common sense on what is real and what is fake when it comes to the world than the up and coming generations. Why do I believe this? Of course, Millennials have been around longer, seen more, and have experienced more than, lets say, Gen Z. The younger generations are being raised around more technology and have more access to social media. Social media and the abundant use of technology can be harmful. Anything and everything is posted on social media and the amount of propaganda that is floating around on the internet is outrageous. When something is posted on an account that you really like, or your favorite celebrity is trying to promote something, all of that would be considered propaganda. Propaganda can also affect the majority and minority by causing diversity within different populations. It also affects the rich and the poor because the rich can use propaganda to their advantage and have more resources to promote it, whereas, the poor are more likely to believe it because of their lack of financial resources. With that said, not all propaganda is bad and corrupting. There are examples of good propaganda, such as, a promotional add for Taco Tuesday or a Rosie the Riveter poster because these examples are promoting good and helpful things. 

Propaganda can also influence the decisions you make on a daily basis and it can also change the way you make decisions. Propaganda can be very deceiving and I often find myself trying to distinguish what is real and what is fake when it comes to the world and the information surrounding it. I am one to get on social media often and a lot of what is on social media is fake news. Sometimes I get drawn into the deception of propaganda. Not only am I sometimes blinded by the propaganda, it really affects everyone in society. Propaganda is never ending and it is not going anywhere anytime soon. That is why society is going to continue to get persuaded by either fake or real news or information. 

 

In the end, you can be 80, 15, male, female, rich, poor, and so on, but you are still going to face propaganda. Propaganda will continue to grow, the real question is, is the world going to continue to abuse the power of propaganda, or are they going to use it to benefit society? 

  

Extra Post #2: An Unforgettable Mission Trip

December 12th, 2019, was the first day that Covid hit. It started out as a gentle virus in China that had spread to a couple of people and it was not considered to be life threatening. Around March 2020, the Covid cases started to increase, but only a couple of states in the United States had accumulated cases. March 11, 2020, was the day that me, two of my teachers, and two of my classmates decided to go on with our mission trip to Peru. At the time, people were not wearing masks, there was no 6 feet apart rule, and Covid was not really a concern. We landed in Cuzco Peru on March 12th 2020.

 A couple of days went by and as we had just came back to the hotel from eating at our first restaurant in Peru when the President of Peru announced that they are closing the boarders of Peru, which meant no one in and no one out. In frantic mode, we all started to freak out and we were trying to get a flight out that night, but they flights were all booked up. We all went to sleep that night, only to wake up realizing that our 10 day trip was going to last much longer than expected. We had to move from our hotel to the missionary family's house because we were not sure if we would be able to get food at the hotel. Days went by, streets got empty, stores remained closed, a  curfew went into effect, masks became mandatory and our hope of getting home started to fade. On top of it all, it was my first time out of the country. After days of waiting and listening for a way to get out of Peru, we heard President Trump, Mark Walker, and Pompeo talk about American citizens being stranded with no way of getting home and that they were trying to figure out ways of getting them home.  

After days of waiting, we finally got the news that we were coming home on March 29th and what was originally supposed to be a 10 day mission trip, turned into almost a month long quarantine. To get home, we had received special permission from the Peruvian Government and the U.S. Government and after three flights, we eventually landed in Charlotte on March 31st, 2020.    

Post #7: Is Privacy Really Private?

According to the Merriam- Webster Dictionary by definition, privacy means the quality or state of being apart from company or observation and freedom from unauthorized intrusion. Privacy literally means having the freedom to protect what you do and when you do it without the interference of others. In todays world, we are constantly being watched, filmed, and monitored on a daily basis. From watching the TED talks in class, the realization hit me that we are not really granted our own freedom to privacy at all. Once you step foot outside, a picture of you could be taken by the next cop car that passes you or you could be going about your everyday life without even realizing that your phone and your  Amazon Alexa is constantly listening in on your every word. The constant observation from the outside world should affect us and our lives drastically, instead we are often blinded by the obstruction of our own privacy. 

I know that for me, I do not even like to go out in public places and socialize, let alone be secretly recorded by those of higher power. The government has so much power over you and those around you. Sometimes I feel like we should be asking ourselves do we actually have the freedom that is promised to us within The First Amendment? I believe that the government is doing right by all of the constant surveillance, but I believe that that surveillance should not be used on those who do not deserve it and that ability to watch and listen to someone daily, should not be abused by using it on the "innocent."

Even though we are allowed to speak up and have a voice against the government and the decisions that they make for us, the constant monitoring is never going to stop, in fact, it is probably going to get even more advanced in the future. So how can we, as American citizens, protect ourselves from the government? We can find loopholes like using a fake email account to log into apps and websites. We can limit the amount of time we use things like Amazon Alexa's and Echo Dots. There are many ways to protect yourself from the continual supervision of the government, but it is all up to you and if you are willing to go the extra mile to secure your safety as an American citizen.      

Post #6:The Merge That Changed Social Media

Throughout our first EOTO project, we learned a lot about different communicative technologies. We learned about some older technologies, like the first telegraph, and then some newer technologies, like the first iPhone. When the different technologies were presented in class, I really took interest in TikTok. I know that if you asked a room full of random people if they have TikTok, more than half of them would say yes. TikTok originally started out as Musical.ly, but Musical.ly merged with TikTok back in 2018. Within my generation, social media is very popular and is getting even more popular every single day. TikTok was officially created back in 2016. It is an app that expresses communication through videos. TikTok incorporates videos about the latest trends, up to date news, life hacks, vlogs, and more. Although you have to be 13 years old in order to have your own TikTok account, the app allows for all ages to participate in some way. I use TikTok on a daily basis and it can become very addicting. With the ability to constantly scroll and see a new video, it is sometimes hard to stop. Whenever someone posts a video on TikTok, it instantly gets put out into the world for people to see. From there, people can like and comment on the video, and also share the video with other people. 

When my classmate presented on TikTok, I found it interesting that President Trump tried to ban the app. I know that when COVID-19 started to get really bad in 2020, TikTok was an escape for most people. It became a way for people to communicate with others through videos without having to go out of the house because of stay at home orders. Throughout my classmates presentation, I was shocked when she said that he wanted to ban the app, but then after some consideration, I realize how this app could be a potential threat when releasing information about our country to other countries. 

All of the presentations about the different technologies were very interesting and I found the EOTO projects to be very informative, but when one of my classmates presented on the communicative technology known as TikTok, it really caught my eye and made me want to make my own blog post about it.  

Post #5: "War, A Terrible War"

War has always been apart of history. The United States was born from war, but that does not mean war is always the right answer. The media's portrayal of war is that it is always out of necessity and it always advocated and supports the government's decision to enter into one. What do you not see or hear about is news that supports antiwar beliefs. What is that? The websites, The American Conservative and AntiWar.com shares some light on why it remains less known to the public. These websites release the truth behind the war efforts that the United States Government either fails to release or tried to hide. The articles published on these websites shine a light on the dark side of the war and it portrays the government in a negative fashion. In one article posted on The American Conservative, the article discusses the claim that the U.S. Military was stationed in Iraq solely for the "non-combat" reasons. It reveals the truth and shows that the claim is false and that the military is indeed participating in combat roles. 

I believe that it is difficult to find websites that support ideas and beliefs that are opposite from the government because it is harder to control those who know the truth. These websites inform people of the truth behind the war efforts and the government and the media does not make their news known. These websites and many more, go unnoticed and are not advertised due to the information that they provide the public with, but it is just as important, if not, more important to get this type of news into the mainstream media.