The TED Talks by Eli Pariser goes into detail about this idea of filter bubbles and how it is something that is bad for the internet, This filtering is going on on many websites like Facebook or Google among others. What is happening is there is this hidden algorithm that dictates what you see when you search things. Pariser uses the example of Egypt; he had two friends search up Egypt in Google and they both got many different results. One friend saw crises in Egypt and how there are many protests; his other friend only saw the an advertisement for the Egypt Daily News and different vacation options should he decide to visit. Eli argues this is happening on various websites; websites purposely dictate what is available for you to see depending on what you look up without gaining your consent. Pariser says this is a bad thing for democracy because we get trapped in these bubbles and are, unbeknownst to us, unable to be exposed to more information and remain uninformed due to no fault of our own. He says a problem with the filtering is websites only feed you what you click on first and it is not a fair divide. So most people will get a lot of things about media and reality television and stay blind to more important politics and things going on in the world. One of his final points is that the internet bubbles only show you what is relevant and nothing that would be considered "challenging," "other points of view," or something that would make you feel "uncomfortable." We are not able to see multiple views on things and are only limited to what is relevant to what we click on which is a detriment to democracy.
There was another report by Sue Halpern titled "Mind Control & the Internet" that relates to how technology is changing how humans live and to the TED Talk by Eli Pariser. There was a report of a woman who could move a computer mouse simply by looking at it. Another tested interface called BrainGate made it possible for a paralyzed woman to move a cursor just by thinking about it. In many other instances as well, people who could not see well or hear well get their full vision and hearing back thanks to various technological advances. Later in the article, Halpern talks about Chorost who said "our brains are too limited to sufficiently apprehend the world." He later says that the human I.Q. has risen but "the rate of increase is much slower than technology's." He argues that this is becoming a problem because things like Google search curates the internet and deems what is important for a viewer to see based on what the viewer thinks is important. She uses information from Eli Pariser who stated that Google will contour "every search to fit the profile of the person making the query," One of the biggest problems that this report finds is that the consequence of the information be personally tailored is that Google will direct you to "material that is most likely to reinforce your own worldview, ideology, and assumptions." With searches being filtered, users of the internet are remaining uninformed and forced to only see their own ideas over and over again rather than being exposed to more information.
The last article is "Clive Thompson on High-Bandwidth Buddies" by Clive Thompson who takes a very different view from Halpern and Pariser. He acknowledges that people are afraid of being filtered on the internet; the term he uses is homophily that is when those who search on the internet are having their searches filtered and tailored to what they normally search, He also takes note that homophily is said to diminish diversity in our searches and prevents us from seeing fresh and diverse facts, But then he argues that it is not a bad thing out searches get filtered. He gets his information from research done by economists Sinan Aral and Marshall Van Alstyne. According to their report, the information that is filtered out comes from "weak ties" and these ties do not do two things: they do not account for how often we talk to other people nor does it frequently bring us new information. What is really important is bandwidth. When you see the same things over and over it actually gives you more information; they use the example of talking to the same friend a lot. If you interact with your friend ten times more often, they will evidently teach you new information. They relate that to internet searches; the more you search , the more likely you are to find brand new information.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Monday, March 9, 2015
Barack Obama and the Internet
In an arguably unforeseen move (during the time of the early 2000's) the now president Barack Obama turned to technology to aid his presidential campaign. During the time of 2004, Hilary Clinton had 20,000 volunteers in Texas when it was learned that Obama launched a website prior to that - and a total of 104,000 Texans already joined to give Obama support in his presidency run. The website, called www.barackobama.com, was a multi-faceted tool that presented the viewer with a lot of information. It told them Obama's achievements, told them of the names and addresses of those who lived demographically close and even let the viewer know who in their immediate area was still undecided on who they wanted to elect the demographic candidate for presidency. This all went down in Texas which ultimately proved to be the deciding factor for the candidates; if Obama won Texas then he punched his golden ticket to be the democratic representative while if Hilary won, she may have still had a chance to win. In the end, the website proved too dominant; Obama won the state of Texas with a primary vote of 51 to 47 and an overall victory of 99 to 94. And it is no secret now that Obama is now in his second term as U.S. president.
Obama's use of technology in this new field resulted in this new wave that many who came after him followed as well. Candidates like Hilary or John McCain had their own websites with click to donate tools or other ways of reaching them and discussing their motives with other supporters. But what Obama did with his own website was unprecedented; Obama's website was a blend of "top down control and anarchy" which resulted into a dominant political machine. The website was effective: it had an easy way for supporters to donate and made it into a social event. Those who donated could set their own personal targets and basically run their own campaign. The support became unreal; by 2008, the campaign raised "$200 million from more than a million online donors (Obama had raised $340 million from all sources by the end of June), and MyBO had logged more than a million user accounts and facilitated 75,000 local events, according to Blue State Digital." To make the website even more interactive, there was videos that can be watched of Obama's speeches and marches as well supportive songs from famous music artists that reached millions and millions of views. All of the support and popularity that Obama and other candidates have garnered over time is largely due to the internet and the exposure that it came with and has now become an important tool.
Obama's use of technology in this new field resulted in this new wave that many who came after him followed as well. Candidates like Hilary or John McCain had their own websites with click to donate tools or other ways of reaching them and discussing their motives with other supporters. But what Obama did with his own website was unprecedented; Obama's website was a blend of "top down control and anarchy" which resulted into a dominant political machine. The website was effective: it had an easy way for supporters to donate and made it into a social event. Those who donated could set their own personal targets and basically run their own campaign. The support became unreal; by 2008, the campaign raised "$200 million from more than a million online donors (Obama had raised $340 million from all sources by the end of June), and MyBO had logged more than a million user accounts and facilitated 75,000 local events, according to Blue State Digital." To make the website even more interactive, there was videos that can be watched of Obama's speeches and marches as well supportive songs from famous music artists that reached millions and millions of views. All of the support and popularity that Obama and other candidates have garnered over time is largely due to the internet and the exposure that it came with and has now become an important tool.
Social Networking - PBS Presentation
Like many things, the internet is both advantageous and a potential threat to all users. There is so much knowledge to obtain and things to learn and enjoy; the internet is a great resource to have at someones disposal. However, it can also, just as easily, be a dangerous and vindictive place to be apart of. The PBS presentation "Growing Up Online" does a good job of explaining the "revolution," as they put it, of online and the internet and how easily accessible it is. They describe how it has been used for leisure and entertainment but how it can also be a catastrophe for the lives of teenagers.
One of the more prevalent and positive examples is in the case of Jessica Hunter who was a shy teen that took on this alter ego of a goth model named Autumn. It was a sweet getaway for Jessica; she went from being friendless and being made fun of to this famous and exotic goth model on the internet. She loved being complimented and having this amazing personality. She even says "I didn't feel like myself and I liked it...I felt famous." She loved how the internet changed her life for the better. In the end, she was busted by her parents who immediately chastised her and made her stop the online life she was living. After some time, her parents changed their mind and allowed Jessica to live her alternate personality and it proved to be a good thing. Jessica was more social with her family and got recognized among peers which blossomed new friendships. Her parents saw her work as spawning creativity and the he is glad the internet is involved in her life.
The article goes on to speak of some of the worst case scenarios when it comes to internet exposure as well. One of the biggest fears is sexual predators; generally elderly men who use the internet to spy on teenagers and little kids in hopes of sexually assaulting them. There is also this fear, from parents mostly, that what is said on the internet will come back to haunt these teens later in life. The random or offensive things they say now can be used against them later if they were to apply to a job or something and it will ruin their chances later in life.One of the worst occurrences when it comes to the internet is the issue of cyber bullying, which is an all too real reality that people face. It is when someone is verbally abused and insulted over the internet, The PBS presentation talks about a boy named Ryan Halligan who was a victim of cyber-bullying. He was constantly made fun of in real life and turned to the internet to make himself feel better. Unfortunately, the pain never stopped and after being insulted online for months and months, he could not take it any longer. In October of 2003, Ryan Halligan hung himself in his home. His father felt that the internet amplified the hurt and pain his son was dealing with and ended up being the ultimate cause of his son's suicide.
This shows the darker and negative side of the internet, contrasting the positives of internet activity.
One of the more prevalent and positive examples is in the case of Jessica Hunter who was a shy teen that took on this alter ego of a goth model named Autumn. It was a sweet getaway for Jessica; she went from being friendless and being made fun of to this famous and exotic goth model on the internet. She loved being complimented and having this amazing personality. She even says "I didn't feel like myself and I liked it...I felt famous." She loved how the internet changed her life for the better. In the end, she was busted by her parents who immediately chastised her and made her stop the online life she was living. After some time, her parents changed their mind and allowed Jessica to live her alternate personality and it proved to be a good thing. Jessica was more social with her family and got recognized among peers which blossomed new friendships. Her parents saw her work as spawning creativity and the he is glad the internet is involved in her life.
The article goes on to speak of some of the worst case scenarios when it comes to internet exposure as well. One of the biggest fears is sexual predators; generally elderly men who use the internet to spy on teenagers and little kids in hopes of sexually assaulting them. There is also this fear, from parents mostly, that what is said on the internet will come back to haunt these teens later in life. The random or offensive things they say now can be used against them later if they were to apply to a job or something and it will ruin their chances later in life.One of the worst occurrences when it comes to the internet is the issue of cyber bullying, which is an all too real reality that people face. It is when someone is verbally abused and insulted over the internet, The PBS presentation talks about a boy named Ryan Halligan who was a victim of cyber-bullying. He was constantly made fun of in real life and turned to the internet to make himself feel better. Unfortunately, the pain never stopped and after being insulted online for months and months, he could not take it any longer. In October of 2003, Ryan Halligan hung himself in his home. His father felt that the internet amplified the hurt and pain his son was dealing with and ended up being the ultimate cause of his son's suicide.
This shows the darker and negative side of the internet, contrasting the positives of internet activity.
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