My Digital Footprint

How Large is it?

    My Digital footprint, I believe is quite large. I use many different forms of social media and I'm always on the internet for work and recreational reasons. Some of the apps and sites I use are:

YouTube: 

I have my own YouTube channel, where I post gaming content and other forms of comedy. I'm constantly recording and editing to upload to the channel.

Snapchat:

I use snapchat to keep up with my friends everyday. I'm always sending pictures and videos to my friends to keep them updated on what's up.

Instagram:

I use Instagram to keep up with friends and to also post pictures of projects and trips.

Facebook:

I mostly use Facebook in order to keep up with my family who don't typically use any other social media app.

LinkedIn:

I only use LinkedIn in order to keep companies up with my resume and work history. I hope to use it to help me get a job in my selected field.

What could a visitor see? 

    If a visitor were to come across my pages and sites, they would get to see a lot about me. They would see that I like to make videos and memes, I love to make and play music and that I love to play video games with my friends. I wouldn't say that I have given out any serious private information on any of these sites and I don't believe anything that I post is too private. The only site I've posted an email is on LinkedIn, since employers can contact me via email.

The Atlantic Article

    After reading the Atlantic Article: "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?", I understand more about how social media can increase loneliness in people. I agree that social media can increase depression in people, me being one of those people in the past, however this article gives me more perspective on what can cause people to be so lonely while on social media. 

    The article explains how social media causes the fear of "interfering with our relationships," and also "growing distant between friends." I personally have never thought of that theory in the past, I was always fearful that my friends would forget me and I would see them hanging out together without me. 

    All in all, this article showed me a deeper explanation of what social media can do to a persons mental health. How an app that should bring people closer together, is actually making us more lonely and more depressed the more we use it. A good way to help this is to take a break from social media, and just relax, this can help you reduce your depression and keep you happy. 

What I learned from EOTO #2

 Propaganda

    During the Propaganda Presentation, I learned a lot of different things, some old, some new, including the backstories of many different famous propaganda pictures. For example, I learned that some of the earliest forms of war propaganda came during World War 1 in the form of Uncle Sam. This came in July 6th, 1917. The image of Uncle Sam pointing was a way to compel action in men who saw it. 

    Another famous one, Rosie the Riveter was made so that women would be encouraged to help on the homeland in the war effort during World War 2. The purpose of the propaganda is to gain support for, not just the war effort, but also for many other things like political campaigns. 

    In all, this presentation helped me learn about how propaganda is able to motivate people into supporting something.

 

EOTO #2: The Overton Window

 What is the Overton Window?

    In the mid-1990's, Joseph P. Overton, the Senior Vice President of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, came up with a theory that explained how different politicians and public figures picked which policies to support and back. The basic idea of this theory is that policies and ideas in the box (aka the Window), are more desirable to the public, and will get that politician more supporters. 

    The policies and ideas that fall outside the window are considered less desirable and/or too risky and it can cause politicians to lose followers. It can be thought of as a box and whisker plot in math terms, where the policies in the box are the main focus, while the ones on the outside are considered the outliers. Most of the time a good policy will be on the outside of the window and most politicians will stay away from it due to the risk of losing supporters. Yet they will support a potentially damaging policy since it falls in the Overton Window.

                                 

What's the Problem?

    The main issue about this theory is how easily the Window can be shifted. The window is mostly based on public opinion and which policies the public believe are the right ones to support. The issue with this is that public opinion can be shifted very easily based on articles and studies they read. However, some of those articles can be false and lies, however people will choose to believe it since everyone else is choosing to, which can cause policies that were originally in the window to fall out and be replaced. 

    So politicians can shift public opinion in order to support a certain policy and also gain supporters at the same time. This easy push of Public Agenda shows a huge issue in the Overton Window and how easily it can be manipulated to a politicians personal agenda. The Overton Window basically shows Public Opinion, instead of which policies would actually help further the country forward. And politicians will watch the Overton Window very closely in order help them gain supporters, which could lead to them winning elections and gaining more overall power. 

Conclusion

    In Conclusion, The Overton Window is the main thing that keeps politicians from choosing an unpopular idea or policy. This idea is the guideline that they will use in order to keep gaining followers and supporters for their campaigns and other ventures.  The Overton Window can also be easily be shifted by Public Opinion, which is also easily shifted by a change in Political Agenda. This shift in opinions can change which policies are in and out of the Overton Window.

    The Overton Window is always watched closely by public figures and politicians in order to keep them in the public's good side, since they basically control which policies are in, and which are out. This idea has made keeping up with policies easier for everyone, however it has made it easier to sway the public opinion and put policies forward and take policies out. 

REFRENCE:

https://www.mackinac.org/OvertonWindow

Privacy: Is it a Right anymore?

 

    When I was younger, I never thought much about privacy on the internet, but now that I'm older and more educated, I know how important it is, especially in today's world with home appliances and home internet helpers. And I also know more about how companies like Google and Facebook, get your information and will use it to know more about you, which is highly illegal and creepy. As I watched the Ted Talk by Andrew Yen , he explained how emails connect to who we know and even what we think about. He also mentions how the problem with emails is that, they maybe encrypted, but the encryption key is on the server, he says "It's like having a big lock, with the key right next to it." Yen also mentions that for a while, the only way to keep our emails private, was through PGP, which was only really understood by the tech savy people. With things like email and social media, it helps keep your personal data on the internet forever, so you have to fight to protect yourself online. 

The Diffusion Theory of Cassette Tapes

What is Diffusion Theory?

    

   

    Diffusion Theory is the idea of how innovations and technologies spread through places and populations. Diffusion Theory was developed by Everett Rodgers in the 60's, this theory looks at different stages of a certain technology's life, and how people start to use it. One innovation we can look at and analyze is the Cassette Tape. After being developed in the early 60's in Belgium, it quickly spread all over the world. This innovation, at the time, was the new way to bring your music on the go, and have your own playlists of your favorite songs and genres. 

    We can easily see the life of the Cassette Tape as we break it up into the stages of the Theory.

https://legacybox.com/blogs/analog/history-of-the-cassette-tape 

The 5 Stages

1) Pioneers (1962-1970)

  a) The Phillips Company invents the tapes and reveals them on a Belgian radio show. After this, the tapes started to spread over seas to America. 

2) Early Adapters (1971-1980)

  a) During this time, the public was buying more and more of the tapes to create playlists. And the they could now be listened on the go, with the invention of the Sony Walkman in 1980. This started the next meteoric rise of the innovation.

3) Early Majority (1981- 1989)

   a) After the invention of the Walkman, the market and the popularity of the Cassette Tapes skyrocketed, and almost everyone was using the devices. Everyone had a mixtape, and everyone was sharing music. 

4) Late Majority (1990-1999)

   a) After the 80's boom the popularity started falling with the introduction of the CD. This new innovation allowed more space and longer life span over the Cassette Tapes. 

5) Laggers (2000-2020)

   a) After the 90s, the Cassette tape was almost extinct. However, with the younger generation using them as "retro technology," there is a certain life line for it still going.

Speech Theories and Today's World

     As I read over the Speech Theories tab, and see how each theory can connect to Today's world, one theory that I can most relate to is the Protect Dissent. What Promote Dissent means is that we, as american citizens, have the right and duty to criticize the government when they do something wrong. Because the american citizens have the right and duty to criticize the government, it helps keep the government from running everything and keep the people's voices heard. And there are so many famous people who promoted Dissent, like Malcolm X and John McAfee.  

    For example, the actual, peaceful Black Lives Matter protests that are taking place in certain cities, where the protesters are speaking their minds and using their First Amendment rights to speak up against the government for the wrongs they do and they speak against the corrupt politicians who do nothing about injustices. Another example of Dissent is the Antiwar movements that are still around today, even though they are not focused on as much as they were during the Vietnam War in the 1960's. These groups speak out against the government going to war, using propaganda and other forms to communicate their message. 

    By promoting Dissent, we basically show how it is allowed and encouraged to criticize the government and make sure they do what is right. While most citizens criticize the opposite party they are a part of, some choose to criticize the both parties or even their own party. This actually helps keep the entire government in check and can help everyone in the long run. Being able to speak up, especially in Today's world, is so important to keep our voices heard, since the government no longer works for us, they work on their own agenda. 

    I believe this theory applies most to Today's world because today, more and more people are speaking up for what they believe and standing up to the government. With the protests and the very vocal election followers, Dissent hasn't been this high since the Civil Rights movement. Today, people are waking up and realizing that our voices still matter and that our voices should remain heard. Our country was built, "of the People, by the People and for the People," and the citizens want it to return to that state. 

    In conclusion, Dissent relates most to Today's world and it relates heavily with me as a person living in America. The idea that I can make sure the government does it's job right and my voice is heard and taken into consideration really gives me hope that this country can become great again. 

More about Political Dissent

What I learned about YouTube

    During Ryan's presentation about YouTube. I learned that YouTube's first video was a video called "Me at the Zoo." I also learned that the Youtube Algorithm came out in 2012, where the site picked out which videos get featured on their site. This invention of the algorithm also brought the idea of Demonetization, which makes sure a content creator doesn't earn money for a video because it violates the site's very vague Terms of Service. They did this so they could keeps advertisers coming to the site, but in turn, it hurt the creators that kept bringing people back. 

    This presentation helped me learn a lot more about the website I visit everyday. It taught me about how hard it is to be a content creator on the site and how the algorithm works. This presentation, all together, was helpful and very informative about Youtube. 

History of: The Cassette Tape

Introduction:

In this blog post, I will discuss the history of the Cassette Tape and where it is now. The Cassette Tape, for those unaware, was an analog tape that stored music and was the precursor to the CD. It was one of the first technologies that allowed music to spread wider. 

 The Beginning:

In 1962, a company in Belgium called the Phillips Company created the first Cassette Tape, they then unveiled the invention on a Berlin Radio Show on August 30th, 1963. The invention then took off in sales. The Tape then made it's way over to the US in November of the same year, thus making its mark on the world as a way to make music on the go.

The Popular Years:

After the Cassette came out, the popularity continued to grow as the years went on. The ability to have music on the go was huge for that time. And the portability of the tapes were only heightened by the invention of the Sony Walkman in 1979. Another popular feature was how you could record songs on a radio and save them to a Cassette tape. So you could have your own custom playlist on the tape itself. 

The 1980's was the peak of the Cassette's popularity, with multiple portable players being sold, everyone was able to have their tapes on the go. The abilities and capabilities of the tapes were shown in many different forms of pop culture, mostly in movies. 

The Downfall: 

The popularity of the Cassette Tape began to slowly decline after the invention of the Compact Disc (CD) in the 1990's. The CD had more space to save music and left the tape as old technology. In the 2000's, the tape basically went extinct, everyone was using CD's and the tapes were long forgotten after the 90's ended. 

Where are they now?:

The Cassette Tapes are still mostly unused, however certain groups use them as Retro technology, and the popularity has slightly gone up since the tape's use in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, where the main character uses one the entire movie. The younger culture of today has a fascination with older technology, like how Vinyl has made a come back, and the Cassette Tape is one of the "Retro" technologies that they are interested in reviving.

Conclusion:

The Cassette Tape was a revolutionary invention designed to make music more portable and shareble. After a nearly 3 decade run in the spotlight, it provided the ability to create personal mixtapes and playlists that  people could always have with them. And with the increase of Retro popularity, it could have the possibility to make a big come back. 

REFERENCES:

https://legacybox.com/blogs/analog/history-of-the-cassette-tape

Antiwar: Where'd it Go?

     Anti-war has been around since the 60's, starting during the Vietnam War. These protests and campaigns tell people why war is a terrible thing and why America should stop going to war. They usually site reasons like the killing of innocents caught in the crossfire. However, these days, the antiwar movement hasn't been in the news or the spot light. There are several theories online, but here is what I think.

    I believe that the government has found a way to subdue the movement and the different organizations that are a part of it. They have been able to silence them in order to keep more people to join the war effort. I believe it also has something to do with the antiwar effort having a lot of information about the war that the government doesn't want the public to know about. This is what I think happened to the antiwar effort.

Violence: Does the First Amendment Defend It?

     During these troubling times, there are a lot of misconceptions about how violence is linked to the first amendment, mostly as "Freedom of Speech." However, this is not the case. Violence is not a protected act under the First amendment, the First Amendment protects you to speak your personal beliefs without being prosecuted. These rioters believe they are in the right, because they believe that assaulting people who may think differently is expression, and they think that setting buildings on fire is protected by the first amendment. But it's not, it is basic criminal acts. Here is an example of rioters thinking what they are doing is right:

https://www.firerescue1.com/assaults/articles/police-seek-identification-of-rioters-who-assaulted-firefighter-B6cohWYRZAPCzxMl/

        This article shows how these protesters believe that it is in their right to assault authority figures and innocent workers, because they think they are protected by the First Amendment. The article states that suspects assaulted a Firefighter as he was enroot to a fire in the city. The protest allegedly started peaceful, then turned violent by looters. The rioters quickly started setting fires to the city and to civilian cars. As the firetruck was pulling in to respond to the fire, the protesters forced the truck to stop and started damaging the truck. They then began to assault the Firefighter, who is recovering from minor injuries. Police are asking for information on 11 suspects. This doesn't count as Freedom of Speech, because it damages and destroys lives and property. Peace is protected by the First Amendment, but assault and destruction is not.

Supreme Court: How it Works

    In the government, the Supreme Court makes up the Judicial branch. Cases based on the constitution and the violation of the constitution go here to be settled. But there is a certain process that the court goes through in order to judge cases.

    First, they pick and choose thousands of cases they are sent, then the justices meet to discuss which case may violate the constitution and how the people involved are protected/unprotected. Next, the justices write out arguments and other comments that say why they either agree with the decision or disagree with the decision. When the court runs through this process for a case, they take a long time, usually a few weeks to a few months. The Supreme Court goes through so many cases every year, and they work hard to keep the constitution alive and keep the people's rights going.