Com 125: The Final Blog?!

Leaving this blog open to us picking whatever we want to write about made it more difficult than I thought. We have learned about many ideas in relation to the Internet in this class and I had no idea how many things we were actually going to talk about. One of my favorite things to discuss in terms of this class and the Internet is the use of online social networking. This is just because I cannot believe how quickly Facebook has spread throughout the Internet. I remember when it first was developed and I had just heard about it from another college student. "Why didn't I think of that" is what I initially thought, to be honest. What a great idea: a networking site that links you with old classmates. Now, I am so into it that I log in to my account a few times per day. Hard to admit? Yes, but I keep up with people a lot easier by using it. It's almost as addicting as text messaging in my opinion.

It's amazing to see how the popularity of Facebook has grown over time since it was first developed in February of 2004. This site has a lot of interesting facts to show the development of this growing craze. This information includes a graph (shown above) which shows the increase in number of people who use Facebook since it was first invented. According to this graph, the popularity of Facebook skyrocketed in September 2006.

The ability to have my own Facebook account is pretty neat. My page is dedicated to me and however I would like to portray myself to my Facebook friends. It's kind of nice to have that freedom. In my opinion, the best part about it is having the ability to store pictures and view ones of other friends. I know that not everyone feels the same way as I do about Facebook. Some believe that Facebook really isn't a way of connecting people and wonder why we need an idea like Facebook to link us to our close friends? People like Tony Hodgkinson have this opinion.

I strongly disagree. I have kept in closer contact with "old" friends of mine from the past through Facebook better than I have than via other connections like the cell phone or email. It's too easy to keep into contact with the people you want to.

Something interesting I ran into when writing this blog was that Facebook has started a new idea called Facebook Connect, where "Facebook Connect makes it easier for you to take your online identity with you all over the Web, share what you do online with your friends and stay updated on what they're doing." It is an interesting idea and I think all Facebook users should check it out.

All in all, I am a fan of Facebook and what it has become. I know, however, that it keeps growing and adding applications and abilities for users. I am not sure how overwhelming it will/could possibly become in the near future, but it will definitely be interesting to see what it becomes after how far it has come already.

Com125: Innovation Talk

“How do you think government (either in the United States or elsewhere) can best utilize technology to engage the public and make government more transparent and accessible?” I think this is an interesting question because technology has advanced so much through the years and continues to do so every day.

One way government can engage the public and make everything more accessible is by arranging an online voting system for elections. This process would have to be made as perfect as possible, but it would probably encourage more people to vote, which I’m sure, would make presidential candidates happy.

Also, it would be a great idea for the government to allow electronic questionnaires to be sent out to citizens to engage more public opinion and response. I know I would feel better about things knowing my voice was actually being heard. These questionnaires would be made available to people via the internet, meaning only people with internet access would be able to take part; however, I have read that President Obama has said that he wants to make broadband internet available to all communities. Broadband internet for everyone would be an amazing benefit. The issue of technology gaps with people who do not own computers can be solved by public libraries continuing to provide internet access on their computers for all to use.

In addition to these above suggestions, I think that broadcasting more governmental meetings like Congress, could be done via the Internet. Of course, not everything could be broadcasted due to safety concerns, but some topics could safely be discussed.

The more that the public feels they are being heard, the better for the government. Living in a country like the USA, we are blessed with the ability to voice whatever we feel is necessary. Encouraging the development of innovations would give the public more voice, which I think, would benefit the government.

Com125, Net Neutrality

The whole idea about whether or not the net should be neutral is pretty interesting to consider. Should the net be neutral and let whatever happens happen, or should there be regulations by the government of materials, programs, etc. occurring on the internet?

According to one of our assignmed readings this week, titled Net Neutrality Debate Remains Contentious, "proponents of net neutrality argue that cable and telecommunications form a duopoly that threatens the current system. They say that, without some type of anti-discrimination law or standards, cable and telecommunications companies could control users' access by blocking content from competitors, favoring certain applications, charging higher rates to deliver information into people's homes and offices and failing to inform people of their capacity." This is a valid point because of the fact that so many people are connected to the internet.

On the other hand, "Internet service providers should be able to direct heavy traffic and screen out some material, like viruses and spam. They say some content, like medical information, is more important--and therefore should take priority over--other information" (Net Neutrality). Some individuals feel that should be some kind of filter, informaiton protection and control over Internet content.

I think the interests of all internet users are at stake. I think parents would love to have some net control over information that is made available to their children, but college students would like to be able to find out anything they need to on any given subject.

Both arguments are interesting and put me in a mostly neutral state. On one hand, I feel that information should be controlled to an extent--problem being, what is that extent? On the other hand, I think the Interned has evolved into something amazing because of everything it is made up of. So, I guess I stand neutral on the subject of [net] neutrality. As corny as it is, it's true.

COM 125 "Everyone's Talking About It..."

You cannot go to msn.com, yahoo.com, aol.com, etc. without seeing information or turn the TV or radio on without hearing something about the 2008 election that is coming up in just a few days. This is one of the biggest in history, having a black male running for president and a woman for vice president. Not only that, but the subject on many minds is who is going to help our problem with economic struggle and how is this going to be solved?
The Buffalo News has a front-page article with a large picture of Sarah Palin on it. The article talks about Palin's recent visit to neighbor Erie, PA, where she hoped to win the hearts of Pennsylvania. Both presidential candidates and their running mates are in a "race" to make their way around the U.S. to rally and grab any last supporters they possibly can.
On msn.com, there are multiple articles about this election. The comparison between news web sites like msn.com and local newspapers like The Buffalo News is that the papers tend to focus more on local news. There is information in the "City/Reigon" section, but the top stories are often local and found on the front page, including the story of Palin visiting Erie, PA just the other day. The articles found at the site above have more of a national voice, incorporating views of people from all over the U.S., where as in The Buffalo News, more voices of the Buffalo area are heard. If it was a magazine that I was looking for articles in, I think that the content would be more nationally focused, but shorter and straight to the point.
Because this election is so important to this country, you can find information about it just about anywhere. I don't know about anyone else, but all of the "stories" are starting to get old. Good thing Election Day is next week.

Com125, Assignment 7: Online Communitites

There are more online communities, I am sure, than I know of that exist today. From online clubs, to chat rooms, to blogs; the selection is probably unlimited. Though I personally do not belong to many online communities, I do find myself rather wrapped up in an online community we all refer to as Facebook.

It's actually ridiculous how often I find myself on Facebook. Because of its great popularity with not only people my age, but now growing on older "folks", just about everyone I know is a member of Facebook. The fact that all my friends use it as much as I do, makes this an online community for me.

"Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profile to notify friends about themselves. The website's name refers to the paper facebooks depicting members of a campus community that some US colleges and preparatory schools give to incoming students, faculty, and staff as a way to get to know other people on campus" (Wikipedia).

On Facebook, I am able to message all of my friends...all at once, or just to one person. Also, I am able to create events; for example, a charity event that I am hosting, or even rsvp to an event I have been invited to. The events page has also greatly come in handy because I was able to create a page to have people do an online survey for my research methods class. Because of this online community and its role, I am able to reach out to as many friends as I would like to.

Also, I find myself actively involved in a dorkish "poking war" with three of my friends, which have lasted now for at least 2 years. What it really means to poke someone, I will never know.

My friends can also write on the wall of my page, which is a message that everyone who views my page can see. This is a cool component of the online community of Facebook because you can publicly announce anything you would like....or not like.

It was very interesting that someone found me who shared my last name, yet we failed to figure out how/if we were related somehow.

Thanks to online communities, people are able to interact with others who share common likes and dislikes, hobbies, etc. I am glad to be a member of Facebook and stay in touch with so many good people I know.

COM 125: Identity

When I first heard about Facebook, I didn't think too much about the fact that I was establishing my own identity and showing it to anyone I became friends with. Not only that, but I did not realize at first that anyone on my network could also see all of my information as well. I didn't put all of my personal information on my profile like phone number, address or screen name because I wasn't too sure who, exactly, could see my information. Those tv shows about catching stalkers really freak me out, so I tried to make my profile simple, but not too simple.

After I set-up an account and Facebook became more popular, I began to understand the importance of keeping my information only visible to those I give permission to. Just recently, I went into my preferences and checked all boxes that only allowed my friends to see my information. I am not one to just be friends with someone on Facebook for the sake of having a lot of "friends."

The fact that I didn't want to make my profile too simple but not give all of my personal info away demonstrated that I wanted to make my profile about me. This was a chance for me to reflect on who I am and tell all about me: my interests, favorite quotes, music, etc. I truly believe that Facebook is an example of my online identity because I can put whatever I want and sho whomever I want anything I want. Being able to post pictures especially helps to create my internet identity. Though my identity online matches who I really am, I know there are crazy people out there who create false online identities for sick reasons, which is why I made my privacy settings so strict and the reason why I am only friends with people I know.

This online identity aides in creating reputation (especially since they re-vamped Facebook) because as soon as you log on, you are informed of what your friends have been up to. No matter what you say on someone's wall or what pictures are posted of you, all of your friends can see it. This plays a role in one's reputation. In my case, my identity and reputation through Facebook is real and reflects who I am, but this is not true for every person. Like I said before, those who are falsely identified on Facebook have a false reputation. It can go either way. The problem is, it is so hard to identify who is fake if you do not know them.

I specifically did not create a MySpace because I was not sure of the parameters with other people. For all I know, any person could see my info if they searched for me. That freaks me out.

Com125: Privacy

My own definition of privacy is having personal information kept personal without others knowing. According to an online site called Answers.com, privacy is "the quality or condition of being secluded from the presence or view of others; the state of being free from unsanctioned intrusion: a person's right to privacy; the state of being concealed; secrecy." Along with the development of the internet came development of breaching privacy of others. Who knows when you are really secure and your information is really safe?

As seen on msnbc.com, under title 'Privacy Lost: Does anybody care?' "perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills, or a political consultant might select you for special attention based on personal data purchased from a vendor." When it comes to my finances and my identity, I am freightened by what could happen by someone breaching my privacy. Not too long ago, there was a situation with the DSW Shoe Warehouse store, where someone stole the entire client list and all of their credit card information. If you have purchased shoes from there, chances are, your information was included. As being an occasional shopper of this store, I was extremely nervous and upset about this. Luckily, I did not end up having problems with my credit card in result of this upsetting incident.

Another point I would like to make inolves my student loan information which is mostly done through transactions via the internet. One of the sites I use on a regular basis is through AES, the American Education Services site. I feel more at ease using this site because every time you log on to view your information, you are prompted to answer a series of random questions that you have previously created. I think and hope that this will prevent others from hacking into my information; all of my personal information. I do not know much about hacking into a system, but I hope to God that the measures that sites like AES take are enough to protect me against all the selfish, greedy, crazy people who like to steal the information of others.

Because of the people who destroy the privacy, really, what is 100% private anymore? It's hard to imagine what is going to happen in the years to come ...will something be done about the lack of privacy and the protection of people will be easier to maintain, or those who hack into information of others will only get better at it? I'm afraid that choice "B" is going to be the case. With everything that is happening on the internet; for example online banking, is this going to be more of a risk than a positive advancement? I feel happy banking online because it is quicker and more efficient than killing a tree each time I get a statement in the mail. I am worried, though, that these efficient ways of doing things will be destroyed by selfish people. What is the world coming to?