Thursday, September 12, 2024

EOTO #1

 Instant Messages (IM)


    Instant Messaging has been around since 1990s, and establishes a direct connection between people, so they can telecommunicate in real time. Prior to this people communicated through landlines and pagers. Generally, IM is now referred to by the different apps a person could use to communicate with others. Popular ones could be Slack in the workplace, iMessage for day to day use, WhatsApp for messages abroad, and SnapChat among the younger generations. 

    Prior to Instant Messaging there was CTSS or Compatible Time Sharing System. The CTSS was created in 1961 at MIT. It was housed in a large mainframe that helped users connect via sending messages back and forth through remote dial-up terminals. This was first really only used by programmers, emergency communications, and computer chat rooms. 


    Aside from CTSS, another stride towards IM was made in 1969 at UCLA by Charley Kilne. He had attempted to send a text to the Stanford Research Institute over the ARPANET (internet before the internet).  He attempted to send the word "LOGIN" and after the "L" and the "O" went through the entire system crashed, making the internet's first ever message "LO". The second ever message was "LOGIN" about an hour later. 

    Chat rooms were also a part of the first interactions online, one of the programs people were able to use was created in 1971 by Murray Turoff and was called the Emergency Management Information Systems and Reference Index or otherwise known as Party Line. This was primarily used by the US Government to help manage crisis situations up until 1986. After that, another common program was Talkomatic of 1973 on PLATO. This was based at the University of Illinois, and allowed several channels were multiple users could access the same chat in real time and see characters appear in real time - in other words, the first real group chat. 

    IM really became something in 1997 when AOL Instant Messenger launched, this platform allowed registered users communicate in real time. After AIM took off, others companies created their own versions to compete. Two of these were in 1998, Yahoo! created the Yahoo! Pager as a messenger system, and Pidign started a similar one called Gaim. Microsoft launched MSN Messenger in 1999 which was later discontinued and replaced by what we know today as Skype

    In 2002 Apple got involved in the game with their first version of iMessage. The earliest ways of chatting online via Apple products was on the iChat for Mac OS X operating system, this was later followed by iMessage in 2011.

    Along the way there were many others that integrated this technology into their features which is what led to IM being the main form of communication among users. One app that really changed the game was WhatsApp (2009) because it put all of the different communication tools in one place, on a secure network, and a way you can communicate with people from different countries essentially for free. On WhatsApp you have the option to text, cal, facetime, update your status, post stories, etc. It's a huge platform with over 2 billion monthly users worldwide, with 596.6 million messages sent daily.  

    SnapChat was an app that entirely changed how we think of instant messaging, it's a platform for users to send photos with captions as their text message, of course with the option of regular chat settings as well. It was originally founded in July of 2011 as the app Picaboo by three Stanford students, Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown, and Bobby Murphy and relaunched in September of that same year as SnapChat. 

    They created an app where everything was "temporary" and lasted 24 hours unless saved by the users, which created an entirely new dynamic online. People were now able to not only say what they want but theoretically not have it come back in a few years time. Now it's one of the most used form of social media worldwide, with 360 million users monthly and 3 billion snaps sent daily. The numbers vary from WhatsApp because this is much more popular with the younger generations, the age range typically between 13 - 24 year olds

    The overall impact of IM has been exponential, and transformed how we as humans interact with each other daily. It solved our problems of inefficient and slow correspondence and has allowed us to make connections and real relationships with people in different cities, states, countries, and continents. It changed our daily form of communication from being reliant on a short message through a pager or waiting by the landline to make a call that costs money by the minute to an easier and cheaper way to connect. The only real negative effects of this I think are, how it gives people a false sense of confidence and anonymity behind a screen which allows the internet to not be the nicest place at times.

Thursday, September 5, 2024

Key Post #1

The Eight Values of Free Expression

    So far in the course we’ve had a lot of focus on the First Amendment, within that we’ve talked about the Eight Values of Free Expression. I found three that I wanted to write about more in depth.

    Out of all eight, I most resonated with number 4, Individual Self-Fulfillment or Self-Actualization. I felt like this one really captured what the beauty of our governmental system aims to achieve. We want a society full of free thinkers, different identities for every individual, an ability to express ourselves freely and without judgment or punishment. We are a country built upon these ideals and what makes us inherently unique when compared to other global superpowers. 

    The one that feels most important, especially in today’s political climate is number 8, or Protect Dissent. I find it extremely important that our government doesn’t support a one-mob rule or try to silence minority opinions in any way. For us to have the country that we do, for us to be free and be able to live our lives the way we want, it is essential for us to speak up against the government when we disagree. I think it also goes hand in hand with our civic duty to vote, it is our responsibility to get in those booths and vote people or laws or ideas in and out of government / power. 


    It is an essential American duty to express one’s self, criticize the government when needed, and voice your thoughts through elections. I think the two ideas, Individual Self-Fulfillment and Protect Dissent, actually go together as well because if you are not a free thinker, and an individual in your experience you aren’t going to have your own opinion and stay away from mob-rule.


    I would definitely say that number 6, Promoting Tolerance, is the value that feels most personal to me right now. As the world, and our country is growing more antisemitic by the minute I find it really difficult to find tolerance in my heart for people’s intolerance for my mere existence as a jewish person. Every single day I am confronted by people who hate me simply for my religion, for where my family comes from and lives, and the language that I speak. But I’ve learned how to brush it off, how to be the bigger person, how to educate those who behave this way so that someone else wouldn’t have to feel like I do. I think our country has a lot more work to do to get back to where we were with our tolerance levels, because right now it feels like a very intolerant place to live.


    Lastly, I think the concept that wraps all these up together, while also being the most in action today is the very first one, Marketplace of Ideas. Today, there is a constant stream of ideas and voices being broadcast all over the country, the world at all hours of the day. This is unique to our generation as we have a different means of getting our voices out there. Platforms like TikTok, Youtube, and Instagram have opened up our worlds from our communities to our states, our countries, and worldwide. Amidst all this sharing of ideas, there’s also what we like to call “fake news”, and the value of marketplace of ideas is that we are allowed to freely review all content, but in the end the truth will win out.



Blog Post #2

The Supreme Court

    Living in the United States, especially as citizens of age to vote, places a immense amount of responsibility to understand how our government functions. One of those key branches to study is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the highest court in our country and plays a significant role in leading the judicial branch and upholding our laws. This timeline studied helped me better understand how key points in history lead to what we call our justice system today. 

    There were two main things I learned about the Supreme Court that I didn't already know. One being the most surprising is that the power of the court to review all actions by all departments of government and them constitutional or not was only really a thing after the case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803. I thought this was something implemented in our justice system from the very beginning and found it interesting that this wasn't always the case. Also makes me wonder what / if there was any unconstitutional behavior by governmental departments that went unpunished.  

    The second thing I learned was the process of how cases get to the Supreme Court and their ability to not take cases through certiorari. I found it interesting how it was mandatory for the Appellate Court to take appeals from the District Court cases, but not for the Supreme Court. I always assumed that it was difficult to take cases to the Supreme Court but if they got there they must be taken on. I do have to say though, learning about how the Appellate Court is there to ensure due process and make sure it was a fair trial and the outcome was correct makes me feel a lot better with how our justice system is being run. 

    The most important takeaway about the Supreme Court I think are the Three BedRock Principles you went over. I think it's extremely important to know that the First Amendment is definitely something built to protect us, but is not absolute, and cannot be used as a shield against laws of general applicability. I think it's an important distinction to make because a lot of people have a misconception about that and believe it is their right to do or say whatever they want because the "First Amendment says so" but the First Amendment really just protects our ability to practice or not practice religion, the ability to speak up against the government if we see fit, to publish our opinions in ways we can reach wider audiences with no governmental interference, and the right to gather together and petition against a decision the government has made. This does not include recklessness and hiding behind the first Amendment, in no world can someone break a speed limit and blame it on their religion. It just wouldn't happen!

    I think this video really just helped me better understand the purpose of the judicial branch and how exactly I, as a citizen, am protected in this country. I think this should be common knowledge for Americans as we all live in this country and abide by these rules, knowing them is the most basic way to prevent yourself from getting into trouble - especially if you are an advocate type. 

Blog Post #1

 TOP FIVE SOURCES OF NEWS AND INFORMATION

Friends and Family

    When it comes to getting my daily news, my number one source is definitely my friends and my family. My mom is someone I talk to on a daily basis and she is also someone tied to the news channel as there is a war happening in Israel right now and our entire family is there. She’ll update me on Iran’s movements, the UN taking over Cyprus as basically a naval base, and how my grandmother and aunts are handling it all emotionally. 

    My dad is also a news source that I have that I trust slightly less, he gets a lot of his news through TikTok and whatever comes off that app that he sends me is always a little bit extreme and to me not as trustworthy of news sources. 

    I get my news from my friends not about world politics / issues but about their lives, what’s going on on-campus, the latest gossip, what’s going on in their hometown. This could be in-person with an "Oh my god, guess what..." or a simple text updating me on life. Either way I especially appreciate this news source as it's not only informing me but creates an open dialogue around big or small issues.

TikTok

    My news from TikTok varies on what my For You Page is feeling that day. Sometimes it's flooded with news about the Middle East, sometimes American Politics, but often it's a news story or snippet on Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour or an edit of my favorite celebrity. 

    I'm definitely a person that loves to use the app, but not necessarily for news purposes or posting purposes. I love watching videos that revolve around the other content I consume daily, hearing people's thoughts on outfits celebrities wore, or the controversy around Blake Lively during the It Ends With Us press tour. I also use it as a form of communication between my friends, its a nice way to connect and send someone a video to let them know you're thinking of them even when you have nothing to say.  

    I think TikTok has the platform and the usage network to become a main news source outlet, lot of people use it that way already. But, I think what's prohibiting that is the inability to mark what is real news and what is propaganda. I know the idea is for the consumer to decide what content they believe but I think it's extremely difficult to understand real world issues when it's boiled down to a 30 second video from one singular perspective. It's unlike traditional news networks where you know the bias and have the ability to switch between channels to gain a full picture. That's much harder to achieve on TikTok. Another issue I have with it being a main news source is that I always need to fact check the video I'm watching before I make a claim to make sure it's real. This isn't even about politics or war, they lie about pictures of celebrities, relationship stories, and the most random stuff ever. 

News / International News Networks

    When it comes to watching the news it's what I usually do when I'm home, I don't much like it when I'm on campus because it stresses me out too much. Usually, my family has FOX News on ad we enjoy the segments by certain personalities, but we are also often watching the local news to understand what's going on in our area. I have vivid memories as a kid watching the local news religiously whenever there was a a fire in California praying it doesn't make it to us. The one time it did, we had evacuated our home and within minutes everyone we knew was calling us telling us our house had burned down and they saw it on the news. This was untrue! Thankfully, but it's another way to show how not all news sources are reliable and to be a properly informed individual you need a multitude of outlets to understand the reality of a situation.  

    International News is new to this year, Oct. 7th, 2023 has forever changed how I view news networks. In my house FOX News has subsequently been replaced by just about every single Israeli News Channel, on constant loop whether they're giving updates and hosting their version of SNL. We found it's the quickest and most accurate way to get updates on the war going on between Israel and Gaza and it's extremely important to my family that we stay informed. I understand not everyone has the ability to do this though, I'm bilingual and that gives me an edge when it comes to information gathering because I don't just switch between channels, but languages ad cultures. I honestly, severely dislike watching these channels. It depresses me, makes me feel as if I don't speak the language simply because of the rate of speed they talk at, and listening to how they interpret American politics gives me a headache. 

Class

    Being in class is also one of the main ways I stay updated on what's going on in the news. I'm a political science major, so majority of my classes revolve around American Politics, naturally. This semester especially, one of my classes starts off with a class update on what's going on in the news. This class, Campaigns and Elections, focuses on mostly on election news. who's running, who's dropping, who's doing better in polls. It's quite interesting, and I like hearing it in class rather than a news story because we get to talk about it and discuss our opinions on what could've affected certain changes from the prior day. 

    I'm also taking a different class. Interest Advocacy, that revolves around legislation and lobbying; in that class we talk and research a lot about bills going in and out of congress so that we can find ones we support. Overall, I think getting news from the classroom setting is very beneficial and has the uncommon opportunity to hear many different perspectives and opinions on singular issues in one place.

Instagram

    Instagram is my favorite source, mostly because it combines all the different kinds of news I like to get. I follow all of my favorite artists, actors, etc. and get the soonest updates about their tours, albums, tv shows, movies, just as their releasing all the information. It keeps me super informed on the things I'm super interested in which is exciting. It also keeps me up to date on what's going on in the lives of my family abroad, my friends here, my friends from high school / childhood. My brother also has a pretty big account on instagram for his soccer, so it's a fun way for me to support him and see him play when I can't be there physically. 

    Instagram is also a way to see what people are passionate about which I find interesting. Story posts have opened up a world to quick posts to put up about politics, favorite songs, human rights issues, or just a cute photo from that day's activity. Instagram is probably my favorite way to consume my media just because of how broad of topics I can hit at once. 

    It's my favorite platform to personally post, I rarely post on TikTok, so Instagram is my place to shine. I love posting on my story, especially my close friends story, and having a feed that conveys how I see myself. I love staying connected with people this way, and occasionally seeing a comment from my grandma on a post when I forgot she knew how to access the app. 

EOTO #1

 Instant Messages (IM)     Instant Messaging has been around since 1990s , and establishes a direct connection between people, so they can t...