"Think Before You Share" by: Brock Read
"Facing the Facebook" by: Michael J. Bugeja
"The Decline and Fall of the Private Self" by: Carlin Flora
Summary: These articles look at the privacy issues which have aroused from certain Internet sites and blogging. Whether it is students being caught by police from facebook photos, to a young girl being abducted and killed after being an active blogger, the way people are using the Internet is posing various risks to their well being.
Response: You always hear about how dangerous the Internet is but until individual stories actually hit home, I don't think people actually realize of the risks that they are taking. I remember my parents were the ones who taught me not to go into chat rooms, and not to put my personal information on the Internet. Perhaps their warnings are what have kept me away from the "social Internet" web sites. I don't have a myspace, and I check facebook maybe once a month to keep up with my friends who have gone to schools out of state. I definitely wouldn't call myself a regular though. Don't get me wrong, I feel terrible for the people who are victims, but did they not know the risks they were taking when they phone number on the Internet? Why didn't their parents teach them how dangerous it really is?
The idea of facebook acting as a "big brother," however detrimental, is to be expected. People may not have realized it at first, but it is a public site, meaning anybody can look at it. I know that I don't post any pictures or conversations which may cause employers to look down upon me. Frankly, I think it is a risk, it is public, and the people who get caught for doing illegal things because of it, or who may not get a job because of their secret lives, shouldn't be complaining about it. It's a gamble. In Las Vegas they don't give you your money back when you don't win. You made that bet knowing that things may not turn out in your favor and because of that you have to face the consequences. Now I think police should have better things to do then cruise through facebook for the latest party, but at the same time, if you don't want to get caught, don't incriminate yourself on a public site.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Reading Log
"Are College Students Techno Idiots?" by Paul D. Thacker
"Techno idiots, huh? Then we have our work cut out for us" by Christopher Dawson"Digital Divide" from Wikipedia
Summary: These articles talk about how the young adults of today may have the ease of using the internet, but they lack the ability to use it wisely. Thacker's article shows actual studies which have been done to show that high schoolers and recent grads are unable to pass an information and communication literacy examination
Response: Being a young adult myself, I can agree that we don't always know what is legitimate and how to find reputable sources for different areas of research. I think the reason this problem exists is because of our education system. When we were in elementary school, we were still using the card catalog and the classes that are supposed to teach us how to find information were geared toward the library. As we aged and the technology advanced, teachers assumed we knew how to find information since all of their previous classes had been able to do so with the information that was available, a library. Now that the internet was more popular, we were unfamiliar with how to access valid information, but since the teachers we had had never before had to teach it how to find information, they were not about to start. So our generation had to learn on the fly. Of course we use Google. It is fast and convenient, and hey, isn't that the motto of our new world. Most of the time what is useful websites comes up on the first hits of a search, otherwise they wouldn't be so popular. So its not fair to knock us for using the websites that are most popular and often have the most legitimate information. We do what we can on the internet. Our generation was the one who transitioned with the technology, and even though technology still advances, the younger generations are taught in grade school how to properly use these resources. So give us a break, we do the best we can.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
CSU FOOTBALL!!!!
So I went to the football game this weekend, and frankly I think we look pretty good. Look at the performance of our defense, in the past you could have counted on major breakdowns in the fundamentals leading to lopsided and preventable loses. Yet against the number 10 team in the nation with at least one definite Heisman candidate, the Bears had fewer total yards and first downs than the Rams. Kyle Bell was his reliable self accruing 100+ yards in a demoralizing ground attack. Another point of contention, Caleb Haney demonstrated another remarkable performance. Yes, he made mistakes, but he is still recovering from last year when he had to hoe the road alone. Our receiving core continues to outperform expectations derived from their diminutive size. We have lost two close games, each one more the result of bad timing than anything else. What does the future look like? If they maintain their current level of competitiveness I foresee tough games at TCU, BYU, and Wyoming, but the possibility of going undefeated the rest of the season. It's a shame about Kory Sperry but I look forward to seeing him dominate next year. Good Job Boys!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Crazy Connections
People talk about the internet as a communication tool. Many articles we have read talk about how harmful the internet is on society, but I see it differently. For the past couple of years my brother has been in Iraq. Of course he is never able to call and writing letters is not only expensive but takes time which he doesn't have. With tools like email and instant messengers, I am able to talk to him a couple times a week. We can have an actual conversation with one another. Now I'm sure everything we say is monitored, but thats ok because I still get to talk to him. Who knew that one day you could talk to someone on the otherside of the world instantly, and for free!
Reading Log
"Technomania" by: Steven Levy
February 27, 1995
Summary: Levy looks at the new advances in technology and presents some of the controversies which may arise over censorship and monitoring.
Response: I enjoyed reading Levy's article. Instead of just raving about how horrible the internet is or how people are crazy to think of what it might evolve into, he looks merely at the facts and points out some of the controversies that may arise. Levy brings up privacy as an issue. Is it better to watch what people are doing and be able to catch terrorists and kidnappers or to give people their privacy. I can see where people become afraid of the government playing big brother on the internet, but at the same time, i would rather them know who I email if that can save the life of a few kids who wont be kidnapped by a predator they were able to just catch. Levy also brings up the issue of censorship. I feel if the government were to do this then it would be an infringement on freedom of speech. People should be mature enough to censor what they look at and read on the internet. Just because somebody puts it into cyberspace, doesn't mean you have to read it. Levy did a good job on this article. It was thought out and seemed well researched. It was a nice change from the articles of people who just rant about their opinion on the internet.
February 27, 1995
Summary: Levy looks at the new advances in technology and presents some of the controversies which may arise over censorship and monitoring.
Response: I enjoyed reading Levy's article. Instead of just raving about how horrible the internet is or how people are crazy to think of what it might evolve into, he looks merely at the facts and points out some of the controversies that may arise. Levy brings up privacy as an issue. Is it better to watch what people are doing and be able to catch terrorists and kidnappers or to give people their privacy. I can see where people become afraid of the government playing big brother on the internet, but at the same time, i would rather them know who I email if that can save the life of a few kids who wont be kidnapped by a predator they were able to just catch. Levy also brings up the issue of censorship. I feel if the government were to do this then it would be an infringement on freedom of speech. People should be mature enough to censor what they look at and read on the internet. Just because somebody puts it into cyberspace, doesn't mean you have to read it. Levy did a good job on this article. It was thought out and seemed well researched. It was a nice change from the articles of people who just rant about their opinion on the internet.
Reading Log
"The Internet? Bah!" by: Clifford Stoll
February 27, 1995
Summary: In this article, Stoll discredits the internet and makes claims that it will never become what other internet enthusiasts have claimed.
Response: Reading an article written 12 years ago is quite humorous. Stoll makes claims saying the internet will never be a part of a classroom, and online shopping is just blasphemy and will never work. Apparently he hadn't seen Ebay at that time. Not to mention you can earn entire college degrees without stepping into a classroom because of the advances in the internet. Stoll says, "Computers and networks isolate us from one another." On the contrary, people from all over the world now have means to communicate with one another. There are chat rooms and other posting sites where people can talk to one another and even form relationships. A friend of mine met a girl over the internet from Argentina, and ended up marrying her. Not to say that all internet relationships end up this way and that there is not risk involved, but so many doors have been opened by the internet. While reading this it seems that everything he was saying would not happen, in fact did. I makes you think twice about what the internet is predicted to do in the future. What is impossible now, may be reality in 10 years.
February 27, 1995
Summary: In this article, Stoll discredits the internet and makes claims that it will never become what other internet enthusiasts have claimed.
Response: Reading an article written 12 years ago is quite humorous. Stoll makes claims saying the internet will never be a part of a classroom, and online shopping is just blasphemy and will never work. Apparently he hadn't seen Ebay at that time. Not to mention you can earn entire college degrees without stepping into a classroom because of the advances in the internet. Stoll says, "Computers and networks isolate us from one another." On the contrary, people from all over the world now have means to communicate with one another. There are chat rooms and other posting sites where people can talk to one another and even form relationships. A friend of mine met a girl over the internet from Argentina, and ended up marrying her. Not to say that all internet relationships end up this way and that there is not risk involved, but so many doors have been opened by the internet. While reading this it seems that everything he was saying would not happen, in fact did. I makes you think twice about what the internet is predicted to do in the future. What is impossible now, may be reality in 10 years.
Reading Log
"We Are the Web" by: Kevin Kelly
August 2005
Summary: In Kevin Kelly's article he takes the reader through history and basically outlines how the web evolves. He then predicts what the web will be in the year 2015 based upon the changes he has seen it make.
Response: Kelly does a good job showing how the internet has become today what people 30 years ago thought was impossible. It is amazing to think that some guys idea to hyper link different pages together has evolved into a everyday necessity for most. The idea proposed by Kelly which outlines how the computer will become "better" than the human brain is a scary concept. To think that a machine may in fact do our thinking for us seems like a scene out of a science fiction movie. Movies like Gattaca, and I Robot depict worlds in which technology has run a muck over our lives. It may seem impossible to have computers as brain enhancers, but when you take a closer look at where history is evolving us, it is not all to impossible. I just hope our world knows when to stop.
August 2005
Summary: In Kevin Kelly's article he takes the reader through history and basically outlines how the web evolves. He then predicts what the web will be in the year 2015 based upon the changes he has seen it make.
Response: Kelly does a good job showing how the internet has become today what people 30 years ago thought was impossible. It is amazing to think that some guys idea to hyper link different pages together has evolved into a everyday necessity for most. The idea proposed by Kelly which outlines how the computer will become "better" than the human brain is a scary concept. To think that a machine may in fact do our thinking for us seems like a scene out of a science fiction movie. Movies like Gattaca, and I Robot depict worlds in which technology has run a muck over our lives. It may seem impossible to have computers as brain enhancers, but when you take a closer look at where history is evolving us, it is not all to impossible. I just hope our world knows when to stop.
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