Technology and Politics

One of our new communication technologies readings for this week was a blog post from Brian Whitman, the co-founder and CTO of The Echo Nest, which is "a music data company in Somerville, MA that powers most music experiences you have on the internet today."It was about how they analyzed what types of music people listen to, and how it correlates with what political party they identify with. It said that people who listen to musicians like Kenny Chesney or Blake Shelton generally swing to the right, while people who listen to musicians like Rhianna and Maroon 5 swing to the left. I generally use 8tracks and listen to playlists with the tags "chill, indie, and study" and get very indie, calming music. I'm guessing that would swing more to the left, which makes sense for me. However, I think both people's music tastes and political preferences vary way too much to make such a generalization, but hey it's still fun.


We also discussed the current global debate of censorship on the Internet by the government. It is a debate because it potentially violates basic human rights. When I searched the topic online, the USA Internet Society website came up. One of their issues I found particularly interesting was the idea of intellectual property. In our lecture, one of the powerpoint slides said "If property is theft, than intellectual property means they're stealing your mind". This was an eye opener for me. The Internet Society says,  "The question of new technology also raises intellectual property issues: domain names are often inextricably linked with trademark issues; and the ease with which digital technologies allow for copying and distribution challenges copyright law enforcement. The outcomes of these debates may have serious implications on your ability to access and use the Internet unmonitored". It is unfortunate that the malpractice of technology of others could affect everyone the use of the Internet for everyone else.  

I don't really understand why there needs to be information on the Internet about how to make a bomb and things like that, so to that point I agree there should be some regulation on what can be posted on the Internet. There are too many crazy people in the world who have access to a tremendous amount of knowledge on dangerous things. However, I believe innovation, creativity, and economic opportunity should always be preserved on the Internet, and that is exactly what the Internet Society fights for as well.

USA Internet Society 2013, Internet Society. Available from <http://www.internetsociety.org/>. [28 August 2013].

Where do I know you from? Oh, Facebook.

This week in my new communication technologies class we focused on social media and how it plays into our daily lives. It's safe for me to say I'm very connected to social media--I have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and this blog. Many of these things have very practical uses for me. Over the summer, I used all of these platforms except for Pinterest to advertise a garage sale I was having in order to raise money for my trip abroad. I used Facebook to share advertisements of the garage sale I posted in a local online newspaper, I used Twitter to keep people updated about things I am selling and when it is, and I used Instagram to take pictures of the things I was selling and keep people interested.

Another way Facebook has proved itself extremely useful is that my town at home has a group on Facebook called "Long Valley Virtual Yard Sale", where people who live in town can post pictures of things they are trying to sell, including the price and details, and people can comment and say they want it and they arrange a time to meet and there you go! Basically an ebay but just for our town. I was able to sell an air hockey table, a David Winter collection, and many other things! And I got to meet some new people as well, people who I never would have met even though they live right in my town.

In one of this week's readings, 'Studying Internet Studies through the Ages' by Barry Wellman, I found it interesting that John Perry Barlow believed the Internet would bring a utopia of widespread global communication and democracy, whereas Hightower believed the use of the Internet would wipe out in-person contact, and neither of these things quite came to be. The Internet has definitely made the world seem a lot smaller--I am studying abroad in Australia but thanks to Facebook I know exactly what my friends and family are up to at home and can communicate regularly with them. And while it is true that if I need to ask someone a question who might just be up a couple flights of stairs in the next apartment, I will text them rather than walking all the way up there and asking them in person, I still know how to communicate in person. In fact, that is why I became a communications major--because I am fascinated by the way people communicate face to face and all the subtleties that go into a conversation.

In our other reading, "Internet giants can earn with ease, it's the churn they must fear" by Sheehan Paul, it discussed that Facebook is on the road to extinction--basically the same thing will happen to Facebook that has happened to every other social media before it--it can't keep up with the new generation and it dies out. As of right now I can't really picture a world without Facebook, I'm not really sure what will come next.

I came across a very interesting article on the New York Times website called "Nice to Meet You...Again" by Henry Alford, which discussed the idea that sometimes you can spend so much time on the Internet "Facebook-stalking" or looking around on Internet dating websites, that when you actually see these people in person you can't remember what you know about them from online and what you would know if you hadn't looked at their profile's online at all, and the embarrassing moments this can cause. This hit home for me because I have TERRIBLE facial recognition, and can't remember names...I will get a friend request on Facebook and think I've never seen the person before in my life until I realize the next day in class that I have been working on a project with them for the past week. Oops. Anyway, social media definitely has its negatives and positives. It all changes so quickly that it is hard to keep up with what the negatives and positives are.

Alford, Henry 2013, 'Nice to Meet You...Again', The New York Times, New York, viewed August 26, 2013 <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/fashion/nice-to-meet-you-again.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0>.

Click here to take my survey, "The Impact of Social Media on the Mental Health of Young People"

Pure Happiness

Sunset on the beach

This past weekend was absolutely without a doubt the best weekend of my life. I feel so amazingly lucky to be able to be here experiencing all that this beautiful country has to offer. Just a warning-this blog post is long because I have to express all the joy I felt this weekend. If going to Australia, Byron Bay and Nimbin are absolute musts. We stayed at a hostel called Backpackers Inn (made me feel like a genuine traveler), which was about a 30 second walk to the beach and right down the road from all the amazing shops and restaurants. When we first got there, we went to the beach for a bit to watch the sunset and take in the most breath-taking scene. Then, we went for dinner at the "Beloporto Burger Bar" and had delicious burgers. Everyone also told us to get the gelato, so we did, and yes it was heaven in my mouth. I got the Fererro Rocher one--YOU MUST TRY THIS!! That night, we went out to a bar called Woody's, where we basically had a blast from the past dancing to songs like Greased Lightening. We left around 1am and we just couldn't miss the chance to go on the beach and lay under the stars for a bit, so that's exactly what we did--it was so peaceful and calming.

Signs leading to quarry

The next morning, we got up early and made our way to an old quarry where we heard that people cliff jump. As we approached, there were many signs up such as "Venomous Snakes" and "Do not Jump". I immediately started scanning the ground and jumping at every movement. There were a couple metal art sculptures on the way and even a man working on one of the sculptures which was really cool to see. How great would life be if you could just go off in your own little pocket of the world and just do art work while in a tropical paradise?

We finally got to the cliffs and peered over about 50 feet into the dark, questionable water. We had no idea what was even in there or how deep it was. I for sure thought I wasn't going to jump. Then, our friend Molly decided to jump and was perfectly fine. Next Sam, then Claire, then Cierra jumped. Finally I felt like if they can do it than I can, and I knew I would regret it if I didn't. So, I climbed down the slope of rocks where if you slipped or lost your footing at any moment you would tumble down and break yourself or possibly die, and when I finally worked up the courage--I jumped! Right into the arctic ocean. It was probably the coldest water I've ever been in--and then we had to swim about 200 feet to get out. It was so cold that I could barely breathe and was trying to swim as fast as I could because I didn't know what kind of creatures lived in there. I finally got out and felt so exhilarated and happy and proud of myself.

The quarry

Next we went to look around the shops in town. We were on a mission--find those adorable flowy almost genie-like pants that all the Australians where. They are the perfect pants for living here because if you're down at the beach and it's a little windy and chilly, they are just warm enough to keep you comfortable but they are also light enough that you could wear them when it is a little warmer. They also come in all sorts of patterns and types so you never tend to see two people wearing the same pair. We were disappointed to find that as we were walking into most of these stores the first price tag we'd see would be something like $120. No thank you. Some of the girls found ones they liked for about $35, but I really needed to be absolutely in love with them if I was going to spend that much. Finally I walked into a store called Factorie, went straight back to the sale rack, and picked up a really cute pair. Checked the tag--$14.95!!! I tried them on, and they fit perfectly! I was SO happy.

Metal sculpture

That night our hostel had a barbecue (I mean..barbie) and live music. The music was awesome, very reggae--I wanted to buy a CD but after having a conversation with another backpacker I met I looked up and the musician was gone! I'm determined to find out who that guy was and buy a CD. Later we went to the famous bar everyone talks about, Cheeky Monkeys. The cool thing about this bar is that instead of having a dance floor, they have heavy duty tables that everyone gets up and dances on. It was so fun! The music, however, was not up to par--they kept playing these weird house songs that I just wasn't into.

Byron Bay Lightouse

We passed out at 2am, and were up by 4:30pm because we decided to do the hike to the famous light house and watch the sunrise. What an adventure. We really didn't know where we were going, but hey, at least we were trying to get to a lighthouse that would basically just show us the way. When we first got on the beach, we looked up to admire the stars--I had never seen so many stars in my life. After walking for about half an hour, I started to realize how ridiculous we all looked. I was still in my pink and black tight dress from last night, using it as a tank top, wearing the flowy blue and black speckled pants I bought the previous day, my neon yellow running sneakers, and carrying a blanket.

Me at most easterly point:]

I looked like I had slept on the side of the road that night and decided to get up and find my next home for the day. But you know what? The best part about it was that I'm in Australia and NO ONE CARES. At all. We finally made it to the top, where there is a sign that says "Most easterly point of the Australian mainland".
Looking out into the water we could see whales blowing out water, and on land we could see...Asians. I'm sorry but the stereotype is true--they all crowded around the sign with their tripods and took a million pictures holding up the peace sign. At least we got to watch the most beautiful sunrise I'd ever seen while we waited. I absolutely can't wait to do this again, I wish everyone could experience this.

Sunrise!!

That day, a couple of us took a shuttle bus to an un-real little pocket of the world called Nimbin. Nestled within the mountains of Australia lies a town that has a very strong relationship with marijuana, as our bus driver put it. He explained that this was once a town no one knew of, until some hippies decided to have America's version of Woodstock there, which was called the Aquarius Festival. Some people sort of stuck around and decided to completely transform the town--and those people were still there. The bus driver explained that as we walk down the street there will be people asking us if we'd like to buy cookies--but "these are not your grandmas cookies" he said. And it was 100% true--as soon as we got off the bus we were immediately asked if we wanted cookies, BY LITTLE OLD LADIES! What?! This place is not real. We felt like we were in a movie. You don't have to go out and find the dealer in a sketchy ally, the dealer comes right up to you and offers. The little shops and museums were fantastic--filled with quotes and images saying "one love" idea type things. It was the best experience ever. I just couldn't stop thinking about how there is absolutely no where else on Earth a place like this and I got to go there.To top the weekend off, we got back to Byron and got some bangers and mash (sausage, mashed potatoes and green beans) at a pub while we listened to live music.

Welcome to Nimbin:]

In the Nimbin Museum

Up until this weekend I liked Australia quite a bit--after this weekend, I loved Australia with all my heart. This is a place where people just live for life and are just happy surfing and being free and accepting all types of people. It was the most refreshing experience--to just be away from all technology for a bit and take in everything and observe a different way of life. I can't wait to go back!!

The human as a machine

For my New Communication Technologies class, we were asked to watch the classic movie Bladerunner, based off of the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick. It is a 1980's sci-fi thriller depicting Los Angeles in November 2019 in which genetically engineered robots called replicants--visually indistinguishable from adult humans--are manufactured by the Tyrell Corporation, whose slogan is "More Human Than Human". These replicants are only used on off-world colonies and are banned from Earth. Replicants who defy the ban and return to Earth are then hunted down by "Bladerunners". A central theme of Bladerunner is delving into our psychological enthrallment with power over others. Society views these replicants as nothing more than a machine, therefore making it easy for society to treat the replicants immorally. To humans, replicants have no souls. It then becomes a theme of the replicants becoming self-aware and doing a little "soul-searching" (pun intended). This theme becomes more apparent with the film's obsession with eyes. You know the common phrase, the eyes are the windows to the soul. In this movie, the eyes are used as a metaphor to reference the condition of one's soul. The Bladerunner Holden's eyes were very damaged, giving insight into his soul. Many killing/death scenes in the movie also involve eyes, such as when Roy Batty puts an end to Tyrell by pushing in his eyes. I found the movie very eye-opening (can't help the puns). It ties together the discussions we have been having in class about the possibility of biochips being put in our brains, and the implications of this.

We also discussed cybernetics, which is the study of communication, command and control in living organisms. Cybernetics is a science that proposed a completely new vision of the human body, and its relationship with the environment and machines. Norbert Wiener, a founding figure of the science of cybernetics provides a useful overview of different phases in machine-based history of the western body. These stages are a mythic Golemic age, the age of clocks (17th and 18th centuries), the age of steam (late 18th and 19th centuries) and lastly the age of communication and control--marking the shift from power engineering to communications engineering (Wiener, 1948). Wiener noted that these stages generated four models of the human body: the body as a malleable, magical, clay figure, the body as a clock mechanism, the body as a heat engine, and the body as an electronic system (Wiener, 1948). I thought it was interesting to think of the body in this way--to think in a way that technology is changing so quickly but we as humans are adapting to it just as quickly--how far can we go?


Wiener, Norbort, 1948, Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and Machine, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Click here to view a timeline history of Cyberpunk!

Footy and Tubing

This weekend, we got the chance to go see a Gold Coast Suns AFL game (Australian football)! As the game started, it immediately became apparent to us that one, this game is basically a mixture of almost every other sport you could think of (football, soccer, ultimate frisbee..there's a little bit of quidditch in there too because there are three goal posts) and two, these men are extremely sexy. We each started to pick out our men: "I call 41! Ok you can have him if I can have 23." Every so often we would remember we are watching a football game and not a model shoot.

Claire, Kate, me and Cierra at the Metricom stadium
cheering on the Gold Coast Suns!

What was even more exciting, sadly, was that since McDonald's sponsors the team, if Gold Coast wins their first quarter, than everyone in the audience gets a free quarter pounder! They won their first quarter, and for a bunch of poor American's this was extremely fantastic news.

The atmosphere of the game was very different as well. At American football games there's always music pumping you up and cheerleaders and people getting rowdy. At the AFL game, they had live performers before the game and during half time, and they were singing...love ballads! What?! There also wasn't a national anthem played before the game started. Either way, it was a blast and I would love to go to another!

Claire and I tubing!

The next day, it was looking to be just another day on the gorgeous beach (poor me). But then, we got the opportunity to go on a boat in the ocean and go tubing! We went out to what is called "The spit" where a lot of surfers go, and there were people doing all kinds of water sports. We also found out that you can go camping on the island that we were near, so hopefully we could do that sometime! After a day of screaming and laughing, we finally went to maccas (McDonalds) and got our free quarter pounders and 30 cent ice cream cones! Literally never thought I'd say that sentence with so much enthusiasm...

The Frightening Future of Technology

For my New Communication Technologies class, we read an article called, "Mind Control and the Internet" by Sue Halpern, which is a discussion about the not-so-far-away technology of biochips, or in other words, putting a computer in our brains so that at any moment any information you could find searching the internet would be available in your brain. When I first started reading this article, I thought how ridiculous this all sounds, but if I were to read something 30 years ago that said I would someday hold a pocket-sized computer in my hands with more computing power than NASA had getting to the moon, I would have been skeptical too. This technology is very possible and is on its way.

I do appreciate this technology for the medical aspects. It is discussed in the article that work being done at Brown and Washington University suggests the possibility of restoring mobility to those who are paralyzed and giving voice to those who have been robbed by illness or injury of the ability to communicate, which is amazing. Time Magazine published an article in 2005, saying "Applied Digital Solutions won FDA approval last year for what it bills as the "world's first human implantable microchip." A radio-frequency identification (RFID) transponder the size of a grain of rice, the VeriChip contains a 16-digit personal ID number that can be scanned like a bar code, providing health-care workers access to your medical records online." The possibilities are endless.


However, in class we discussed the ethical dilemmas of this new technology. I brought up the point of, if we would hold all the information in the world in our heads, why would anyone go to school? School is also the place where we learn our social skills at a young age. It was also brought up that if we became these cyborgs, we might lose some of our very human emotions. I don't know about you but I'm picturing these emotionless anti-social yet super smart zombies walking around.

To go further, if everyone was able to access any information they wanted and potentially become an expert in all areas, couldn't anyone be a doctor? Or a rocket scientist? Or a professional athlete? Skills wouldn't seem special anymore because everyone would have them. We also might lose our creativity and originality. What would the world be like then? I'm very curious to see how this plays out and it is amazing that I will even have the opportunity to.


Halpern, Sue (2011) 'Mind Control & the Internet', New York Review of Books, June 23.

Fonda, Daren (2005) 'Biochips for Everyone!', Time Magazine, November 9 <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1118348,00.html>.

What a weekend

As the title of this post suggests, this past weekend was one for the history books. You see, Saturday was Race Day, which uni students basically plan their year around. You buy a $60 ticket for 5 hours of an open bar, and everyone dresses up in derby fashion. It was a complete transformation--the boys I'm used to seeing with long greasy hair and walking around with no shoes were now freshly showered and in dress pants and button down shirts! And of course for the ladies it was just a big fashion show, everyone looked amazing!

You would think that after 5 hours of free drinks I wouldn't even remember anything about Race Day, but let me explain. You see, Thursday night at the bar was a little rough for me...I may or may not have been crawling on all fours trying to stand up. Anyway, the next day someone pointed out to me in a sarcastic manner that I am a "classy drunk". Hmm..."It appears I need to slow my roll," I thought. So I vowed that I would remember Race Day.

So, I took it slow. And let me tell you--it was AWESOME. I got to watch girls fall flat on their backs, watch girls cry, watch girls get escorted out by security...I'm pretty sure most of these people didn't even realize they were at a horse race. I even bet on two horses! (Didn't win because I decided to bet on the underdog--don't do that). So all in all it was a fun day and I totally recommend being on the other side of the fence once in a while, because it is hilarious. The Gold Coast Turf Club is absolutely gorgeous as well, you can see the skyline of the city in the background as you watch the horses race by.

On Sunday, I finally made it to Burleigh Heads (a beach a bit south from Surfers Paradise). This place was beautiful. As always, the water was crystal clear but there were shells too! There is also a cute town with little shops and restaurants. The best part, however, is the national park, where you can go for a walk up the side of a mountain where you are eventually greeted by a breathtaking overlook of the ocean. At some point I would love to hike there at night and see the stars.

After Burleigh, we headed over to $2 steaks which is probably my favorite thing ever. Basically everyone heads over to a pub called Waxy's, where you can order a steak, sauce, fries and salad for $2 each and $3 Budweiser, all while enjoying live music and hanging out with friends in a great atmosphere.

We all then went out to celebrate Claire and Steph's 20th birthdays at Beer Garden in Surfers. First of course we had to have a huge photo shoot in the bathroom.

Then, since they were getting so many free shots from people because it's their birthday I thought hey, maybe I should play the birthday card. So, my friend Isabelle and I went up to the bar and started shouting about how it's my birthday, and low and behold, some poor mislead boy bought us drinks! ("Thanks man! *runs away*). You gotta do what you gotta do. It didn't stop there either--Isabelle and I also began to scavenge for dropped coins on the ground near the bar. You see in Australia, if you drop a coin, it's never just a basically worthless penny, they don't have those here. Their $2 coins are even smaller than a penny, and their $1 coins are about the size of a quarter. So, if you drop a coin here you drop to the ground and retrieve it immediately (or at least us cheap Americans do--no shame. Yes, I crawled under a pool table to grab a 20 cent coin. "I'm just looking for my phone" I said to some guy who was staring at me with a very confused face.) You can judge all you want but Isabelle and I ended up finding enough to buy a tequila shot.

That's all for now!

Dana

What is the true purpose of communication?

In my new communication technologies lecture, we had a very interesting discussion about the true substance of communication: is it about spreading the truth or creating fabrication? There are countless examples in which communication is used to spread lies--cyberbullying, propaganda, advertisements, etc. We assumed that all of these new communication tools such as Facebook, text messaging, or even online dating sites encourage us to fabricate the truth. It could be something as innocent as texting a friend that you're "on your way" when you really haven't left yet, or it could be something serious like posing as someone else on Facebook. Without that face-to-face interaction it becomes much easier to lie. 

However, Jeff Hancock, a deception analyst, studies how we interact by email, text message and social media blips, seeking to understand how technology mediates communication. He has a completely different view on the subject. He has found that people are not any more likely to be truthful in person than they are on the Internet. In fact, he found that people generally tend to be very truthful online. One way he explored this was by having a person’s close friends describe that person’s personality, and then having someone who doesn’t know the person judge their personality solely by their Facebook page, and the descriptions tended to match up.

Jeff went on to talk about how thousands of years ago, when humans would speak it obviously was never recorded like it is today. Today we record our every movement on Twitter and can look back on our lives through pictures on Facebook. However, humans thousands of years ago spoke in a way that there is no record, and so we have evolved to speak this way. He also pointed out that humans only have about 54% accuracy when trying to detect deception face-to-face. Therefore, a lot of lying goes on in person, we just don’t notice it.

Speaking of new technologies...

People in my generation adapt to new technology very quickly. We grew up with technology. When I first started my internship, my boss asked if I had ever used Constant Contact before, which allows you to create email newsletters and send them to the people in your contacts, and then it analyzes how many people have opened the email and clicked on the links. I had never used it before or even heard of it. They told me to take an hour to just mess around with it and learn how to use it. It took me all of five minutes to figure it out, it's just how our minds work now.

I've been using Facebook for about 8 years, and Facebook and my phone are definitely the devices I use most to communicate with my friends and family. I was still using MySpace when I first heard of Facebook and was very skeptical about it. However, it was very simple to use and was becoming extremely popular. The major downside, of course, is how things like Facebook and Google basically collect information about your life. I just try not to think about it--it's inevitable, they already know everything about me and I can't do anything about it. 

Jeff Hancock-The Future of Lying 2009, video, Ted Talks, 12 November, viewed August 2, 2013, <http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_hancock_3_types_of_digital_lies.html>