EOTO Reacts Post 2

    In class today four different groups presented multiple subjects. Group one talked about awareness, Eli P. talked about total awareness which was cameras and other surveillance systems put into place after 9/11 to better the society. This ultimately ruined people's trust in the government for the citizens thought their privacy was being breached so they said they removed it. They did not remove this system, all the government does is monitor your data and history from websites or anything you have accepted terms to. The third member called Trinity did the subject false flag, which is when the government takes action to do an action and blames it on someone else to use as an excuse to get away with something. An example of a false flag that Trinity posed is how 9/11 was organized as an excuse to invade Iran and Iraq. The fourth member, Lee M., talked about the Smith-Mundt Act, which was made to counter propaganda within the United States. This was made because the United States saw how propaganda was ruining economies over in Europe during World War II. Group three talked about theories, and the second member Kaitlyn Lee talked about the Third Person Effect which is a psychological and communication theory. The third member talked about agenda setting and gatekeeping. This theory is when the media focuses on a topic the public will see as important which works together to keep the viewer tied to their screen. The fifth member talked about the spiral of silence theory which is the fear of isolation or hate due to an opinion one has on a subject. This can be seen during the season of politics of hiding who they support. The fifth group talked about different types of policies, one of them being online censorship this is when the government pressures social media platforms to act to remove content that violates people's First Amendment rights. An example of this would be Hunter Biden's laptop which was searched illegally and they posted misinformation across news sources. 

Mediasphere - Echo Chamber

 

What is a Mediasphere? A mediasphere is a collective environment of all media outlets; this includes newspapers, television, radio, internet platforms, and social media. Knowing this we can dive into a part of the mediasphere that is a media problem. This media problem is known as echo chambers. Echo chambers are people who are in an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own. Echo chambers can happen anywhere information is exchanged this can be online or in real life. Nowadays almost anyone on the Internet can quickly find like minded people and perspectives using social media and countless news sources. This has made echo chambers far more common and easy to fall into. This at first doesn’t seem like a big problem right? Just a bunch of close minded people listening to something they just want to hear whether it is true or not from a source. 

    Wrong, This is the problem that echo chambers have in our society. If the information is wrong and a group of people come together to post and talk about it, eventually people would see this and take this information as right when it is really wrong. This tends to happen a lot in the media world, especially on social media. A recent accident that occurred was with LifeandScars as he was announced dead for about 2 weeks when really he was in jail and it all started to cause one of his moderators on Discord thought it would be funny to spread a rumor he had died.

    So you are probably wondering, how do I know when I'm in an echo chamber. Well, echo chambers can be really tricky to realize if you're not willing to put in the work to do these three small steps. First, does it only give one perspective on an issue, second what is the viewpoint is it supported by a rumor or incomplete evidence, third are other facts ignored when they combat their reasons? 

    Some other actions you can take is trying your best to avoid them! There is no effective way to constantly avoid these echo chambers for multiple reasons. One of the reasons is filter bubbles, which are created by algorithms that keep track of what you click on. Websites will use those algorithms to primarily show you content that is similar to what you’ve already expressed interest in through the data it has collected. However, here are some steps you can take; first make sure you check multiple news sources to make sure you are getting the right information, second interact with people that have opposite opinions, third remember just because you want something to be true it does not have to be true, and fourth be careful of what your watching or clicking a lot of.

EOTO Reacts Post

    In class today have had four groups present their topics on communications timelines, each going over their history and impact. From the second group Hudson Nugent talked about the history and impact of the radio going back to two inventors one of them being Nikola Tesla who first started the idea and later over the years this idea was built on and came to work due to newer technology and discoveries. The third person Sasha talked about Facebook history. Facebook was made by a computer programmer at the time he was 23 years old named Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook was made because Mark couldn't talk to people like his friends or stayed somewhat in touch once he graduated college this was his main drive. The impact of this is majority of companies like Instagram have shown up but are more secure from misinformation but give the ability to alter their image to better their life and this has shown to put down others. The sixth person from group two is Josh who talked about the history of DVD which stands for Digital Versatile Disc which was invented in 1997. The impact of DVDs got rid of VHS tapes, they were able to store any type of media and were easier to transport things and carry. The last person in group two Dondre, talked about the history and impact of the iPod. Where the main reason why the iPod was made is that MP3 players and ways to listen to music on the go weren't as good. These objects were either too expensive or too big so Steve Jobs made the iPod which was $400 and was smaller and easier to carry around and listen to music. Because of this, there isn't a negative impact besides iPods can be kind of distracting.

Evolution Of AI

    

    In class, we watched a video that talked about AI's evolution across the world. This made some points that China would catch up to America in Artificial intelligence by 2025 and have AI lead the world in 2030. What is AI? AI is Artificial Intelligence or intelligence using computers. Kai-Fu Li has made over 5.5 billion in AI companies. Google took this into consideration and had him hired to work for Google later having him take over and lead Google China. As of today, China is the best place for AI usage but, in terms of technology, the United States is ahead. The negative in China having everything being AI they show that there is so much data taken. Kai-Fu Li talks about how for AI to work it needs data and takes data to better build itself. One of the things that they evolved is facial recognition for identifying people whether it's for good or bad. They use facial recognition as security to find criminals, shame lawbreakers and fine them, and reward good citizens through social credit. As China evolved the United States was evolving in making self-driving cars and AI awareness. The United States also takes self-driving cars to self-driving trucks, meaning that trucks could deliver goods across the country without a truck driver. The United States is also attempting to use AI in the medical world in a sense to help cure or help patients with problems or illnesses. With AI evolving in general could take out potential jobs or take people's jobs. 

    In the end, there are pros and cons to this discovery and continuous development of AI. Privacy and identity are easily accessible which is bad because it makes identity theft easier and a data breach more devastating due to the amount of data that is stored about everyone's everyday life. Job loss is also a negative effect due to machines or artificial intelligence taking the place of a human being. National security is better for recognizing criminals and people to keep society safer. 

History Of Television Streaming

 

    How many of you use a TV? How many of you watch TV on a device? How far back can we trace television streaming? We can trace it all the way back to the 1830s and 40s when Samuel F.B. Morse developed the telegraph, which is its origins. A telegraph is a system of sending messages translated into beeping sounds along wires. 

    That's all cool but, what about streaming services? How long ago can we trace that back? The oldest streaming service is Netflix! Yes, Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph and started as a DVD-by-mail service, but it wasn’t until 2007 that it started offering its streaming services. Shortly after that, Netflix started partnering with other services such as Playstation, Xbox, phones, and many other devices. Not too long after other small streaming services and entrepreneurs took to jump on this train of streaming. 

    What's the impact or big deal? It started a trend where consumers abandoned traditional cable and satellite television in favor of internet-based streaming. The flexibility and on-demand nature of streaming appealed to audiences seeking personalized and convenient viewing experiences. The evolution of streaming extended beyond on-demand content to include live streaming. More platforms were created like Twitch and YouTube Live which transformed how people engage with gaming, live events, and user-generated content. The future of streaming services is boundless as the industry continues to advance in technology such as 4K and HDR streaming, interactive content, and reality experiences. The global reach of streaming services with the development of smart devices ensures the way people consume entertainment will remain in continuous transformations.