Blog Post #9

 Bandcamp Users Diffusion Theory

     Bandcamp is an audio/song sharing and streaming website that was founded in 2007.  It serves as a tool for hundreds of thousands of artists and is used by millions of fans all around.  They strive to "create the best possible service for artists and labels to share and earn money from their music, and for fans to discover and enjoy it".  

     Bandcamp received around 50% of it's social traffic from YouTube and around 30% from Facebook.  This platform grew and spread most likely because of its simplicity and ease of use for smaller and less popular artists to share and make money off of creating music.  It's also great for the fans of these smaller artists and groups.  This idea is also what caused it to get so many early adopters.  I think many people are either late adopters or not adopters at all (laggards) because of the fact that this platform is more less common and less popular artists and music, which doesn't always draw in as many followers.  In addition, there are other platforms that are available that are defined competitors such as Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, and others.  

Blog Post #6

 EOTO

     Video streaming services have been on the rise for a while now.  The first video streaming platform was in 2007 and was actually called 'Live Stream'.  It was started the trend of live streaming platforms to begin with.  Video live streaming was really popularized by YouTube in 2008 with its feature.  These services really promoted the idea of real-time video streaming and live feedback.  It was promoted to bring communities closer together with being able to communicate more lively.  Some examples of popular live streaming platforms include Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/),  Periscope (https://www.pscp.tv/), as well as many other platforms, sites, and apps.  Some streaming services have extra aspects to them such as rewards systems, live location sharing, and other interactive features.  For example, I know that Twitch has a reward system where you can earn points by watching and interacting with certain users for periods of time.  

     One great thing about video streaming services is that there is so much more interactivability due to it being live.  There is a live chat that allows for real-time feedback as opposed to a comments section on let's say a static YouTube video.  This, in effect, creates a greater sense of community between streamers and their viewers.  Because of this, these people, including the streamers/creators themselves are more easily approachable.  

     However, being easily approachable can also lead to some downsides.  One issue with this can be bad relationships that may form between.  Anyone can be a streamer on a wide variety of these platforms with little to no experience.  As a result, you get some immature and toxic users streaming and rallying up a different group of followers.  

Blog Post #5

 In the Age of AI

     From watching the documentary "In the Age of AI" by Frontline, I could definitely sympathize with alot of what was said by the speakers.  After watching the movie, I found myself thinking about the concepts and ideas talked about for the rest of the day.  What would it really be like if and when the world becomes much further advanced in technology and artificial intelligence?  What happens when it becomes so mainstream that it essentially controls the world?  

     Social Media and technology has become so commonplace in our society today that many of us don't even realize how much time we are spending with our technology.  Because of its success, this social media and market is now driven by their lust to profit rather than their desire to improve the connection of humanity.  Many platforms are using personal user data to take advantage of those who use those platforms.  

     Some very positive aspects of this new age of AI from the documentary are where the the woman with breast cancer had a computer locate problems.  The artificial intelligence by deep learning was able to understand language and was able to predict early stage conditions after it analyzed data and from mammograms and diagnostic notes.  This is a huge deal because if you have the ability to locate the problem early, it is so much easier to diagnose and cure it before and major issues form in the body.   

     On the other hand, the situation about the self driving trucks presented a different reaction among certain people.  The truck drivers, for example, definitely lose out here since there are now machines and technology that can do their jobs for them.  It's become increasingly more difficult for veteran independent drivers to make a living because they are being replaced.  Another example being the situation with Harry Cripps, who is an autoworker and a local union president.  The employment in that area where he worked was near six percent with poverty being around 30 percent.  He mentioned how robots don't have to pay taxes and other things like that which was comedic but also very true.  He exclaimed that "If we continue to go in an automated system, what are we going to do."

 

Blog Post #4

Twitter's Suspending of Users

     For this prompt, I referred to the recent news of Twitter and Snapchat suspending Trump from their platforms due to his social media posts. The FA allows for Freedom of Speech, so that anyone can say whatever they want, provided that it does not risk serious harm to others. This is one of the most important freedoms of the United States--the freedom to speak out your opinions and give a voice to your thoughts. However, the FA does not condone hate speech or speech that incites violence, as this can potentially hurt other people.  

This is particularly relevant to private companies, who can dictate their freedoms according to their own desires. In the case of Twitter and Snapchat, they decided that Trump's language violated their speech policies, and he was therefore suspended from their platforms. Private companies are allowed to do this because their platforms are individually-run, without government interference. Therefore, Twitter and Snapchat are not violating Trump's FA rights to free speech. Rather, they are utilizing their own rights to decide who can say what on their respective platforms. 

If people feel censored online, they can view the policies of their social media site or platform to view what their rules and guidelines are. Typically, sites can choose what is said on their pages, and they can remove a post or user if they feel that there is a violation. Unjust censoring should be challenged, however, as it's important to stand up for one's rights and for freedom of speech.

Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/08/tech/trump-twitter-ban/index.html

Blog Post #2

 The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court plays a super important role in decision making among Congress and the government.  I was a little surprised when I heard that there were only just over 100 Supreme Court justices and that many members served over 36 years, decades after the president who appointed them had left office.  I was not aware that some people called the 14th Amendment the Second Bill of Rights and I can see the parallels drawn between the two.  Another thing I found out was that the Supreme Court receives over 100 new cases each week, which to me sounds like a bunch.  So they have to diligent in how they work because of the high demand. 

I think something that the video mentioned that is humorous but also very important was that the the people of the Supreme Court are real people, not disembodied souls.  I think the most important takeaway from the video is where one of the members said "A court has no secrets because it's all out there in the opinion, and the inside story of a court is that there is no inside story.  It's people simply thinking."  This was his response to the question that was asked about the court keeping it's distance between itself and the larger public.  One of the members said that from their experience standing in the room and arguing a case, that it's really good to have a strong opening sentence and a great closing one as well if there's time.  Towards the end of the video, it was said that "If the court ever stopped defending the Constitution or the people ever stopped listening, then one of the treasures that keep this the freest nation in the world would cease to exist."  

Blog Post #3

 Promote Tolerance

Promoting tolerance is a value of free expression that I think everyone should take some time to think about.  This has become a problem in several areas of work and expression.  In many cases, some people stop engaging in constructive ways when there are opposing views.  It divides the workflow of ideas and doesn't help in working constructively.  Conflicts can arise if people can't agree to disagree and debate in constructive ways.

Promote Innovation

I think that promoting innovation is important because it really helps us move forward as a society.  I think one key idea to keep in mind is that we should all be very open to new ideas and discoveries.  It also helps to build trust within one's team, which will aid in the idea process of each individual team member and of the group as a whole.  As long as we can collectively bring together ideas, it will lead to more progress and, eventually, move us farther along. 

Protect Dissent

It is interesting that the government would further protect the minority's beliefs and I liked learning more about it in class.  For example, if 95% of the school believed one thing and 5% believed the opposite, that 5% would be supported as if not even more.