Discussion #8

WELCOME to the discussion for WEEK 8. Please respond in complete sentences for each question, unless directed to do otherwise, demonstrating in your reply that you have read the material in order to receive full credit.

Topic 1: Wrapping Things Up

There are no readings assigned this week. Reflect on the weekly Read & Watch content you have been exposed to throughout the semester to craft your response.

Discussion:
Hopefully, you enjoyed this class on Digital Media and Society.

Question #1:
Has your impression of digital media and society changed after taking this class? How? What in your opinion is the future of digital media and the Internet?

Topic 2: One Takeaway

There are no readings assigned this week. Reflect on the weekly Read & Watch content you have been exposed to throughout the semester to craft your response.

Discussion:
There are many interesting concepts, ideas, and theories presented in this class. We talked Curly Fries, Filter Bubbles, Global Collaboration, Digital Divide, Privacy, Big Data…
Question #1:
What is the most important thing you have learned from this class? What is your Number One Takeaway?

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(Posts for Reference)

Week 1:

Topic 1: Digital Media

Discussion: Professor Turkle believes that students are wrong to think that a “multi-tasking learning environment” will help them succeed as students. She believes that in order to learn certain things, we need to be still, quiet and focused on one thing at a time.

Question #1: Do you agree with the professor’s opinion? Is it possible to learn while multi-tasking? Why or why not?

Yes, I do agree with Professor Turkle’s opinion that in order to learn certain things, we need to be still, quiet and focused on one thing at a time. I believe that it is not possible to fully comprehend a subject while multi-tasking. The students in this video thought they were successful because they could switch from one task to another. However, after performing the test, they realized that they were actually slower than they thought and less productive. I believe that what people learn from multi-tasking is that it hinders their ability to perform at their peak and the results will not be as favorable as if they were to fully concentrate on each task.

Topic 2: Digital Media’s Impact on Society

Discussion: Jack Lule, the author of Understanding Media & Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication, explained how different technological transitions have shaped media industries.

Question #1: How has technological developments in radio, television, the Internet, OR newspaper (SELECT ONE) influenced mass communication? Support your response.

Years ago, we relied on –printed- newspaper to inform us about what was happening in our city, state, country and/or world. With today’s technological developments, we no longer need to wait until the next morning to stay updated on events. Once the newspapers were available to us via Internet, they provided us with the opportunity to have the information we needed faster. Today, the newspaper’s webpages are updated in real-time, as events occur and are available to us immediately. I believe technological developments have facilitated the ease of access to information, hence positively influencing mass communication.

Week 2:

Topic 1: Social Media

Social Media plays an important role in my life. It simplifies the communication with family members since I’m stationed overseas. Instead of texting or emailing them individually, I have created secret groups within some social network platforms to share photos of my son and family’s adventures.

I am aware of the social media policies of my organization. Due to the nature of my work, we have mandatory trainings and reminders of how to properly use social media. I have used social media to create groups and facilitate communication between military members attending training together, but that are traveling from other countries. Since we all have different international phone numbers, social media has helped us communicate.

Social Media impacts my personal communication because it allows me to keep in touch with friends that I am no longer geographically close to. It also helps me share photos and videos of my travels and experiences with my family. Social media doesn’t necessarily impact my professional communication. The area where it has the most impact is that I must be aware of what I share (this is why I have created secret groups) in order to uphold and adhere to my company’s policies.

Topic 2: Digital Humanitarianism

I believe there has been a major shift in the humanitarian model from analog to digital. In times of crisis, connectivity has been improved, and those in the areas affected can communicate with the humanitarian organizations faster than they were able before. The organizations can communicate disaster warnings to the population and also provide additional information they may desperately need. Public awareness campaigns have been launched on the back of technology and this has enabled the effective management of disasters from deteriorating.

The driving forces behind this shift are the increase in technological innovation along with volunteer’s initiatives. They both offer technical services to the humanitarian efforts when/where is needed the most.

Topic 3: Cognitive Surplus

Cognitive surplus describes how digital technology helps individuals to engage in activities that are collaborative, turning them from consumers of media to contributors. Cognitive surplus comprises of two things; the free time available and talent of individuals and the advanced media tools such as mobile phones and the Internet(Shirky, 2010). The combination of the free time, the media tools and motivation for collaboration and motivation creates a cognitive surplus that designs new efforts in science, arts, literature and political activities.

An example of cognitive surplus is Ushahidi, a platform that provides individuals with the opportunity to report and disseminate information about political violence. LOLcats is also another form of cognitive surplus where individuals are motivated to post pictures of cute cats. Mainly, what the two examples show is that individuals love to create and share, which when coupled with digital technology creates a cognitive surplus.

Conneally, P. (2011). How mobile phones power disaster relief. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_conneally_digital_humanitarianism

Shirky, C. (2010). How cognitive surplus will change the world. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cognitive_surplus_will_change_the_world

Week 3:

Topic 1: Fake News

Fake news is dangerous because they could prevent us from seeing the bias of information, which is very detrimental when it comes to elections. The use of such news in the determination of which leader to select is the start of problems in a country because the news is biased and when followed by the citizens, hatred is enhanced. Another way fake news is likely to affect the results of future elections is where objectivity is lost, and both election parties are not considered during the election.

Three ways in which articles and images can be verified to get rid of being misled by fake news include reading beyond the headline to understand the deep meaning of the article or image (Amanpour, 2017). Also, reading comments below the article can assist in determining the truth behind the story. Lastly, the use of a personal point of view can be helpful in such cases.

Companies like Facebook and Snapchat should limit the spread of fake news by controlling which information should be shared with other users. Consumers should avoid sharing unconfirmed information or any controversial information. Also, access to certain groups should be hindered to younger users because they are the frequent users of these media.

Topic 2: The decline of the Newspaper Industry

A recent major event is a rule made by the Greek Court where Russia is forced to fight over Cybercrime suspects. According to The New York Times, the Greek police detained a man suspected to be running Moscow-based Bitcoin exchange, which converted more than 4 billion dollars to be illegal. According to the USA Today newspaper, the issue was discussed concerning how hackers steal money directly from the bank as a form of cybercrime (Lule, 2017). The New York Times was more specific to the case as compared to the USA Today newspaper, which generalized the story. I believe the audience of the publication affects the way a story is presented because it has to relate with what they already know about the story.

Amanpour, C. (2017). How to seek truth in the era of fake news. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/christiane_amanpour_how_to_seek_truth_in_the_era_of_fake_news

Lule, J. (2017). Understanding media and culture. [s.7]:Current Popular Trends in the Newspaper Industry.

Week 4:

Topic 1: Copyright

Copyright is one of the tools filmmakers, musicians and artists use to protect their integrity. Although it is the commonly used method, other rights are suggested which are also applicable to safeguarding authorship integrity. For instance, artists from different regions ensure their work is adequately marked to minimize cases of illegal access. Agreement between co-authors can also be used to protect the author’s integrity. Besides, I believe all creative work is mostly meant for profit, not only to develop original content for unfair use. This implies that the work of an artist, musician or filmmaker should be protected, hence, copyright remains crucial as part of the law.

Topic 2: Customer Location Data

Phone companies should not share their customer’s information with third parties. This is because cases have been reported where the third parties allow access to company’s information by their employees where it can be used against them. Phone companies should implement current technologies that will enable them to protect customer location data, which have proved to be important. They should not share their customer’s information to protect their relationship with other location data aggregators. It is also a way to safeguard emergency roadside assistance, which is part of location-based-services. Since third parties are likely to breach the privacy contract, they should not have access to customer location data of an organization.

Topic 3: The Curly Fry Conundrum

Companies that collect data only to know more about you should refrain since this interferes with the privacy of their customers. The reason for this is that the companies collect more private information sometimes not even known by the consumers. Then using such information to market their products and it has become confusing to consumers. This type of data collection is detrimental because of the consequences experienced by consumers after understanding that companies use their information (Golbeck, 2013). Individuals should determine the type of information a company should collect to avoid intruding into their private world. This is because not all consumers are willing to get their lifestyle exposed, more so when it’s meant to be kept private.

Fung, B. (2018, June 19). Verizon, AT&T, Sprint to cut off data providers after customer locations were revealed. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/06/19/verizon-will-suspend-sales-of-customer-location-data-after-a-prison-phone-company-was-caught-misusing-it/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d6301bdcd3a3

Golbeck, J. (n.d.). Your social media “likes” expose more than you think [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_golbeck_the_curly_fry_conundrum_why_social_media_likes_say_more_than_you_might_think

Stewart, M. G. (2010, February). How YouTube Thinks About Copyright [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_stewart_how_youtube_thinks_about_copyright/transcript?language=en

Week 5:

Topic 1. Data Visualization

Data visualization refers to a representation of information either in a diagram, chart or a picture. This is for increasing understanding since different colors can be used to represent various entities. The pieces of information presented by the author include the value of data and how it can be visualized in different colors, shapes, and diagrams to be appealing to the eyes. According to the author, a visual representation allows coordination of the brain since the language of the eye is similar to the language of the mind. The main conclusion of the graphic is that it is easy to engage with what is seen rather than what is heard because the brain coordinates effortlessly with the eyes (McCandless, 2010). The author uses colors to represent data in graphics and may communicate that different shapes and diagrams could be used for critical messages. However, sometimes graphics may miss out actual figures making them hard to extract information from a diagram.

Topic 2. Infographics

An infographic is used to represent complex information in a way it is easy to comprehend. An example of infographic related to fake news is the source of the fake news. https://www.dailyinfographic.com/numbers-behind-fake-news. According to this infographic, fake news comes from social media, direct from televisions, Google searches and some from referral. The percentage of fake news is 42%, 30%, 23%, and 5% respectively. It is clear that social channels spread the fake news at a higher rate compared to any other site, which makes the infographic more related to the topic of fake news. The infographic represents that information in a manner that makes it easy to comprehend the side, which is the major source of fake news (Otten, 2015). What can be changed is the representation itself where a chart could have been used to give a clearer visual of the information.

McCandless, D. (2010). The beauty of data visualization. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/david_mccandless_the_beauty_of_data_visualization

Otten, J. J., Cheng, K., & Drewnowski, A. (2015). Infographics and public policy: using data visualization to convey complex information. Health Affairs, 34(11), 1901-19

Week 6:

Topic 1. The Digital Divide

The digital divide is the deviation between the technology literate individuals and those that are illiterate. Digital divide can change the way people think about themselves about the rest of the world because they lack access to economic and other relevant information that bring changes to technological-installed regions (Lule, 2017). For instance, countries that lack Internet access are left out where they cannot access information about the new economy. This means they cannot access the right job opportunities because they lack the necessary computer skills required for particular jobs. Also, this could restrict them to low-paying jobs, which affect them. The barrier preventing the closure of digital divide in developing countries such as China and India include large population that requires more resources to implement technology in such regions. Barriers in developed countries like America include the increased cost of implementing One Laptop per Child, which will offer educational opportunities to children.

Topic 2. Open World

Different institutions have adopted the principles of an open world where collaboration, transparency, sharing, and empowerment are used together to make communication effective. An example is a company where employees have a common goal to complete a similar project. In such a case, openness is necessary which can be facilitated by the technology used in such an organization. To ensure completion of the project on time, technology is used to promote virtual collaboration through social networking. Transparency is also encouraged in such an organization, which supports a common result of the project (Tapscott, 2012). Sharing of information is made easy during execution of the project due to the use of technology that has made the world an open world. Empowerment is encouraged where technology is enhanced in an organization more so in a team with a common goal of completing a project. (A personal example of this is when I attended a leadership course. We had group projects and being able to use Google Docs helped us tremendously. We were all able to work together toward a common goal and stay on track.)

Lule, J. (2017). Understanding media and culture. [s.16]: Digital Divide in a Global Economy.

Tapscott, D. (2012). Four principles for the open world. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/don_tapscott_four_principles_for_the_open_world_1

Week 7:

Topic 1: E-commerce

Several driving factors have impacted the growth of e-commercein the last decade. Safe and secure payment is one of them. Advanced technology payment processes made e-commercecomfortable and convenient. Easy accessibility is one of the biggest driving factor. E-commercewebsites enable consumers to access products easily, faster and also provides for a better shopping experience. In addition, another factor is the rise of online marketplaces. Digital and online marketing revolutionized how companies connect with customers through social media, email, blogs, and apps. The internet provided a platform for businesses to advertise, market, and sell their products while consumers were able to access products and services easily (“How Amazon Controls E-commerce (Slides)”, 2011). The introduction of mobile-friendlypurchasing increased the convenience and accessibility for the consumers; and it brought the shop closer to the consumer.

Topic 2: The Amazon Empire

The topic customer accounts stood out from the presentation. Amazon’s priority was to gain customer confidence. It benefits from customer loyalty as returning customers account for two-thirdsof its business. Several factors resulted in Amazon strengthening customer loyalty. The company launched Amazon Payments, which provided safe, secure and fast online transactions. It also started Amazon Kindle, which provided a direct channel to the customers. This helped increase recurring usage as it stored user details, preferences and tastes. The company provides daily discounts and special offers on the Kindle platform and Amazon Videos on Demand. Amazon allows customers to rate sellers and the ones who have negative reviews are expelled from the platform(Laudon & Traver, 2013). Through its business model where sellers are commoditized and access to the online shop from different platforms, Amazon provides customers with the best online shopping experience.

How Amazon Controls E-commerce (Slides). (2011). Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/11/how-amazon-controls-ecommerce-slides/

Laudon, K. C., & Traver, C. G. (2013). E-commerce. Pearson.