Blogging experience

I enjoyed my experience with blogging this semester, I thought it was interesting how I was able to pick any topic and post about it. I have never kept a personal blog before and this forced me to pay more attention to the daily news. I did notice news stories about the Supreme Court and paid extra attention to them given our class focus. It’s important to be interested in the topics you blog about as it comes across with more credibility. Since I like sports, you will notice that I choose to write many of my blogs regarding that particular topic, for example, Zion busting his shoe, the NBA AllStar Game in Charlotte and how Colin Kaepernick’s protests are not covered by the first amendment. Sports and their stars are part of our everyday lives and their actions influence others in society. Blogging is a way for you to write about your thoughts and ideas on a particular topic to make an argument to support it.

Sharing of thoughts and ideas is critical in a democratic society. We discussed the Eight Values of Free Expression in class. Number 4, Individual Self-Fulfillment, free speech allows individuals to express themselves and create their own identities.  Blogging gave me this feeling. I enjoyed seeing my classmates’ blogs to see what they wrote about and what their views were on certain topics that they chose. Having to put in a picture and a link to go along with the blog post was beneficial because it gave a visual aspect about the topic and the link giving more background information if someone wanted to dive deeper and learn more about a topic.

To future students I would recommend finding a topic that interests you and that you feel passionate about. It is difficult at first to put personal thoughts and opinions on display, but having an opinion matters even if everyone doesn’t agree with you.


https://www.bloggingbasics101.com/how-do-i-start-a-blog/

No Privacy

When we started to talk about the topic of privacy, I wasn’t really that concerned, after all I really don’t have much to hide.  The first video was about electronic tattoos. Real tattoos are permanent but electronic tattoos will live on even after I die! The next video details local surveillance, license plate readers, the government putting together detailed portraits of everyday people. Wow this is getting over the top.  The next video details phone surveillance. The phone networks were wired for surveillance when they were first made! Someone could be listening at any time, could be anyone with hacking skills. Finally, Silicon Valley companies take a more user-friendly approach. Text messages and Face-time are encrypted, and the government does not have the key.  The government is upset…. There is no “backdoor” as that means there is no pay to control who uses it.  Just when you think digital controls are improving, I watch the TED talk of a woman whose ex-boyfriend posted revenge porn. She used the term digital domestic violence which it is.

What a horrible experience to try to remove it from the internet…no laws, no international policy and no cyber civil rights. She was successful but spent a lot of money…Next, I watch a video that offers a solution for email privacy…Proton email.  Yes, I agree we have lost our idea of privacy especially after watching all the videos. Privacy is fundamental to a free society. So why are our toys spying on us?  The next video was really frightening, a doll who could allow anyone to listen in our conversations.  Security flaw or on purpose??

So why are we not more upset about the news that Amazon is listening in our people’s conversations in their houses through ALEXA??? I know I will be unplugging mine. See below for helpful hints to limit Alexa…if you trust Amazon.

It’s hard not to be concerned by all the invasion of privacy that is occurring these days even if you don’t have anything to hide.

https://gizmodo.com/the-terrible-truth-about-alexa-1834075404

Spiral of Silence (Group 3)

Spiral of Silence was a public opinion theory developed by German Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann.  According to her theory, people who think they are in the minority opinion will not express tier view or keep it hidden. As fewer and fewer people with the minority view speak out, there is spiral or a decrease in opposing views. A recent example is the surprise election of Donald Trump when many voters kept their support hidden.  The theory is beneficial when it comes to people with racist, homophobic or other prejudiced views.  The Spiral of Silence will shame them into not expressing their minority detrimental opinions. The fear is that since Donald Trump was elected there are more hate crimes being committed as the racist etc are more comfortable voicing their opinions.  

The election of Trump was a social disruption which gives people the idea that many more people share their views than originally thought and they break their silence. Noelle-Neumann used her theory to try to explain Hitler's rise to power and why more people didn’t speak out against him.

It is important that we all be aware of this bias in our own behavior and think of what happened in the Hitler era and ensure we do not fall into the spiral of silence in America.


http://noelle-neumann.de/scientific-work/spiral-of-silence/