Blog Post #12 - Technology

Technology is the most intriguing invention in the history of mankind. But technology can be anything. Lately technology has been labeled as the term for most things electronic, when back in the era of hunters and gatherers, a rock tied to a spear could be considered the greatest technology. Current technology is truly something to behold, every year there are improvements in a lot of items. For example, Apple has made some astonishing advancements with their IPhones and their laptops, coming out with new versions almost every year.

My biggest issue with current technology is that a lot of people will hide behind a screen and won’t face the consequences that they should. When a person is cyberbullied, they may never find out who is really saying the hateful things and it’s hard to find out where the incidents originated. These actions can lead to some serious issues, where young people are committing suicide and this is just heartbreaking to think about. It’s hard to imagine a young boy pushing another to the point where they feel that their life is over and that they have nothing left. Another issue with current technology is that there are people who currently use revenge porn to get what they want. I know someone who does this and they are literally my least favorite person in the world, and I would be genuinely happy for them to receive harsh consequences. 

I currently think I have a very healthy relationship with technology. I believe that if I were to go without my phone or computer for a long length of time, that I would be able to. There are times when I think to myself that I currently use technology too much, but I use it for things I either need to use it for, like schoolwork, or stuff that makes me happy, like creating my personal projects. I remember taking a survey earlier in 2022 where my screen use time for my phone was almost 9 hours due to constantly watching YouTube or just messing around on my laptop. It currently sits at under 4 hours. I do think that technology has improved my knowledge of certain things throughout my life and that I do a very good job of avoiding the false and negative information. Even when I receive a hateful message from someone, I am very thick-skinned and it will not affect me anyways. If you were to google me, nothing would come up, only actors with the same name.

I wish that people online would have more respect for others as there are certain individuals or groups that seriously need a reality check and they need to find out the harsh reality that they will fail tremendously in the real world when technology is taken away. I think that my family themselves also have a very healthy relationship with technology. I feel that we don’t use it too often and most of us know when it is time to call it quits. Overall I believe that technology has been a wonderful addition for those who know how to use it properly and that most people will learn soon enough.

Blog Post #11 - False Flags

One thing that stood out to me during the presentations was the presentation about false flags. For those who don’t know what a false flag is, I will now explain. A false flag is a military or political operation with the intention of blaming a separate opponent. This is a very serious issue as this can cause immense damage to the world. Blaming another country or political party has been done in the past and it had some incredible consequences that went on to affect the entire world and still has an effect on the world today.

The false flag operation that I am referring to is what led to the beginning of World War II, the German Invasion of Poland in 1939. Rumor has it that seven German SS soldiers pretended to be Polish soldiers, and then proceeded to storm the Gleiwitz radio tower on the German side of the border with Poland. They also then proceeded to broadcast a short message to say that the Gleiwitz Radio Tower Station was now in the hands of the Polish. The soldiers also left a clever surprise, to make sure to leave behind the body of a civilian dressed up as a Polish soldier to make it appear as though he had been killed in the raid of the Gleiwitz Tower Radio Station. The following day Adolf Hitler, the then leader of Germany, citing the Gleiwitz Tower Radio Station attack and other similarly orchestrated incidents to justify the invasion of Poland. As you can see this incident went on because of World War II and you already know most of the inhumane things that were enacted during that time period. False Flags should not be performed by anyone.

Blog Post #6 (v2) - The Difference Between The Internet and The World Wide Web

    Did you know there is a difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web? I bet most people reading did not know that they are different. Thanks to our presentations, we learned the difference. The World Wide Web is a software that runs within the internet and they rely on each other to work properly. One is incomplete without the other! It is like a mutualistic relationship in the animal kingdom. A mutualistic relationship is when two separate animal species have a mutual benefit from a relation. An example of this would be between a worker bee and a flower. The bee flies from flower to flower gathering nectar, which they make into food, benefiting the bees. When they land on the flower, the bees get some pollen on their hairy bodies, and when they land in the next flower, some of the pollen from the first one rubs off, pollinating the plant. This benefits the plants. In this mutualistic relationship, the bees get to eat, and the flowering plants get to reproduce. This is very similar to the relationship between the Internet and the World Wide Web, which also goes by the name www.

    Neither can work without the other, they need each other and they rely on each other to work. For an example of the way that it works, the Internet can be viewed as a big book store, meanwhile the World Wide Web can be viewed as the collection of books in the library of the Internet.

Blog Post #9 (v2) - Whistleblowers

When someone leaks information, they are then labeled as a whistleblower. A whistleblower is a person who informs on another person or an organization engaged in an illicit or illegal activity. No matter how meaningful or little the information is, the person who leaks it, will be considered a whistleblower. No matter who the information is on, whether it be a large company, a single person, or the United States Government, the person who leaked the information is labeled a whistleblower. Most people believe that being labeled a whistleblower could be a very dangerous thing, or is it?

One of the pros of being a whistleblower is that exposing fraudulent activity is morally the right thing to do. The information being provided could expose an illegal activity that could save hundreds of lives. Even if the information is small, it could still help someone get out of a toxic relationship or could help someone realize that they are dating someone who they shouldn’t be. Another positive of being a whistleblower is that if the whistleblower doesn’t remain anonymous, they are protected from retaliation from the party that they whistle blew against due to the False Claims Act. This is a massive factor in when people are debating whether to leak information against someone, as people do not realize this and people think that as soon as they are figured out that they are going to be attacked by the people that the information is on. Another pro for whistleblowers, there is a possibility for monetary gain. If the information that is being provided is useful enough or provides a link to a missing piece, the whistleblower is able to receive up to  30% of a reward. 

With positives do come negatives as well. While the organization you whistle blow against cannot retaliate against you, the people within the company and the people who know you will think very differently of you. Recently in life there have been a few instances where I have come to the realization that people aren’t all that nice. If you have just angered a lot of people by whistleblowing towards a company, then they will have a lot of people who will no longer think highly of you, and it could affect both your personal relationship and your career. Which is why it is important to know the rules of whistleblowing. It wouldn’t be out of the cards for someone to want to try to get revenge on you, and there is also the famous saying, “Snitches Get Stitches”. Not everyone will be out for revenge, but since you are human and you couldn’t hurt a lot of people’s feelings and maybe even your bosses reputations, the people you’ve blown information against won’t be too happy.

Overall the effects on whistleblowing really depends on a lot of things, What is said, Who the information is about, What the information is, and Who is saying the information. If you are going to whistle blow information against someone, you need to make sure that the information is correct and you need to know the rules and if you are protected.

Blog Post #8 (v2) - Internet and Privacy

    The issues raised about online privacy and what people post online, both yourself and others can be very problematic. It really calls into question why we even have phones at all, or why certain people are allowed to have them. Under no circumstances, should you post anything online that attacks yourself, or another human being. Even if they have wronged you, no human being should ever have the audacity to post another person’s nude photos online. By doing this you are only lowering yourself down to their level, and in some instances going even lower. My mother has given me advice in the past about social media, and I think that it is very fitting and I still follow her advice to this day. She says, “What you put on the internet is permanent, and whatever you post online, you should be able to say to your grandmother’s face.”

    It is an absolutely volatile act, and if the government was going to spy on us from our phones, then they should at least be able to make those people pay for what they have done. Which in itself is a large issue and a massive breach of privacy. The government should never be able to have access to our private information and the fact that they keep that information and some companies are selling it to them is completely and utterly, morally unjust. It has been said that companies like Google sell user’s information to the government. This act is completely despicable, it never should happen and the fact that it does is almost downright scary!

Blog Post #7 (v2) - The Diffusion Theory

    Throughout history there have been many new innovations that have successfully or unsuccessfully made an impact on society. But one thing that I believe has made a large impact on myself and the rest of the world is something I love very much, the greatest sport in the world: Hockey! You may not know this but the NHL has been around for over 100 years, and I currently believe that it is entering its early majority stage. I believe that the actual concept for hockey is what eventually made it become a major professional sport with professional leagues all over the world. The league itself did not start to become big until they had its marketable stars, like Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, and now Connor McDavid.

    These stars brought in more and more people into the game, and the NHL itself has done a much better job advertising and getting more celebrity fans coming to games. They have also done an excellent job of including the less popular countries into its younger world junior tournaments and the world championships. Players like Leon Draisaitl, Mats Zuccarello, Tim Stuetzle, Nikolai Ehlers, Juraj Slafkovsky,  and Roman Josi, have shown the world that players from outside the 5 powerhouses, can have lasting impacts on teams and careers. There are also some online influencers showing their love for the game, like TacTixHD, The Spittin Chiclets Podcast, Rob Talks Hockey, Elev802, and Pavel Barber. Overall I think that the game of hockey has done a wonderful job expanding and I hope more and more people join the world’s greatest game!

Blog Post #4 (v2) - YouTube

 On Valentine's Day in 2005, the world’s newest top online video-sharing platform would be created. YouTube, created by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, was officially launched and is known around the whole world today. Hurley, Chen, and Karim founded YouTube while they originally worked for PayPal. The first idea of the company was for a way for non-computer people to be able to use a simple website that allows a user to publish, upload, view videos, ultimately creating an easy to use video streaming platform that wouldn’t be too stressful for the newer internet users of the 2000s. The first video uploaded on the site was titled “Me at the zoo”, and it currently has around 240 million views. The creation of YouTube ultimately has created a brand new platform for people to post what they want to post in video format. 

YouTube provided a place for people to be themselves and share themselves online in a video format. It also provided another way for people to become internet famous. YouTubers all over the world have been labeled influencers and some have millions of fans all over the globe. This has also completely changed how things can go viral, like the famous “Charlie bit my finger” video. Or for people to see what has recently happened, whether it be checking out the local news stations channel, finding clips from their favorite shows, or for people trying to see the latest viral video. It also added a new way for people to communicate with a wide range of people. There are many channels out there that are dedicated to teaching life skills and there are some that like to do movie, television, and book reviews. It can get people all interested in movies or books with trailers that a company can post for their upcoming project. 

Sadly with all the positives that YouTube has there are some negative effects as well. With a new social media site, it also provides a way for people to harass other people. For example, there was a period in 2018 where a trend popped up on YouTube about diss tracks. Which are essentially just a music video but they are trashing on another person or channel. This doesn’t even go into the comments that people can leave on videos for everyone to see. This can hurt creators feelings and can lead them to feel bad about themselves. There also used to be an issue with dislikes on videos where people could click a button that says they disliked the video, but YouTube removed this feature in 2021, ironically, YouTube themselves have two of the most disliked videos, which is actually kind of funny. (The 2018 YouTube Rewind & The 2019 YouTube Rewind)

Overall I think that YouTube’s positives out way it’s negatives. It has provided a new way for people to express themselves and a creative and inventive way for people to watch and create videos. I know many people who have learned some vital skills from watching a video on YouTube, and hopefully you can learn a brand new one too.