EOTO Reactions Post

Reflecting on my peers' presentations of other technological
innovations gave me clear picture of the evolution of technology.

After hearing all of my classmates present, i've gained an overall deeper understanding and appreciation for the society that we live in today. Today, AI is quickly emerging and growing at rates faster than we can even appreciate them. Back in the 20th century, technological innovations were on the rise. Even before, we lived in a time where the developments of the postal service and the printing press were important. 

During my classmates' presentations, three innovations immediately stuck out to me: American Sign Language (ASL), The Radio, and Motion Pictures 

Learning about the innovation and impact of American Sign Language was particularly interesting to me as I am someone who struggles with permanent hearing loss myself. 

The first American School for the Deaf opened in Hartford, Connecticut back in 1817. The need to make sure that everyone is included in education, no matter any disabilities or accommodations that may be needed is something that is very important to me.

The timeframe of this innovation honestly shocked me. I did not expect there to be an entire school dedicated to just deaf and hard of hearing people given the time period. 

This was a super important invention for our current time frame as we see interpreters everywhere. Without them and the current education for those who are hearing deprived, I believe we would have a completely different viewpoint of those with disabilities in general, but specifically those in the deaf community.

Secondly, hearing about the invention of the radio was actually a very crucial invention to World History. This invention made its way into World War 2 and was used by naval ships as their way of communication. Without this invention, some aspect of World War 2 may have had a different outcome.

This sparks questions to me, getting me asking myself if the radio was invented earlier than it was, would the outcome of its practical use, in this case WW2, have been any different?

Finally, the creation of motion pictures stood out to me as well. Through a collaborative effort between multiple historic figures, motion pictures were born. Additionally, the inventions of the Kinetograph and Kinetoscope made this sector of creations in the late 19th century. 

Although similar, these were two separate products: one was the camera, where the scope was how you can watch the film on the Kinetograph. 

In modern day society, we use motion pictures so often, I can't even put a label on it. Without this invention, specifically at the time when it was invented, we may not have as sophisticated film and videos that we do today.

It is crazy to think about it, but we could be behind in the formation of AI if all of the inventions presented by my peers and I were not created when they did. Every invention, idea, creation, prototype, etc.. builds on top of one another. 

With this in mind, next time you are using some sort of technology related product, think about how we would live in society today without it. It's probably hard to imagine right? 

Learning about the history of our past gadgets is important to our understanding the evolution and change that's occurred. Everyday modern technology is reshaping the way we think and communicate as a species, therefore it is important to understand the background behind them. 

EOTO Netflix blog post

 

What members see when they first open Netflix.

Few technological innovations have transformed entertainment as dramatically as Netflix. What began as a small DVD rental startup has evolved into one of the most influential streaming platforms in the world. The company revolutionized how consumers access media by making entertainment available on demand, rather than requiring audiences to follow traditional television schedules.

Netflix was founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph on August 29,1997, in Scotts Valley, California. The company was created to address several frustrations consumers faced with traditional movie rental stores, including inconvenient trips to physical locations, limited movie availability, and costly late fees. Its founders believed technology could provide a faster, more consumer-friendly solution. 

Today, Netflix is a subscription-based streaming service that offers on-demand access to movies, television shows, documentaries, and original content. However, the company originally operated as a DVD-by-mail rental service. Customers could browse available titles online and receive DVDs through the mail, making the rental process easier and more convenient than visiting a traditional video store. 

The timing of Netflix's creation played a major role in its success. During the late 1990s, internet usage was expanding rapidly across the United States. Netflix capitalized on this growth by combining emerging online technology with a business model designed to improve customer convenience and accessibility. 

One of Netflix's most important milestones came in 2007 when the company introduced online streaming. Rather than waiting for DVDs to arrive through the mail, subscribers could instantly watch movies and television shows using an internet connection. This innovation transformed Netflix from a rental company into a digital entertainment leader and helped usher in the modern streaming era. 

The impact of Netflix on society has been significant. Before streaming, audiences often depended on television schedules or physical media to access entertainment. Netflix helped shift the industry toward on-demand viewing, allowing consumers to choose what they wanted to watch and when they wanted to watch it. This flexibility permanently changed audience expectations across the entertainment industry. 

Netflix also solved several problems for consumers. The service reduced dependence on video rental stores, eliminated late fees, removed the need for physical DVDs, and provided access to a larger selection of content. These improvements created a level of convenience that quickly became the new industry standard. 

Beyond changing entertainment, Netflix influenced communication and popular culture. Popular Netflix shows frequently become major discussion topics on social media, creating shared viewing experiences among audiences around the world. The platform also helped popularize binge-watching, a viewing habit in which audiences watch multiple episodes of a series in a single sitting. According to industry analyses of Netflix's growth, these viewing patterns have influenced how television shows are produced, marketed, and released. 

Netflix serves as an important example of technological disruption. The company's success challenged established media businesses, transformed content distribution practices, and influenced discussions about digital competition, accessibility, and consumer choice. Netflix demonstrates how a technological innovation can reshape both business models and cultural behavior on a global scale. 

Despite its many benefits, Netflix has also had some negative effects. The rise of streaming contributed to the decline of traditional video rental businesses and intensified competition throughout the entertainment industry. Critics have additionally raised concerns about excessive screen time and the potential consequences of binge-watching habits. 

Nevertheless, Netflix remains one of the most influential technological innovations of the twenty-first century. By combining internet technology with a consumer-focused business model, the company transformed entertainment into an on-demand experience and permanently changed how people engage with media around the world. 

AI Disclosure: AI was used in the making of this blog post. I prompted Microsoft365 with instructions for this class assignment with the specific criteria this blog post needed to include. I went in on my own and embedded links, changing some of them from the given sources to finding news sources. Additionally, I proof read the text and made minor adjustments to grammar, tenses, and overall flow of the blog. Grammarly aided me in making those tweaks. 

Online and Offline Privacy Ted-X Reflection

When you think of tattoos, one's mind immediately goes to the ink embedded in someone's body, acting as a walking canvas. Now, what if I told you the same concept could be applied to electronics now?  In his Ted Talk, Juan Enriquez refers to this as electronic tattoos. 

The advancement of technology, AI, tracking, and access all of someones personal and sensitive information is becoming increasingly more prominent here in the United States of America. Just like tattoos that one would get on their body, electronic tattoos have the same concept. 

Electronic ones can last even longer than you do! Isn't that scary?

With increasing technology, facial recognition is on the rise. Facebook bought the company Face.com back on June 18th, 2012. Within this, the platform's data profile had over 18 billion faces! That is even more than the current estimated number of people on planet Earth today, about 8 billion. 

Having one's face recognized in a database makes your online tattoo unique to you. Anyone can look you up, find niche information on you, and potentially use it against you. Sounds good to you? I'm going to take a wild guess and say no on your behalf. 

Enriquez's message isn't just about the metaphor of how our online life is like a tattoo; rather, it's the meaning behind how you choose to portray yourself online. It really comes down to the choices you make with your personal brand online. But what if you didn't have the choice?

In Catherine Crumps ' TED Talk, she mentions how what is put online can sometimes be out of our control. See Flock Cameras, unbeknownst to you, track your daily moves, actions, and more. These systems can gather data on you that you aren't even aware of! 

Personally, I knew that cameras, under certain circumstances, were legal in public, like at a Walmart, for instance. After hearing Crumps talk about personal safety, the information about you that is being shared without your knowledge is extremely unsettling. 

For example, Catherine talked about a man being seen leaving his home, his vehicle being caught on multiple different cameras, and being sent to the government all without him knowing.  In my personal opinion, this is completely unacceptable, and these instances are becoming more and more prominent across the United States.

The Government now has access to our license plate information regarding our everyday commutes and whereabouts, daily travel for work, doctors, and more information that should be private to us. 

To me, this is completely unacceptable and makes me think to myself, "What more about me and my personal life is online that I am unaware of?". 

In Crumps' video, she also mentions how police can use cell phone towers to ping people's phones in uncanny ways. 

Police do this to find and locate people in emergencies, but they can also be used and abused in the wrong ways. Using people's information without their knowledge in these circumstances is extremely unprofessional and an absolute invasion of privacy. 

Now keep in mind and think twice about how you are being portrayed online, whether you know someone is recording you or not.

AI Disclosure: AI was not used in the making of this post; rather, the information came from the notes I took while watching these videos. I did, however, use Grammarly to auto-check for spelling, punctuation, and overall grammer errors. 

8 Values of Free Expression

Without human interaction, the world would not be anywhere close to how it is today. Human to human interaction is the foundational basis for evolutionary survival. Beg to differ with me on that one, but personally I feel that as a species, us humans need interaction to survive. Without it, our world will collapse. Don't be scared though, this shouldn't happen. 

The First Amendment protects and allows us to continue our daily conversations everyday. This allows for debates and conversations about everyday and controversial topics to occur, but in a protected way. With this concept, comes The Marketplace of Ideas, also known as The Discovery of Truth. 

Within the Marketplace of Ideas, comes the ability to voice your own opinions, ability to discuss harsh topics and more. To have the ability to do this is super important to have in life as you are your own person constrained to your own mind. I feel that having other people's thoughts, values, mindsets, opinions etc... is really important to have to challenge yourself to other ideas. This is how we grow as people, and get the ability to think outside the box as we are one with our own thoughts 24/7. This is why I believe that the Marketplace of Ideas is the most important value of the Eight Values of Free Expression. 

The Marketplace of Ideas refers to the concept that everyone is entitled to their own opinions freely and can speak on them freely, allowing for individuals to make their own decisions. This also allows for free discussion of certain topics, meaning there is no censorship within your ability to talk about ideas. This concept comes from Philosophers John Stuart Mill and John Milton.                                                                                                                               

John Stuart Mill

John Milton

Born on May 20th, 1806, Mill was a prominent English Philosopher who challenged peoples way of thinking throughout the 19th century. Specifically focusing in on the ethics behind utilitarianism, his work reshaped humans' thought process back then. 

John Milton was born on December 9th, 1608, the English poet was thought to be the second greatest English writer in history just behind legend William Shakespeare. Milton went onto writing "Areopagitica" in 1644 which is all about opposing governmental licensing's procedures correlated with censorship. This was a transformative piece of his writing as it shaped him into becoming another influential scholar of his time to break barriers of issues related to free speech. 

Although the two of them never formally met given the differences in centuries, their ideas overlapped creating shared thoughts and values of their own. Without talk and open conversations about our ideas, thoughts and opinions on certain issues and topics, to this day, we wouldn't be able to challenge and learn from others. Our world would be stagnant, and therefore unable to evolve into what we are today, and beyond.

For change to occur, there would have to be an immense amount of work done for something to change in society. I believe that change occurs rapidly in our nation because of our First Amendment rights, specifically those regarding the Marketplace of Ideas concept. 

To have the opportunity to speak freely about our inner thoughts is what makes our country, The United States of America, such a powerful force in the world. Taking our inner thoughts and projecting them outwards is a strong tool that each and every one of us should utilize. This is why I stand by my statement of the Marketplace of Ideas being the most important value within the eight values of free expression. 

Supreme Cout Video Reflection

 

The U.S. Supreme Court is the Most Powerful Supreme Court in the World

Before watching this video, I understood the U.S. Supreme Court mainly as the nation’s highest court. I did not fully realize how its traditions, procedures, and history have helped make it one of the most powerful judicial bodies in the world.

One of the most surprising facts was the enormous number of petitions the Court receives. About 100 new cases arrive each week, totaling almost 7,000 each year, but the Court accepts only about 100. That means the nine justices must make highly selective decisions about which legal questions deserve their attention.

Each justice receives the petitions once a week and reviews them with support from law clerks and secretaries. The justices then meet privately to decide which cases will move forward. I had not realized how much individual consideration happens before a case is ever heard.

The Court’s private traditions also stood out to me.

Before meeting, the justices shake hands with one another. This practice may help them move past disagreements and avoid holding grudges. During discussions, everyone speaks once before anyone speaks a second time, giving each justice an opportunity to be heard.

The video also changed how I thought about the Court’s place in government. Its decisions draw boundaries between governmental powers, which means it cannot always avoid controversy with Congress or the president. The Court’s ability to strike down an act of Congress in Marbury v. Madison,  helped establish it as a coequal branch of government.

Its history has also included deeply troubling decisions. In Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Court addressed the freedom claim of an enslaved man from Missouri, while the larger question of slavery was ultimately resolved through the Civil War and constitutional amendments. I was especially interested to learn that some people describe the Fourteenth Amendment as a second Bill of Rights.   

Overall, the video showed me that the Supreme Court is more than nine people issuing major rulings. It is an institution shaped by history, independence, careful procedures, and continuing responsibility for safeguarding liberty and upholding the law.

My recommendation: use only the three links above. They connect directly to topics you discussed in your notes, and adding more links would start to make the post feel more like a research paper than a blog.

AI Disclosure: AI was note used in the research and information for this blog post. All information came from notes that I took while watching a video titled "Supreme Court of the United States." I then prompted Microsoft CoPilot Pro to help me shape my notes into a blog post between 300-350 words written in a smooth professional style. I then added links to online sources that the reader could pursue for more information. Finally,  I added appropriate images and captions to help break up the type and give a more professional look. 

Top 5 Sources of Info

Top 5 News Sources and Info

1.) Instagram

Instagram is personally where I find our majority of my news from. Wether that be my feed showing me updates, from friends' stories and posts or my explore page, I primarily see initial updates here. Although I use Instagram as my main form of self marketing and a site to keep in touch with friends and influencers, news is always floating around making updates within the world hard to miss. 

2.) Tik Tok

Tik Tok is my secondary source of news following behind Instagram as a close second. Although Instagram is a more credible and reliable source for news of the two social media platforms, Tik Tok's feed expedites news quicker. I used Tik Tok on a day to day basis for leisure scrolling, and everyday something noteworthy news wise comes up. I like how accessible the platform is especially to the Gen Z generation. 

3.) Friends and Family

My friends and family is my tertiary source as I talk to them every single day. I have broken news and have been the one to receive news from both groups, therefore they are a big source for me. This is through discussions and happens almost naturally amongst both these groups. 

4.) Google

Google is my fact checking source. If I see something online, specifically on Instagram or Tik Tok, I will double check to see if the news is real via Google. For example, the passing of Dolly Parton. I saw this initially on the Instagram platform, but went to fact check this news via Google. I typically do not figure out news off first glance via Google, rather I go to double check and get more explicit details on certain events. 

5:) Television 

I do not watch TV every single day, however when I do the first channel to always pop up is the news or weather channel. If something catches my eye I will continue watching this to discover more, but otherwise I will turn on the intended channel that I wanted to watch. I typically do not turn on the television to watch the weather or news channels, however when there are emergency pop ups on my screen I will pay attention to them, guiding me potentially switch channels to one of those two channels.