Final Blog: Technology

Since I can remember, technology has always been a big part of my life and has done a lot to shape who I am today. When I was little my parents got us the Nintendo Wii for Christmas; some of my favorite games to play were Mario Kart Wii and Wii Sports, especially with or against my younger siblings. 

Ever since then I've always been fascinated with Nintendo, I got the Wii U when it came, and now enjoying playing on my Nintendo Switch. This early passion for video games is what lead me to become a Game Design Major.

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I believe I have both a healthy and a little bit of an unhealthy relationship with technology. Technology has got me to where I am today, which I am thankful for. I use technology every day, either for school work, to do and turn in assignments, or for personal use to play games and surf the web.

I'm not the most active on social media, something I am ok with. I was more active in the past, but I've dialed it back because I didn't want it controlling me or taking too much of my time. I definitely use social media far less than the average person does.

On the contrary, I do still think I have part of an unhealthy relationship with technology too. I will sometimes find myself on my phone or playing games when I know I need to be doing something else. When I do eventually get into whatever that something else is, I get distracted by my phone often and stop doing what I need to.

Although a mix of both, I think this is mostly my lack of focus and wanting to do anything else than it is specifically being too attached to my phone. What I've started doing now is placing my phone somewhere else in my room than where I'm working and moving various other objects within arm's reach away, so I'll be less distracted.

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If someone were to search my name, Tyler Johnson, and try to find me, they would be quite unsuccessful. For beginners, Johnson is the second most common last name, after Smith, and Tyler is by no means a rare first name.

The first Tyler Johnson I found while googling myself was a professional basketball player who plays for the New York Mets. Going further, there's a Tyler Johnson who plays hockey for the Tampa Bay Lightning, as well as a Tyler Johnson who plays football for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not that it would be impossible to find me, it just might a few hours.

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One of the greatest things about technology is how useful it is, machines that can do the work of 100 men for a fraction of the effort, giving people ways of communicating from across the globe, to just list some.

A ride from the 1964 World Fair in New York, called Futurama featured in this video. It makes a prediction about how technology will revolutionize everything people do in the future. It's an optimistic take for a hopeful future.

On the other hand, this video is a more pessimistic view of what technology can do. It depicts everyone completely sucked into their phones, neglecting what's happening around them in the real world.

Both videos have some truth to them and reflect different aspects of our society. Of course, technology has done wonders with advancing society like the first video showed. Technology has revolutionized and industrialized a lot of what we do today. But like the second video showed, some people can become too reliant on technology.

Blog Post #10: Disinformation

Disinformation has plagued our society today with all sorts of wrong information. What really is disinformation, though? Before we can understand what disinformation is, we have to understand what misinformation is and its differences.

Misinformation is simply any false or inaccurate information. Disinformation is a type of misinformation. It's also false or inaccurate information, but is false or inaccurate on purpose because it's trying to be passed off as true. Misinformation is wrong information, but might be wrong by accident without the writer's knowledge. Disinformation is always misinformation, but misinformation isn't always disinformation.

The most common place to find disinformation is in politics and in the media. Especially during an election, candidates might spread disinformation about their opponent to make the people not want to vote for them. In the media, it's common in article headlines to provoke a thought to clickbait any potential viewers into reading what the article has to say, which may be nothing that the headline suggests.

The effects of disinformation are hard to pinpoint. Each person will look at disinformation, but won't all come away thinking the same thing. Someone's interpretations will be different than someone else's. Disinformation changes everyone's opinion differently so to say exactly how it affects our society isn't easy. On top of that, disinformation can quite hard to pick out from among real information.

It might be hard to say how it affects people, but we do know who it affects. Anyone older than 65 is more likely to believe any disinformation. This is because they have less experience with social media so have a harder time telling the difference between what's real and what's fake.

Those who come from a lower socioeconomic background or lower educational background will more likely believe disinformation. You and I can use logic and reasoning and general knowledge about what's going on in the world to tell when disinformation is disinformation. Someone who is less knowledgeable or less familiar with what's going on in the world won't have an easy time doing the same. Hard-right conservatives also tend to believe disinformation because of their general distrust in mainstream media.

The pros of disinformation are slim to none, but the cons can stack up. The biggest con is that disinformation is super easy to make, super hard to tell apart from real information, and super polarizing when people believe it.

During the 2016 US election, Russia (and likely other countries) infiltrated our social media. They made fake news posts about heated topics in the US, like gun rights, race relations, and immigration issues. The intent was clear, divide us and get us to fight each other from within, so they don’t have to do anything.

Disinformation is everywhere so it's wise to be able to tell if something is disinformation when first looking at it. The first tip is to not get any news from social media. Some social media sources truly are reliable, but it's much safer to get news from a nationally reputable news source. The second tip is to really look at the headline. The more starling or appalling it is, the more likely it is to be fake. The third tip is to check the author. Is this person, or group, credible? Have they been untrustworthy in the past? 

No matter what you do, just be smart and stay safe!

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https://www.ucf.edu/news/how-fake-news-affects-u-s-elections/
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/how-covid-19-is-revealing-the-impact-of-disinformation-on-society
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2020/10/17/a-new-study-shows-fake-news-may--benefit-your-memory/?sh=48fc88cb2687

Blog Post #9: Diffusion of Innovation: Netflix

The Diffusion of Innovation (of Ideas) theory, popularized by communication studies professor, Everett Rogers, is the theory about how and why innovations gain popularity and why they never reach 100% of the market share. Rogers defines 5 key elements involved in the process of diffusion; the innovation itself, the adopters, the communication channel, time, and the social system. The innovation, a term left broad on purpose, is what is being observed. It can mean an invention, an idea, a practice, anything that can be seen as new to someone and able to be studied. The adapters are the individuals who are adopting the innovation. Communication channel refers to how individuals create and share information with each other.

Time is important, rarely is anything adopted overnight. It takes time for new ideas to grow and become popular. Lastly, diffusion occurs within a social system, the structure of the system greatly affects how the innovation will be adopted.

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Along with the 5 stages of diffusion are the 5 stages of the adoption process, or the life cycle any innovation will go through.

Innovators are the very first few who hop to a new innovation. They are seen as venturesome and daring, but also have to accept the occasional setback that may occur at the beginning of the innovation's life cycle. Innovators are also the most important in the adoption process because they are the ones who start communicating about the innovation.

Early Adopters are the next bunch of people who join in on the innovation and are seen as respectable. Not joining too soon, but late enough to know it was a good choice. The early adopter is considered by many as "the individual to check with" before using a new idea.

After some time, the Early Majority joined. These people adopt the innovation just before the average person will. The Early Majority provides an important link from the very early adopters to the very late. The Late Majority adopt the innovation just after the average person. This group of people are typically very skeptical about the innovation and are likely pressured into it by others in their social system.

The very last people to adopt the innovation are the Laggards. This group is very conservative, tends to stay traditional, and avoids change. Also in this group are the people who choose to never adapt to the innovation.

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This theory can be applied to just about any invention, idea, or practice. Take, for example, Netflix. The innovators are the few who started renting movies as soon as they launched in 1998. The Early Adopters are those in 1999 who started renting movies when Netflix announced its subscription plan model. In 2007, when Netflix allowed subscribers to stream movies straight to their computers, is when the Early Majority bought subscriptions.

Somewhere around 2013, when Blockbuster announced it was to be closing all stores, is when the Late Majority subscribed to Netflix. Finally, around 2017 and onward, when Netflix surpassed 100 million subscribers is when the Laggards subscribed.

Each of these years was an important one for Netflix and each saw a significant number of new subscribers. Netflix is far and away the largest video streaming service, with 50 million subscribers more than even the runner-up. Like everything, however, it isn't used by everyone, primarily because of competition. Netflix has around 200 million subscribers, Amazon Prime Video follows with 150 million and Disney+ is next with roughly 100 million.

If it wasn't for these competitors Netflix would for sure have more subscribers. Even still, Netflix still wouldn't have complete market share because no matter the product, innovation, or idea, it is impossible to grab everyone's attention. As time goes on, more and more people are coming to see the value and joy of Netflix and streaming services alike, as evident by the ever-increasing new subscribers and new services being available.

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https://extensionaus.com.au/extension-practice/diffusion-of-innovations-theory-adoption-and-diffusion/
https://teddykw2.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/everett-m-rogers-diffusion-of-innovations.pdf

Blog Post #8: Personal Computers

The computer was a revolutionary invention and a major breakthrough for technology. Ed Roberts is known as "the father of the personal computer" for designing, in 1974, the first commercially successful personal computer, titled the Altair.

This jumpstarted others and led to the real development of the industry in 1977. Apple released its first PC, along with the Tandy Radio Shack and the Commodore Business Machines. Much of the appeal of these news computers was their price. Compared to mainframe computers used by large companies, PCs were a lot cheaper making them more accessible to the public.

For years, the first generations of computers were very bulky making them immovable. Over the years, as technology advanced, the computer began to grow slimmer while still managing to get more powerful. As computers continued to develop, design split into desktop computers and laptop computers.

Desktop computers have better performance than laptops and can even be configured and upgraded over the years to stay up to date. They are also easier to repair.

The biggest advantages laptop computers have over desktops are portability and space. Laptops are designed to be portable, small enough to fit into bags, and carried around every day. By nature of being portable, they take up far less space, where desktops are placed in one spot and aren't really moved around. 

Laptops of course need to charge when low on battery compared to desktops that sit in one place and are plugged right into an outlet.

Computers opened the door for technology like the internet and cell phones and which both led the way for social media platforms. Computers allow users to gather information in seconds and make it possible to communicate with people all the way across the globe. As great as they are computers can cause some to get lost in their devices and lose touch with the real world.

Blog Post #7: Anti-War Voices

Back during the Progressive Era, America joined WWI amidst countless who never wanted to get involved. Those antiwar voices were silenced and persecuted for their ideas, and many were thrown in jail.

Today, the US government is involved with military operations internationally and there are still those who get silenced for preaching their anti-war views. Nothing has changed, except now we have the internet. Anti-war voices can be seen and heard by hundreds and thousands and millions of more people.

Sites like Antiwar.com and TheAmericanConservative.com can speak freely and more openly about what they think behind the guise of a screen with less fear of being silenced, persecuted, and jailed. Like I mentioned before, nothing has changed, the government has still found ways of censoring these people's views from the public.

In the mainstream media, you'll never hear about anything anti-war, a lot of it is pro-war and pro-government and that's not by accident. The mainstream media is pro-war, perhaps for the reason why it was bad to be anti-war in the past.

Back to those websites, have you ever heard of them before? I certainly haven't, something else that's probably not by accident. The government can easily make deals with Google to hide anti-war search results. Without outright silencing these views the government is making them much harder to find.

If someone did want to want to seek out these obscure sources, they would have to look harder than normal to find them. Compared to pro-war sources, which are a dime a dozen. The government has and will continue to silence anti-war voices.

Blog Post #6: Netflix Through The Years

Netflix is far and away the largest video streaming service out there with an astounding 204 million subscribers across 190 countries. Only rivaled by the likes of Amazon Prime Video and Disney+. How did Netflix get to be this streaming giant? Let's take a look at what Netflix has done through the years to see how it got to where it is now.

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1997

Marc Rudolph and Reed Hastings founded Netflix in Silicon Valley, California, in 1997 to compete with Blockbuster. The name Netflix itself comes from internet flicks. "Net" is short for internet and "flix" is a play-on-words of flicks, another name for a movie.

1998

Netflix launched as a rent-by-mail DVD service that used a pay-per-rental model. Users could log onto the Netflix website and browse from an initial total of 925 titles and put in an order for $4. Netflix would then send the DVD to the user's door. They would watch the movie and when they're finished, they would send it back. Users could hold onto the movie as long as they like, but if they wanted to rent a new one, they would have to send the first one back.

1999

Netflix was growing in popularity fast, so they decided to switch to a subscribers-based model. Users could rent unlimited DVDs for one monthly flat rate.

2000

Netflix introduced personalized movie suggestions based on user's previously watched movies. CEO and Netflix co-founder, Reed Hastings, also tried to partner with Blockbuster and even tried to sell to Blockbuster for 50 million. Hindsight is a funny thing because we know now that Blockbuster went bankrupt because they were unable to compete with Netflix, but they had the chance to buy them outright.

2002

Netflix goes public on Nasdaq, under the ticker, NFLX. The stock initially offered 5.5 million shares at $15 per share. Netflix ends the year with 600,000 million subscribers.

2003

Marc Rudpols steps down and leaves Netflix. Netflix hits a big milestone ending the year with over 1 million subscribers.

2004

Facing their first major controversy, Netflix is accused of failing to deliver on promises. The claimant said that the 3 at-a-time plan went against the unlimited rentals model and that there was no way to guarantee a "one-day delivery", something else Netflix promised. Netflix denied any malintent and an agreement was ultimately settled on.

2005

Netflix doubled its subscribers, ending the year with 2.5 million.

2006

Netflix announces the "Netflix Prize". A contest awarding $1 million to any person or group who could come up with an algorithm to better recommend movies to users. Blockbuster launches Blockbuster Online to compete with Netflix, offering movies online through DVD rentals. Netflix ends the year with 4 million subscribers.

2007

Possibly one of the biggest years for Netflix as they begin video streaming, allowing users to watch movies and tv shows right on their computers. A perfect move by Netflix, almost doubling their users again ending the year with 7.3 million subscribers.

2008

Netflix teams up with Microsoft to release the service on the Xbox 360. Partnering with other electronic companies, users can also stream Netflix on Blu-ray disc players and TV-box setups. Netflix ends the year with 9.4 million subscribers.

2009

Users can now stream their favorite movies on the Playstation 3 and smart TVs. The "Netflix Prize" winner is awarded to "Belkor's Pragmatic Chaos" group. The competition attracted tens of thousands of people across 180 countries. Netflix ends the year with 11.9 million subscribers.

2010

Netflix is now on Apple Devices, like the iPhone, iPad, and iPad Touch, and available in Canada. By the end of the year, there are more subscribers streaming than using the DVD rentals. Hasting declares "By every measure, we are now primarily a streaming company that also offers DVD-by-mail." Netflix ends the year with 18.3 million subscribers.

2011

Another major controversy as Netflix splits its streaming and DVD rentals into two separate services. Users who still wished to use both services would need to pay for two different accounts now. This causes a lot of upset within the community and Netflix loses more than 600,00 subscribers. Amazon releases Amazon Prime Video, which would become Netflix's biggest rival.

2012

Netflix releases in many South American and European countries. By the end of the year, Netflix has 30.4 million subscribers

2013

Netflix releases its first original series, House of Cards, setting a precedent for more original content to come. Blockbusters being unable to adapt to the online streaming world, announce that all stores will close by the end of the year. Netflix ends the year with 41.4 million subscribers.

2014

Netflix sees further expansion in Europe, ending the year with 54.5 million subscribers.

2015

Netflix is released in Japan, Australia, with continued expansion in Europe. The first original Netflix movie is released, Beasts of No Nation. Netflix ends the year with 70.8 subscribers.

2016

Netflix expands to another 130 countries, now total 190 across the globe. Netflix also shows off its new "download feature", allowing users to download content straight to their devices in order to watch movies and shows offline wherever they want. Netflix ends the year with 89.1 subscribers.

2017

A minor controversy, the Netflix account tweeted "To the 53 people who've watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18 days: Who hurt you?" Obviously meant to be played for laughs, but some users take it a different way talking about the principle behind the tweet. Netflix made it clear that they the ability to access user's viewing habits sparking controversy over privacy. On a lighter note, Netflix wins its first Academy Award for Best Documentary Short subject for The White Helmets. Netflix hits another big milestone this year reaching 100 million subscribers and ending the year with 117.5 million.

2018

Netflix wins more awards and is the most nominated streaming service at this year's Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards with 112 nominations. Netflix ends the year with 139.3 million subscribers.

2019

This year brings more competition to the streaming world with AT&T, Apple, and Disney all laughing the own streaming service. Even still, Netflix sees an incredible increase in subscribers ending the year with 167.1 million

2020

A strange year for many with the beginning of the pandemic, but with everyone staying indoors Netflix's subscriber count increased to the highest it ever has in a year, ending off with 203.7 million subscribers.

2021

The year isn't even halfway over so it's impossible to predict where will Netflix will go from here. Netflix has over 15,000 titles, over 16 times as many titles as they had at release, and its stock price is $555, 37 times higher since going public. Netflix's biggest rivals right now are Amazon Prime Video with 150 million subscribers and Disney+ with 95 million subscribers. Amazon Prime Video looks relatively tame, but Disney+ could seriously give Netflix a run for its money. Disney+ gained nearly half the amount of subscribers Netflix did in quite literally a 20th of the time.

Blog Post #5: Artificial Intelligence

After watching the film In the Age of AI, I had a lot of thoughts and take-aways. My initial thought was that it's incredible how advanced we, as a society, have become in the terms of technology. Artificial intelligence is becoming unbelievably smart in such a short amount of time.

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The biggest impact of AI is how it is increasing production across all fields. Restaurants and convenience stores were using AI to make ordering food easier for customers and using it to make purchasing food simpler.

Plenty of companies use trucks to transport goods across the country and AI is making that process far more efficient. With self-driving cars, those companies won't need to pay drivers and can have trucks driving 24/7.

AI is also assisting in the medical field. Before, doctors were diagnosing patients from their x-ray scans, symptoms, and blood samples. Doctors then had to study all these in order to give an accurate diagnosis, which may not be perfect. AI, however, can far more accurately diagnose patients by looking for patterns that humans may have missed or never thought about and by being able to read data far more effectively.

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Nothing is without flaw and even AI has its issues. If AI is helping by increasing production, then it is also hurting by eliminating the need for people to be in those jobs. It was estimated that in the very near future, upwards of 50% of jobs are going to be automated by AI. That's 50% of the population without a job. 

Not only will AI cause unemployment, but it will also affect families of laid-off workers. Someone not earning an income won't be able to provide for their family.

Another significant flaw is how AI is being used to invade people's privacy. In China especially, AI is being used to track each and every person and keep a note on every move that person makes, where they go, who they hang out with, the things they purchase. Every little thing a person does is being documented.

What this is being used for is almost like a point system. The better someone behaves, the harder they work, the more points they earn. Someone misbehaving or doing something illegal will cause them to lose points. This system rewards citizens with higher points with awards like discounts on bus tickets and punishes those with lower points with say a travel ban.

Apparently, this system works very well, rewarding better behavior promotes a better environment, and the people of China I've heard like it. Coming from someone not in China, though, I find this system highly invasive. I wouldn't want to go outside if every single thing I did was being monitored. Maybe that's just me but certainly wouldn't like the government knowing what I do on a daily basis.