Hello there! For my post today I wanted to explore the topic of the state of who owns our digital conversations. The way that social media websites and platforms, and our uses for them, have evolved over the years has had a profound impact on society.
There are definitely both benefits and drawbacks to these ‘digital public squares’. As stated by The Yale Law Journal, “The concept of the “digital public square” is often presented as both a descriptive and a normative assessment. The doctrinal and policy consequences that flow from the analogy are significant. The digital-public-square view chiefly emphasizes the principle of openness to all people and all ideas. Accordingly, adherents of the digital-public-square perspective tend to view restrictions and regulations of online forums as antidemocratic and censorious.”

As I mentioned previously, there are definite benefits and drawbacks of these digital public squares. As shared by Make Use Of, some positive aspects of online interaction include that social media allows for immediate online discussions; that social media promotes knowledge sharing with others; it allows people to stay in touch with friends, family, and acquaintances, even if they live a great distance from one another; it helps an individual to stay informed about news events and stories; and it is a channel that allows an individual to establish and grow their personal brand, if they desire.

In contrast, there are also definite drawbacks to these spaces. Make Use Of also shared some negatives aspects of these public squares. One drawback is that social media users can experience FOMO, or “fear of missing out.” Make Use Of explains that “Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a phenomenon that became prominent around the same time as the rise of social media. Unsurprisingly, it’s one of the most widespread negative effects of social media on society.”
Unrealistic expectations and poor body images are also noted as some negative aspects to using social media. One of the most harmful and negative examples is the simultaneous rise of both social media conversations and cyberbullying. “Cyberbullying can take on many forms, including personal attacks, harassment or discriminatory behavior, spreading defamatory information, misrepresenting oneself online, spreading private information, social exclusion and cyberstalking” (UGA Today).

Can we depend on the goodwill of the owners of these platforms? It is hard to say.
What about decentralized spaces? “The term Web3 was coined by Gavin Wood—one of the co-founders of the Ethereum cryptocurrency—as Web 3.0 in 2014. Since then, it’s become a catch-all term for anything that has to do with the next generation of the internet being a decentralized digital infrastructure” (Pc Mag).
This theoretical shift would also pose some benefits and drawbacks. “Proponents envision Web3 as an internet that does not require us to hand over personal information to companies like Facebook and Google in order to use their services. The web would be powered by blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, with all information published on the public ledger of the blockchain. Similar to how cryptocurrency operates, everything would have to be verified by the network before being accepted. Online apps would theoretically let people exchange information or currency without a middleman. A Web3 internet would also be permissionless, meaning anyone could use it without having to generate access credentials or get permission from a provider.” (PC Mag).

I believe that a permissionless internet would pose some serious concerns, but it is unsettling to be under surveillance on a regular basis.

I recently experienced using a participatory service with editing a Wikipedia article, and it was fun and interesting to learn how collaboration works on websites that are self-policing. As stated by BBC, “Wikipedia is self-policing and relies on its community of volunteer editors to improve the quality and accuracy of the pages over time. It’s the ‘wisdom of crowds’ principle in action. Writers are encouraged to back up factual statements with verifiable references and authoritative sources as often as possible.”

If a new era of the internet could communicate and work together this way, it would have hope of being a great place for everyone.

Hello there! For this blog assignment I had to imagine a theoretical scenario in which deepfake technology could be used for beneficial purposes. While pondering the possibilities, I remembered when a trending topic in the media involved this very subject.
Controversial rapper Kanye West had gifted his then-wife Kim Kardashian a hologram of her late father, Robert Kardashian, who had passed away in 2003. The gesture was met with mixed reviews. The premise, however, I feel has the potential to benefit an individual’s grief healing process through deepfake technology if utilized in a professional setting.

According to Arabian Business, “While the use of deepfake tech has raised concerns over potential misuse, particularly when it comes to scams, experts believe that in the realm of grief and healing, these tools can be quite transformative. Those grappling with the profound pain of loss may be able to find solace and closure, allowing them to hear their voice once more, see their smile, and experience a virtual connection that might ease the ache of absence and offer them a chance to express unfinished conversations or seek closure.”
If an individual uses this technology, ideally with the aid of a trusted professional like a grief counselor, it could be used as a tool for closure in a painful healing process. It may not be for everyone, but for some they may find it deeply personal and beneficial.

I added below an application-based a.i generated video of an advertisement for the theoretical deepfake grief service.

Using the same text-to-a.i service, Vibro, I created an example of what a deepfake grief message could look like.

With the use of advanced technology like this, it could result in an easier grief processing period for a person who is struggling with the loss of a loved one. 🕊️

Hello there! For my blog assignment and project this week I learned about editing Wikipedia with my user account. Like many others (likely including yourself) I love learning and falling into Wikipedia “rabbit holes” of knowledge. It is so easy to lose track of time while leaning new and readily available information, and I was curious to learn what it was like to be on the creation side of Wikipedia.

I have never been on the side of adding new information to a page, and it was an interesting and unique learning process!

When I began the assignment, I had to brainstorm a little bit what as to what would be a fun topic to edit. I recently found a link to the original Dr. Suess screenplay of the 1953 film The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T. It was one of my favorite films as a child and is not widely known about, (Dr. Suess himself wanted to forget it was ever made) and when exploring the Wikipedia page about the film I saw an opportunity to add an interesting fact about the film that I first learned a few years back on IMDB.

The fact that I added is the following text: “The lyrics to the “Elevator Dungeon” song featured in the film had the third verse omitted, [6]which featured references to torture and execution methods, including spiked beds and gas chambers.” The lyrics of the third verse that were omitted are “Third floor dungeon, household appliances, spike beds, electric chairs, gas chambers, roasting pots, and scalping devices”. The lyrics were thought to be too dark for the historical time period, so they were cut.

I first tried using the original IMBD fact as my source to cite the musical film fact, but that was rejected a few hours later. I luckily had a backup source that I used to cite my edit instead.

The second source contained the song and composer information for the song from the film. If you are interested in hearing the song, it can be found on YouTube from user “The xNYr”.

After this assignment, I have gained a deeper respect for those who make the website thrive and run, and allow others to learn new information. I definitely would love to explore more editing through Wikipedia and get better at this skill.
When I originally posted my plan to the “talk” page for the film, I was cautioned that posting the lyrics verbatim could pose potential copyright issues for my edit on the site. Wanting to play on the safe side, I described the omitted lyrics with the source being the link to what those removed lyrics were.

I definitely found the editing side of Wikipedia to be interesting. It takes many minds to help the community thrive and exist for those who want to learn more about an ocean of available topics, and I was happy to be one of those minds in the community contributing information into the world!

Edit: As I was about to submit my blog post, I checked the page again and saw that my source was rejected again. While I’m glad there were no copyright issues, I hopefully can obtain a better source for the information. I’m hoping I can track down the physical media, which may have a better source for me to use.

For the blog assignment this week, I experimented with A.I tools through exploring ChatGPT. The topic was to explore a subject that I know a lot about and create a prompt for the program to write about in lightning speed. The subject that I wanted it to write about is how the animated series South Park has explored and tackled censorship ideas and practices throughout the decades of the show.

The prompt I gave was “In 300 words, how has South Park challenged censorship?” The response that I got felt fairly satisfying, but as a massive fan of both the show and series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, I felt that the generated response felt a bit flat. Some great episodes in the earlier seasons were mentioned as examples, and excluded episodes that gained the status of a “banned episode” (there are currently five in the series). There are many other fantastic examples of episodes that have challenged censorship, some of the most notable examples being “Cartoon Wars part 1 and 2” and the episodes “200 and 201”.

Overall, I enjoyed using the software. I think it’s a fun and unique tool that can help form a nice outline for a final finished written product. I like how the sentences were flowing nicely and broke up into small sections that were easy to go back, rewrite in my own voice, and edit a bit more.

Here is the link to the Google Doc that has both the ChatGPT response and my rewritten version of the generated response! 📄🤖

Hello there and welcome to my blog post! For my video posting I wanted to pick a subject that is always worth exploring: the beautiful little spark of joy that brings meaning to others.
What that happiness and comfort stems from is so uniquely personal and one of my favorite topics to explore.
Losing my mother at the age of 26 in 2020 profoundly changed my life, and made me deeply appreciate the beautiful, simplistic and radiant happiness that life has to offer at the end of the tunnel.
Some things that brought joy for her were playing volleyball, learning about legal cases, swimming with dolphins, making her legendary mashed potatoes, and Precious Moments (she had a massive collection).

Life is a complex mystery, and there is so much beauty and peace to be found in the most unexpected places. As President Abraham Lincoln said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

My video that I created and posted below details five examples of pure blissful joys that I find in my life. I hope you enjoy, and may it bring you happy vibes! What kind of peaceful, simple joys do you find manifesting in your own life? ☮

Cats and the internet go together like peanut butter and jelly. If you are browsing a huge number of websites, there is a good chance that an image of a kitty cat (or several) will make its digital way to you.
For this blog post I wanted to explore the concept of image and photo creation, and I have a fun little concept to explore for this post!

The first examples of photos I have posted below are of my two beautiful cats, Walter Whitepaws (orange kitty) and Darth Vader (black kitty). I had captured two separate photos from two separate occasions in a lucky shot as they lounged next to my boyfriend’s Xbox controllers. These are some of our favorite pictures of our “little gamer cats” and are absolutely priceless!

My next example of image curation uses an image that reflects a Creative Commons Liscence. As explained by Creative Commons, “Creative Commons licenses give everyone from individual creators to large institutions a standardized way to grant the public permission to use their creative work under copyright law.” On the Openverse website I entered in the keywords “cat playing video games” and was greeted with eight images to select from.

I chose the image that is posted below featuring a grey cat that was titled “Loki wanting to catch the movement on the TV of a video game”.

My last featured image for this post is an example of using generative A.I tools. I chose to utilize Gemini (powered by Google) for this image. Using the same keywords “cat playing video games” I encountered an image that I fell in love with! I was met with an image of a black and orange cat, both holding video game controllers with determined looks on their A.I feline faces.

It is such a unique time to be alive with so many varieties of original and artificial sources to choose from, and making sure proper credit is placed is an important practice and rule to maintain.

A letter to my best friend, Madlon,

I thought it was important to use this blog post as an opportunity to share the importance of personal privacy and online security.
“Before you can define privacy, you first have to define its opposite number: what’s public. Merriam-Webster’s first definition of “public” includes two different descriptions that are somewhat contradictory. The first is “exposed to general view: open” and the second is “well-known; prominent”. (Medium).

First, who are some of the entities who want your information? One sinister answer is data brokers. “Data brokers are entities that collect information about consumers, and then sell that data (or analytic scores, or classifications made based on that data) to other data brokers, companies, and/or individuals. These data brokers do not have a direct relationship with the people they’re collecting data on, so most people aren’t even aware that the data is even being collected.” (Vice).

These data brokers collect your information from sources that you likely would not suspect at first. For instance, “data brokers also collect information from social media sites, web browsing activity, quiz apps, media reports, websites, and other publicly available sources. And, of course, they also exchange or purchase information from one another, and then merge the data with their own records.” (Vice).

I want to share some tips that might help you protect your virtual data. PC Mag had a page of 12 easy things that you can do to become more secure online. They suggested to: install an antivirus software and keep It updated, explore the security tools that you install, use unique passwords for every login (I suggest using a password manager), get a VPN (and use it), use multi-factor authentication, use passcodes even when they are optional, pay with your smartphone whenever possible (here’s a list of some great sources for mobile payments), use different email addresses for different kinds of accounts, clear your cache, turn off the ‘save password’ feature in browsers, don’t fall prey to click bait or phishing scams, and protect your social media privacy.

These are all some great steps in protecting your online privacy.

A fantastically relevant quote by Edward Snowden that I want to leave you with is this: “ultimately, arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.”

Stay safe out there,

Alisha

For my final class post the cultural resource that I thought would be fun to examine is one of my favorite films, Easy Rider (1969). I believe it represents both a reimagined alternative and commentary to the cultural tensions of the late 1960s. “Americans are a restless people, imbued with a kind of nervous energy that manifests itself culturally through the mediums of literature, film, and music.” (Ireland).
The film follows the story of Billy and Wyatt aka “Captain America” on their eventful motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
“This film presents something fairly alien in cinema, especially within the Western genre: two characters attempting to escape from a country they never asked for, in any way that they can. It defies as many conventions of American cinema as it does conventions of American social life.” (Inquiries Journal). I believe that the themes and elements that are portrayed in the film reflect an important and timeless question on the true meaning of freedom and the theoretical American dream.

Easy Rider begins with the two central characters acquiring a substantial amount of money from selling cocaine that they smuggled from Mexico to California. “According to the ideal of the American Dream, everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue happiness and economic prosperity, and the government should protect the right of every citizen to achieve their highest aspirations and goals. The notion of the American Dream was invented by the founders of the United States and was initially captured by language in the Declaration of Independence.” (Investopedia). Despite this, I’m not sure if others in the film would necessarily agree with the way of how Billy and Wyatt achieved their financial success. Nonetheless it allowed them the freedom to retire and move to Florida, their ultimate goal in the film.

With their finances secured, the pair begin the scenic motorcycle journey to their mid-stop destination: Mardi Gras. “Wyatt’s bike has the American flag painted over its engine, in which he hides his drug money. The bike becomes a metaphor for the country which is fueled by retroactive violence and drug money.” (Far Out).
They meet characters during their journey that portray and represent different depictions of freedom and happiness in American life. During a parade mishap they end up in a rural jail and encounter an individual named George Hanson (played by a young Jack Nicholson), a well-liked town lawyer who is sleeping off his drunken night in his local cell. While the police give Billy and Wyatt a hard time for their appearance and overall demeanor, they have a friendly exchange with George, who helps get them out of jail.

“George is the one with the speeches that underscore what the film is about: ‘This used to be a helluva good country. I can’t understand what’s gone wrong with it.’ It’s not the long hair or the way they dress that upsets people, he tells Billy and Wyatt. ‘What you represent to them is freedom.’ He warns: ‘Course don’t ever tell anybody — that they’re not free, ‘cause then, they’re gonna get real busy killin’ and maimin’ to prove to you that they are” (Wolf).

Soon after this speech, George is killed while sleeping peacefully in a violent attack by local men whom they had encountered earlier in the day, who had an open and apparent disdain for the trio who had entered their small Texan town.
“The counter-culture of the 1960s expresses the dissatisfaction with the state of culture and society and looks for ways to resist, it desires to stand out, it longs for individualism and self-conscious expression of oneself. As the term itself indicates counter-culture is culture standing in opposition to what may be perceived as traditional culture based on certain sets of rules.” (Masaryk University).

After this tragic event, Billy and Wyatt continue traveling to Mardi Gras. They visit a brothel and meet two prostitutes, all deciding to venture out to the festival and later consuming acid together in a cemetery (in one of the most famous scenes of the film). The pair sit beside a bonfire afterwards, resting before resuming their journey to Florida. “Their search ends in failure and death. Before a bonfire outside New Orleans, Wyatt utters the famously enigmatic line, ‘We blew it.‘ They are just about to make it to Florida, flush with cash. But something nags at Wyatt’s conscience. Like all tragic heroes, Wyatt and Billy have somehow missed the mark.” (Commonweal).
The film has a violent and abrupt conclusion; while riding together on a country road, a pickup truck pulls up alongside Billy and Wyatt and begins to taunt and harass them. Unphased, Billy communicates a middle finger back to the men in the truck. Angered by his cavalier response, the men in the truck retaliate by blasting the pair with a shotgun.

“While the film generated substantial debate, critics from the alternative and mainstream presses alike generally saw it as a spectacular document of its times that effectively represented the hippie ethos as well as the serious rifts between counter- and dominant cultures.” (Klinger).
Easy Rider as a film suggests that freedom is attainable in many different walks of life and cultures. Some individuals, however, will be looking to suppress that freedom. Being a George Hanson in society is an important step to start bringing along positive societal changes.

For this blog post about stereotypes, I thought it would be interesting to explore the concept of food stereotypes in the media. I feel that there are many instances of this, particularly in food product advertising and marketing, but the first example that I wanted to highlight was an advertising campaign for a soft drink that began in 2011.

As Emily Schwartz of The ASU State Press wrote in 2011, “while advertisers may subtlety cater to a certain gender, Dr. Pepper’s recent ad campaign brings targeted gender marketing to a new level. The company, marketing their new diet soda, created exclusive advertisements. The slogan reads: ‘Dr. Pepper 10. It’s not for women.’ This video from CBS News explores the concept of “macho food marketing” and points out that in marketing that is designed in this fashion aimed for the male population will omit the word “diet” from their soft drinks, is in the cases of Dr. Pepper 10 and Pepsi Max (which is heavily marketed as having zero calories). Men are featured prominently throughout each of the advertisements and definitely reflect an instance of blatant “macho food marketing.” As Schwartz stated, “I couldn’t believe that a major company would be so blatant in its sexism as to claim that its soda wasn’t for half of the population.”

On the other side of the unhealthier marketing corner lies further problems. The food that is most often marketed towards a male population seems to pose some harm. As David Sax of The New York Magazine wrote, “manly food ads present a cleverly crafted challenge to our manhood: are you man enough to eat this shit? And shit it is. Manly food, as opposed to equally patronizing “lady food” (diet sodas, low-calorie cereals, herbal teas), are pretty much universally unhealthy. Huge quantities of processed, salty meats, wrapped in refined carbohydrates, saturated in chemical cheese goos, and fortified with colored sugar water.”

It is not a far stretch to say that these kinds of targeted advertisements can have a direct link to poor health and dietary choices. As Sax continued, “the consequences of this kind of marketing are real. Men suffer from heart attacks and fatal coronary heart disease at twice the levels women do, and obesity rates tend to be considerably higher for men as well.” As further explored on Media Smarts, “Like other effects of stereotypes, this is caused not just by a desire to seem masculine but to avoid seeming feminine, as men feel that ordering healthful food might make them seem unmanly.”

I also wanted to explore some harmful stereotypes that are marketed towards women in the media. In a troubling and interesting statistic presented by The New York Times, it is stated that “between 1980 and 2010, women in commercials were shown in workplace settings only 4 percent of the time; frequently they were shown in kitchens, waxing poetic about the products they were selling.” As written by the American Marketing Association, “marketing to a person’s gender not only risks alienating other potential consumers—ones who don’t conform to traditional gender roles or interests—but it also shows a failure by the company to mine for deeper insights about its audience.”

This type of marketing leaves out many different perspectives of everyday individuals in the world. When interacting with these types of media messages it is important to remember some key NAMLE questions an individual should ask to analyze these messages, including who is the target audience, and what ideas/ values/ information and/or points of view are overt and/ or implied? These questions are an important step in deciphering the true meaning of these stereotypical and often harmful messages.

There are countless conspiracy theories that exist in popular culture. As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a conspiracy theory is “a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators.”
One of the most widespread and famous examples of a conspiracy theory is that the moon landing was staged. This theory has been alive for several decades, but it picked up speed again after the rapid advancement of the internet. There are a few reasons why this theory has prevailed throughout the years and continues to be spread amongst newer generations.

“On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon. About six-and-a-half hours later, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon” (History).
One person who doubted this historic American event was a man by the name of Bill Kaysing. Kaysing is largely responsible for the first wave of this conspiracy theory. As described by The Guardian, “It began as ‘a hunch, an intuition’, before turning into ‘a true conviction’ – that the US lacked the technical prowess to make it to the moon (or, at least, to the moon and back). Kaysing had actually contributed to the US space programme, albeit tenuously: between 1956 and 1963, he was an employee of Rocketdyne, a company that helped to design the Saturn V rocket engines. In 1976, he self-published a pamphlet called We Never Went to the Moon: America’s Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle, which sought evidence for his conviction by means of grainy photocopies and ludicrous theories. Yet somehow he established a few perennials that are kept alive to this day in Hollywood movies and Fox News documentaries, Reddit forums and YouTube channels.”

What were some other origins of this theory? History Extra will tell us that “some conspiracy theorists would have it that NASA and the US government faked the whole thing. They were, so the idea goes, spurred by desperation to beat the Soviet Union in the Space Race and fulfil US President John F Kennedy’s promise made in a 1961 speech to land on the Moon ‘before this decade is out’”.
A popular claim of this theory is that legendary film director Stanley Kubrick was responsible for what viewers were witnessing happening on their screens. In fact, there is a video found on YouTube that is titled “Stanley Kubrick Confesses To Faking The Moon Landings [RAW VERSION]“. This video is a parody at best, and misinformation at worst.

Other modern responsible parties for spreading this conspiracy theory are also found on YouTube. Two individuals that share blame for this are Joe Rogan and Shane Dawson, who spread this theory to their millions of listeners and subscribers on their platforms. While Rogan has since changed his stance about the moon landing being a hoax, it still stands that he shared this conspiracy theory with the millions of people who tuned into his show.

Thankfully this conspiracy theory is often looked at as nothing more than a joke by the majority of the public. A study conducted by The University of New Hampshire about conspiracy claims stated that 71% of the people surveyed did not believe that NASA did not land on the moon. 17% fell into the ‘unsure’ category, leaving the minority belief of 12% agreeing that it was a hoax. With people like Rogan changing their stances on their very public platforms, in time these numbers should begin to hopefully change.