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Week 10-Diffusion of Ideas

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                                      INNOVATION OF YOUTUBE       The innovation of YouTube was one of the most common innovations of the 21st century.   Founders  of YouTube, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim established YouTube on February  14,  2005  with  then intention of providing an easy method for people to share videos.  Prior to the  invention of  YouTube,  people often relied on their mobile phones to obtain videos, though they were  unable to present them to large audiences.      Examining the innovation of YouTube through the lens of  Diffusion  Theory, it can be concluded  that Hurley, Chen and Karin had a strong reasoning for how YouTube could benefit society.  Much of  the reason many people became early adopters of YouTube was because it offered a new way for them  to form their own platforms.       YouTube was also an excellent communication mechanism, as it allowed people to create their own  channels and upload diverse video content, which attracted more users

Week 15-Online Presence

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                                    MY ONLINE PRESENCE                                      I first joined social media on my 18th birthday and have been a social media user for a year and a  half now.  Initially, my online footprint was not that large, as I had only joined Facebook, Instagram,  and Snapchat.  I've expanded my online footprint over the past year though, as I recently established a  Twitter and Blogger account, specifically for academic purposes.       As I reflect back on my adolescent years, I am amazed at how I made it through middle and high  school without social media despite that everybody around me used it.       Of all my social media sites, I definitely use Instagram and Facebook the most.  I mainly use  Snapchat to either message my friends or view other people's stories, but I have not posted anything on  my Snapchat story in over a year.  Over the past few months, Facebook and Snapchat have taken a  backseat to Instagram, which has become my most fa

Week 11-Privacy, Online and Off

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                                                         PRIVACY      As I watched the two TED Talk videos about Privacy and the evolution of technology, I was amazed  at  what I learned.  In the video, "THINK YOUR EMAIL'S PRIVATE? THINK AGAIN," Andy Yen  addresses how the invention of the Internet has altered the way we live our lives and converse with  others.        Email is one of the most prominent communication methods; however, the content in our emails are  often accessible to third parties, such as internet providers, email providers and governments.  For  example, when we encrypt connections between our computers and email servers, we are transferring  data  onto the server as well.  What many people do not realize though, is that governments are able to  request for and obtain the keys to our data long before the recipient of the email receives it.                                                      One of the suggestions offered to address this issue was to a

EOTO Week 13-Other team's presentation

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                                         ILLUSORY TRUTH EFFECT      One of the concepts I learned from group group 3 during their EOTO presentation was the Illusory  Truth Effect.  The illusory truth effect, also referred to as the illusion of truth, is when inaccurate  information is reinforced repeatedly to the point where people accept it as the truth.  In some instances,  people who initially know that information is untrue begin to believe it over time, as it is repeated over  and over again.      The history of the illusory truth effect dates back to a 1977 study, when three researchers selected  several college students to participate in an experiment, where they were asked to review a list of  statements and identify which ones were true or false.  This study revealed that the repetition of false  claims caused the participants to accept them as accurate statements.       Even those who consider themselves as erudite citizens are still susceptible to the illusory truth  effect,

EOTO #2-Citizen Journalism

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                                        CITIZEN JOURNALISM          Citizen Journalism is when average citizens work to obtain and disseminate newsworthy  information to the general public.  The history of citizen journalism dates back to the late 18th century  when Thomas Paine published his pamphlet titled "Common Sense," which championed for liberation  from Great Britain.  In the pamphlet, Paine methodically articulated his rationale for an egalitarian  government.                                                                                PRE-INTERNET ERA      Prior to the invention of the Internet, there were limited mechanisms for members of the general  public to produce newsworthy information; Only professional journalists were granted access to  technological resources to deliver news to worldwide audiences.  Therefore, average citizens had the  option of either writing letters to editors or mailing zines.                                         WHAT ARE ZINES?  

How Politics Has Divided the Nation

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                            How Politics Has Divided the Nation By Lauryn Green Q News      Politics is a controversial topic that many people choose to avoid, especially with those who do not  share their views.      Political discussions often become divisive when diverse ideologies clash, and there is an inability  to  establish a common ground.  The history of political polarization in America dates back to the  1990s,  when hostility emerged among the two major parties, which in turn influenced how average  citizens related to people of different political affiliations.         How did the 1994 Midterm Elections cause hyper-partisanship?        Prior to the 1994 U.S. Midterm Elections , Democrats had dominated the U.S. House of  Representatives and Senate for decades.  In an attempt to help Republicans regain Congressional  power,  Newt Gingrich, who is the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, proposed the  Contract with America which entailed lowering taxes, le

Blog Post #7-Presentations

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                              EOTO PRESENTATIONS      For the past week, our Media Law and Literacy class has been giving presentations regarding the  evolution of communication technologies.  It is personally difficult for me to imagine life without  technology, which is why I found the presentations to be both informative and captivating.  One  technology I especially enjoyed learning about was the development of the mobile cell phone. Prior to the invention of mobile phones, people used car phones, which were wildly prevalent in the  early 1970s.  By virtue of how expensive car phones were, many people were unable to afford them.   The first cell phone was invented on April 3, 1973 by Martin Cooper.  Cell phones were created for the purpose of allowing people to communicate on the phone from any  distance without having to use car phones.  As time progressed, the size of cell phones became smaller  and new features, such as screened display, wi-fi connection, and touchscreens were i