Media Law and Literacy

                                      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

                                    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

                                                         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

                                         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,

                                        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?