Gatekeeping & Agenda Setting

        Let's say you were one of only three hundred people to have access to a new cutting-edge multiplayer MMO RPG, the best game the world has ever seen. For a few years, you and two hundred and ninety-nine other players enjoyed the virtual world and all its groundbreaking features until access to this game was given to everyone else. Wouldn't you want to keep this stellar experience to yourself and a few other people you know would use it well? Wouldn't you want to control who could have it and limit it to only them? That is the fundamental concept of Gatekeeping, the act of controlling what and what not can be shown. This concept is usually used in the context of social media, such as wanting to block off full access to a specific makeup brand or favorite musical artist, but when it comes to the idea of control and limitation the truest and most prevalent example of Gatekeeping is with the news and media itself. 

          

        You may not realize it, as I surely didn't to the extent I know now, but the very foundation of news media itself is filtering. Filtering in this context means taking various stories/articles and choosing which one is "worthy" of publication. Which one is depressing, which one makes you smile, which one gets your heart racing, and most importantly, which one *says the right things*. While on the surface this seems to have no issue, as not a single media outlet could possibly cover every single piece of information out there, it isn't just using an educated system to decide which ones would be the most worthwhile for people to read, but instead in many cases a way to limit what is shown to only the specific news media's "agenda". Agenda is a word used a lot nowadays, usually defined as a narrative that someone wants people to know and care about, but this definition relating to the context of Gatekeeping has more complexities than previously realized. The Agenda of news media is often the only thing we have. For example, people who regularly use these sites which practice Gatekeeping as they have no other place to go, have no choice but to only read about the articles that say the "right things". 

        Being able to filter what articles and/or stories readers see is one of the most powerful examples of Agenda Setting, the concept of how communications media shape the problems that people worry about from Gatekeeping and filtration, as well as direct these eyes toward any issue they see fit with a specially made "priority system". Perception is the key word here, as Agenda Setting AND Gatekeeping in the context of news media is truly just the formation of perception in the eyes of their readers. From Gatekeeping which media is to be shown, it is easy for sites to create a narrative the public, as well as the government, will almost always find to be just as crucial of a problem as the news sites themselves. It's an issue that can very clearly lead to both corruption and/or false narratives that could have dangerous consequences if left unchecked. That is why it is important to broaden your reach to more than one or two sources of media and information, as you never know when the true extent of gatekeeping will show itself in you.

Evolution of Technology: What I Learned

What I Learned About My Peer's Presentations: 

Internet

The invention of the internet was ignited by a Russian satellite called Sputnik, which made the United States eager to catch up. 

J.C.R. Licklider made a network called the ARPANET Launch, which stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency (NET).

The internet allowed for a level of connection between people all over the globe that was nearly instant, likely being one of if not the most influential pieces of progress towards communication since the written language.

A con to the internet is the cybersecurity threats, one cut to the connecting wires in the ocean could spell doom to the world because of how important the internet is.

Our privacy can also be invaded, we could be cyber-bullied, and it can also serve as a distraction from other more important things.

Even so, there is no doubt that the internet is beyond necessary for a globalized society, and it all was founded on ARPANET.

The Effects of the Death of Privacy

     I knew that social media records and uses our information to target direct specified advertisements towards us before, but the extent of seemingly blatant breaches of privacy is alarming. Unfortunately, there isn't too much to do about it, and most of that involves just limiting the amount of opportunities these corporations have to use your data for their own gain. For me, the issues haven't really impacted me or my family. The worst thing about it is the creepiness of receiving advertisements similar to what you've been talking about. Because of this, I do believe that the government should add a little more moderation to the harmful practices that these corporations do as it is very likely that the worst of it is still hidden to this day. Thankfully, like I stated before, we can protect ourselves through VPNs, shutting down your phone when not in use, and avoiding technology with Wi-Fi whenever you're talking about private information you don't want known.

EOTO Project - Ballpoint Pen Research Paper

When it comes to society as a whole, one of its founding building blocks is communication. Communication is how we as a species can socialize, learn from, and collaborate with each other to the global extent that we are used to now. One of the most pivotal inventions when it comes to communicating is the ballpoint pen, leaping forward our writing potential from the day it was invented to now and likely many more years to come.

The ballpoint pen was invented in 1938 by László Bíró in Hungary. Unlike other forms of writing at the time, Bíró's innovation allowed for convenient, fast, and efficient writing. Let's take a quill for example. The ink on a quill not only takes much longer to dry as opposed to a ballpoint pen but is also harder to write efficiently than the more modern counterpart. By far one of the most vital aspects of this invention is the fact that people finally could write down their ideas instantly and with speed. This allowed for a massive breakthrough in information and writing, greatly affecting society as a whole for the better. There is very few innovations when it comes to communication as paramount and impactful as the ballpoint pen.

The impact of the ballpoint pen doesn't just end here, however, as not only is it much more efficient but also more portable, which greatly aided with their success. One of the main problems with quills was their lack of portability, at least compared to their more modern counterpart. You could put a ballpoint pen in your pocket with little to no problem, which allowed for writing to not only take place at home or in the library, but virtually anywhere and everywhere where there's paper without any trouble whatsoever.

Most people have more than one ballpoint pen somewhere in their bookbags, purses, or pockets at any present moment a good indicator of the importance of portability when it comes to communication. Another example is the iPhone, which succeeded because it took portable communication to the next level. I argue that being able to communicate virtually anywhere was just as crucial to the iPhone's success as their innovations in talking to whoever you want at a farther distance than any before.

While it is paramount for society, there have been detriments to the ballpoint pen. One of the most dire is their negative impact on the environment, contributing to pollution more than the quill pen. While this is a problem, there are personally a lot worse and less impactful products out there that are contributing a lot more to environmental degradation than the ballpoint pen.

Overall, there is no stressing the impact that the ballpoint pen brought upon us all. If this innovation in communication were not to exist, we simply would not be at the level of progress that we are now. There is simply no understating how vital fast, efficient, and portable is to our society and it only is proven more and more as ballpoint pens are still massively prevalent around the globe.

Sources:

https://www.invent.org/inductees/laszlo-josef-biro

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40292316

https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/0eb68b28-c7d0-4933-b024-3bedad110552/content

Eight Values of Free Expression

    

    After looking at the Eight Values of Free Expression, I have to say that while most of them are of similar importance, the one that stood out to me the most personally would undoubtedly be promoting innovation. To me, this has been not only what the country was formed on in the first place but also what has kept it alive and (for the most part) ever-progressing and changing for the better.

    Innovation is something that stems directly from free will, directly being tied to self-expression as well as the betterment of the community. It allows for new leaps forward into the future in a way that people can choose. The "choice" element is vital here, as when it comes to the Eight Values of Free Expression, innovation is all about both the innovation as well as whether or not this innovation will become... innovative.

For example, take the invention of the light bulb. That was an expression of creativity, free will, and without a doubt intelligence. This can be applied to virtually all inventions, creations, and sources of media out there, and from this stems a country that promotes these same values which becomes better and only better from it.

    Through the Eight Values of Free Expression, innovation is not only allowed but encouraged due to the rewards it gives you. Google was created in a garage, and because of its innovation, is now a corporate giant with a stranglehold on its industry. This is an example of a very clear rule present in innovation: It gets you money.

    Inventing and creativity are rewarded in this system, and because it's the people who are the ones to choose what becomes beneficial and what doesn't, it means that innovators, no matter their moral standing, are better off if they put the betterment of the community in mind when creating something new.

    While there are obviously many facets of this system that are malicious and predatory, the core of this system stemmed from the Eight Values of Free Expression is in my opinion one that must be preserved for the betterment of this country's future.

    There are some present problems with innovation now, which will be explained in greater detail here. For instance, the rewards of innovation can be abused to the point where they no longer serve the betterment of the community without hindering their reward. This is common in corporations, no longer creating for everyone else but instead for the most profit humanly possible for their shareholders.

    Another quite common problem is monopolies. While we rightly have laws against them, there are too many cracks in my opinion that can allow monopolistic tendencies stemming from innovation to slip through and persevere.

Overall, the Eight Values of Free Expression are a paramount area of America's law. The innovation value is only one of the, while not perfect, crucial areas that we must follow and enact in order for the United States of America to prosper for the years to come. I am thrilled that these exist and cannot wait to learn more.

The Supreme Court

 I didn't know much about the Supreme Court before watching the videos about them. I knew that they were responsible for court cases that reached that high but other than this my knowledge of this facet of American law was lacking. After these videos, however, I can say that I've learned a fair amount about the Supreme Court and how they work.

1) Example of What I Learned:

The Supreme Court is integral to the judicial system because of its independence and power. No other facet of law can overturn this court which is especially crucial given how abusive those in higher power have the potential to be. While it isn't perfect, the Supreme Court does make America's judicial system a lot more balanced and stable.

2) Important Take-Away:

Like I said before, the most important takeaway for me would be the fact that the Supreme Court is not influenced by anything but the Constitution and their own selves. I believe this paired with their power is one of the most integral parts of the U.S. judicial system.

3) Most Surprising Thing I've Learned:

The most surprising thing I've learned about the Supreme Court through these videos would be how through time they have been a detriment towards changing for the better. I guess I should've expected this due to its nature of being guided by the Constitution alone but the extent of power that the Supreme Court has can be negative if the factors call for it.

4) Did My Opinion About The Supreme Court Change:

I have to say that my opinion of the Supreme Court has changed a lot after these two videos. I gained a lot more insight, knowledge, and history about this integral part of the American judicial system and through that, I know now that while there are major flaws to the Supreme Court, the strength that they bring to the American law and people cannot be overstated.

My Five Favorite Sources Of News

 With online information being so prevalent nowadays, we all have been getting news from a vast amount of different sources with greatly differing morals and political ideals. Because of this, it is important to find the most reliable or simply the news sites that you like most compared to the rest. These are five of the news sources that I will go to far before any other.

1) YouTube -- Now while YouTube on the surface is one of the worst sources for news as opposed to one of the best, the varying opinions from people all on one app is something worth nothing. You can find all sorts of varying perspectives on YouTube without having to search for entirely different sources and since this video-sharing site is so prevalent in media today it's a great resource for almost all types of news.

2) Twitter -- Likely both the best (and the worst) source of news on the internet. The reason Twitter (I'm not calling it X) is so good is that you can, much like YouTube, see differing opinions from virtually all types of people without going anywhere else. The best and worst part about Twitter is actually the ease of posting your opinions or views on the site, which at first seems nothing but good, but is in fact one of the leading reasons for misinformation, absolutely atrocious takes, and manipulating of the algorithm so more people hear what you have to say than others. Moving all of this aside, Twitter is still one of if not the best news source there is for me.

3) TikTok -- A common app for all sorts of information, one that can leave someone scrolling for hours if not exited in time, TikTok has quickly become one of the most information-heavy sites on all of the internet. It hits a perfect difficulty in my opinion,  not being effortless to post on such as Twitter but also having enough ease where it's easy to share your opinions. This makes news and current events a very usual occurrence when browsing TikTok, and to me, there is very little to complain about when it comes to this. Or, at least, when compared to Twitter.

4) USA Today -- USA Today is one of my favorite news sites online as it covers current events without much of a political bias as opposed to others such as CNN. From sports, finance, studies and more, this is a source of news that I will check if I want to see specific articles TikTok YouTube or Twitter can't supply.

5) BBC -- Even more unbiased in my opinion than USA Today, BBC is one of my go-to choices for information of all sorts relating to current events, along with history attached to it as well. Being trusted as an accurate reliable news source free of political bias for decades now, BBC is one of those sites that almost always scratch my itch when it comes to news.