Blog #6 - Antiwar

Antiwar

Today was the first time I have had the opportunity to take the time to read pieces from antiwar writers. To be transparent, I hadn't even heard of the term before taking this class, so being able to read multiple news pieces and blog posts from an antiwar standpoint expanded my viewpoint on the topic of war. 

The ANTIWAR.COM website is organized into 6 sections: news, blog, US casualties, and more. I decided to read the "blog" section first because this class has spiked my interest in blog writing and blog posts. I was surprised to see that the latest post was made today, November 28 which means the website is up-to-date and used frequently. The post that caught my eye first was "President Biden Had Morphed Into the Murder Mystery" because it directly relates to our country. To be honest, I've never read an article from this strong of a point of view. These authors don't shy away from their opinions and they share exactly what they're thinking. In this specific piece, Author Walt Zlotow shared this thought "Biden made one wonderful move for peace in his first seven months by ending our illegal and criminal 20-year Afghan war." That was honestly the only positive thought he shared throughout the article. 

While this article is very opinionated, I do think it's important for people to read about war from this standpoint. It was interesting to me that on the American Conservative website, the title of one of the articles is "An Alternate Narrative to the Los Angeles Streetcar Myth" which makes a lot of sense because all of the articles written from the antiwar perspective are alternate narratives to various situations. 

In my opinion, the United States loves war. Our country joins war situations any chance it gets, whether in good ways or bad. It's important to read from the antiwar perspective and realize people have been protesting and fighting from the antiwar side since the beginning of the Vietnam War in 1964. I think antiwar voices are censored by the government because of the power they hold. I wonder how much longer we will have to fight against war before changes are made. 

Blog #7 - Diffusion of Innovations

 TikTok through the lens of the Diffusion Theory

Pioneers:

    TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2022, and its fame only continues to grow. Zhang Yiming created TikTok in 2016, making him the pioneer of the app. Shortly after, TikTok merged with Musically, a fun entertainment app mostly used to create lipsyncing videos. 

Early Adopters:

    Previous Musically users fit into the early adopters category, as they were already using the app when it changed to TikTok. Most musically users were tweens with their first iPhone. At the time the app was used to create lipsyncing videos. These people clearly saw the opportunities of the app and its communication methods. 

Early Majority: 

The early majority began using the app in 2018 after the merger with Musically, and in 2019 the growth of TikTok was exponential. The "Number of US Adults Using TikTok" chart shows the rapid growth rates of the app, and it is clear that between September 2018 and March 2019, TikTok gained thousands of users. The largest population on TikTok currently is 10-19 year olds, who make up 47.4% of users. In my opinion, people were quick to adopt TikTok because of the entertainment opportunities.

Late Majority: 

    TikTok continues to grow as the late majority joins in on the fun of TikTok, which mostly consists of populations ages 30-50. This population consists of the parents of kids on TikTok. Most parents joined TikTok during the pandemic, as there was nothing else to do but watch silly videos. Parents either participate in the creation of videos (family content, cooking, cleaning) or monitor the content consumption their children might be experiencing. 

Laggards: 

    "Those aged 50+ make up the smallest share of TikTok users at just 11%." To me, the laggards of TikTok are people above the age of 50. They are not willing to download TikTok and attempt to use it because they simply don't understand the point of it. TikTok is targeted towards younger generations, which could drive away older people. Most of the time these generations believe social media is toxic and a waste of time, which is another reason they are hesitant to download it. Because older people are not using social media in the first place, it is not likely for them to use TikTok. 

Pros & Cons:

    There are many negative consequences of this technology. TikTok has very few privacy aspects to it, and it is available to anyone who downloads the app. I believe it is very unsafe and toxic for younger generations because of the inappropriate content published and the open accessibility to endless content. 

    TikTok has been beneficial to some people and has even been a huge factor in creating a new and popular job- influencing. Many people have created a brand for themselves on TikTok and use it to make money. However, in my opinion, the bad outweighs the good. With the most popular age group being 10-19 year olds, I think there is a huge possibility for damage in various areas as a result of using this app. Overall, TikTok is an entertaining app but is risky for the highest population of its users.

Blog #8 - Privacy in the digital age

Privacy... or lack thereof.

After watching multiple TED talks surrounding the issue of privacy, I was surprised and disturbed at how uneducated I was regarding my own privacy. I learned so much about how phone users are being invaded every day, and how unaware we are of this issue. 

In Christopher Soghoian's talk about avoiding surveillance, he explained that phones are created for surveillance, which affects each and every person who owns one. I was shocked to learn that any phone call I make can be invaded and a stalker, government official, or criminal can hear every word. 

However, I was glad to learn about Silicon Valley companies that utilize encryption technology which makes it harder for our privacy to be invaded. Sending a text message from an iPhone to an iPhone is safer than making a call. Soghoian's TED talk also mentioned that FaceTime calls cannot easily be wiretapped, which is refreshing to know. This makes me never want to make a phone call to my mom again, but to just send her a text so I know my information is somewhat safe. 

This TED talk mentioned "democratized encryption" and explained how it is making the government very angry because of the lack of access to information they now have. This idea really interested me, so I decided to look further for information on the democratization of encryption. I quickly learned that encryption makes data undecipherable, which is a huge worry for the government as encrypted data brings complex security challenges.  

Some government officials believe that every text, phone call, and email should be available to the government to be aware of the communication happening between individuals. While I understand their point of view, I believe humans have the right to privacy of their information online. It becomes an individual choice at this point though- should we be using devices that can release our information this easily? If we educate ourselves on the government's access to our information, then we should be able to make a knowledgable decision about whether or not we will allow them to. So, I guess the question is is it worth the risks?

Blog #4 - EOTO

1944: The year of innovation.

The first patent for the ballpoint pen was given to John J Loud in 1888, as he attempted to make a pen that would write on wood. The patent eventually fell through, as it was determined that the device would have no commercial value.

Fast forward to 1938 when the invention really took off. At the time, Laszlo Biro was a Jew living in Hungary amid World War II. After walking into a print shop and admiring the fast-drying ink used to print on papers, he had an epiphany. People needed dependable, transportable, fast-drying pens that could fit in their pockets for easy access.

Because of this, he began designing the first ballpoint pen which ultimately changed the way we communicate. In 1938 Biro received the patent for the ballpoint pen right before fleeing for Argentina. Shortly after he and his brother began selling the pen in Argentina, and the ballpoint pen changed communication forever. 

Humans have been writing for as long as they've been alive- from writing on rocks to writing with Apple pens on iPads, we've always found a way to put the words we want to say in writing. From quills to fountain pens, writing utensils have changed over the years.

"The Babylonians impressed their cuneiform characters in clay tablets with a wedge-shaped instrument; the Greeks and Romans chiseled inscriptions on stone monuments and wrote with a stylus on wax-coated tablets. Three thousand years ago, both the ancient Chinese and Egyptians were writing their calligraphy and hieroglyphics, respectively, with brushes. 5 Quill pens followed shortly thereafter, emerging between 250 BC and 68 AD."

Before ballpoint pens, fountain pins were used. Fountain pens push ink out onto paper with pressure, making it hard to control the amount of ink released and to have a consistent thickness in writing. The pens also had to be refilled frequently, making it a burden for users. The creation of the ballpoint pen made communication convenient and quick. Users can throw the pen in their bag without worrying if it would spill ink all over their stuff. Additionally, the ballpoint pen has been the most lasting invention as we continue to use it today.

The first ballpoint pen was sold in 1944 in Argentina. As the war closed the pen was being sold all over the world. Sales began super high, but as time has gone the pen has become much more popular and much less expensive. Prices started at $12.50 per pen, an unreasonably high number even in US dollars today, and 10,000 pens were sold on the first day. Now, it costs less than 1 cent per pen to manufacture, and millions are made and sold each day. 

Convenience, accessibility, and tidiness are just a few of the many ways the ballpoint pen changed communication. These pens are used in classrooms, banks, hospitals, homes, and battlefields. They are transportable, simple to use, and easily replaceable. In my opinion, there are no negative effects of the ballpoint pen. The creation of it made communication easier and more consistent. The first ballpoint pen had a couple manufacturing issues which caused it to skip on paper and not write perfectly, however, with time these issues were fixed, and the model was perfected.

I can't imagine our world without the ballpoint pen. I use one every day- at work, in the classroom, writing birthday cards to friends. This pen allows quick communication and it is always reliable. Even though there are new ways of communication like phones, social media, and instant messaging, ballpoint pens are still sold and used every day, and they won't be going anywhere soon. Therefore, the ballpoint pen has innovated communication methods since 1944.