Where I Get My News From

 News isn't something I actively seek. I find it depressing or extremely biased. Fluff pieces can also be quite a headache. So really I find news as it comes to me. I never actively look for it but when I get it, I get it from one of these sources. 

1.) Twitter: Twitter is fantastic for news. If you follow certain news organizations you can view a tweet detailing a story and if you're still interested there is usually a link to view the full story. Of course, this can lead to people creating narratives around an article but overall it isn't so bad. Twitter also has a leg up on other organizations because you can get the full story as well as people's reactions. 

2.) Vice News: Vice is great for "young people" news. Serious or trendy stories that can either be heavy-hitting or comical. They also do not have a rep for being "safe" as they will report on drug or sex news. Always good to have a zany organization in the mix. 

3.) CBS News: For all of my "adult news" needs I go to CBS. Fair and pretty unbias reporting with consistent information. During the election I found myself checking them more than any other group. When I need grown-up information I go to CBS. 

4.) TMZ: I go to TMZ for all of my gossip and celebrity news. Very scary how fast they get the information but they're always good for it. 

5.) The Weather Channel: Not traditional news, no. However, the weather channel is a constant for me since I need accurate reporting about the forecast. My entire day is ruined if bad weather hits and I didn't know about it. So far TWC has never let me down!

And that's where I get my news from! I think for a 21-year old I'm pretty well aware of the world because of these organizations!

Just A Boy and His Technology (Final)

 It sounds funny to say that you were “raised by technology” but in my case, it is honestly true. Adding on to that I think I might be a part of the first generation to say that as well. Back in the day, the youth had the radio and eventually television to keep them entertained but for people of my age, we live and breathe by technology. So much so that there are millions of people across the country with what is not called “smart homes” where technology brings your house to life more than ever. With a focus on communication, technology has also greatly affected me and my entire generation. Hard to say if that is a good thing or a bad thing though. I guess it truly depends on how you look at it. Being raised by technology has been great but of course, it comes with its benefits and drawbacks. 

 

Probably the biggest influence technology has had over me is social media. Social media has completely evolved human connections and changed how we perceive the world. In the palm of my hands, I can see trends and news from across the globe or direct message someone as famous as Beyoncé and pray for a response. That level of connectivity is very specific to this era of life and it’s extremely amazing. However, it is not always sunshine and rainbows. Social media has desensitized many people as well. This desensitization has led to an uprising of people believing that ignorance and intolerance are something that can pass for a joke. It also has made people more skeptical. These combined factors can also lead the internet to become a rather toxic place. 

 

I often find myself thinking that I could never survive in a pre-internet era. I depend entirely too much on it. The idea of using a physical map while driving or having to buy an entire album just to hear one song gives me a headache. The convenience of having all of those luxuries right in my pocket is a real blessing. I’ve never been one to romanticize the nostalgia of the dark ages before the internet. I like my life with all of the amenities I have today, thank you very much. 

 

This intense level of communication is also the reason why I have a desired career. My major of social media and digital communications would not exist 20 years ago. It is only in today’s age that I can spread my wings and feel comfortable in the work I want to do. 

 

All in all, communication really can be a pain. Sometimes it is too invasive, too clunky, or even too overly complicated. However, I know for a fact that without it my life would be a hundred times more boring and I am better with it. You don’t have to be addicted to having fun with it, just use it in moderation and make sure you stay protected while online. I can honestly say that I love the way modern technology influences my life. 

The Guy Who Returned to Facebook (Sketch)

"Wait, What About Machine Learning?" (EOTO2)

 What a freaky and mildly fascinating concept. Machine Learning. One of the new-age ways of processing and conveying information. What exactly is it though? 

Well, Machine Learning or ML is a form of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This processing softwear helps applications to improve their accuracy of predicting outcomes without having to be told by the user or programmer to do so. The algorithms for machine learning use historical data as input in order to estimate accurate output values. This gives companies a direct look at customer behavior and business operational patterns. It also helps with the development of new products. The biggest tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Uber have made machine learning an integral part of their operations. This one practice has become a significant competitive attribute that adds uniqueness to a company.  Check out the chart below to see all of the different uses for Machine Learning! 

(https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/machine-learning-ML)

What I Found Most Interesting From EOTO 2!

 Another round of the Each One Teach One assignment and this time the topic was a little different. This time around we focused on types of false information. This is one of the more important concepts when dealing with media law and literacy but I was not expecting to be made aware of so many crazy and wild different ways in which people will create false information. I focused on "machine learning" but even that wasn't the craziest one I heard of. Honestly, some of these were so intense that they kind of went over my head. However, there was one that I really connected with. 

The presentation done on the topic of "online influencers" caught my interest the most. As a social media and digital communications major, this is a subject that I would be naturally drawn to. Influencers have been around for centuries but the online influencer really took off after youtube came to be. It's unfortunate that these people have so much, well, influence that their audience will believe what they say no matter if it is true or not. 

Man vs. Machine

 I, Robot, Black Mirror, Transformers? What do all of these sensational pieces of media have in common? They all feature the great struggles of man vs. machine. As we get further and further into the "future" our world expands and grows. Along with that growth comes the inevitable evolution of technology. That's right. The very thing we created has already developed beyond our own minds. A simple calculator can compute numbers bigger than I can count and a Tesla can technically drive itself on the highway. Isn't that crazy?

Today for our at-home assignment we analyzed four different videos about the intimate relationship between humans and technology and where that can take us in the future. Each of the issues raised in the video (the forever existence of your online creations, how we can be traced, surveillance, and revenge porn) affect me because well, I'm human. I'm not Amish, so I use technology frequently and all of its developments will affect me at some point.  Personally, I think the government should put a kibosh on certain developments. Things like AI or harmful inventions should have restrictions but other than that the government should be the main one staying out of people's online lives. What you can and should do to protect yourself is read the terms and agreements, change your passwords, don't give out your information, and keep track of all the websites you use. 

I hope one day the machines don't take over. But in case they do be sure to start saying thank you to Siri and Alexa now. 

What I Learned from EOTO #1

 I found the Petroglyph system to be so fascinating especially since it is a concept I had never heard of before. I think this system perfectly encapsulates what the primary subject for this assignment is too. Learning about a method of communication that is overlooked or relatively unknown is important and I feel as though petroglyphs are an unrecognized stepping stone in the development of human communication. 

What I took away from the presentation is that petroglyph is a fancy word for cave drawing. These very well might be some of the earliest recordings of human history dating all the way back to 40,000 years and they've been found all over. They also highlight the birth of cultural and religious markers. 

I just think it's really cool to know how written communication started.