Online regulation & Algorithms & Information Silos

I found the Ted talk by Eli Pariser about filter bubbles especially interesting. I think I found this discussion so interesting because it is something that is so prevalent in our daily lives online. Every day we use Google, log on to Facebook and every day our feeds are filtered by what the web thinks we are interested in. This excessive filtering edits out things we don’t click on a lot, making it so that our feed is designed for us specifically. And while this is good in a way it is also limiting us from seeing things we might want to see but we don’t even know we are interested in, because we aren’t given the chance to choose. It is automatically filtered out and we are living in this bubble. If we are caught in this bubble it makes it so that we aren’t being exposed to challenging things and different points of view on the Internet. Pariser says, “Algorithms have encoded in them a sense of the public life - of civic responsibility.” The Internet should be a place that connects us - that introduces us to new ideas, people, and perspectives. It’s a shame that these filter bubbles are essentially isolating us from the world because they think they know what we want to see. We don’t have the control anymore. I have experienced this filter bubble with Facebook because I have noticed that the posts I like or click on are the ones that keep showing up on my feed. It might filter out other people that I might be interested in but won’t get a chance to see. Just because I like one thing a lot doesn’t mean I don’t want to be exposed to other stuff. The internet is like your cocky older brother that thinks it knows all.

Activism and Disobedience

In this week's readings the main theme we are looking at is the idea that the media is a form of activism. This meaning that by sharing information of social media sites like twitter and Facebook can actually make a change in our world. But this thought is only true to a certain extent. In an article for BCC news written by Kate Dailey called, "Kony2012: The Rise of Online Campaigning," she rightfully explains that it is impossible for the spreading of this Kony video is going to make any real impact. I remember that some people promoting this campaign actually came to my high school during my senior year and I saw this 30-minute documentary they made. Sure, it made people feel something and want to stand up for social and political justice, but what are we honestly supposed to do for these refugees? We simply don’t have the power, and it is much more complicated then they made it seem. Then, Dailey mentioned how some campaigns work such as a social media effort that pulled advertising from the Rush Limbaugh show after he called a student a slut because she was advocating for insurance for birth control. In smaller cases like this, I believe it is possible to do some social and political good. But in bigger cases, there is definitely a difference between making people aware of something and actually making a change. Sure, everyone knows Kony’s name, but did anything happen more then it was a trending topic on twitter? I don’t think so. In conclusion, I think social media is a good place to spread awareness, but not exactly a platform for change.

Controlling Public Space

One of the readings we were assigned this week that I found particularly interesting was the piece written by Robert Rosenberger called, "How Cities Use Design to Drive Homeless People Away." I have definitely seen these types of designs such as the ground spikes that were shown in the article when I have been in New York. I never really thought much of them until reading more about it and seeing how many people were passionate about abolishing these spikes that were designed to prevent homeless people from sleeping or sitting. I'd have to say that if I were proposed to sign this petition to remove the ground spikes, I would absolutely be on board with the 130,000 people that signed the petition. I find it pretty disgusting that someone or a group of people thought it was necessary to create these spikes to keep homeless people away. I definitely understand that people like to keep their neighborhoods nice and when you are walking in a city and see homeless people it is not always pleasing because it can be upsetting, but that does not give you the right to dictate where they can or cannot take some form of shelter. I think people should be spending their time and money on finding homeless people actual homes as opposed to spending their time and money on projects like making benches purposefully uncomfortable. I think it just a really crass, inhumane and uncompassionate way to be spending your money. If these people, instead decided to help homeless people find shelter and help them off the streets they could be making a better living environment for everyone. The world needs to remember that homeless people are humans too, they are not garbage, and they do not deserve to be treated as such.