Author Archives: Jay

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Number of Posts: 12
Number of Comments: 11

About Jay

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Last Assignment

 

Throughout the semester, I learned many valuable lessons which I can use for my future classes.

The first thing that I learned was how to use databases. To be honest, whenever I had to write research papers, I never used school databases even though my professors recommended doing so because I didn’t know what to do and I felt that it would be more difficult and time-consuming than simply going to Google.  So when I prepared my papers for my previous classes, especially for business and accounting, I had to jump over all different financial websites trying to look for financial ratios and market analysis. Therefore, I was really glad when we observed Thomson One because I was able to find reliable financial information easier and faster. In addition, I learned valuable techniques when searching databases. This was the first time that I learned about how to use “and”, “or”, parenthesis, asterisks, quotation marks and other useful symbols to filter my search results. Also, a thesaurus was very useful. For example, it was quite surprising “e-mail”, a suggested term by a thesaurus generated different search results when I used “email”. I think that I’m well prepared for research projects for further accounting classes and a BPL class. The database techniques which I learned definitely will be a valuable asset for my future classes and career.

The second thing that I learned was how to create and edit wiki. Not only I learned how to gather information for wiki, I also learned about teamwork. It was really great that everyone in our class was able to easily share, edit, and construct personal ideas. I can use wiki for any group works for my future classes. With Wiki, group members will be more engaged to entire projects because everyone will take a part in others’ works while working on their own. It is not like “I’ve done my part, and that’s it”. Also, editing is traceable and it’s really clear to see “who did what”. So I’m expecting that Wiki can minimize free-rider problems.

The third thing that I learned was how to create mind maps. My experience in past English classes would have been a lot better if I had used mind maps for all my readings.  Even though I was told that I should’ve created something like mind maps or spider webs before writing essays, I never had a chance to do so because I underestimated the power of mind maps. This is the first class that I’ve had actual experiences with mind maps and I realized it could be very useful for many other subjects, addition to English. For example, when I took political science classes, I had a hard time studying because there were so many materials to read, memorize and understand.  It would have been a lot easier if I created mind maps and organized important concepts with related chronological historical events and my additional thoughts. Also, a mind map will help me when I take a BPL class next semester because I can easily make good power points slides and give a presentation to my peers with clearer and more structured explanations using mind maps.  I think mind maps will help me when reading any other text books, analyzing information efficiently, preparing for tests and writing constructive essays for my future classes.

The one thing that I had wished to be covered in our class was how to d o low-tech research.  We learned that how our digital generation has become experts on high-tech research, but we are lacking abilities in interpreting search results into meaningful output reports. We tend to do rely only on high-tech research generating instant search results. And a lot of employers were complaining about how we don’t possess enough research skills ready for workplace. Therefore, since I am also one of the high-tech researchers, I was hoping to learn more techniques and methods of low-tech research. For example, it would’ve helped me a lot if we covered interview techniques.

After I looked over everything I learned from the class, I can’t stop thinking that I should have taken this class when I was a freshman or sophomore. If I had taken the class earlier, it would have definitely helped me when I struggled with school work in a variety of subjects. I learned many valuable things that I can use for courses in Baruch, and also for my future careers and personal life.

 

 

Even the Tech Elites Leave Gadgets Behind

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/disruptions-even-the-tech-elites-leave-gadgets-behind/?ref=technology

In a past class, we talked about how distractions due to gadgets we have affect our lives. In the video clip , we’ve seen that how our generation think ourselves as good multi-taskers, and unfortunately, it turns our we are terrible at multi-tasking. In reality, our compulsive or addictive checking on Facebook, e-mail and twitter disturbs other activities. Also in YouTube clip, we’ve seen that how these distractions interfere our learning process because they interrupt that our short-term memories of information become long-term knowledge.

The NY Times article illustrates stories of people who try to be apart from their gadgets to concentrate on other important things. And since our final exam is coming, I also try to stay away from my phone and computer to study for the tests. Well, that was impossible. I kept turning my phone off and on. So I wonder if there’s any better ways to control our gadgets effectively, trying to minimize distractions. Simply turning off is not the best solution for everyone. Any tips ?

 

More convenience, less privacy

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2013/02/26/more-convenience-less-privacy/

Online shopping is easy, fast and convenient. Affirm, a new business launched a few month ago, works as an intermediary between merchants and consumers. And customers can delay their payments when they buy something through Affirm. It works like “buy now, pay later”. However, a problem of Affirm is that they use all sort of customers’ data including phone ID, zip code, Facebook status to predict when the customers will likely pay bills.

Pariser once mentioned that “there’s always a bargain in personalization: In exchange for convenience, you had over some privacy and control to the machine”. Our new technologies provide us so many great things. They are easy, convenient, and less costly. However, we also have to sacrifice so many valuable things in return. One of those things is our privacy. It is almost impossible to stop using Google even though we know that our search history is collected and distributed to unknown third-parties.

The question I want to ask is, to what extent, would you give up your privacy for technology ?

 

HW #4 Wiki

The changes I made:

  1. History
  • l edited the whole page and organized important historical events chronologically.
  • l added information about the approval process, related to Community Board 6 and the Department of Transportation.
  • l added pictures and a video for important events.
  • l added tags for an easier search including history, Community Board 6, DOT, Department of transportation, approval and ribbon cutting

2. Stakeholders

  • l added more related stakeholders.
  • l added government and companies section.
  • l added more information and related links about existing stakeholders.

3. Newspapers and Magazine Articles

  • I added more recent articles related to the Plaza.
  • I added tags for an easier search including newspapers, articles, magazine, Tikcer, Times and press.

 

The Guys Behind Google Wallet Want to Personalize Your Next Shopping Trip

http://www.wired.com/business/2013/01/index-google-wallet/

Marc Freed-Finnegan and Jonathan, formal Google Wallet team launched a startup called “Index”. The main goal of Index is to help retailers to create a personalized shopping and improved customer service. It collects consumers’ spending habits and shopping preferences so that retailers can provide personalized shopping experience to their customers. Well,  up to this part, nothing is new. Whatever Index does has happened every time I shop online.

But, I started to feel little weird when I read this part. “Thanks to Index, the next time a salesperson greets you when you walk in to a store, they might be able to actually help you find the same pair of jeans you bought six months prior even if they didn’t work there when you bought them.”  If a stranger who knows my shopping history better than me comes up and say that I have to check some new products which perfectly meet my interests, I would feel really creepy and weird rather than welcomed.

I started to wonder what would happen if a web personalization involved more human to human interactions. And I realized that I actually cared less about any problem that the personalization caused when it’s done by computers. So, what if your search history is not handled by computers, but by actual people ? What if there are real people behind search engine system who decide which information will be shown to you ? Would you feel more upset or frightened when a personalization is done by a real person?

 

A Broader Definition of ‘Journalist’

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/12/11/are-all-bloggers-journalists/we-need-a-broader-definition-of-journalist

The filter bubble changes the way we interact with new information. Because of problems of the filter bubble is causing (confirmation bias, stereotyping, and etc.) finding the unbiased and diverse information has become more important in this information society. In other words, having good and reliable news source could be the first step to escape the filter bubble. However, in these days, anyone can publish anything, at any time, thanks to technology. And we are facing numerous information in front of us, trying to figure out which information is reliable and transparent, especially when everyone can be journalists.

The article I linked basically asks “Can anyone be considered a journalist ?”. There are a lot of fascinating and distinguished blog posts or personal websites written by people whose jobs are not “journalists”. On the other hands, we see a lot of trashy and worthless works created by “journalists”. So whom can we call journalists in these days ?

HW #3 – Escaping from the Filter Bubble

    Web personalization or customizing provides users many benefits and it has become an irreversible trend in information society. However, this trend constrains the scope of personal thinking, and limits users’ exposure to a diversity of information. In chapter 8 of The Filter Bubble, the author, Eli Pariser proposes several solutions for users of the filtering system to escape from the filter bubble. He argues that individuals should try not to confine themselves in personalization algorithms by using the internet autonomously; companies should enhance a transparency in filtering policy and application of personal information; and finally the government should enforce more exhaustive regulation and legislation concerning companies’ use of personal information.

    The weaker counteractions against filter bubble are the companies’ actions including the disclosure of filtering algorithm and of how gathered information is used. Through these solutions, users would have more control and power regarding their personal information and personalization. To be honest, disclosing the filtering algorithm would be the strongest method if there were more realistic possibilities but it is unlikely that companies would change their policies which might risk both social and economic benefits. Pariser states that “Whether or not it makes the filterer’s products more secure of efficient, keeping the code under tight wraps does do one thing: It shields the companies from accountability for the decision they’re making”(230). To make these solutions working, companies should first admit that they are personalizing each user of the filter bubble using personal information without adequate consents from users. However, Pariser says that“There are strong reasons in some cases for businesses not to do so. But they’re mostly commercial reasons, not ethical ones (232)”. He also suggests that company engineers can “solve for serendipity, by designing filtering systems to expose people to topics outside their normal experience”. But, the decision on how new topics are selected is still in the hands of companies. Furthermore, to what extent would personal information be used to decide what is “new” or not? This system would be still lack of transparency on how filtering system works and would not solve privacy issues.

Most importantly, companies’ new policies on filtering system will never happen without users’ or consumers’ demands to make changes. Pariser states that “Corn syrup vendors aren’t likely to change their practices until consumers demonstrate that they’re looking for something else” (222). Therefore, the strongest resistance to the filter bubble could start with individuals’ simple actions. The most effective and strongest method is to educate ourselves by learning basics of programming and how filtering system works. If you know your enemy and yourself, you can win every battle. “Stop being a mouse” (223) by broadening our interests is not enough.  Once we have a better and clear understanding of filtering algorithms, we are more likely to address weaknesses and problems of the system. Also since we have more depth knowledge, we are less vulnerable to “tyranny of defaults” (226). Additionally, as Pariser prefers Twitter over Facebook, we can also choose internet system where provides more apparent and open filtering system. Pariser said that what individuals can do is “limited use unless the companies that are propelling personalization forward change as well” (229). And this is why it is so important that we educate ourselves to raise our voices to let companies acknowledge that their consumers are concerned about the filtering system and demand more transparency. Most importantly, if we want to be out of the bubble, first we should know how the bubble is built up.

McLuhan once said that “We shape our tools then our tools shape us”. However, We don’t want to lose control to what we’ve created for our benefits.  As we live in technology based society, filter bubble is just another huddle we have to overcome. As individuals, we should have stronger and profounder consideration regarding personalization and filtering system, so that we can convince large companies to reveal filtering algorithms, hopefully resulting in legislation regarding companies’ use of personal information of users – and finally, so that we use our technology freely without a fear of the filter bubble.

Technology

For Entertainment

Bluetooth,  Facebook, Twitter, DVD, TV, Itunes, Ipad, Ipod touch, Skype, Wii, Play station, headphone

 

For convenience

Computer, Espresso machine, Microwave, Internet banking, printer, scanner, copier,  GPS, search engine, Wi-fi, Alarm, Escalator, Elevator, Credit cards, ATM, Subway, LIRR, Car, Cellphone, Internet, Water purifier

 

Who does understand you better ? Google vs. Facebook

 

        Facebook does a better job of understanding who you are because activities on Facebook are more personalized than Google. While Google focuses your search history to figure out who you are, Facebook uses your personalized posts, interaction with friends and many other aspects. It’s hard to know personalities or characteristics of strangers just by looking at their Google search history but by looking at his/her Facebook you can get a basic sense of what these strangers are like. Facebook personalizing would have more risks of privacy invasion because they use personal data, but it has better understanding and identifying one’s character; people tend to reveal more of their personal lives on Facebook rather than on Google and Facebook used those data for personalizing its users.

     ” Just because you’ve only ever seen white swans doesn’t mean all swans are white. What you have to look for is black swan, the counterexample that proves the theory wrong. ” As this quote says,  Facebook has a greater chance to lead people to confirmation bias because they display advertising  only based on users’ personal preferences. Facebook does a better job of personalizing and understanding individuals, but it might fail to deliver transparent and unbiased information to its users.

You are not hired because your Klout score is not high enough.

< What Your Klout Score Really Means >

Klout score basically measures your “social media influence” based on your daily social media activities and depth of involvement. Number of friends you have on Facebook, number of “like” you get, # of tweets and retweets you receive and send, number of followers on Twitter and many other factors are used  to generate your scores. A higher score you have, stronger your voice and presence  on internet.

The interesting part is that this score starts to have a greater impact on your offline life. Marketers and companies will look over your Klout score, and distribute coupons or special discounts based on it. Job recruiters will review your Klout score, and won’t hire you if you have a low score. According to the article, Mr. Fiorella, who has 15 years of working experience in marketing field, didn’t get a job because his score is not high enough.

Honestly,I’m not a big fan of Klout Score for several reasons.I don’t think the score can be reliable because I doubt that “social influence” can be measured numerically. This social media ranking technology didn’t develop any standard mathematical or technological algorithm to rank people using their online activities. Justine Bieber has a higher Klout score than Obama. Also, I don’t want my online activities are monitored. But the scary part of Klout score is that, even though I don’t want to be on their profile, if one of my Facebook friends are using Klout score, I’m automatically on Klout database.

I think our social media system has been developed through our self-motivation. We’ve using social media because we like to create and share things. However, once we know that we will be discriminated, social media becomes an obligation. I believe everyone understands how it feels different when your post birthday pictures for homework and for your friends.

I think <Filter bubble> and Klout score share alot of similar issues on targeted advertising, discrimination based on online activity and privacy issues.

Please share your thoughts on this issue. If you find positive aspects of Klout score, I’d love to hear it !

 

Facebook Graph Search

 

Steps taken to find the article

First I tried library database, but after several failed attempts, I googled “ny times facebook gragh search jan 28”. I clicked a NY Times link resulted from Google search and it seemed like a right one, but turns out it was a NY Times blog post with bunch of links of articles from other news websites.

From that point, I gave another try with NY Times website and typed “facebook graph search”, but even that didn’t work. The weired thing was that a lot of articles from search results shiwed the phrase “facebook graph search” but when I clicked on them, they had  irrelevant topics.  I asked for help and Prof.Francoeur told me to get rid of the word “graph”, so I typed in “facebook search”. Finally ! I was able to find the article.

 

About the author

The name of the author is Somini Sengupta. She was born in Calcutta and grew up in Canada and California. She graduated with honors B.A in English and development studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She was a West Africa and Delhi Bureau chief and currently a technology correspondent at the NY Times.

 

List of people mentioned in article

Kathryn Hymes – Joined Facebook graph searched team last March/ Left Stanford to join the team.

Amy Campbell – Earned doctorate in linguistics from the University of California, Berkel / Recruited Ms. Hymes

Loren Cheng – Led natural processing part of the graph search system / An engineer educated at Stanford

Clifford I. Nass –  a professor of communication at Stanford who specializes in human-computer interaction.

 

Keywords and Ideas

Facebook / Search Tool / Robospeak / Psychology / Communicate / Human Behavior / Homophily / Context / Social distance

“The project represents how Facebook builds products. It studies human behavior. It tests its ideas. Its goal is to draw more and more people to the site and keep them there longer”

”  The search tool, in its first iteration, answers queries by mining some of the data at the company’s disposal, including photos, interests and likes. It will eventually mine status updates and other activities, from what users eat to where they hike.”

” The company is betting on the principle of homophily: if it is from someone the user likes, the user may be more likely to pay attention to it — and click on the link.”

 



Comments:

"Addition to Google glass, getting information is a lot easier and faster, thanks to internet. But I think we become less knowledgeable compared to past. Internet users seem like experts for looking for instant information and they tend to forget about it in a while. Now we have more chances to interact with more and newer information faster and easier but we are lacking abilities of turning information into complete knowledge. I think Google glass will make us even dumber."
posted on May 16, 2013, on the post Did we really become this lazy?

"I don’t think companies will ever say that they are collecting our personal information for their own sakes. They should clearly disclose that how colleting our data is beneficial to us, not them. It will be great if they disclose possible side-effects of data collection, but we know that they will never do it. I will feel more secured if companies disclose how our data flows to whom. I think at least they should disclose third parties or data receivers to earn consumers’ trusts."
posted on May 16, 2013, on the post What You Need to Know About Social Media, Passwords and Transparency

"I’m really glad that the government finally decides to do something about online privacy issues. I also think that online privacy should be treated as offline privacy. And since this online privacy issue is more likely problems between individuals versus big companies, there are very limited things we can do as individuals even though it’s concerning our personal information. I think government regulation can work more effectively than individuals’ actions. Also it is really great that Obama recruited Wong who actually worked for big companies. I expect that he knows personalization algorithms of big companies so that he can carefully apply them when he works with privacy issues."
posted on May 14, 2013, on the post Obama, Privacy and Twitter

"When I visited Seoul, Korea two years ago, I was surprised that all subway systems had underground phone reception, and also, free Wi-Fi system. The benefits of underground cell service definitely outweigh disadvantages. Especially in New York, we are all busy and have to be somewhere on time. But, sometimes trains are just messed up and you end up spending more than 20 minutes in unmoving train. I think MTA should have done it a long time ago for security reasons and our convenience."
posted on May 12, 2013, on the post Underground Cell Service: Good or Bad

"I actually have a Canon camera which I never use. I have friends, who use cameras instead of smart phones, but their cameras are worth more than thousand dollars and they can take pictures like professionals. Honestly, I would not buy the camera just because I don’t want to carry more gadgets with me. I carry an Ipad, a phone, an Ipod touch, and they are heavy enough. I already have enough distractions."
posted on May 12, 2013, on the post Canon’s comeback against the smartphone

"It is pretty cool that the face recognition system can be used to solve crimes. And I think the technology can be very useful as long as it’s only used to solve crimes. It would be a disaster if this technology is used in public. This system can be misused in many different ways, leading to other serious crimes. I remember that Facebook once added a face recognition feature a couple of years ago and a lot of angry and horrified users complained because there were numerous privacy issues."
posted on May 12, 2013, on the post FACE RECOGNITION USED TO SOLVE CRIME

"This reminds me of Lolcat (http://www.lolcats.com/) where people post funny cat photos with comments. I also start to wonder why always cats ? Well, I don't have an answer for that question, but I think these internet memes show the one powerful aspects of internet. Anyone can get toghther a lot easier for any purposes. It would be impossible to gather people who take silly photos of their cats 10 years ago."
posted on May 1, 2013, on the post A Little Something to Brighten Up Our Day

"Now I start to wonder what will happen if this technology goes further. Not only they "predict" what we will do next, what if they "suggest" what to do next? For example, after they predict that you would brush your teeth, they might suggest you to use a toothpaste of a specific brand. I feel like whatever Behavio company plans to do is not promoting our life, but it's rather controlling our life. This is why I'm feeling little disgusted and creepy about Google Glass even though it is a really convenient and fascinating technology."
posted on Apr 23, 2013, on the post Congrats we are Behavioral Study Lab Rats!

"The one thing I'm worried about is that what if Chinese government and Chinese web system collaborate to screen and filter information on the internet ? I heard Tamding said that Chinese government controls the media and there are very limited or government-favored political views . What if People like Ai Weiwei's effort are screened out even before he reaches out to others ? I hope that our latest technology would remain as neutral as possible so that people like Weiwei would express their personal feelings or ideas against any political boundaries."
posted on Mar 5, 2013, on the post Ai Weiwei: The Internet vs. The Chinese Government

"For me, being anonymous on web is now almost impossible. Online activity always leaves a trail and always can be tracked down. Furthermore, internet even screens and filters the information we receive. The "Signing in" feature just makes people aware of the fact that their comments are not anonymous. In a sense, their previous comments were already not anonymous before "signing in". I don't think that depreciating anonymity would not discourage people's participation on the web because People already know that they are giving up anonymity or privacy for convenience. We know that Google collects our search history and Facebook scans our profile to sell ads - But we still use them."
posted on Mar 5, 2013, on the post Anonymity Online

"hello"
posted on Jan 31, 2013, on the post hey