20 Day Stranger is an app that was created to share 20 Days with a complete anonymous stranger through pictures and words on your mobile phone. One can think of it as an anonymous snap chat friend. How much success do you think and app like this would get? In this era people have become so open with sharing their everyday lives with complete strangers. While others only participate in very minimal public social media platforms. Do you think an app of this sort could cause a lot of issues with people using its purpose the incorrect way? Some may say this app is too “creepy” while others may say it’s an ingenious idea that will expand your horizons within the realm of people you know and connect with. You can watch the promotion video for the app here and sign up to participate in this experiment here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38Sff9FEIwg

Since Professor Francoeur has been talking about copyrights recently, I have found a video that discusses the copyrights of gameplay posted on YouTube. Gameplay commentaries, walkthroughs, and live streams featuring games in them have been on YouTube for a while now. Whether it is commentaries over Minecraft, Call of Duty or GTA, these videos are usually monetized.  Back in late 2013, many members of the YouTube community were given quite a scare. YouTube enabled a Content ID check which would flag videos of YouTubers posting game play. The whole point of this is so people posting gameplay cannot make ad revenue off a video using gameplay footage from another company.

Currently, if you wanted to publish a video featuring another company’s video game footage, it must have monetization turned off, which means ads do not appear on the video you publish. YouTubers that do post monetized gameplay footage are usually affiliated with a larger game network that pays for the license to use that footage.

The first thing I took away from this course was definitely the mind maps. It’s similar to the “main idea” branches that I learned and used in elementary and middle school. It’s also the only thing that was used or mentioned in almost every class ever since the second class of the semester. I can use it when I am writing papers where I have to elaborate on a subject!

The second thing that I learned in this class was the lecture and activity on cookies. Not only did it make me paranoid about the internet and how it tracks all your websites, it also helped my browser filter out the links that I wouldn’t look at. I like how it can cater to my interests and I can use it to my advantage when I need to look up information about a certain topic for my other classes.

The last activity I really learned a lot about was the library database. If I had papers to write, I would always count on google and yahoo for information. But, since I am taking two library classes and my psychology capstone course this semester, I had to utilize the library database for scholarly journals and primary sources to write my papers. It definitely helped me a lot.

As for the one thing I wish we covered in class that would’ve helped me in other classes, I’m not sure. But I do wish that we did more hands on activities like the crazy post-its on the professor or when we learned how search engines worked. That was fun.

As most of have seen, Johnny Depp is featured in a new upcoming movie called “Transcendence.” This is about a Doctor whose goal of creating a sentient machine, to prevent a world where computers can transcend the abilities of the human brain. When I watched the trailer, it reminded me of Facebooks latest purchase. The social media giant spent $2 billion on Oculus VR, a company that makes virtual reality goggles. CEO Mark Zuckerberg will focus on games first and then focus on future platforms. Such as classroom experience, consulting with a doctor face-to-face, and etc. Zuckerberg quotes “this is really a new communication platform,” where people can truly feel present, and imagine sharing experiences and adventures. Facebook is not the only company investing in new technology, but Sony revealed to have its own virtual reality headset and Microsoft has recently expressed interest in the technology as well. The huge purchase shows that every major tech company is making entering a new world of technology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBNH8tzsfVM

When we discussed Filter Bubble in class, I think that was a huge eye opener for me personally. From the discussions we had in class, it has made me more aware of how much information I’ve put out there. The filter bubble is our personal information that we have provided on the web. At first I thought the idea of filter bubble was essentially wrong, but now I don’t believe it’s a nuisance but more of a convenience to some people. The purpose of the filter bubble, is to have things that compel us to click. Meanwhile, it prevents us to be introduce to new things other than what we are already familiar to, and that all comes down from websites gathering cookies from the sites that we have visited. What surprised me the most about learning filter bubble, was the Google activity. I had no idea that Google was tailoring its search results based on the individual and from that creating an online profile of the individual.

The steps I have taken is to erase my cookies, that way companies don’t need to track me from site to site. Also erasing my web history, Google’s search personalization is powered by our web history. Another thing I was told to do that could help is with my iPhone, to remove all browsing history and turn off all location integrations in applications. Hopefully these small step can prevent me being trapped in a filter bubble.

The majority of the material we’ve covered this semester have been nothing short of both helpful and interesting (some of the topics I was either unaware or mislead by the idea). Although, one of the topics that was on my mind more frequently was the topic of security (keeping your personal info hidden while exposing just enough of your profile to gain access or make yourself known through different means)  and some of the various things that occur while searching or looking through websites.

At the time i was still unaware, but one of the steps to ensure my personal info was kept secure was denying and checking for cookies from different sites so my profiles can’t be traced. In addition to that I would also remove or erase link to unfamiliar sites. As for avoiding filter bubbles, instead of just clinging to what I like, I would also search for additional info regarding a specific topic or come across different sites where i can still find what i need yet they don’t require any personal info from me.

Throughout the semester we talked about how we are in a filter bubble and it is hard for us to break through because we do not really realize that we are in a filter bubble. This filter bubble is created because we provide a lot of our personal information on the internet. But I think people do not really mind because there is convenience when we provide our information on the internet. A practical step that I have taken to prevent myself from being trapped in a filter bubble is to clear my browsing history. I think clearing your browsing history from the beginning of time is helpful, because sites such as Amazon cannot track your searches and send you deals or possible items you might be interested in. Also from browsing sometimes you turn off/on features of your browser without knowing. But auto fill makes searching a lot easier, which makes us stay within our filter bubble.

Another step I would suggest taking is to log out of everything, especially when it is not your computer/phones. This is about convenience, a lot of people like to stay logged in because it is easier. Also if you want your phone to receive your emails you need to stay logged in, we want to stay connected and it is more convenient to be able to access our emails all the time. And going back to the Amazon example if you are not logged in Amazon cannot send you emails suggesting products you might like. It is easier to buy something when you are logged on to Amazon because you can just click but if you search logged out you have to log in to purchase. But this makes our information vulnerable for hackers. I remember a long long time ago, I forgot to log out of Myspace and someone hacked it. Myspace is not very important but today our address, credit card, passwords and much more is up for grabs for the hackers. This information is important unlike Myspace. Be careful where you are logging on because stores like Apple saves your email addresses. So try not to log on to anything on other computers and other people’s phones.

Over the course of this semester, what we have discussed in class about filter bubbles and has made me more aware of how much information I’ve given out in the past. Due to the discussions that we had in class about filter bubbles and how websites gather cookies from the sites that I have visited, I have taken practical steps to ensure that I break out of that filter bubble. I believe that the information that I provide when I browse online should only be disclosed to me. I understand that it’s part of the marketing for those websites and brands that I look at, but at the same time it’s my personal information and it should be to up to me who I would like to share it with. It has made me realize that I may have been too carefree with my personal information in the past.

But now, the steps that I have taken to ensure that I don’t end up in a situation where I am giving up more sensitive information than I really should be, is by frequently clearing my cookies. From the video that we watched in class, I know that even when I do clear my cookies there is still a good chance that it doesn’t do the trick completely. Therefore two other steps that I have also taken are to clear my web browser more frequently and to change my web browser settings. My web browser settings have been set to blocks regular sites and third-party sites from setting any data. Hopefully all these steps will prevent me from being trapped in a filter bubble in the future. Also if there are any more steps that you think that I should be taking to prevent being trapped in a filter bubble please share!

Soonsung Choi

LIB 3040

Prof. Francoeur

May 18, 2014                                                                                                               Choi 1

Homework #5

In communication class, I learned how social media affects our lives. One of the unique ways we delved into the material is by creating mind maps for each chapter. It not only helped me summarize each chapter but also improve our thoughts and ideas to connect them with those of other chapters. Moreover, it is easy to review chapters by looking at the mind maps. In a history class, most people try to memorize historical facts and events to prepare for tests. However, if we utilize mind maps in a history class, it is possible to draw pictures to remind ourselves about historical facts and events chronologically. Thus, mind mapping is a valuable tool that we can apply to other classes.

We also created “wiki’s” to summarize chapters and highlight key words from the book. This class activity helped students to collaborate by reviewing someone else’s work. It generated group coordination to inspire new creations. If we created wikis in economics classes, we could talk about economics issues every day. It would cause students to read newspapers and help them to know economic issues for everyday life.

Finally, we contributed to a course blog. Students need to write blog posts and comment about our class. It gave students a chance to write and think about our class. I believe that this would be helpful in finance classes. There are many theories and calculation problems in finance class. Students can write the various theories in the field. Also, other students can point out some one’s work and offer comments and critiques. It gives students the chance to write and consider how we think about certain topics. Thus, I believe that it will be helpful for students to present their thoughts in this manner.

Through this class, I have learned a lot of things that I did not expect, but I wish we could create a social media platform/outlet such as Facebook or Twitter to see how people can connect with each other on the Web. The professor could open a course account, and students could start to update it with course work and discuss amongst followers.

As the world develops, technology is being more and more incorporated into our lives.  With this incorporation comes the breaching of our private information. With websites such as google, Facebook and Twitter constantly collecting our information through our web surfing whereabouts, it is important for users to take precaution when entering information into these various technologies.

Personally, when using social networking websites, I do not sign up with my professional email for any social media platforms. When your professional email is linked to many subscriptions and social media platforms, it is more likely for your job to find you on the internet. Although I am not a frequent user, Facebook is a more personal place for me to connect with my family and friends, rather than for business reasons.

Another way I protect my privacy on social networks is by using my nickname for my profile rather than my legal government name. Our name is a big part of our identity. I believe that our name is extremely connected to various personal and private information such as your social security number. Also when shopping online, entering credit card numbers into the computer becomes very sensitive information. It is recommended that online shoppers should download an on screen key board when entering payment methods into browsers. This is something that I have done due to the fact that my credit card information has been previously stolen when I ordered products from amazon.

I frequently delete my browser history and cookies in order to prevent websites and advertisers from compiling so much of my information through my web searches. Especially when using my iPhone I tend to remove all of my browsing history and turn off all location integrations within my phone applications. I am also very cautious of what applications I download on to my phone. I do not have the Facebook iPhone application simply for the fact that the application has a large amount of access onto the personal information on our mobile devices.

This class has been one of the most interesting classes I’ve taken at Baruch. I took this class as a filler because I needed to be full-time and I figured since my minor was communications that this would be a good fit. I was right, but not only was it a good fit, I learned quite a lot as well, so here’s my list of what I took away from this class.

1) Mind maps – I knew what mind maps were, but I never used them and never connected with them in any way. Now I feel very comfortable and I know it’s a tool that I can utilize in my other classes and elsewhere.
2) Mindmeister – Yes this is connected to the previous point, but it had to be separate for me. I loved finding out about and using mindmeister, I’ve used different software throughout my school and working life but I love this tool and it’s ability to demonstrate in such a fun and easy way the ideas and connections I wish to present. (This is my biggest take away)
3) Social media/Technology – I use the devices and applications etc which are available but I’ve never thought about how they all connect or the impact they have on myself, my environment and society. It’s interesting to see the connections and I’ve already found myself thinking of how lower transaction costs make my life so much easier and more manageable.

As to having something in addition or different, I wouldn’t change anything. I had fun, I learned a lot and I now know how to use the library a little better, although those stacks are no joke….thanks Professor Francoeur.

Surprisingly or not, we are all pretty much beta testing these days. As a generation of “early adopters” who love trying new technologies and concepts many of us have willing beta tested products…. Google Glass anyone?

This is especially true in the world of applications, we all download apps and use them on a regular basis. The thing is we also pretty much expect that some apps might not be 100% bug free in the beginning and often have no big problems when issues arise because we know an “update” will soon fix the issue. Now think about how we would react if our laptops, phones or even cars had a bug; I’m pretty sure that we would not be as nonchalant or understanding. The thing is many companies, developers etc are aware of this “willingness” to use a product not fully ready for production. They are aware that as as early adopters we love trying the new and little known so we can be the first or among the first to try something new.

According to the attached article companies are making use of this trend and some do not even inform consumers that they are beta testing. Nope they give us tech and we find any problems or issues for them; I guess it can be viewed as a win-win situation as new tech and software get tested and early adopters get to fulfill their need for newer and better.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/13/technology/innovation/beta-testing/index.html

Some steps I have taken to not give up all my information include not fully filling out forms/applications on the web. I only fill out the required information instead of going above and beyond to fill out the optional information that is asked of me. I also make sure every time I log off a computer in school or anywhere that I signed off everything I logged onto. I need to make sure that I didn’t make the mistake of leaving my information out in the open for others to see. In terms of my personal social media outlets, I try to privatize as much as I can for my personal security. Sometimes you don’t want to have random strangers sifting through your information like a creeper. Better safe than sorry. For platforms such as Instagram, I try to limit who can follow me and who can’t just for my personal security and safety. Sometimes there’s followers you don’t want following you since they could be potentially harmful in terms of harassment. I think being careful of what kind of information I put out into the web is another step I’m learning to take more often. Sometimes I think everyone is often tempted to show people more than they should so it’s important we take a step back and make sure that we’re aware of what we’re revealing to the world about ourselves.

With the use of social media, we sometimes friend or follow people who we know but aren’t too close with. There are also some people who constantly update their newsfeed with unnecessary statuses and pictures, which becomes annoying easily. However, that doesn’t mean we want to block/unfriend/stop following them. It takes a whole new step to then friend them back, there will be misunderstandings, etc. In the end, it wouldn’t be worth it to “de-friend” someone for that reason.
Twitter came up with “a new mute feature that’ll let you shut up the annoying people in your feed”. By muting the person, Twitter will mute the user’s tweets and retweets so that the view is hidden until the person blocking the user is ready to ‘un-mute’.
I think Facebook and other social media should start coming up with this too!
Here is the article

Face it, we all dislike second hand smoking. I always have to hold my breath every time a smoker passes by. Luckily, there may be a solution to this. I’ve read an article on Engadget where there is now a cigarette lighter, by the name of ‘Quitbit’, which helps “keep track of how much you smoke”. Not only does the lighter tell you how many cigarettes you lit, but it also tells you how long its been since you last lit a cigarette (all through a small LED screen). By knowing and being told how much one’s been smoking, the smoker will hopefully start cutting down. The lighter is not only made to discourage smokers; it can be used to “set goals, share successes with an online community and even track how much money smokers have saved from cutting back” all through connecting with a smart phone app.
I think this is a great idea; it will help smokers become more aware of how much damage they are doing to themselves in addition to the environment and others. I really hope this item succeeds!
To read more about this article, click here!

Recently a Harvard graduate, Grace Choi, invented a 3D make-up printer called ‘Mink’. ‘Mink’ is made to produce anything from eyeshadows, lipsticks, creams, and foundations. It pretty much acts as a inkjet printer where “you just need substrates and ink”. The product is priced at ~$300 and its target audience is for girls at the ages of 13-21.
I find this to be a good and creative idea, but I honestly don’t see potential in this product. As convenient and accessible as it sounds, I think people will waste more money trying to test out different colors, textures, etc. when they can just go to a local drugstore or Sephora and pick up items that others have previously gave raving reviews on. In addition, I feel like $300 is quite pricey for the age range, but at the same time, the only age when girls aren’t shy about trying out new make-up is in that age range.
I may be wrong. This product may actually do really well. Sometimes I just think to myself, this world is progressing way too quickly. As much as I like the new technology and how fast-paced this world is, I sometimes just wished it slowed-down a bit!
If anyone’s interested, here’s the article!

Question #2

Today, we put more information about us out on the internet; it is something we do consciously and subconsciously. Sometimes we put out information onto social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. to connect with others and to “fit in” to society. We also want to be up-to-date with the latest news and technology, thus we sometimes “force” ourselves to put more information out into the open knowingly. We also put information out on important places such as banking sites. It makes it convenient for us to log-on to view transactions and to see if any errors exist; sometimes we put information such as social security numbers to sign up for credit cards and such, thus I wonder if my information is safe. That is why I always make sure that the sites that I log in, whether Facebook, Chase, CUNY Blackboard, etc., are secured. That gives me a sense of ease, and I can at least trust that my information is safe. I also know that phishing websites and other scams are out to obtain peoples’ information, so I never open suspicious emails nor pick up phone calls with random area codes. Overall, I just think being careful and double-checking information is key to avoiding any mistakes.

After learning about filter bubbles and how we can possibly be giving up more of our personal information than we realize, I have thought and have taken a few steps to avoid filter bubbles and giving up personal information in excess. To avoid filter bubbles, I delete my cookies frequently so that companies won’t have any or a full idea of what to “show” me so that I am not bogged down by things that they want me to see in the hopes that I will purchase or visit a certain site. Furthermore, to stop myself from accidentally giving up too much personal information, I have searched up various search engines that doesn’t collect and catalog my searches to create a profile of me or that gives my information away (or sell). I have found the search engine DuckDuckGo to be good in preventing the above as well as being a decent search engine. I also ask my peers, friends and family for interesting things to look for or to check out on the internet so that I am not stuck or trapped by looking only at things that I am used to or know well.

It seems that social media has become such a huge part of our lives and culture that it’s being plastered onto movie screens for us to see. First it was “The Social Network” and now it’s the upcoming movie “Chef”. According to the article I found on Mashable, the movie “Chef” is about a chef learning what a huge role social media can play into helping shape a business and the disaster it can cause. I find it interesting how social media is such an integral part of our culture and lives that it’s being made into a movie to show people how significant of a role it really does play.

You can check out the exclusive trailer of “Chef” here. Even though I saw the trailer, which is just a snippet of the film, it seems to depict both the good and bad that can come from social media. Sometimes the things we post can cause chaos, but maybe also other things we post can resolve the chaos we ensued. What do you think of films depicting how social media is integrated into our lives? The director stated in the article how he wanted to capture “where we are in time and the language we use”. From the trailer or just in general, do you think this film or other social media-based movies accurately capture the generation of our time?