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Episode 8 | Scene 4/5 | Part 1/2

We are in a world where technology advances are happening so quick, it can cause anxiety to someone who is trying to keep up. If we harvest the technology at our own pace, we can engulf ourselves in a creative wonderland.

Google Doesn't Deliver

One of the biggest players in this wonderland is Google. Their wearable device, Glass, allows users to interact with apps and interfaces thats are projected on a screen in front of them that only the user can see. THIS IS GOING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD! Right?

Google's public release of Glass left people with dim hopes that they can take the next step into becoming a cyborg. This highly remakrked, highly marketed device barely had enough units to cover the demand. Tech-junkies everywhere were left in disappointment as the device that everyone thought was going to revolutionize every human life as we know it only reached about 10,000 of those lives. Or .00014%.

The Doubters

In his article on The Verge, "Google Glass on sale now on sale to all in US, but still in Beta," Josh Lowensohn writes that "Google says it's built up its stock again, and wants to get the device in the hands of anyone who wants to buy it — as long as it's got the units on hand."

Lowensohn is one of those junkies who expected Google to pull through with their promise as they always do. He feels that Google has abandoned their people and products. He wraps up his article by writing, "Google's offered a development platform on top of Glass to build tools that might make more sense in front of your eyeballs than on a smartphone screen, though more recently has turned its attention to the wrist with Android Wear."

What Dreams May Come

Tech celebrant, Pamela Lund, calls this "inductive imagination" and "fantasy imagination." In her book, Massively Networked," Lund writes about the side of tech that is for the good of the people and allows people to live in a more quantifiable, organized world.

Inductive Imagination

She says, "Inductive imagination gathers input from ordinary experience and puts these elements of experience into a fresh interpretation...inductive imagination brings something new into the world through reinterpretation of things that already exist" (Lund, 382).

Google Glass does this with the maps feature. When walking around a city, you can get info and tidbits on buildings and landmarks you didn't know about. This also applies to the golf course feature. Golfers can now use Glass to see a bird's eye view of the course, wind speed and direction, as well as previous results.

Fantasy Imagination

Fantasy imaginations "extend elements from common experience in novel and unexpected ways" (Lund, 410) This imagination takes reality and alters it, transforming the familiar into an alternate perspective.

Glass embodies this imagination through use of gaming apps. Games on Glass take the world we see and turns it into an interactive gaming platform. We know this style of reality as "augmented reality."

Future We Dream Of

There will always be the doubters and skeptics. We can't let them get in the way of where technology can take the human race. With tools like Google Glass slowly taking its final form, there is no ceiling for advancement into a Utopian-like world.

Works Cited

Lowensohn, Josh. "Google Glass Now on Sale to All in US, but Still in Beta." The Verge. The Verge, 13 May 2014. Web. 14 May 2014.

Google Glass has opened to the public. Now anyone with the means can buy this new technology. But what does it all mean? I wonder how soon we will become accustomed to seeing people wearing these funny looking glasses. I personally don’t think I will be investing in Google Glass. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate all of the good that they can do, if used properly.

Connecting the World

Pamela Lund, a writer and technology enthusiast writes a book “Massively Networked,” completely focused on making new technology work for us. By using our imaginations, the aid of products like Google Glass can speed up the process of creating. Google Glass will make communication easier than ever before. Aside from just chatting with friends, inventors, businessmen, even doctors around the world can keep in touch and make some big, great changes.

As Lund says in her book, “The puzzle pieces brought to reality by the convergence of social media and technology can pop into life from the power of multiple brains and bodies all over the globe and almost at once. The only requirements are desire and intention to participate” (Lund 18).

Google Glass creates an augmented reality. This brings Lund’s words to life. Using apps on Google Glass will make mundane tasks easy, and help people multi task. This frees up time to focus on important things like their work or children.

Looking Forward

Who knows where google glass will go in the future. I sincerely hope that we, as a society, will take advantage of new products like this. Lund also speaks in her book about health benefits using apps gives us. The google glass can do this too, encouraging a healthier lifestyle.

I hope to live in a society where products like this are used to shape and change our lives for the better. The public now being able to buy Google Glass is a step in the right direction. If I have learned anything this semester it is that we get out of technology what we put in. If we use these products for creative and innovative reasons, there is nothing we can’t accomplish.

I could not say it better than Pamela Lund in her book, “Media and technology give you more power than ever before to create the world you want. And so does everyone and everything else. The tangible connections facilitated by social media and technology are giving each of us this power. Therein lies what makes this a unique time in human history to create the world you want” (Lund 141).

Works Cited

Google Glass looks to redefine portable computing through wearable tech. Currently they're more toy than tool, but currently Google Glass is a simple smartphone accessory. User input will help, but the hardware my be too restrictive to become a staple.

Got Glass. Now What?

Glass Heads have already cracked open their piggy banks and laid a hefty chunk of change on one of Best Buy's stick counter tops for their tech-spectacles. But has the novelty worn off yet?

Have you begun begrudgingly worming your fingers through your pockets to property reply to a text or tweet after it was displayed on your eye wear. Most of us can't afford to speak our responses and find ourselves groping for our ancient smartphones. 

Google Glass becomes a smartphone accessory rather than a standalone platform. But for how long?

Usability vs Convience

Google Glass offers its user a constant connection to the web, but that connection is a clumsy one. Glass is a one button device that responds primarily to voice control and sometimes that isn't enough. It requires a symbiotic smartphone relationship that many users won't see worth the price tag.

What smartphones lack in convenience, considering a pocket is essentially miles away, is usability.

"Glass is worn like a pair of glasses, and pairs with your smartphone to deliver notifications to a small display in front of the right eye. It works with both Android phones and the iPhone. Wearers can read emails, surf Twitter and send text messages without needing to take their phone out of their pockets" (Gilbert, 6)

Gilbert says our phones will remain holstered, but what if we need to respond to a notification?

From my intelligent glassware I can view notifications in real time but depending on my location I may not be to respond appropriately. Voice controls lack the accurate input and privacy that a tactile keyboard posses. I may not want everyone in my crowded subway car to be a third party in my private conversation.

You may find your old smartphone more effective even if it isn't augmenting your reality.

Give Glass Time!

Pamela Lund, author of Massively Networked believes that if we want more from our wearable tech, it's coming and we can help.

Once the novelty wears off from tapping our temples on the toilet and darting our pupils towards the top right of our screens at the faintest buzz: What do we do. What will push us to toss our cellphones to the side?

According to Lund, we can do anything.

Support for Google Glass is still in it's infancy. Developers have yet to assess what us cyborgs need before we clear a socket on our crowded surge protector.

If a need is great enough, Google will soon provide. But that may not be enough to overcome the awkward interface.

Every day. That’s how often companies find new ways to invade our lives.

David Lazarus of the Sydney Morning Herald explains that “Verizon will monitor not just mobile activities but also what customers do on wired or Wi-Fi-connected computers, then share that data with marketers”.

That’s the kind of world we live in today. If you are connected to anything via a wireless network, soon companies will have full access to anything you’ve ever done. And of course, said wireless networks are now virtually everywhere on the planet. With satellites, drones, and all manner of devices to keep us connected, there will soon be a time where the “dead zone” is a thing of the past.

  Keeping Connected how we want to

  Here’s the real issue: “The reality is that the corporations and governments that build, operate, and govern cyberspace are not being held sufficiently accountable for their exercise of power… They are sovereigns operating without the consent of the networked” (MacKinnon). I should be able to decide for myself if I want to allow corporations to see into my life, but as it stands that becomes increasingly hard to do.

There’s something we can do, though. Allison Hanna, fellow blogger, states that we need to start “Changing the world with digital media means creating public and civic value online… When we care, we can all make a difference in the digital media revolution”.

  Internet Eternal- it Never Leaves

  We can’t take ourselves off the network in today’s world, not really. There are projects I’ve been a part of from years ago that you can find if you Google my name, and I’d wager it’s the same for you. But we can use the tools we’ve been given for something different. Use them to promote causes we support, expose important issues, be a community- things beyond making yourself into a product.

We can use the network against itself, write about and promote the problems it has. And much like the projects I worked on from back in the day, it’ll never go away.

  Works Cited

“Digital Media Revolution.” N. p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2014.

“Verizon Wireless to Expose Customers’ Browsing to Advertisers.” The Sydney Morning Herald. N. p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2014.

The internet provides a space where people can convene and share ideas, but this space is currently under attack. Content is being censored and net neutrality is at risk of getting wiped out.

This is not good.

Stand Together.

Allison Hanna explains in her blog post, "Digital Media Revolution", that "the problem isn’t media, it’s mindless consumption." 

Drew Guarini says in his article that the web may be heading in a more capitalist direction, where the companies with the most money will be granted faster service.

Rebecca Mackinnon, author of Consent of the Networked, states:

“The future of freedom in the Internet age depends on whether people can be bothered to take responsibility for the future and act”(MacKinnon 222).

How are these three ideas connected?

By The People

Web users are the ones who will make the difference when internet concerns crop up. In order to have democracy online, Hanna says "public and personal media fused into the same network, connecting us all", pairing this with MacKinnon's idea that people must "take responsibility" and keep internet control out of the hands of big business shows that social media can play a large part in shaping the web.

Sadly, when most people think about matters of the net, they worry about their Netflix subs rising or their YouTube videos loading too slowly. They don't realize the burden that will be put upon start up sites or the division of power among select web services.

MacKinnon uses Apple as an example of the issues of highest rank for companies:

"Apple similarly censors apps for iPads sold in China… Fifteen years later, Apple seems quite willing to accomodate Big Brother’s demands for the sake of market access” (MacKinnon 115).

Companies don't care about users, they only care about profit

Counter Attack

How do we protect ourselves from internet censorship?

By stepping up and getting involved.

Hanna states, "Tech tools play a key role in activism."

MacKinnon says, "although the Internet and mobile technologies do not cause change, change is unlikely to happen without sufficient mobile and Internet penetration”(MacKinnon 53).

Web users can protect themselves, we just need to come together to keep the net safe. Net politics can be severely influenced by the people who use it, therefore we must make the change while we still have the resources to do so.

Control of the web should not be based on profit. It should be based on those who use it. The biggest priority should be to protect and serve the people who are making the web a financial goldmine.

Works Cited

Guarini, Drew. “Feds May Be Looking To Bail On Net Neutrality: WSJ.” Huffington Post. N. p., 4–23 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Hanna, Allison. “Digital Media Revolution” Internet Communication & Culture: Allison’s ENL 368 Blog. Tumblr. N. p., 17 Apr. 2014. Web. 4 May 2014.

MacKinnon, Rebecca. Consent of the Networked: The World-wide

Struggle for Internet Freedom. New York: Basic, 2012. Print.

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Technology's growth will soon affect classrooms. Even now evidence of the future lies within our classes. According to a blog by rhetor Shannon Jordan, the future appears close.

She writes, "Tons of web devices are being used to get students actively engaged in scholarly pursuits. Whether it’s online talks or smart blogging, high schools and colleges alike are latching onto these methods to get students involved."

She cites Charles Clark, who mentions devices used in classrooms.

Smart boards.

Online tech.

Distance educational connectivity.

All of these require Internet connection.

Net Neutrality promotes the idea of each piece of data being equal. A movie you watch on Netflix is no different from a practice exam for your math class.

Threatening Net Neutrality

The FCC recently hopes to end Net Neutrality, making certain pieces of data worth more than others. This would end affordable bandwidth. Prices for Netflix, or your online exams would go up. This cannot happen.

America Prides Itself on Education 

The tools we attain as tech grows have become essential to learning. The FCC wishes to threaten our education.

Schools struggle to keep a budget for just books. Tech such as smart boards become a costly endeavor. Breaking Net Neutrality would raise prices on educational tools, as most people would use them. Supply and demand.

The Way Net Neutrality Works

Net Neutrality makes sense because supply of data is endless. The world has always revolved around supply and demand. When you take something endless like data, you're creating conflict. Creating a price between certain points of data is not ethical.

Rebecca MacKinnon, author of Consent of The Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom, is a fighter for American rights within the Internet. She wrote an entire section in her book about Net Neutrality.

She says, "In many countries a lack of net neutrality makes censorship--whether by companies, government, or some mix of the two--much easier to implement and much less publicly visible, let alone accountable" (121)."

The Internet Stands By Neutrality

Even well-known Internet companies like Mozilla speak out against Net Neutrality. According to an article on Engadget, Mozilla recommends to "regulate the relationship between ISPs and 'remote delivery services' like Dropbox and Netflix."

Remote delivery services can also deliver education to devices like smart boards. If regulated, neutrality can be reached.

America does not need censorship. It needs equality. Net Neutrality would benefit education. It would keep our Internet free of discrimination. The virtual world is no different from the real world. Equality makes conflict lessen.

Works Cited:

Fingas, Jon. “Mozilla Asks the FCC to Rethink Net Neutrality with Content Providers in Mind.” Engadget, n.d. http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/05/mozilla-net-neutrality-proposal/.

Jordan, Shannon. “Learning Connection: Tech Enhancing Classrooms.” Tumblr.com, n.d. http://shannonenl368.tumblr.com/post/83009968703/learning-connection-tech-enhancing-classrooms.

Egypt, Burma, China- all these countries have thrown the switch on the web in times of strife, using drastic lock downs to control the data citizens receive. Even without total shutdown, control over the Internet happens all over the world: locking down communication, constraining activists, and oppressing the people.

Undermining Freedom: Russia, China, and Internet Regulation

Blogger Chris Webber raises concerns about Web control in his tweet, “Governments controlling what citizens view on the Internet ” (Webber). The tweet tags the US, Russia, and China. Webber links to an article about Russia and China’s desire for control over their citizens via the web.

At the world wide conference, NETMundial, officials met to discuss laws for running the Internet. However, “China and Russia are plainly preoccupied by how Internet governance could affect state authority”(Fung). What does this form of control mean for the people?

In another blog of mine, I describe communal outlook as a means of activism on the web. Simply, “Shifting that view from isolation to communal allows for a more beneficial and hopeful view of the world through the Internet” (Kelly). However, with countries like Russia, China, and even the US; this hopeful outlook pales in comparison to the horrific scenes painted by activists.

It will take a lot more than communal outlook to provide a hopeful view of the world through the web.

Regulating Data through Communication Control

It seems easy to point fingers at countries like Russia and China. Citizens of the US scoff at the control governments have over their people while reveling in their own freedom. However, The Bill of Rights fails to expand to cover the Internet.

The Patriot Act passed in 2001. The act helps seek out terrorists and protect the citizens of the US. It allows for wire tapping and obtaining of records without a warrant. The people are forced to give up part of their freedom in exchange for protection. Since then, numerous acts have been passed in favor of protecting the people, and often companies.

Do people see these acts as an abuse of power or a protection? Activists claim that citizens of the US don’t receive all the information they should.

Rebecca MacKinnon, author of Consent of the Network, states that “what we do know about the US government’s abuse of its power via private networks is largely thanks to whistle-blowers and leakers” (MacKinnon).

MacKinnon claims that the only way the people of the US know of the government’s “abuse of power” are leaks from other sources. This data has been regulated by government. Officicals decide what data will be readily available to the people.

Companies Censor

Apple, one of the largest tech producing corporations, decided to launch its products in China. By doing so, it had to agree to China’s censorship policies. It had come a long way since it’s ad about breaking down the barriers of the government in 1984.

MacKinnon writes, “Apple similarly censors apps for iPads sold in China... Fifteen years later, Apple seems quite willing to accomodate Big Brother’s demands for the sake of market access” (MacKinnon 115).

What does this example demonstrate about policy? What does it mean for the consumer?

It means that corporations coupled with government authority will censor when told to do so. Firms will put their profit first. They will do anything they can for market success, even if it means putting the people second. Along with “Big Brother” censoring people’s info, such as the Wiki leaks example in the previous section, corporations will do so as well.

MacKinnon describes computer code as a type of law. One that “shapes what people can do and sometimes directly censors what they can see” (MacKinnon 115).

With governments and powerful corporations on the same page, censorship is made easy.

Activists Constrained on the Internet

In my last blog I wrote about activism. I claimed, “What can we do with our free time and resources? Almost anything if people widen their narrow view to the communal, public, and civic” (Kelly). By joining a community and impacting the public sphere, anyone can cause civil change. Or so I claimed. When faced with constraint inflicted by the government, activists hands are tied.

The main resource activists use, the web, benefits them. At the same time, this resource is limited. MacKinnon states, “Howard’s research on technolgy and political change... shows that although the Internet and mobile technologies do not cause change, change is unlikely to happen without sufficient mobile and Internet penetration”(MacKinnon 53).

Activists use the web to further their causes, whether it be for fundraising for or rebelling against authoritative powers. Since officials can determine how activists use the resource, it becomes limited. It makes it difficult for activists to succeed in their cause.

In 2009 a “Twitter revolution” began to occur in Iran. By using social media sites, the people could complain and bring attnention to their poor conditions. Social media sites and the web became a tool for activists to fight against “Big Brother.” (MacKinnon 54). These tools became a valued resource to the people.

However, these resources can also be used to control activists and communities. MacKinnon states that “in 2009, news reports emerged that the technology used to track down activists had been sold to two Iranian mobile phone operators...”(MacKinnon 56). This technology is sold so that police can track criminals. The definition of crime seems to have become a broad term, creating a bleak outlook for Internet activists.

Overcoming Oppression

These forms of oppression are everywhere. Using the web as a tool of oppression s is an overwhelming idea. In my previous blog I describe moving passed the personal into the communal. “These communal discourses carry the potential to move into public collaboration. Public collaboration causes social change, impacting civic duties.(Shirky)” (Kelly).

Clay Shirky, author of Cognitive Surplus, describes community as a means to overcoming obstacles. Then how do these communities of activists avoid oppression?

From the inside out. Rebecca MacKinnon claims that the Internet should become Netizen-centric (that is, net-citizen centric). MacKinnon wants the people to take matters into their own hands and structure an Internet based off of them. Oppression can be fought. MacKinnon states, “The future of freedom in the Internet age depends on whether people can be bothered to take responsibility for the future and act”(MacKinnon 222).

To find peace in the Internet age is to balance new communities with the existing ones, both online and off. The first step in reaching this goal is to raise awareness and move from passive observers and “start acting like citizens of the Internet- as ‘netizens.”(Mackinnon 223).

Works Cited

Fung, Brian. How China and Russia are trying to undermine the Internet, again. 23 Apr 2014. Web. 3 May 2014.

Kelly, Kaitlyn. Shifting Perspectives: Individual View to Communal Outlook. Tumblr. 17 Mar 2014. Web. 17 Mar 2014

MacKinnon, Rebecca. Consent of the Networked: The World-wide Struggle for Internet Freedom. New York: Basic, 2012. Print.

Shirky, Clay. Cognitive Surplus: How Technology Makes Consumers into Collaborators. New York: Penguin, 2010. Print.