#e8s4f1

 ONCE AGAIN, by providing easier access to its latest digital gadget, technology goes beyond our imagination. The Google glass is back in stock and available for everyone!

We're entering a reality where convenience lays right before your eyes. The Google glass provides eases to photography, text messages, access to the web, maps, etc...Everything your smartphone does the Google glass can do the same, but instead as a tool mounted to your face. It may seem like a surprising innovation. But is it really?

So we wonder, IS THAT ALL?

Based on the author Pamela Lund, in her book “Massively Networked” the future holds much better benefits than a mere head-mounted digital gadget. In the midst of expectations what are the surprising changes that may come to exist?

“Engaging in a perpetually changing reality successfully requires an entirely different strategy than relying on a static set of stories—it requires actively engaging the imagination” (Lund, 18).

Innovations require more creativity, not a replication of something that already exists.

“Combining the collective power of imagination can accelerate the process of creating new frameworks that are just right for the world we want to lie in; as a result, we can more quickly leave ordering narratives that no longer work very well behind” (19).

Technology revolution mediates in our fast changing culture. And today we want more than a smart phone or easy access to the web.  Our perspective as human being has the chance of being expanded increasingly “If you pay attention to what is happening around you and learn how to make the best use of the tools and your talents” (21).

“The internet is re-creating people in technology’s image” (McChesney, 12). We are no longer humans. We are cyborgs; whose creativity has aligned with technology.  “Every surprising bit of new behavior has two common elements: people had the opportunity to behave in a way that rewarded some intrinsic motivation, and those opportunities were enabled by technology, but created by human beings” (Shirky,101).

Technology advancements are incredibly fast and a commonplace in todays world. We are accustomed to this reality though we may fail to imagine more. What else can we dream for? 

"WHAT DREAMS MAY COME"

I would like to imagine an fantasy world. Envision myself inside a made up reality.  Kind of like an avatar, but instead experience it first hand; live and colors. Not as a gamer, or someone looking from the outside. But As someone living an alternate reality. With a simple combination of technology and human imagination I would like to spend a few hours in the land of my dreams that does not yet exist. "Through fantasy imagination, you can extend element from commons  experience in novel and unexpected ways" (Lund, 15). Perhaps get inside a movie. Interact with animals; flowers; or even fall into the rabbit hole; eat a cupcake and grow into a giant. Drink milk and shrink into small creatures. Whatever it may be, can the Google glass do that? Not yet.

But according to Lund, we can create anything we want with our imagination. So its time we start to actively engage with technology, and create our own reality.

We want more than just convenience! We want to go beyond a fixed reality. Beyond the same environment. More than the same old colors; the same type of people; the same experiences. We want different than what we have.

Google glass, step your game up. We don't want "Android-powered headset that links up with our smartphone to show alerts and run apps" (Lowensohn). We want to create our reality.

  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.

Lund, Pamela. Massively Networked: How the Convergence of Social Media and Technology Is Changing Your Life. San Francisco: PLI Media, 2012. Print.

McChesney, Robert W. Digital Disconnect. New York: New, 2013. Print.

Google Glass has now become public and anyone can buy this eyewear for $1500 as long as it’s in stock. What will this wearable tech lead to? The dreams and potential ideas we have are infinite as digital and flesh selves operate virtually. What we can create and our futures through Google Glass reflects our imaginations that can lead to good and bad outcomes.

In Stock. Purchase Now?

Writer and photographer Josh Lowensohn from The Verge briefly covered Google’s pair of lenses that are now back in stock and open for anyone to buy.

“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)

$1500 is a lot of money for tech that’s only available in the U.S. This is not affordable for many people who are struggling in a tight economy. The glass experience becomes limited for those that can afford to pay.

Imagine What You Can Do

A/R with furniture, driving to the store, and even walking down the street are altered as you see the world in a different way. There is no limit to our imagination as we can see, talk, IM, and learn about the stuff around us. Social media consultant and Internet pioneer Pamela Lund believes that tech lets us create the world we want. Her book Massively Networked: How the Convergence of Social Media and Technology Is Changing Your Life is optimistic about what technology can and will do for us. We might lose a little bit of what makes us human but our imaginations let us live life in amazing ways.

“Closing the gap between what you can envision and having it in your hands has the potential to rewire the brain in ways none of us can yet foresee” (Lund, location 694).

Glass A Step Towards Losing Our Humanity?

Virtually experiencing the world is not the same as living it. Dreams change and if we move toward a world through Google Glass we could invade privacy and ruin lives. Lund would approve of using Glass for things like shopping and directions, but how about the police using Glass to spy on innocent people? This abuse of power in the hands of our protection system could make people even more critical of the good that is possible.

Wireless software programs in Glass that encroach on the rights of citizens (Webber) are a violation of not just our privacy but our image as well. We keep our secrets and ideas, some of which stem from our dreams. Would we dream that everything we know about is exposed and used against us?

Value Through Glass

To use Google Glass for rewarding purposes reflects the public value that Clay Shirky, web guru and author of Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity In A Connected Age talks about.

Public value is an interactive as communal value, but far more open to participation from and sharing with newcomers and outsiders. In contrast to communal sharing, public sharing allows people to join in at will, and the results will be made available even to those members of the public who are not participants (Shirky 174).

Not everyone is going to use Google Glass. Many might just hear about it and what it can do. Using Glass toward a common good, like the Apache project, go global and aid us all. Promoting this kind of involvement is worthwhile and society benefits (175) from these hard efforts.

Realize What Dreams May Come

Google Glass is a tool of the future that will shape how we live if we invest in it. The world will be available with a tap of the frame to talk to someone or guide us where we need to go. As Glass becomes available for all to use, it needs user responsibility in just what we do with it. With this amazing potential, we can create the kind of world we want with more open communication and interaction.

Works Cited

Lund, Pamela. Massively Networked: How the Convergence of Social Media and Technology Is Changing Your Life. 1st ed. PLI Media, 2011. Web.

Shirky, Clay. Cognitive Surplus: Creativity And Generosity In A Connected Age. 1st ed. New York: The Penguin Press HC, 2010. Print.

Lowensohn, Josh. “Google Glass now on sale to all in US, but still in beta.” The Verge. N. p., 13 May 2014. Web. 14 May 2014.

Forced identity transparency presents a major violation of citizen’s rights. Real-ID policies that forbid pseudonyms strip citizens of their rights to anonymous public dissent.

With the public release of Google Glass, Real-ID policies will become even more oppressive. Through facial recognition apps, Glass may become the most invasive Real-ID tool yet.

If facial recognition apps surround us, we can never be anonymous dissenters in the public sphere. Glass will threaten personal safety through Real-ID.

Facebook started Real-ID

According to Rebecca MacKinnon’s Consent of the Networked, “Facebook’s motto is ‘Making the world open and connected’” (150). This motto comes from Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. He believes that “humanity would be better off if everybody were more transparent about who they are and what they do” (MacKinnon 150).

In practice, this motto means that Facebook enforces a Real-ID policy. Facebook suspends any account that uses a pseudonym or fake identity (MacKinnon 150).

Google Plus adopted Real-ID

Google Plus creators followed Zuckerberg’s motto, as well. Without warning, Google Plus decided to deactivate pseudonym accounts in 2011. Many of the deactivated Google Plus users were bloggers and activists (MacKinnon 161). Their use of a pseudonym protected them from danger while making political statements online.

According to MacKinnon, Real-ID is “denying people’s right to define their own identity" (161).

Shortsighted Glass App Developers Support Real-ID

Facebook and Google Plus use Real-ID policies based on Zuckerberg’s motto. But his core belief that all people should be transparent and public online is shortsighted.

MacKinnon states that the Real-ID policy is “the product of a corporate culture based on the life experiences of relatively sheltered and affluent Americans who may be well intentioned but have never experienced genuine social, political, religious, or sexual vulnerability” (MacKinnon 156).

Facial recognition apps for Glass follow the same shortsighted motto. Adi Robertson addresses this problem in her Verge article, “Can You Still Be a Stranger When Everyone Is Wearing Google Glass?”

Robertson calls facial recognition apps for Glass a new example of Real-ID. These apps enforce Real-ID online, and take that identity into the real world as well (Robertson).

The problem is, these app developers are also unaware of the vulnerability caused by Real-ID policies.

Glass will bring same Real-ID dangers as Google Plus and Facebook

According to Robertson, Glass “promises (or threatens)” a seamless connection between the internet and the real world. This threatens anonymous online speech.

This is a serious problem, though not a new one. The Real-ID problem began with Facebook, and continued with Google Plus. Now it will extend to Glass.

We have to create policies to protect our privacy across all Real-ID networks. Digital networks influence our real world safety (MacKinnon 165).

We must face these companies, and defend our rights to anonymity online.

Works Cited

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

Google Glass is a stepping stone in the world of technology. It will change the way we see the world (literally) and what we do in it. It is coming- there’s no stopping that. We will be able to use this technology in many ways, and better the world in the process.

  Imaginative Networked

  Pamela Lund thinks very highly of our boom in technological advances. She states that it is creating a “massively networked ecosystem [where] you as an individual have more power than ever before to change the world” (Lund). In her eyes, our collection of knowledge and ability to share instantly gives us the ability to dream and create anything our imaginations could conceive.

Google Glass will do wonders for this. It promises to give users the ability to share anything they see to the world, and comment on the world around us (for example, being to write an analysis of an art piece and display it for anyone who sees the piece in question). This leads to a dynamic world which changes as we see fit and gains consistent feedback from those around us.

  Persistent Journalism

  Robert McChesney, on the other hand, believes that the digital boom has made capitalism the predominant force on the internet. It controls what we see, how we see, and where we see it.

He has some hope, however- in journalism, saying that it is “the key institution that would keep people informed of what was taking place and give citizens the capacity to resist tyranny and protect their freedoms” (McChesney).

With the Internet, everyone is a writer. And with Google Glass, your writing can be done anywhere and can be read anytime. Once the technology advances, we will be able to give deep criticism on any advertising or political messaging we see, avoid lies, and see what needs our support.

  Open World

  By using Glass, we will have access to a wide variety of options. We will have access to a variety of ways to expand our collective conscious through creative production.

However, we live in a world dominated by capitalism. But Glass gives us an excellent way to counteract this, to look at something we disagree with and immediately let anyone who looks at it know the truth.

The dream that comes with Google Glass is a world open to everyone, where we as a society can help and support each other in a way that’s easy as point, and click.

  Works Cited

Lund, Pamela. Massively Networked: How the Convergence of Social Media and Technology Is Changing Your Life. San Francisco: PLI Media, 2012. Print.

What dreams may come?

With the recent Beta release of Google Glass, a headset, worn like a pair of glasses, that creates a level of augmented reality, or AR for short.

AR, “places a layer of virtual information over a physical setting.”( Lund, 24) The capabilities of this virtual information are boundless, able to run facial recognition scans, aid with directions, and even help you pick out a place to eat at without once lifting a finger.

Josh Lownesohn of The Verge says, “some of the most interesting have been services that offer augmented reality like golf helpers, and real-time translation tools.“

Pamela Lund, author of Massively Networked, shares her insight on the advantages of this tech, saying that a user will now be able to pull up, say, a furniture catalog while in their home, select a couch that is to their liking, and be able to virtually see that product in their home.

The advanced tech within Google Glass will offer a greater level of interaction with the cybernetic world. We will become more integrated with the matrix, so to speak, and will be able to access anything we would normally be able to on a laptop, but placed over our normal sight.

While passing a historic site, Google Glass could pull up information on why this location is important- which could lead to a better educated population, while passing a restaurant on the street, it would be possible to pull up their menu and decide whether or not to eat there without once stepping foot into the building.

The dark side of the moon.

We have the natural potential to perceive everything that is going on in the world at this very moment in time. However, through our own evolutionary process we have shut ourselves off to the majority of that input solely for survivals sake. If all of that information was perceived and understood we would have an exponentially more difficult time picking out what was, and was not, essential to our survival in the now.

Robert McChesney, author of Digital Disconnect, shares a view of this very fact that relates to the digital era, “ If one digitally recorded all extant human cultural artifact and information created from the dawn of time until 2003, one would need 5 billion gigabytes of storage space. By 2010 people created that much data every two days.”

Evolution and spiritual dilution have limited the amount of natural information that we can perceive for survivals sake. However, mankind has a tendency to bend the rules.

AR tech will be able to tap into the entirety of human knowledge, including the all of the pointless memes, videos, and faux new stories that are on the web. This great influx of new visual information could overload our brains and alter our state of living forever if not used correctly.

Clay Shirky of Cognitive Surplus expands upon this by quoting the late Edgar Allan Poe, “ The enormous multiplication of books in every branch of knowledge is one of the greatest evils of this age; since it presents one of the most serious obstacles to the acquisition of correct information by throwing in the reader’s way piles of lumber in which he must painfully grips for the scraps of useful lumber.” (Shirky, 47)

There is a fine line that is needed to be walked here; a line that teeters between technological comfort and tech induced insanity.

I am growing increasingly fearful of the seemingly inevitable day when mankind has disconnected themselves so far from nature for the sake of societal comfort that we become something even less than human. I fear that a tech meant to aid our lives, and increase social interaction, will do just the opposite.

History Repeats Itself.

Cellphones and laptops were meant to connect the world with each other and create a better educated population through the vast amount of knowledge provided on the internet.

However, despite the majority of human knowledge stored online we spend our days scrolling through a news feed created by bogus virtual friends, watching admittedly humorous videos, and laughing at cat memes.

We have not grown closer, but further apart.

Google glass will essentially shut us off even more, making it possible to leave our phones in our pockets while still ignoring everyone and everything around us. We will become completely self sufficient and lose the need to interact with other human beings aside from the basic need and/or want for sexual satisfaction, which, I’m sure we will one day ruin for ourselves as well.

Silver Lining

Shirky’s Cognitive Surplus, focuses on the idea that the vast majority of the worlds population now has the ability to educate themselves on line, and, not only educate- but to publish their own opinions into the public sphere.

The idea is simple, rather than wasting our time chasing the immediately pleasurable impulse brought by funny videos, memes, and so forth- we can focus on growing the knowledge base of our people through cooperation on the internet.

We can create forums that discuss the sciences, history, engineering, health and a whole plethora of other topics and thus create progress rather than a stuporous standstill chasing pleasure impulse through meaningless forms of entertainment.

With the increase of public knowledge and availability to voice their opinions and concerns, it is growing increasingly more difficult for governments to keep their secrets, well, secrets.

Rebecca MacKinnon, in Consent of the Networked, tells of a young waitress in China named Deng Yujiao who has been working at a multi service establishment. During her shift a political official requested sexual services, which had been known to be available here. Deng refused, and in her struggle to fight off his advancements, killed the man.

She was later placed in a mental institution, and in most cases, nothing would have been heard from this woman again. However, news spread online like a wildfire and it wasn’t long until the local government was presented with a large number of letters criticizing their officials abuse of power, and the failure of the government in allowing woman to work in such conditions.

Rather than being forgotten, Deng was instead released on lesser charges.

How this all relates.

So, what dreams may come?

Google Glass is both a gift and a curse. If used correctly, with its intent, the device has the ability to correct social injustice worldwide. It can be used as an active field guide, and an honest documenter of the world the user is experiencing. The tech can be used to study the behaviors of people within a major city, and even to explore through forgotten mountain paths. It can work as a check to the power of government officials and local law enforcement, seeing as they may not be so brazen when presented with the possibility of being recorded.

However, I fear that the tech will be abused, and treated much the same as cellphones and laptops are today. We will find distractions for distractions sake and cease to move forward because standing still seems much safer.

We are now presented with a glorious second chance at doing things right through the use of tech. Google Glass is a double edged sword, both able to liberate us as a species or to stunt our growth entirely.

Works Cited

"Google Glass Now on Sale to All in US, but Still in Beta." The Verge. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.

Lund, Pamela. Massively Networked: How the Convergence of Social Media and Technology Is Changing Your Life. San Francisco: PLI Media, 2012. Print.

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

McChesney, Robert Waterman. Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the Internet against Democracy. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Hello Google Glass, Goodbye Privacy

Glass is just the next step of marketing and advertising jumping out of our computers and into our faces.

Google Glass is only in the beginning stages of, but as Josh Lowensohn writes in his article, Google Glass Now on Sale to All in US, but still in Beta, "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." (Lowensohn)

What tools make more sense to advertisers to be in front of your eyeballs? You'll tell them.

Lowensohn's article makes mention of an augmented reality app for golfers and a real-time translation app. But not all of us are golfers or in international business. Not to worry, simply put the Glass on and walk around town. Google will absorb everything you see. They will know everything you look at. And they will create advertisements designed for you, based on their observations of what you look at and do.

Eventually, your activity will be directed by Google's advertisers. After all, as Robert McChesney writes in Digital Disconnect, advertising has become "the most sophisticated system of applied propaganda in the world." (McChesney)

Digital World

In the documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply, the opening sequence has presents two scenarios, one labeled "Real World," in which a man goes to a clinic to get an itch on his foot checked out and in the elevator to, he texts his significant other about dinner plans.

In the next scenario, labeled "Digital World," the same man goes to the same clinic for the same problem, and is confronted right away, and throughout the experience, with advertisements. In the clinic's waiting room, doctors jump in front of him boasting discounted rates and a natural medicine alternative jumps out as well and offers herbs and prayer. In the elevator the man receives the text about dinner. The elevator is suddenly illuminated from all sides with glowing ads for dinner and coupons for food items. Down the hall, the advertisements continue and people jump out from behind doors to bombard the man with products as he runs away.

Digital Invasion

This scenario in the film is not far off from the digital world we engage in on the internet. But what if the "Real World" was never disengaged from the "Digital World"? What if everything we do is absorbed, calculated, and quantified to deliver products and steer us toward buying them. Or Worse?

The documentary mentioned above also reveals some terrifying real life consequences of the invasion of digital technology and information sharing in people's lives. The film explains that one man stormed into a Target store, fuming about the coupons for baby products and pregnancy tests that were being mailed from the store to his teenage daughter. After some very personal conversations, the daughter revealed that, based on her purchases, the store knew that she was in fact pregnant before her own father did.

Another real life scenario from the film describes how a man's family vacation was ruined after, despite having good credit history and a prior credit limit of $10,000, his limit was suddenly cut down to around $3,800. The credit card company responded to his complaints in a letter, explaining that due to the poor repayment history of other people that shopped at the same establishments as the man, he was deemed a risk and his credit lowered.

The film also explained that many people's insurance premiums were raised by assessing risk in the same manner.

Google Glass Hero

Imagine walking down the street, wearing Glass. A man drives up in a flashy new car. You check the plates, and the price, so does Google. An ad pops up for cars for sale.

The man gets out of his car and  you notice his suit. Google tells you exactly what he is wearing and where you can buy similar suits.

You scan the man's face. So does Google. Google has done a facial recognition and alerted the authorities that the man you've spotted is wanted for bank fraud and the police are now on their way.

You observe and take video from Glass as you sip your coffee. You are a hero.

Google Glass Criminal

Imagine  the same scenario as before. This time you get out of your flashy car and your face is scanned by a man across the street.

The man walks over and says "Hey, Stan!"

You turn and try to remember the man, but can't place him.

"Hey, buddy." The man says. "I went to So and So high school and picked up your son earlier. Why don't you get in the car and we'll go withdraw all $11, 913 from your checking or I'll kill your family at your house in So and So address."

Cool apps and fast mobile searching, with the addition of some all in one information sharing company that sold your personal information, has enabled a criminal to bend you to his will in a few seconds.

Works Cited

Hoback, Cullen. Terms & Conditions May Apply. Hyrax Films, Topiary Productions, 2013. Netflix.

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

Glass impacts its user negatively. Josh Lowensohn simply describes the product in his article about Google Glass, restating that anyone can buy it but failing to pause and wonder: what dreams may come? He fails to pause and consider the negative aspects of the tech tool in relation to corporation control.  

Expanding Power: Corporations and Capitalism Infringe on Privacy

Google expands its global company to a device that has the ability for facial recognition, social media, GPS, and just about any app the consumer desires. Picture everyone wearing Google Glass, a tech tool that anyone can buy with 1,500 dollars on hand: a nightmare or a dream? This ever expanding media giant looks to sell it to anyone that can afford it. Lowensohn states, “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).

Everyone recognizes you instantly while wearing Glass. This unsettling infringement on privacy is just the beginning. Robert W. McChesney, author of Digital Disconnect, shows that Google already holds almost 70 percent of the market for search engines. Google monopolizes this corner of the marker, even taking up 97 percent of search market on mobile (McChesney). This expanding company grows in size and strength rapidly. What then, will happen to consumers and citizens?

Losing privacy goes hand in hand with losing freedom, an alarming idea for citizens. With Google being a super power in the Internet realm, users lose their privacy. McChesney writes about social media site, Facebook, claiming, “It is monopoly power, for example, that makes it possible for Facebook to disregard its users’ concerns about privacy” (McChesney 141). This two way communication device, Facebook, disregards users’ concerns, simply because it can. What’s to stop Google from doing the same? Google takes tech out of the virtual and into the real world as well. The use of Google Glass imposes on the privacy of those around them.

Intruding on the privacy of non-wearers, and even wearers of Glass, comes with the deal of wearing this tech tool. The instant facial recognition pries into the life of those near the wearer. Google can even access location on the wearer of the tech, much like a cell phone. Even ads will be tailored to location, only benefiting in the growth of these media giants.

Ads Impose on Daily Life

Ads tailored to location physically and virtually will only give more power to these media giants. McChesney claims, “There is one important development for media, communication and the Interent that is triggered to a significant extent by the growth of monopoly in the economy: advertising” (McChesney 41). Ads already follow people in day to day life. Ads are tailored to the user while surfing the web or reading news on a site. Ads flash by on the subway during the morning commute. Billboards and store front windows show products that the consumer needs. But Glass brings it to a whole new level.

Ads follow the glass wearer wherever they go. Around lunch, ads can pop up for food in the wearer’s area. Ads will follow the wearer virtually and physically. Not only will there be ads for the sites the wearer visits, but the shops they enter in the real world. Ads are not just an annoyance, but a way for monopolies to grow and grow. Internet sites and firms make most of their revenue from ads. Having the user wearing glasses for a good chunk of the day, allows for even more profit.

Controlling the Web: Glass another Tool for Mastery

Glass becomes just another tool in the hands of firms to control people. Rebecca MacKinnon, author of Consent of the Networked, also worries about sovereignty in the hands of firms. She writes, “Google and Facebook are just two of the many companies whose products and services have created a new globally networked public sphere that is largely shaped, built, owned and operated by the private sector” (MacKinnon 9). This private sector allows for firms to have ultimate control over the people.

Firms control users through this private sector. Not only do these firms dictate the market, but personal relations as well. The idea of being human has been lost. Glass and social media taint relations that humans make, putting them in a virtual and lonely world.  So then, Glass impacts its users poorly.

So, what dreams may come? Glass controls the manner in which people see each other, themselves, and the world around them. In relation to advertising and privacy, their profits benefit from wearers. The 1,500 dollar price tag isn’t the only component bringing in profit. Users benefit the firms, becoming cogs in the machine of media giants.

Works Cited

Lowensohn, Josh. “Google Glass now on sale to all in US, but still in  Beta.” The Verge. 14 May,2014. Web. 13 May, 2014.

McChesney, Robert W. Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the InternetAgainst Democracy. The New Press, 2013. Print.