Com. 125 Assignment #5: Privacy

So basically, internet privacy issues scare the holy hell out of me. And now that I'm finally starting to realize the potential risks that might accompany these choices that I've made about information that I have put on the internet, I'm terrified. There are many aspects as to the levels of privacy that one can put online. I think one of the most common scenarios is people putting their credit card number and other personal information onto online shopping websites. I am very guilty of this. I think that privacy is one's right for personal seclusion and freedom to keep information to oneself until they are ready to let that information out. But the problem of personal privacy on the internet is another story. People willingly hand out all sorts of information to thousands of ‘secure’ online resources. How are we to know if our identities are safe in the cyber world?

According to the MSNBC article “Privacy Lost” by Bob Sullivan, according to a recent survey, only 7 percent of Americans change their ways in order to achieve a greater level and sense of privacy (Sullivan 2006). 7 percent! Honestly, this is messed up. We seem to be a culture that puts too much faith into things we are given, never asking questions or really thinking about the future. And I repeat, I am guilty of risking my privacy on the internet. Wikipedia lays out potential ways that privacy can be infringed upon within the internet. There are ways to track users like ‘Cookies’ that HTML-writers can access. Internet Service Providers (or ISPs) can literally track and examine the content of every website one goes on and produce a list of one’s personal surfing habits (Wikipedia). Big Brother is watching. And we don’t even know it or begin to understand the power that these overseers have over us.

One time that I was personally affected by a privacy invasion was when my computer somehow got infected with spyware. Basically, Spyware is a malicious sort of virus that impedes one’s ability to fully control his computer. It redirected me to websites and randomly installed programs and accessories onto my computer. This was very annoying and I was uninformed and terrified that it was going to steal my personal information and break my computer. I got my computer fixed, and the spyware removed, but it cost a lot more than I thought it would. Now I try to keep up on virus and spyware protection updates in my privacy programs that have been uploaded onto my computer.

However, internet privacy is not solely confined to personal information being stolen by people or programs. This term can extend its reach to what people post on the internet, and more specifically, on social network sites like Myspace and Facebook. Especially in the young teen generation of this country, more and more personal information, pictures, and in-depth autobiographies are showing up on these sites. Danah Boyd writes,

“When asked, all youth know that anyone could access their profiles online. Yet, the most common response I receive is "…but why would they?" Of course, the same teens who believe that no one is interested in them are pseudo-stalking the ‘hottie’ they have an eye on (Boyd 2007).”

This quote perfectly explains this issue. Teens putting all of their information online, including phone numbers and addresses on Facebook, are seriously just asking for a real life episode of How To Catch a Predator. I don’t want to sound malicious towards these people…but honestly…how stupid can you be to put your phone number and address on Facebook? But I digress.

These sites have made efforts to fix this problem brought on by the ignorance of people who feel too comfortable and safe on the internet. Privacy settings are included on most every social network site and every shopping site that I have ever seen. But the thought sometimes crosses my mind that one day PayPal will be hacked into, and all of us will be screwed. Internet privacy is very important and all of us have to be very careful of what we put on this thing that has infiltrated our lives in almost every possible way.

Sources

1) Sullivan, Bob. "Privacy Lost: Does Anybody Care?". 17 Oct 2006. MSNBC.com. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15221095/print/1/displaymode/1098/

2) Wikipedia Article. "Internet Privacy". Accessed 26 Sept 2008.

3) boyd, danah. 2007. “Social Network Sites: Public, Private, or What?”. Knowledge Tree. Accessed 26 Sept 2008. http://www.danah.org/papers/KnowledgeTree.pdf.

Com 125 Assignment #4: Gift Economies

Free is good. I like free. Answers to my questions are great. I love people answering my questions. Add those two up, mix in a dash of internet message boards, and Bam!...a perfect example of a gift economy.

The term 'gift economy', as defined by Wikipedia, is "a social theory in which goods and services are given without any explicit agreement for immediate or future quid-pro-quo," (Wikipedia). Gift economies have been part of human nature since the dawn of man. Literally. More recently, however, internet users have created an online gift economy in which information and things like software are traded freely and openly between users. According to Peter Kollock, a main difference between a physical gift economy and an online one, say an information message board, is that when one shares information, it is impossible for a receiver to repay them due to the anonymity of the internet by nature. Kollock goes onto explain how the original information sharer would most likely feel entitled to one of their own questions being answered on the message board in the future (Kollock 1999).

Another point Kollock brings up is the difference between a gift economy, and a system primarily run by commodities. Kollock explains that a gift exchange creates a unique situation where the gift is, to use his words, “inalienably” attached to the one who gave it. With commodities, however, there is no sense of debt or personal attachment to he who gives the product (Kollock 1999).

From the blossoming gift economy that the internet opened up, a movement called the Open source culture began to take shape. Open source refers to “the creative practice of appropriation and free sharing of found and created content,” (Wikipedia). This content ranges from music, to videos, to pictures and software found on the internet, and it can be freely distributed around the web. Although there is much criticism from companies who would normally make money off of this free software, some argue that open source sharing is a great way to get the best programs available. The article Why Open Source on Redhat.com states,

“And we believe open source simply creates better software. It multiplies one company's development capacity many times over. Everyone collaborates, the best software wins.”

This is quite valid because as the software, for example, gets passed around on the open source system, people are free to change and add improvements to it (Redhat).

As I think about it, I participate in many online gift economies. As an avid Wikipedia surfer, I realize how massive of an information gift economy it really is. People can log in and add valid information to real-time updated articles for no real reward except the satisfaction of helping a fellow user. Of course, the validity of what the people add to the sites is monitored and removed if needed, giving an extra sense of security to those who read the articles.

Another gift economy that I at one time was involved in was the sharing of audio files on programs like Kazaa and Morpheus. This peer to peer gift economy was set up in the way that one could chose to share his or her files while at the same time downloading others. Basically, if you were a team player in these communities, you were expected to share your files as a gesture of appreciation for downloading everything you could get your hands on. If you didn’t choose to share your personal mp3’s or what-have-you, you could still take others with no ramifications.

I think gift economies are a great thing. Open source cultures on the internet are a wonderful example of a giving community that I wish we could all be a part of outside of the virtual world. It is very comforting to know that, in spite of the incentive of free stuff, people still care to help their fellow man.


Sources

1) Wikipedia Article. Gift Economy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy.

2) Kollock, Peter. (1999).The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace. http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/economies.htm.

3) Why Open Source? 18 Sept 2008. http://www.redhat.com/about/whyopensource/

4) Wikipedia Article. Open Source. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source

Com 125 Assignment #3: Copyright....or copywrong?!?!

In 2000, the file sharing website, Napster, came under immense scrutiny from artists and producers in the music industry. Built on the internet technology of peer-to-peer file transferring, or P2P, Napster and its subscribers were accused of illegally sharing and stealing copyrighted material. Now, what is a copyright?

Merriam-Webster defines the term 'copyright' as, "the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something" (Merriam-Webster). This means whoever owns the rights to anything has the sole legal ability to reproduce it. This idea goes way back. The brilliant framers of our Constitution even thought to include it in the sacred document that we hold so dearly. Although some of those great minds distrusted the "limited monopoly" that copyrights ensured their possessors, they decided to include the clause in the document to ensure social contributions from artists and inventors (An Introduction). Up until the Napster boom, this idea seemed to be working out just fine for everyone involved. With the introduction of file sending, however, a hazy gray area of indecision began to sweep the music industry and fans around the world.

In 2000, it seemed as though one band, and one member in particular, were leading the crusade of the music industry against Napster. Lars Ulrich, drummer for the metal band Metallica, became the figurehead of the movement, catching support and immense criticism from all angles. In an interview with the website Macworld on May 1, 2000, Ulrich is quoted as saying,

"We've sold about a thousand gazillion records and we're glad that we're set for life, that we don't have to worry about sending the kids to school. The stuff that's being lost on the Internet, it's pocket change, it's meaningless. But where is it going to be in five years? This is something that could really be out of control. Now people are sitting there with straight faces saying they deserve music for free. I think people are getting a little too comfortable with their computer as a tool and are taking it for granted," (Macworld).

A little cocky, sure, but I think this encapsulates what the music industry was afraid of with free file sharing venturing into uncharted territory. No one had any idea what this monster could evolve into. The record industry was terrified of this new technology not because of what it was, but because it had the potential to be something so much bigger. That speculation meant economic loss, and that was unacceptable.

In order to prevent this from happening, the RIAA, or Recording Industry Association of America, got involved. According to Grand Robertson, the RIAA basically represented the Big Four, as their known, record companies in litigation attempts to prosecute those who transfer music files. These companies, Sony BMG, EMI, Universal, and Warner, apparently do not even involve their artists in these civil cases (RIAA). For example, if I were to be arrested for downloading, or “stealing” the Jonas Brothers album, their names would not even grace the litigation report.

This point leads this fan to question…what do the artists care if their music is traded between users? Hell, if anything, it gets their name out to the general public on a broader level based on an enhanced word of mouth basis. These record companies steal their souls and first born children anyway…these artists make little to nothing on album sales. Personally, I like the idea that artists are sticking it to the huge record conglomerates. Artists like Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, and Lil’ Wayne are releasing their music for free online to a larger audience than once thought possible. I believe that the music that these artists make should belong to them, and not the record companies that own them based on a binding, unfair contract.

When the framers of the Constitution created the clause that protected copyrights, I can say with the utmost certainty that it was not their intention for evil record companies to be able to sue innocent citizens for copyright infringement on mp3s. I think it should be up to the artist regarding how they want to spread their music and message to the people of the world. I believe that companies like iTunes and Myspace are a great asset to the music community, and are doing a great, legal job in promoting artists.

And for the record, I did not steal the Jonas Brothers record. I bought that shit fair and square.



Sources:
1) Merriam-Webster Online.

2) Ovalle, Carlos. 2005. An Introduction to Copyright. .

3) Ferris, David. 1 May 2000. Interview With Lars Ulrich.

4)Robertson, Grant. 7 Aug 2006. The RIAA vs. John Doe.

Com 125 Assignment #2: TCP/IP

So, the inner-workings of our beloved Internet is much more confusing than I could have ever imagined. I won't say I'm surprised...more like 'mind-numbingly startled'.

In perusing the web for a particular topic to cover, I decided that the "computer language" of TCP/IP was an interesting idea. In layman's terms, TCP/IP is a basic communication system set up between two computers connected by the Internet. Each computer has a device called a router, which can send and receive documents and information from its partner that it is connected to by using this basic protocol. Easy enough, right? This technology was developed by an organization called DARPA in the 1970's, but primarily worked on by Robert E. Kahn and Vinton Cerf (Wikipedia). So thank them when you get a chance. We would be very unhappy and unconnected without them.

Now, TCP/IP is made up by two different "layers". TCP is known as the "higher" layer, and IP has been dubbed as the "lower" layer. So, the TCP layer, short for Transmission Control Protocol, takes the message that you are trying to send to the other router across the Internet, and breaks it down into smaller pieces called "packets". Once the message reaches its destination, the second router's TCP layer will reassemble the pieces.

The way I think about it, this process by the TCPs is like that scene in the original Willy Wonka movie when the kid, Mike, who likes television too much is killed off. He gets shot at by a laser, and then you see millions of particles buzzing over the other people's heads. Then he gets reassembled in a tiny TV. So that is kind of like TCP, minus the creepiness of Gene Wilder, as Willy Wonka and his minions, the Oompa Loompas of Loompaland. The laser represents the source router, Mike's particles represent the message being the broken down by the TCP, and the television that he was sent into acts as the receiving router. Are you with me? Good.

IP on the other hand, which is short for Internet Protocol, and handles the address to which the packets are headed. So when the router instantaneously sends out its broken down message, thanks to the TCP, the IP takes care of actually sending the message or document to the right address.

But how does my computer know where to send these packets? Well self, every computer has its own unique IP address when it connects to the Internet. These addresses are made up by 4 numbers that are separated by a period. An example of this might look like 123. 45. 6. 78. To make this address easier to remember and more user-friendly, technicians developed the concept of the domain name, like www.blogger.com. Domain names are just the IP address numbers as assigned words (Source). Your specifically assigned IP address is used by TCP/IP to send messages and receive messages from others.

TCP/IP is a vital application to the Internet and world wide web. Without it, it would seem as though messages could not be sent or received between two computers. This means no e-mail, no websites, not even web browsers would exist (Source). Bad news bears, my friends. To me, this seems like one of the most, if not the most vital part of the Internet. No computer would be able to communicate to another without this technology, and what would be the point of that? Sure, other unbelievable advances in the realm of the Internet have come up over the era of it's existence, but this basic system of computer language is completely imperative to the web.

God bless TCP/IP. Kahn and Cerf for the White House '08.