Blog Post #6: EOTO: The Carrier Pigeon

 

“Look up in the sky! It’s a bird……it's a plane……it’s……Superman!” Well, as much as I would love to educate the public about Superman, this topic is almost just as unbelievable. Dating back to 2000 BC, Carrier Pigeons, also known as Homing Pigeons, were the main form of long distance communication. The ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians first discovered this impressive mode of long distance communication, then extended this remarkable communication system over to Greece and Rome. The Greeks recognized the internal compass of this bird, and relied on these creatures to fly and deliver important news, such as the winners of the Olympic games. Rome began utilizing this form of communication shortly thereafter, and relied on the birds to deliver messages to soldiers, as well as share the news and outcomes of battles. As we see in these examples, these birds were trusted and tasked with the most impressive duty. The birds' accuracy and consistency gained them popularity, as carrier pigeons became the main form of long distance and high speed communication for decades to come. Due to their impressive internal compass, they earned the name “homing pigeon”, due to their ability to always find their way back home to where they began their journey. These pigeons are originally raised in a home cage, learning this to be their safe spot, home, and starting destination. When they are sent out on their message delivering journeys, they are trained to return back to this originating point.

Carrier pigeons made their overall lasting impact with their leadership in warfare. For years, these birds were used to send and deliver messages relating to enemy movements, tactical plans, and general wins or losses. Messages were sent back and forth between European military units, dating into both World War I and World War II. In order to deliver a message, the note was placed into a very small capsule, then tied to the bird's foot. These amazing animals were more reliable than a human messenger, due to the fact that they could navigate through any terrain, dangerous battlegrounds, unfamiliar territory, or cross over enemy fire. Most impressively, they always knew how to return to where they started. 

While the birds were mainly used for communication, they were also extremely valuable to scientists, as they studied these creatures to understand more about migration and navigation. They discovered through these multitude of tests that these birds have an impressively sharp memory, aiding with their ability to seamlessly find their way back home. Additionally, scientists discovered that these animals could fly over 60 mph, covering hundreds of miles in a single trip. Their internal magnetic sense helps them to innately detect the earth's magnetic fields, along with using landmarks and other visual aids, allow them to have one of the most impressive navigation and location awareness. 

While the homing pigeon was a turning point in communication, this form of communication has been overthrown by modern technology. The telegram was the next technological development that threatened the use of the carrier pigeon when it was created in the early 19th century. Though we look at these inventions today and question the practicality, the helpfulness of these tools back in the day were viewed in the same manner that we view our smartphones today.

Blog Post #4: Privacy Online & Off

 

    Taking photographs and posting them online for friends and family to see is a pervasive practice in this day and age of social media; however, who all is really seeing these posts? Where we think that we are being safe online and utilizing private accounts so that not everyone in the public is able to view our content, the wide reach of the internet is always one step ahead of us. 

After watching an incredibly eye opening Ted Talk video, presented by Juan Enriquez, he shared frightening insight on how our personal photos and images are being utilized in a data cloud larger than we could ever imagine. Enriquez shares a company with us called 'Face.com'. Have you ever heard of it? Probably not, but, your face is probably on it! This website was sold to Facebook in 2018 with other 18 billion photo images of peoples faces from around the world. Where we are getting impressed by facial scanning and recognition in our personal photo apps on our phones, those images and information is being shared across the internet without our knowledge.

    If Enriquez's insight did not frighten you enough, let me share with you one more astonishing piece of information. When we think about the police, the average person considers them to be a safe haven, helping to protect us and our information. However, what is your reaction when I share that every day, police are capturing images of peoples cars, faces, and whereabout through small license plate reading cameras on their police cars? Mike Katz-Lacabe was intrigued about the alleged storing and tracking of information by police cars, and went into the station to see if his local police department had any information on his vehicle. The findings were more shocking that he could have ever imagined. The police department had dozens of instances where Lacabe's car was caught on camera, including the date, time, and location of where he was. One of the examples showed him in the driveway at his own home, with him and his 2 daughters faces clearly captured in the image. This example of data tracking and storing is overwhelming to comprehend, and impossible to avoid.

    Although we all think to limit and censor what information we voluntarily put onto the internet, it is vital to consider what personal information hits the internet without us sharing it or knowing about it. The rise of technology is incredibly useful, however, at what point has technology and the internet gone too far?

Blog Post #3: 8 Values of Free Expression

 

    The 8 Values of Free Expression are fundamental ideas that help to guide the nation in civil manner, creating the foundation for a healthy democracy. These 8 values emphasize the importance of checking power, self-government, and free speech. Without these core ideals and values, our right to free speech would be harmed, and what we say, think, post, and share would be censored and blocked. These 8 values are used and relevant in daily life, however, we do not realize how important they are, until we consider what happens when they are taken away.

    One of the 8 values is the Marketplace of Ideas, which was first proposed by John Milton. This value emphasizes the belief that it is beneficial for society to be allowed to share any belief, whether it is controversial or common. Through this practice of free expression, ideas can be agreed with, challenged, or contradicted by anyone. In todays modern digital age, the use of social media for sharing opinions and beliefs is pervasive. Since the world has moved towards utilizing social media outlets as a way to share news and beliefs, Twitter and TikTok are two current examples that come to mind when considering the current online practices on the Marketplace of Ideas. These 2 social media platforms allow for people from all around the world to post and share opinions, leaving them up to scrutiny from anyone. As a Social Media and Digital Communication major, this practice deeply resonates with me as I see current, daily examples of this concept online. 

    I came across an intriguing news article from CNN, which shares that the Supreme Court and White House are pressing social media companies to remove disinformation.

Following trends in the past, the internet and online media platforms tend to gain attention around elections, as well as national health crises, as there are so many people which so many opinions who flood the internet with their hardcore bias beliefs. However, allowing these posts to stay, no matter how many people disagree with them, is the practice of the Marketplace of Ideas. When analyzing this topic with the Marketplace of Ideas in mind, this appears to be very concerning, and creates a bias internet space. Over the last 10 years, it has been amazing to watch the internet grow. Every day, there are thousands of new posts, a majority of which are controversial or unpopular. However, it is these risqué posts that keep diversity and conversation continual online, allowing people to continuously practice their free speech and the Marketplace of Ideas. Working closely with the Marketplace of Ideas is.a similar Value of Free Expression, "Promote Tolerance". Promote Tolerance is an idea that was first proposed by Lee Bollinger, where it states that hate speech can benefit society, as it teaches people to become more tolerant. When coming across bias, hate speech, or even inaccurate information in a post, society can benefit in other area of life, because a generally tolerant society is a stabler society. 

    The '"Marketplace of Ideas" works alongside "Promote Tolerance", which I view to be the 2 most important and relevant values from the 8 Values of Free Expression. Both of these ideas are ever evolving  with the rise of social media, and are put to use and challenge each day. Together, these 2 values help to keep the internet diverse and open for opinions and scrutiny in a peaceful manner, from all. 

Blog Post #2: The Supreme Court

         

     Throughout my Middle School and High School career, we were taught about government, and the different powers within it. I recall doing a research project on the topic of the Supreme Court in my eighth grade American History class, however, now that I am older and have deeper levels of understanding, I begin to see the true importance and impact that this area of government holds.

    The Supreme Court is made up of 9 Justices, who serve a life term once they are elected by the President. While this is uncommon, I believe that it is essential and an important defining characteristic of this highly respectable position. The Constitution states that Judges serve during "good Behavior", which entails a lifelong sentence or until otherwise retired, convicted, or deceased. The main objective of this position is to to uphold the Law. Each year, the Justices are presented with over 7,000 petitions, of which they must carefully analyze and decide which 100 are worthy of their attention. There is great variation in the types of petitions that they receive, ranging from unjust previous rulings from a lower court, alleged wrongful convicting of an American citizen, to general State Court appeals. What I failed to understand about the Supreme Court prior to this lesson is that the Justices review each case that comes to their door, however, they only take a small amount to trial. Additionally, the Justices must review each case in a non-biased manner, allowing for complete transparency. This allows for each Justice to make their own analysis about the case prior to discussing the matters at a conference with all 9 Justices. These weekly conferences, only the 9 Justices are allowed in the room, excluding secretaries and other aids. I learned that the first and most important step in these meetings is to shake the hand of each Justice to connect on a human level, and create an understanding that even if there are differing viewpoints, that no grudges will be held. Oftentimes, it can be hard to acknowledge that people in such high powers of authority are still people, and this small but impactful action humanizes each one of them. After the conference, the Justices then take to trial, where the case is argued before them with lawyers representing both sides of the case are present.

     Ruth Bader Ginsburg shared her account of arguing her first case in front of the 9 Supreme Court Justices. Ginsburg was the second woman elected to the Supreme Court, and she served from 1993 until her death in 2020. Ginsburg shared that at her first trial experience in front of the Supreme Court, she was terribly scared for the first 2 minutes. After that, she realized that people were there to listen to what she had to say, and ever since that moment, she loved the power that she held during these moments. I recall the passing of Ginsburg in 2020 and remember the distraught emotions that fell upon our country, however, I was too uneducated to understand why. Now, after this lesson, I understand the power and respect that the Supreme Court holds, and how they are essential to upholding the law and protecting the Civil Rights and liberties of the American citizens. 

Blog Post #1: Top 5 Sources of News and Information

In this current day and age, it is a constant struggle to find unbiased, accurate news sources online. Social media has corrupted online news, sharing inaccurate information to users at a record speed. Though I do still find myself utilizing certain Social Media platforms to stay up to date on current events, it is always essential to cross check information with a well known and reliable source.

1. AllSides  

In my freshman year of high school, I took a Digital Journalism course. A main focus in this elective was finding neutral, unbiased news sources, and comparing articles on the same event to try and find differences and hidden opinions. Discovering AllSides has changed my perspective on news and media coverage, as the website acknowledges the bias in the news, and works to provide news articles from the left, right, and center views. Having the ability to read multiple sources on the same topic allows you to form your own opinion with all of the given material. 

2. FOX6 Milwaukee   

I have utilized FOX6 for over 10 years, as it helps me to stay up to date on the current happenings in my hometown. Having lived in the Milwaukee area for 18 years of my life, it is important to me that I stay knowledgable about any changes, events that occur back home. Now that I attend school in North Carolina away from WI, the accessibility of the FOX6 website, app, and daily livestreams allows me to easily utilize this news source, no matter where I am.

3. TikTok   

As I purse a degree in Social Media and Digital Communication, I have inevitable spent a large amount of time on social media platforms, such as TikTok. TikTok is a unique platform, as each user is exposed to different videos depending on their specially curated algorithms. Though the accuracy and relevancy of the news videos are often questionable, this platforms delivers news in a fun and engaging way. Rarely are the younger generations seeking out news sights, and social media is turning to become their number one source for news delivery.

4. BFFs Podcast  

Every week, I like to keep myself informed on pop culture, and the current events in the influencer world. The BFFs Podcast is a weekly show with 3 well-known hosts (Brianna Chickenfry, Dave Portnoy, and Josh Richards) that updates the listeners on the current trends, events, and news from the week. Though this form of news and content is not the traditional news source, it is a way to make news fun and appeal to a different audience. In my opinion, it is important to stay knowledgable on current events, however, you can pick what area appeals to you. 

5. Apple News  

Apple News is an app that comes included with any Apple device, making the content widely seen. Though I do not often search through the Apple News app, I receive daily notifications of current news. By seeing these notification, I am exposed to brief news headlines that oftentimes peak my interest and lure me to research more and explore the app. Personally, I view Apple News to be incredibly smart, as such a wide age range of people utilize Apple devices, and are exposed to current events and news headlines daily. From the notifications, it is up to the user if they want to learn more on the easily accessible app.