Blog #5: EOTO Reaction

The development of communication technologies has shaped society into what it is today. Without it, we would lack the ability to share information efficiently and connect with peers across the globe.

We rely so heavily on systems such as the web and the internet to indulge in our every desire. Any question we have can be answered in a matter of seconds with just a quick Google search, any thought we would like to communicate can be posted immediately after pressing “share,” and any message we want to relay can be sent instantaneously through the use of a smartphone. 

Due to the fact that I have grown up in such a digital age, I found the EOTO about the history of the Google search engine to be most fascinating. I thought it was interesting to learn about the beginnings of a platform I use so frequently. 

Two Stanford students by the names of Larry Page and Sergey Bryn started developing a search engine called “BackRub” in 1995, which led to the establishment of a very prominent company only a few short years later.

Page and Bryn’s mission in creating this search engine was to “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

In 1998, the students were issued a check of $100,000, and it was then that Google was born. Although in its earlier days, the business was known as "BackRub," the founders renamed it to Google before its official launch.  

The data collection system that the two students used filtered through pages of links and the relevancy of each to connect it back to the original search. This system took off shortly after its launch. 

Google rapidly gained popularity, allowing the two creators to expand their business further through investments and spin-off programs. Between the years of 2005 until 2015, Google launched other platforms such as Google Maps, Google Chrome, and Google Calendar. 

Blog #4: Com Tech

The world wide web is a computer system that enables information sharing through an internet network. It consists of public websites and pages that users can access through their own personal devices.

Today, the world wide web serves as a means of connection among individuals across the globe. The web is used to share, create, and communicate. 

When thinking of what the world wide web means for us in today’s day-in-age, we often think of social networking sites, blogs, etc., but its initial purpose for invention was much more simple than what it is used for now.

In 1989, a British scientist by the name of Tim Berners-Lee created the world wide web. His motivation behind this invention stemmed from a need for automated information sharing between scientists in universities and institutes around the world.

Tim Berners-Lee was employed at CERN when he came up with and produced the coding for the world wide web. Due to the fact that CERN is a worldwide center for scientific research, the need for a system to effectively communicate across the globe was vital for their livelihoods.

Although Tim Berners-Lee wrote his first proposal in March of 1989, the first web server and browser were not ready for use until the following year. The initial development was not suitable for public use, either. 

Tim Berners-Lee used a NeXT computer to establish the code for his web server, making the accessibility of it quite restricted due to the fact that very few users had access to a NeXT computer platform. At this time, NeXT computers were mainly used for educational or business purposes, but even then, they were not very widespread or popular.  

In 1991, Tim Berners-Lee released his world wide web software which included a line-mode browser that could run on any system, thanks to Nicola Pellow who developed it during her student work at CERN. It was the little advancements such as these that contributed to the overall launch of the world wide web.

In December of that same year, Paul Kunz and Louise Addis presented the first online web server to the United States. Again, it was only used in laboratories, but the important part was that the idea had still made its way into the country and was just inches away from breaking the surface into society. 

Finally in 1993, the NCSA released the software that ran in the X Window browser. This made the world wide web accessible to the public and started the progression of the web into what we know it as today.

The world wide web had simple beginnings, but it has since morphed into a public domain that encompasses everything from social media accounts to news to entertainment. And we can access all of this through the click of a button. 

Every computer, phone, and even link connects us all back to the world wide web. It is everywhere, granting us unlimited knowledge to the world around us. 

Blog #3: Protect Dissent

As informed American citizens, it is not only our right, but it is also our obligation to critique the government. This right is exercised through the First Amendment. 

The First Amendment establishes six clauses that aim to protect the people. These clauses grant them the freedom from AND of religion, speech, press, assembly, and government petition. The subject of dissent mainly applies to the clauses regarding speech and petition.

Protecting dissent is vital to the success of our democracy. Dissent allows us to publicly disagree with and oppose the government. Without this right, we would be unable to openly express our views, promote change, or suggest alternative ideas without consequence. 

International law has defined six legal principles to protect and promote the right to protest which include legality, precaution, necessity, proportionality, accountability, and non-discrimination. These principles were set in place to ensure the rights to protest and assembly.

Although these principles aim to uphold our rights, they aren’t fully reliable due to differences within state policies. That is why it is so crucial that we fight to defend dissent. 

Dissent allows the public to hold officials accountable for their words and actions. It gives us the opportunity to disagree, rather than to just blindly follow and accept all we are told. It gives us a voice.

This voice is essential to our way of life. This voice partakes in checks and balances. This voice promotes human rights. But, most importantly, this voice is our freedom, and it needs to be heard.

That is why protecting dissent is such an important topic in today’s climate. Our voices are being severely limited. One modern day example of this lies within the field of journalism. 

Many of the mainstream news sources we know today are being restricted by the government. Even though journalists are protected under the First Amendment, the government has still managed to find loopholes to influence their work. 

There have been numerous accounts in which the government has censored journalists and stifled their opinions in an attempt to protect their reputation. The government has been known to silence reporters, ban social media accounts, and bribe journalists to maintain their “good” standing. 

Civil disobedience and other related themes such as protesting typically have a negative connotation attached to them; however, they are protected under the First Amendment to a certain extent. When executed properly, these methods of reform can create major change. 

For example, dissent has been essential to the achievement of gender equity, women’s rights, and racial/ethnic oppression. These movements incorporated the use of protests and civil disobedience to reach their goals while still acting within their rights.   

One modern day example of dissent is the elementary school curriculum protests in California. Many California residents with children enrolled in public schools in the state have been protesting schools for including LGBTQIA+ information in the curriculum. There have been many districts where parents have publicly protested these new laws on school grounds. Without causing any harm or major disturbance, these parents have exercised their First Amendment rights to speech and petition by dissenting. 

In the words of Robert F. Kennedy, “For it is not enough to allow dissent. We must demand it. For there is much to dissent from.”

Blog #2: The Supreme Court

Overview:

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States judicial system. This federal court consists of nine justices that use their power to make sure that the executive and legislative branches uphold the constitution. 

The duties of the Supreme Court do not stop at keeping the federal government in check. In addition, the Supreme Court’s responsibilities also include keeping the states as well as the people of the United States in line with the Constitution.

The Supreme Court does not see every case that goes through the judicial system; there is a process. For a case to reach the Supreme Court, it needs to go through an appeal process of earlier rulings made on the case. 

Cases:

Some of the most notable cases include Plessy v. Ferguson and Roe v. Wade. The case of Plessy v. Ferguson established racial segregation through the “separate but equal” ideology, whereas Roe v. Wade ruled in favor of protecting privacy.

Although these cases took place in the late 1800s and 1900s, they still hold major significance today. We, as citizens, are unable to alter the original Constitution or interpret all of its meanings. For this reason, we need the Supreme Court to intercede on our behalf and determine what is right and true. 

Background:

The Supreme Court was established in 1798 through Article Three of the Constitution. This article also allowed for smaller federal courts to be created. 

The Judiciary Act of 1789, signed by George Washington, marked the first time Congress used its constitutional authority to choose how the Supreme Court would be constituted. This act asserted that the court would consist of six judges, and they would not be released from their duties until they either died or retired. 

Reflection:

The Supreme Court plays an important role in our democracy. The Supreme Court partakes in the crucial process of checks and balances. The Supreme Court “checks” both the legislative and executive branches, ensuring that each power is acting within their right and not infringing on ours. 

The Supreme Court also encourages and allows for debates and discussions. This ties into our First Amendment right by protecting dissent. We, the people, need the Supreme Court so that we may openly disagree with and critique laws, thus creating room for social change.

Social Change ties hand-in-hand with the need for the Supreme Court. The Constitution was created hundreds of years ago, and society has drastically changed since then. We need the Supreme Court to help us interpret some of the older meanings and to adjust and rule on cases with a modern day approach. 

After reading the article, I learned that each justice gets nominated by the President. I was unsure of how the justices were selected prior to reading. I was also very surprised to learn that the Supreme Court’s first assembly was postponed to the next day. I just thought that was an interesting fact!

Blog #1: Top Five Sources of News and Information

In today’s society, it is absolutely vital to keep up with the world’s current events. Things are constantly changing in the world of politics, technology, journalism, and so much more. It is our duty as informed citizens to keep up with the constant updates and ongoing debates in order to protect the first amendment and encourage checks and balances amongst powers.

We all have a voice, but without context and unbiased sources, our voices will forever remain unheard. For this reason, selecting news sources plays a large role in our views and ability to speak up and defend what is right and true. 

Starting off strong, we have the viral video-sharing app, Tiktok. One typically would not classify Tiktok as a trustworthy or reputable news source, but in my opinion, Tiktok is unmatched in its ability to grasp the attention of viewers and relay information in a way that is concise and easy to recall. 

Like many other social media platforms, the issue of fake news runs rampant on the app. That is why I use Tiktok as a means of obtaining information but never as a source of reliability. I usually discover new information through the app then proceed to check its trustworthiness on a separate platform. This not only allows me to determine the credibility of the information shared, but it also gives me the opportunity to check a multitude of sources, thus granting me a variety of perspectives to take into consideration when forming my own opinions.

Moving on, I regularly check the Associated Press to stay in the know. The Associated Press provides reliable reporting with a neutral undertone. I often find myself gathering information from this online source because it is impartial.

It is a difficult task nowadays to find news outlets that are free of bias. For this reason, I often refer to the Associated Press because the information is stated matter-of-factly which allows me to form my own conclusions. The Associated Press's nonpartisan stance ensures even coverage of all topics discussed.

Next up is BBC News, a broadcasting company that reports on issues all around the world. Like the Associated Press, BBC News upholds a reputation of accurate and reliable coverage while also maintaining a mostly neutral tone. 

I enjoy reading BBC News articles because of its thorough reporting on world affairs. BBC is a great outlet to refer to when wanting to check up on current events and foreign affairs because it documents all aspects without including a lot, if any, bias. 

In addition, I frequently browse through the Wall Street Journal website. I started reading the Wall Street Journal because of my dad, who is an avid news reader. Although he was the one who initially influenced me to start reading the journal, I soon grew to like it for my own reasons as well. 

The Wall Street Journal is known for its ability to accurately relay information without bias. It covers stories from all different sides of the spectrum.

Finally, the last source I use is Reuters. I discovered this outlet in one of my classes last year, as one of my professors recommended it as a good source to cite. Since then, I've checked it from time to time when I want to learn more about a particular issue or when I have to write academic papers about specific events.

Reuters, like many of the other sources I've mentioned, is an unbiased news outlet. The coverage of Reuters is very well-balanced and easy to read, making it a great option for gathering quick facts and reliable information.

One thing I've noticed in writing this post is that most of the sources I read tend to lack bias, proving that I am the type of person who dislikes being swayed from one side to another. I like reading information that is stated as it happened, not as it was perceived. This allows me to form my own conclusions and create my own views which, in turn, helps make me into an informed citizen, so that I may fulfill my civic responsibility