Posts Tagged ‘Internet’

Social networking and Network Neutrality

// February 5th, 2010 // No Comments » // Internet

Here is the first part in case you missed it.

Net neutrality is currently a hot topic, and unfortunately not enough people are aware of the importance of it. The idea of net neutrality revolves around theory that the Internet should be free and open. There has been an ongoing debate during recent years on defining net neutrality. There currently is no set definition and it simply means different things for different people and organizations. On Google’s blog they mention that it has been a major public policy priority for Google over the last two years. The problem is that most people do not have a wide array of choices when choosing an internet service provider.monopolynet

“Most Americans (99.6%, to be exact) receive broadband service from their phone company or their cable company — in antitrust terms, a duopoly”. Since these big corporations, literally have full control over the distribution of the Internet, they can regulate prices, content or even limit certain web sites and/or applications.

This is similar to how the Bell Telephone Company operated over a hundred years ago. They were a monopoly, but the government allowed it from 1877 to 1984. Later, in 1984, the company was broken up into independent companies, by a Federal mandate because it got too powerful. This duopoly needs to be stopped soon, before it’s too late. The government stopped a monopoly in the past and I am almost certain they will support net neutrality to ensure huge corporations can’t control the Internet market and traffic. Obviously, internet service providers, like Comcast, are engaged in an all-out effort to challenge the Internet’s open nature. They feel the government shouldn’t have any say how to run their business. They want a system where giant corporations pay for speedy access while smaller organizations and start-ups and average people are left in the slow lane. It’s unfortunate to see what lengths already filthy rich companies will go to towards to make even more profits. These companies don’t need more money, but that’s true reason for this crazy debate. Money is something some people just can’t get enough of, even when they have more than enough.

Social Networking 1

// January 10th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Internet

I’ve recently had to do a big paper on social networking sites and society, focusing on net neutrality. Interesting stuff, I’ll post it up every now and then in sections. Here’s the intro:

socialmobile

More recently, our society has been struck by a social revolution that has taken almost every aspect of life to a new level.  The way we communicate, find friends, find soul mates, find jobs, has all been transformed, thanks to the Internet and social networking sites. However, the Internet is not yet as accessible around the world. In North America, there are over 230 million Internet users, while in Africa there are less than 30 million Internet users. The Internet began to rise in activity during the early 1990’s and exponentially rose each year thereafter.  It still is! It completely changed how the average person communicates and how they deals with commerce. Small blogs and companies rely heavily on the Internet. Furthermore, bandwidth (traffic) limits are being lowered because these social networking sites are attractive to almost any age group. They simplify our lives, but as with most technology; advantages come with disadvantages. Never before have internet service providers struggled to provide fast, reliable internet access to everyone.

Cybercrime … BANG BANG

// November 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Internet

crimeguyNever before has crime been so hard to trace, track down, and regulate, thanks to the Internet. I find it somewhat ironic that the Internet was first used by the government, and now the government has a tough time controlling what happens online. People have been stealing information and other goods since the beginning of time; it is impossible to eliminate thievery. What is more suitable is coming up with a better defense for the general public against criminals; against those who want to steal information such as credit card information. Hackers are always two steps ahead of these filtering softwares. There is already filtering software that can act as a first layer of protection against online fraud, but it should be up to the user to protect themselves fully. They should not rely on another government protection agency to protect them online. Protecting an evergrowing number people online would be too difficult.

I believe more can be done and people like William Wallace are heading in the right direction. He says that those who communicate within a small group often lead to no good. An example he makes are terrorist groups. In order for their plans to be successful their plans need to be as secretive as possible. And the easiest way to do that is by not telling many people. It’s one of the reasons why the C.I.A. is so powerful and successful. With this philosophy, ISPS (internet service providers) can then monitor user’s activity more efficiently. However, there will be cases where this method proves to be ineffective. Such as to those (mostly elderly) who use the Internet very occasionally for small bits of information. Obviously, they will be in contact with a small group of people, similar to terrorist groups, however ISPS can most likely distinguish the difference between the two.

More recently there have been attempts to put regulation over the Internet, but almost all attempts have failed. Despite the desperate need, the American government can do only what is within their power. They cannot over-rule the Amendments and therefore cannot regulate “free speech” or the likewise even over the Internet. An interesting fact came to mind here. Since the government cannot overrule the Amendments, essentially protecting them are more important than shielding minors from violent videos or sexually explicit material. Did you know that 25% of Google searches are adult related?

A very important questions arises from this topic; Who should be allowed to regulate to Internet? In essence, the Internet is a largely connected world-wide network with no central location. I believe that each country should regulate the websites that reside within their borders. However, this may prove to be a bad idea because countries may tolerate certain things simply due to the type of government or the type of leaders of the country. This may be a temporary fix, but I think a greater, more powerful, institution should be created (similar to the ICANN group who regulate all domain names over the Internet) that can over rule government regulations over the Internet.

Addicted to the Innertubes?

// November 23rd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Internet, Life

smbandwagonI’m doing a research paper right now, and I think like everyone, I keep multi tasking.  Switching music, watching youtube, checking facebook, playing a mini game here and there. However I found some information that was striking.

The first U.S. residential treatment center for Internet addiction opened this summer in Washington state.

The Internet has simplified our lives in numerous ways while allowing us to what we want, fast. It has also allowed us to reconnect with old friends, neighbors, co-workers and family through social networking sites such as Facebook. By communicating to others, regardless that is is done through the Internet, we are strengthening our relationships. Social networking along with social media has revolutionized how we live in society today. Social networking sites bring people with common interests together, offer exposure to new ideas from around the world, and are able overcome social anxiety. People who have a difficulty communicating in person are more comfortable interacting via the Internet. And not always are the most sociable people in real life are the most active online. Also, social networking sites allow for creative expression in a new modern way. They provide free messaging, blogging, photo storage, games, event invitations, and many other services to anybody, fast. Social networking sites had a huge impact with the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election and how the Iranian protesters used twitter to organize anti-government protests recently. I personally think the positive things that come from Social Networking and media outweigh the problems, and critics need to understand that it’s time for an information and social revolution.

However, pretty much like everything else in life: Advantages come with disadvantages. Social networking sites make give someone a false sense of security. Are your friends really your friends?  This leads to identity online. Social networking sites have no way to verify that people are who they claim to be, leaving people vulnerable to messages from online predators who are able to hide their true identities. Also, the hours a day of face-to-face socializing has declined as the use of social networking sites and other media has increased. Being anonymous online is so easy, even for sex offenders and criminals. Cybercriminals can gather information to be used for identity theft from social networking profiles, such as birthdays, pet names, mothers’ maiden names, names of children, and other details often used in passwords and security questions for bank accounts or to other important websites.

The bottom question I think is: Were these social networking sites created to make money or to ease people’s social lives?

If you’re curious take the net addiction test.