Position Vlog

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Here Comes Everybody to Google

I remember back in the late 90's when my family finally got dialup internet. It was amazing to be able to connect to with so many people all across the world. Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody made a great point about how the internet has changed the whole dynamic of filtering and then publishing. In the chapter entitled "Publish, Then Filter", the point was made that how the internet is used today forces our society to publish and then filter what has been published. The quality of work that we find online varies from incompetently amateur to exceptionally professional. The filter that most internet users to find new information is through Google's search engine. When I have a question my first instinct is to do a Google search to see what comes up. By doing this we are allowing the supposed better material, whether amateur or professional, to permeate through Google's search engine and onto our computer screen. Quoting from Here Comes Everbody, "It's when a technology becomes normal, then ubiquitous, and finally so pervasive as to be invisible, that the really profound changes happen" (p. 105). The technology of the internet has become so normal to us that doing a Google search has become commonplace and invisible. We need to be aware of the changes that are occurring around us as we continue to filter the massive amount of information that is available on the internet.

Females in Computer Science

During my time at BYU I have never had more than four or five females in any one Computer Science related class. As I have continued in the major that number has continued to drop until currently this semester there are a paltry two females in each of my classes. With around thirty to forty students per class, that brings the average female enrollment to between 5 and 6.5 percent. My thoughts as to why the number of females is dropping is because the label that society wants to put on them. Have you looked at a magazine cover lately? Society expects the females in our society to be skinny, attractive and well dressed. Not that you can't be a skinny, attractive, and well dressed "nerd", but it is harder to get past the nerd part. The expectations that society implicitly sets for females will continue to restrict the number new women entering into computer related studies.

Technology and the Internet

    Technology has changed all our lives for the better. Or has it? If it weren't for all of the advances in technology we would still be plowing our fields by mule or oxen and we would return home to some makeshift tent or cave dwelling. Over the history of the earth man has continually strived to improve his living conditions through innovation. The most influential invention in my lifetime would have to be the internet. On a daily basis I am able to wirelessly transfer data to and from my laptop where I can read unlimited amounts of information, or turn in a digital copy of my homework. Living in this day and age is amazing, and if you don't realize that then you need to take a look around.
    The one pervasive drawback to all of the advances in technology is the widespread access to pornography on the internet. On several occasions this year I have been shown an appropriate YouTube video in class only to be exposed to the dreaded "related videos." How is a seminar about achieving your childhood dreams any way related to an immodestly dressed Chinese girl? I am fed up with this unwanted exposure to pornographic material. Google, in all its greatness and glory, has been a downright failure in this aspect. Even when watching videos with "Safety Mode" enabled, these inappropriate videos inevitably seem to filter through. It is time that Google provided a family safe YouTube.

Let It Be Known

Copyright laws have their place in our society. Trying to remove them would be an attempt at ripping a deeply rooted law from our society. The laws have certain flaws that desperately need revision. The fastest way to amend these laws is to bring the dirt to the public. We need to unveil how much money recoding companies are making off of their enslaved artists. Only when the public realizes where our copyright laws are failing will they begin to band together in favor of a revision.