EOTO Part 2

 Net Neutrality 

    The term “net neutrality” was first created by Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu in 2002 in an essay based on the rights of consumers and duties of ISPs. Net Neutrality is the concept that internet service providers should provide nondiscriminatory access to internet content and platforms, and should not manipulate the transfer of data regardless of its source or destination. Net Neutrality protects your ability to access and send any lawful information on the internet. This means it prevents internet service providers from preferring certain content, applications, or services over others. Without Net Neutrality, services could censor your content or slow down access to sites they don’t approve of or like. Our generation relies on the internet for news, information, and keeping in contact with friends and family. With Net Neutrality, it protects our freedom of speech, allows you to access any website you want, doesn’t allow a rise in prices on websites, and creates an equal playing field for each website. 

    The only drawback of net neutrality is that it makes it harder to find and censor inappropriate content. Net Neutrality is a big part of protecting our freedoms through internet use. We often don’t realize how lucky we are that accessing the internet and different websites is so easy. We can find information on whatever we want whether it’s politics, dogs up for adoption, or DIY videos. If net neutrality didn’t exist, internet providers could take down posts or websites they didn’t like such as a Democrat owner taking down a Republican post just because they don’t agree with what is being said. In a less serious matter, an internet provider who likes cats better than dogs could take down a dog adoption website. It would give internet providers the ability to take down anything they don’t agree with which is serious censorship and a violation of our rights. 

Privacy

Internet Privacy

    Internet privacy is definitely scary and concerning when you look into it, which is why I try not to read too much about it. I currently have SnapChat, Instagram, TikTok, and I have a Facebook account but I don’t use it very often. My whole family except my Dad use these apps and my Mom constantly sends me information that she sees on Facebook. For me personally, I try not to put too much information into my accounts. My SnapChat and Instagram have fake birthdays and my TikTok really doesn’t have much information either. I’ve always wanted to try the ancestry.com thing where you send them your DNA and they send you your nationalities and an ancestry pool. I would love to find out about past ancestors and where my family is from but giving up my DNA is scary especially after watching these videos. They can learn so much about me and possibly frame me for a crime I did not commit. Of course I’ve only seen that happen in movies and shows, but it still scares me. Call me paranoid but I would rather be safe than sorry.     

I think the government should try to limit how much information we put into social media. When making a new account, they ask you for your birthday, email address, phone number, gender, hometown, workplace, and your name. I think they should only ask your name because you can always make up a fake one. I also think it’s concerning that Facebook owns so many different variations of social media so they are constantly collecting data on people like the kind of posts they like and share with others. Using emails is also scary which is why I never send sensitive or personal information to people through messages on the phone. I always try to talk in person with people instead of through the phone. Have you ever tried to google yourself? I used to do it in middle school and found pictures of myself and my family pop up on Google. It scared my mom, so she called Google and figured out how to get the pictures down. Still, sometimes I will google my Instagram account and pictures will still come up even though my account is private.  We need to stop relying on the internet to send and receive information, especially sensitive and personal information. I think everyone should use fake information when it comes to making new accounts and have a fake email for spam and services you do not want to be bothered by.

EOTO Presentations

The Telegraph

    The telegraph was invented by a series of people including Samuel Morse in the 1830s and 1840s. It revolutionized long distance communication during this time and started filling the world with wires, like telephone poles that we see today. A lot of people helped in the development of the telegraph as it consists of many different parts. The most recognized inventors are from two different sets of researchers, one in England and one in the United States. The credit goes to Sir William Cooke and Sir Charles Wheatstone in England and Samuel Morse, Leonard Gale, and Alfred Vail in the United States. They all collectively worked together in doing research and using each other's research to invent the different parts needed to create the telegraph.    

    The first telegraph message was sent by Morse, who also invented the Morse Code, in 1844 from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore. In 1866, a telegraph wire was laid across the Atlantic Ocean from the U.S. to Europe. This was a revolutionary invention because people were not only able to communicate to each other from different states, but also different countries. It was the basis of the communication revolution that led to other communication inventions we use today like telephones and the internet. Information was now able to be widespread across the world meaning easier communication between governments, allies, soldiers in war, and families. Before the telegraph, people used smoke signals or drum beats to communicate with further distances but these methods weren't reliable as the unpredictable weather could hinder the effects by interrupting the line of sight between the two points. Therefore, they needed a more reliable source of long distance communication and the telegraph was born. There was a downfall to the invention though. The successful use of the device required a system of telegraph stations for information to be transmitted and in the beginning, there was only one company that picked up this line of work. The Western Union Telegraph Company laid the first transcontinental telegraph line, making it the first nationwide telegraph company. Eventually, more companies picked up the line of work and all was well until the invention of the telephone overshadowed the popularity of the telegraph. 

Antiwar

Antiwar Voices

    I think the government makes big companies and search engines like Google sensor what information gets out and how easy it is to access information. News sources are probably censored as well, as the antiwar movement is in opposition of the government's decision to start or carry out an armed conflict. They disagree with war as a whole, no matter how just the cause is. The government does not want these voices heard because they go against the decisions they make and the mainstream media wouldn't mention these voices because war and conflict feeds their websites and the news they have to share. If they allowed antiwar voices to be heard, it would seem that they support the cause which could anger the government and make them lose money as there aren't many vocalized antiwar citizens. They was to silence anything that goes against the nation's decisions, therefore it is difficult to find these websites as no one wants to allow them to have a public platform to get their message about war out to the public. 

Each One Teach One

The History of the Typewriter

The typewriter was invented in 1868 by Christopher Latham Sholes. He was born in Danville, Pennsylvania on February 14, 1819. He invented the first practical typewriter and the keyboard design we use. At first, he had it in alphabetical order but soon realized that when he typed, the key levers on the typewriter would get jammed. After playing around with the design, he came up with the QWERTY keyboard design. As a quick little fun fact, Sholes added the shift key in 1878, ten years after it originally came out. So, the documents that came out before then are all typed with lowercase letters! As a teen, he was a printer's apprentice. He then moved to Wisconsin where he worked as a printer himself as well as an editor and journalist, which is why the typewriter was an idea sparked in his head. He also served two terms as a Wisconsin Senator, another term in the State Assembly, and helped bring the Republican Party to Wisconsin. Later on, Lincoln asked him to become the port of Milwaukee's customs collector.

The typewriter was made in the 19th century to improve business communications. The typewriter helped reduce the time and money it took to write out documents and provided multiple copies at one time. The typewriter lead to more jobs for women in offices which is an important turn of events for women, especially those working in factories or unable to find a job. Women were hired to sit at their desks and type important documents for the business to be able to communicate clearer. It really introduced women to the workforce and was the start to getting women out of the factories. Women learning to use typewriters also gave them the power to use their voices and write journals and magazines to be published for their peers. It helped, “relieve businessmen of the great amount of pen-work drudgery to be done in every business.” They saved time, money, and hands from some serious cramping. It made communication between businesses easier and helped the business get information out faster as they could make many copies of the same document by typing it out instead of writing it all down. Typing cut down the time and money normally used as one person could type three pages in the same time as it took another person to write one. Though the typewriter was invented to help businesses create documents faster and more efficiently, it was very frustrating to use. Instead of being able to delete or erase a mistake, people had to retype an entire page just to add in words, fix their spelling and grammar, or even add a space between two words.  Though Christopher invented the typewriter, he didn't exactly advertise for it right and he was unable to create a market for it. Eventually, he sold the rights to Remington Arms Company In 1873 for $12,000. Though he sold the rights, he continued to try to improve the design on his own and added the shift key in 1878. Many people after Sholes continued to work on the typewriter and even though his name was no longer on it, he is still considered "The Father of the Typewriter."

The 8 Values of Free Expression

Marketplace of Ideas

        To me personally, the Marketplace of Ideas is the most important value of free expression. I hate liars and value the truth above all else. I always say I would rather know the truth, even if it hurts, rather than be lied to. It's a horrible feeling when you realize you've been lied to so I think that telling the truth will always be better in the end. 

    It's kind of funny when you think about how the truth plays out in the world today. For one, every movie or show is surrounded and based on lies. There is usually one main lie and then a thousand little lies that come up to keep the show going. Every time I watch a show like this, I think to myself, just tell the truth. The characters' lives would be so much easier and less dramatic if they just told the truth. One show that follows lie after lie is Never Have I Ever. The main character, Devi, starts the show by telling her friends one big lie. Then, she continues to spiral into a web of lies to protect the original lie she told. By telling more and more lies, she finds herself constantly losing friends when they find out the amount of lies she has told them. If she had just told the truth, she never would have lost so many people. 

        We also see lies show up in social media a lot more than we realize. Most posts we see by celebrities on Instagram are edited to look so perfect it's almost fake. News flash, it is fake. People are really good at editing and photoshop so when we see older women looking perfect on their Instagrams, we need to remember that they don't actually look that way. Think about when you post on your social media. You always choose the best picture, most flattering filter, and always put your best foot forward. Celebrities do the same thing. They always put their best foot forward, and sometimes go too far with it. They create a life of lies on social media and in public which is why it is so shocking when we find out the truth which then becomes the drama we see on Daily Mail and TMZ. When you think about it, lies fuel the paparazzi and the drama that we all like to read and understand. Paparazzi try their best to capture the truth and even though celebrities know how to put on a poker face in public, they can be caught off guard when they don't see or realize someone is filming them. The drama we hear about and read all comes from the lies celebrities tell on social media. 

        I think if people just told the truth, life would be so much easier and smoother. No one likes to be lied to and it's a terrible feeling when you fin out you have been lied to. Some people may think they can get away with their lies, but I believe that the truth always comes out eventually, one way or another.

SCOTUS

The History of The Supreme Court

    SCOTUS stands for the Supreme Court of the United States. It is the highest federal court in the country and the head of the judicial branch of government. It holds the ultimate jurisdiction over all laws within the United States and protects the Constitution in every aspect. One thing I learned from reading the article, Supreme Court by History.com, is that the Supreme Court originally consisted of 6 justices instead of the 9 we have today. I also learned that there have been 9 justices included since 1869. The Supreme Court holds a lot of accountability and power. They are accountable for making sure each courtly decision and case follows the rules of the Constitution. While the First Amendment protects our rights, the Supreme Court goes the extra step and ensures that each and every person follows it no matter the situation. They are the highest judges and are tasked with making hard decisions when a unanimous decision cannot be made. The most surprising thing I learned is that John Marshall was the fourth chief justice and served for 34 years, which is a very significant amount of time, and the longest term of any chief justice. After reading the article, I now understand the importance of the Supreme Court and how dangerous life could be without it. Our rights could easily be taken in court cases or new laws passed, which the Supreme Court vows to protect.