EOTO: Com Tech Timeline

 Facebook was created mainly by Mark Zuckerberg on February 4th, 2004, while he and his colleagues Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dylan Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes were students at Harvard University. This story, popularized by the movie The Social Network, is a story of betrayal and deceit that actually landed Zuckerberg and associates in legal trouble after he was accused of misleading a group of other Harvard students to take a website idea that they had made and turned it into his own idea. This would later lead to an investigation of his website by the Harvard newspaper The Crimson, which led Zuckerberg into a series of lawsuits that were later settled.

Facebook was originally supposed to be a way for Harvard students to connect with each other, almost like a digital phonebook programmed specifically for Harvard students. Zuckerberg was credited with the original idea, which is why his name is the most recognizable. Zuckerberg was approached by Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra about creating the same kind of app for them entitled HarvardConnection, which gave Zuckerberg the original idea for Facebook. He was working on both apps at the same time and was planning on lowering the standard on HarvardConnection to make Facebook the superior website for connecting.

When Facebook launched to the general public in 2006, it quickly skyrocketed in popularity. It was already immensely popular among students at Ivy League universities, which gained access to the technology in March of 2004. It became a way for people to share their lives on a common platform so that everyone who followed them or was interested in their lives could see what they chose to share with the click of a button. In December of 2005, there were about 6 million users and in April of 2023, there were 2.989 billion users.

Other famous social media platforms around that time such as MySpace and Napster were slowly cut down in popularity due to Facebook's sudden and rapid success. This technology makes communication between individuals much easier. Instead of taking the time to text and reach out to someone, you could simply make a post on Facebook for everyone to see. To this day, Facebook is still a very popular platform, but along with the early 2000s is being left to the millennials. Most of the users on Facebook are parents who want to post about their child's achievements and to keep in touch with their friends who they are not as close with as they once were. Platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat have slowly taken over in popularity, but Facebook still remains a strong force as a social media platform.

Learning about the history of Facebook and its rise and fall allowed me to learn about the rise of social media as a technology, and how it skyrocketed in power. Enabling people with the power and access to communication, and a way for people to easily connect with people that live across the world or even just the country is extremely beneficial to people. The power of social media as a whole is important to the success of this country. Most people in younger generations turn to accounts on TikTok and Instagram for their daily dose of news and without this, most of the younger generation would not view the news at all, they would not be paying attention to an action that is vital for our society.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/facebook-launches-mark-zuckerberg

Privacy, Online and Off

     These issues of privacy are integral to everyone, not just friends and family. These TED Talks discuss how our privacy is being breached daily, and how certain companies are being exploited to hand out this information. I enjoyed these TED Talks because they allowed me to gain a deeper level of understanding through a fresh way of retaining private information.

    The first TED Talk I watched was from Juan Enriquez, and he gave his talk on "electronic tattoos." He spoke about how everyone has what he calls an electronic tattoo which tells certain companies where you have been, and where you are going. Social media sites like Twitter, and Facebook, as well as security cameras, are guilty of using this technology to track people's every movement on the internet. I had never really thought about my digital footprint in this way. The ability for companies to track my every move just with the click of a button is honestly a little scary, but it is also the world that we are currently living in.

    Another TED Talk I watched that really resonated with me was from Andy Yen and it was about the breach of privacy that comes from our emails and companies looking into our emails and what we are directly saying to others. I think that this is a total invasion of privacy and I cannot fathom how some companies have the morality to do that to their customers. I understand why these companies are doing this, but I feel like there has to be a better way to go about this. Invading someone's privacy to articulate the advertisements to ones that they would like. 

These issues affect us all the time and are issues that I feel could be prevented with some better transparency from both sides of the issue. It is an invasion of privacy for you, your family, and everyone else that is involved. But, on the flip side, I can also see why this is instrumental for other companies because it allows them to better cater to what they think their viewers want to see.

The 8 Freedoms of Expression

There are 8 Freedoms of Expression: 1. Marketplace of Ideas, 2. Participation in Self-Government, 3. Stable Change, 4. Individual Self-Fulfillment, 5. Check on Governmental Power, 6. Promote Tolerance, 7. Promote Innovation, and 8. Protect Dissent. These freedoms help enable citizens under the First Amendment to be able to speak however they please, with restraints. There were 2 that stuck out to me the most: Promote Tolerance and Stable Change. These two freedoms work hand-in-hand with each other which is why they stuck out to me. Promoting Tolerance deals with making sure that you are aware of what you can and cannot say from a young age, while Stable Change allows citizens to vent their issues about the government without consequence, which oddly enough could provide a more stable living environment. Knowing your limits of what you can say, while talking about politics and the government is immensely important to make sure that you do not end up under a light for something you said or did.

When we were presented with the freedom to promote tolerance, I was confused as to why this wasn't just a common sense ideal that should be practiced in everyday life. But, after reflecting on this idea, it is evident as to why it is a freedom that should be talked about. We were presented with the fake scenario of the NBA team owner who said a slur on Twitter. This made me reflect on whether or not this had happened previously, or rather something similar to it, and yes it had. Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver was suspended for a year on September 13, 2022, for repeated use of racial slurs and sexual misconduct allegations."

"While I disagree with some of the particulars of the NBA’s report, I would like to apologize for my words and actions that offended our employees. I take full responsibility for what I have done. I am sorry for causing this pain, and these errors in judgment are not consistent with my personal philosophy or my values." (Sarver) This is a real-life example of how promoting tolerance can affect someone and their life track. 

Stable Change was the other freedom that I wanted to touch on. Stable Change is a citizen's ability to "vent" and criticize the government in any way that they choose without repercussions. This freedom is one that I was a bit confused about when it was first introduced, but upon further thinking it is a freedom that is vital for our nation to function properly. Having the ability to freely criticize the government under the First Amendment, is an instrumental value to our society. Citizens should be able to form their own opinions and beliefs based on what they believe and can disagree with others who do not align with the same values as you. There is also the idea that the government can use what its citizens are saying to gauge their likeness within society.

    

The Founding Era

    Before watching the videos, there was little that I knew about The Supreme Court. Growing up and still to this day, I am not one to engage in political information or even follow the presidency. I knew of The Supreme Court vaguely, and that it was part of the Judicial Branch. I found it interesting that in the Constitution there are no qualifications to become a member of The Supreme Court. There is an intense process to become a Supreme Court member, but no education requirements are associated with becoming a member. One of the most important takeaways for me was that the Chief Justice has the power of impeachment. I found it very interesting that one person has all of the power to take the president out of office. 

The first Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court is a set of 6 justices that are the final court that a court case goes to. For instance, when Roe v. Wade was first tried, the case ended up in The Supreme Court which changed the right to an abortion from being a matter of each state's decision to the choice becoming a federal decision. This was overturned in June 2022, also decided by The Supreme Court. So, The Supreme Court is in charge of deciding some significant cases that can change the course of the country, as the overturn of Roe v. Wade did. I found it interesting that the Supreme Court sets the precedent for many landmark cases, and still upholds most of these precedents that were put in place over 200 years ago. 

As a citizen, it is crucial to know how these courts are set up and regulated so that one does not become more powerful than another, also known as checks and balances. It is also important to note that the government was set up in a way that benefits every citizen, and that is very important to me. I also think it is important to add that the Supreme Court can pick and choose which case they want to try and not try. 

I thought it would be important to include a current picture and list of Supreme Court Justices: Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

    

My top 5 favorite sources of news and information

Growing up as a child in the digital age social media has always been a prevalent force in my life. I could not remember a time when I was not searching and scrolling on Instagram. With that being said, news can be pushed out in various different ways through various different sources.  I recognize that my news consumption is not as high as it should be, but I am working towards consuming more as it is slowly becoming more and more important that I stay in the know with the news I am visualizing.

1. Instagram

I was born in the digital age, so of course I grew up surrounded by technology and social media. Instagram is one of those and is one of my sources where I find my daily news. I feel like this is one of, if not the most convenient way for me to find my news. When I am doing my daily scroll on Instagram, I follow news accounts that are posted into my feed so I can stay up to date on the news that I am interested in reading.

2. TikTok

I know TikTok is not the most reliable source, but I use it as a way for me to fact-check the news that shows up on my feed. If a news story pops up on my feed and I am interested in reading further into what the story is. TikTok is notorious for not providing legitimate information which comes from not credible sources so I see this as an interesting way to fact-check news and see if it is something I truly want to learn about.

3. ESPN

For all of my sports content, I prefer to use ESPN. There are plenty of other sources such as Bleacher Report, or CBS Sports but I feel as though ESPN provides a catered source of sports news. I can easily favorite my teams and can filter to only see content for that specific team or sport. I like having that aspect rather than just seeing a vague home page of a source.

4. WSOC TV

WSOC is a news station that is local to my hometown of Charlotte, NC. This website allows me to stay in touch with what is going on around my hometown. I like using this because it allows me to know what is going on around town, and allows me to follow stories that apply to me. Recently, my sister was featured on an article for her athletic accolades, and having access to WSOC allowed me to read this without having to buy the physical newspaper.

5.

Growing up going to school CNN 10 was almost a necessity in all of my social studies classes. We would watch this every day as it allowed my peers and I to stay connected with what was going on around the world at a comprehension level everyone could understand. We loved seeing the host Carl Azuz every day and he became a constant source of laughter in our lives. I enjoy how CNN makes this special program that allows young adults to stay connected to the news going on around the world.