Blog Essay: Crowdfuding

For my research paper, I looked at the rise of crowdfunding and how it’s more than a tool to raise money but that creates conversation.

Blog Essay

For my final paper, I looked at how social media is encouraging people to be environmentalists.

Event Report: Digital Humanitarians

I attended the Digital Humanitarians event at New America, which focused on Patrick Meier’s new book about how to make sense of “big data” during disasters. The book is a collection of stories, but Meier focused on the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which is what started the digital humanitarian movement.

            Meier was a graduate student at Tufts University when the earthquake struck. His wife and friends were in Haiti at the time, so he began using tweets and other posts on social media that included geographic locations to search for them. Working with a group of other students, Meier brought together a full-fledged citizen science disaster response team, none of whom had any experience with this type of data collection.

The team monitored various social feeds, mapping and validating information received. They published their map online, and at the time, only half of Port au Prince was available on Google Maps, making it very difficult to georeference messages. The Director of FEMA retweeted it saying it was the most up-to-date and comprehensive map available. They received an email from the Marine Corps saying that they used the map “every second of every day” and it saved hundreds of lives. By crowdsourcing the information, they were able to make it available to the disaster relief teams in real time, instead of several days or weeks after the disaster.

Next, the team set up a texting line for Haitians in need, since between 60 and 70 percent of Haitians had mobile phones at the time. They used Facebook to recruit people who spoke the Haitian Creole language to translate the texts. As texts came in, volunteers on social media would categorize the severity of damage for that location—either requests for help, infrastructure damage, or population displacement. This made it easier to track exactly what type of assistance was needed and where.

Later, Meier created a “wordle” image using all of the words from the texts, and surprisingly, the words please and thank you were some of the most commonly used. Meier explained that this was really powerful to him—that even in the state of despair, humanity still exists.

Meier went on to explain how the Digital Humanitarian movement has improved since the earthquake in Haiti. They now have an artificial intelligence system that can tag up to 2 million photos and tweets per hour. They have a Verily platform that helps to verify the accuracy of images. They use social media to ask yes or no questions about pictures—like, was this photo taken in Haiti?—to end the mindless retweeting and spreading of rumors, and get people to use their critical thinking skills to do something good.

I thought this event was especially relevant to our class. It helped to address the struggle with clicktivism, as the digital humanitarian effort is a way that people can make a real difference with the click of a button, instead of simply feeling accomplished for clicking. Additionally, Meier noted that previously, if you had mentioned crowdsourcing at the UN, you looked like an idiot. The UN has come a long way, and they even suggested crowdsourcing during a typhoon.

I highly recommend watching the webinar from this event, and definitely suggest reading the book. Meier was a captivating speaker, and the story is incredible. It’s especially refreshing to hear about how mindless clicks online can be turned into useful information for people working on the ground in the aftermath of a disaster. During the discussion, Meier was asked why he thought so many people responded in these situations, and his answer was that people want to help, but you need to provide them with a simple, ethical way to do so.

Website: http://www.digital-humanitarians.com

View the webinar of the event: https://www.newamerica.org/international-security/digital-humanitarians/

Separating Lives: Professional or Social Media Aliases

     The idea of using an alias may seem like something out of a spy movie, but having an alias for your professional or online life is a conversation that is happening on the web. Using an alias can be controversial, depending on what camp you’re in. Keep in mind, the idea of using an alias is not a “hot” topic at the moment, but I will explain how future implications may make it one.

     Many blog posts or informational articles weigh the pros and cons of using an alias and why you might want one. The rest of the conversation happens in the comments. The majority of comment threads are quite reasonable and usually expand on some aspects of the pros and cons in the articles or give a personal anecdote about an awkward situation involving an alias of their own or someone else’s.

     The main reason for using an alias is to separate your personal life from your professional life or your online persona from your offline one. Some cite privacy, others reputation or credibility as reasons for using one. Authors have long been known to use pen names, or alternate author names, for themselves. Some authors have multiple pseudonyms so they can write in a range of genres without losing or confusing their publics. An author who wrote poetry and fantasy might use their real name for poetry and something like Raul Bloodworth for fantasy books. Potential college students are now changing their identities online until they have been definitively accepted to their chosen university.

     Using a professional alias can prevent bosses or colleagues from seeing those embarrassing photos of you or a status update that you’re not particularly proud of. It can give you some privacy from the online world.  True privacy is becoming more scarce every day. It also puts a barrier between potential stalkers and you, making it difficult to track you down. Online, you can create multiple aliases tailored to your specific interests. It makes being involved in both the local opera chat rooms and online massive multiplayer gaming community a little easier to separate. However, those that are against using an alias often promote using strict privacy settings for online profiles.

     There are negative factors to take into account when making the decision to use an alias or not. Using a bad or very fake pseudonym can reflect negatively on you. Your alias may give people an impression of you that is false. Revealing your real name to someone or having others accidentally slip online can be awkward. It can cast a shadow of dishonesty around you. The decision of whether to use an alias or not is yours. 

     Facebook and Google have been known to push a “real names” policy. But there may be concrete reasons, outside of separating a personal and professional life, for using an alias. It helps former victims of crimes or threats, those with security-related jobs, and those with a volatile family history protect themselves.

     However, the pros of using an alias may eventually outweigh the cons and even become a necessity when online. During the course of the semester, we discussed surveillance and privacy abilities and concerns. Online shopping has become an incredibly smooth process because companies, particularly those like Amazon, track buyer’s habits and make predictions for future purchases. Metadata and content records are also associated with your online persona. Hypothetically, the more intrusive surveillance becomes, the more beneficial a separate online persona may be. There may not be a completely exhaustive method to separate your offline persona from your online one, but by fragmenting your identity across platforms, tracking you as one single person becomes harder.

Sources: 

http://money.howstuffworks.com/10-tips-for-maintaining-professional-image-online6.htm

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/pros-and-cons-using-alias-your-online-persona

http://blog.credit.com/2013/02/can-an-online-alias-protect-you-from-identity-theft/

http://smallbiztrends.com/2014/12/pros-and-cons-of-a-google-alias.html

http://www.social-media-x.co.uk/using-facebook-alias-really-lack-integrity/#.VT5wBaaNQx8

Blog Essay: How Well Does Your iPhone Know You?

Privacy and surveillance have been a hot topic in this class as we discuss locational privacy as well as the Right to be Forgotten. With cell phones becoming so closely interwoven into our daily lives, one wonders if it is a gift or a curse that we have access to such technology. While the concern of privacy and the potential breach of our personal data is alarming, companies continue release new technology on devices we use on a daily basis that tracks our actions without our knowledge. An example of this technology exists in Apple’s iOS 8, and their upgraded advertising platform iAd.

Recently my boss texted me and asked if she should “limit ad tracking” on her iPhone. Confused as to what she was talking about, I had her send me a screenshot of what she was seeing. Sure enough, there was a setting under “Privacy” on the iPhone that allows you to limit ad tracking, although it defaults to “No” on every phone, without users knowing that it exists. 

Whether or not this capability is new, it is frightening that it may have existed for years without being brought up by anyone. I do not consider myself to be the most technology savvy person, but I have had an iPhone, iPad and Macbook for the last few years - without realizing the extent to which iAd operates. 

To quote Apple, this ad tracking feature in iOS 8 is intended, “to give you the best advertising experience, iAd provides ads based on your interests.” (Opt Out of Interest-Based Ads from iAd, 2015). And while that does not sound completely horrible, further research brings up some red flags.

Apple has struggled with its ad business, and this ad tracking feature in iAd is a way to remedy this situation. Apple's iAd advertising platform in iOS 8 has made it easier for ad agencies to target ads based on user in-app browsing behaviors. An example of iAd in use is when a visitor uses the iPhone app of their favorite retailer to add a pair of shoes to their shopping cart, but ultimately decide not to buy it. In this scenario, if the retailer uses iAd they can retarget the user with an ad for that exact pair of shoes through any app on their Apple devices. When the user clicks the advertisement, they will be directed back to their abandoned checkout page, with the shoes automatically waiting in their online shopping cart. 

iAds exist in the form of banners, full-screen interstitials, and audio ads between songs on iTunes Radio. Companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter and now Apple are looking for ways to replace cookies with other personal identifiers for ad-related purposes, and iAd is Apple’s way around them. 

So what can you do to protect yourself? Apple’s ad tracking feature exists on computers, iPhones, iPads, the iPod touch, and Apple TV. Location-based ads can be turned off on iPhones, iPads, and the iPod touch. Apple does allow users to turn this tracking off, as well as erase all previous information if they desire. But first the user has to find this feature to turn it off! (See here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202074)

Limiting ad tracking leads to two expected results. One, individuals see the same number of ads as before, but they are less relevant because they do not take interests into account. Two, individuals might see ads related to the content in an application or ads based on other non-personal information.

When my boss and I got into further into whether or not to limit ad tracking on her phone, I was initially okay with ad tracking. But now as I go back and investigate this feature, my decision starts to change. While I do share a lot of information via the internet, this small step is one in the right direction to finding ways to limit the personal information that goes out into the public sphere.

___________

Opt Out of Interest-Based Ads from iAd. (2015, February 4). Retrieved April 25, 2015, from https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202074

Paint Your Nails for Bruce: Just Another Slacktivist Effort?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bradesposito/paint-your-nails-for-bruce

I've spent a lot of time looking at examples of slacktivism in social media over the course of this semester, and thought this was an interesting new one starting to pop up. In the wake of Bruce Jenner's interview with Diane Sawyer this past weekend, where he revealed that he was in the process of transitioning to a woman, people began "painting their nails for Bruce Jenner" and posting pictures on social media. The 'movement' was started by a Sydney-based (male) radio host in an effort to show solidarity with Bruce and the transgender community as a whole - and will likely face criticism, just like many other similar slacktivist efforts.

Nepal earthquake and social media

Social Media Becomes a Lifeline in the Nepal Earthquake Aftermath
"More importantly several groups have been established to use social media and crowd sourcing information to account for so far missing people. Google launched a Person Finder for people to file missing person reports. But many are using social media platforms as well, including this facebook page, where people from Nepal or foreigners who have friends, relatives currently in Nepal are posting information but also request to account for people they currently cannot reach"
https://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/04/26/global-social-media-lifeline-in-nepal-earthquake-aftermath/

Facebook and Google help find Nepal earthquake survivors
"Facebook has rolled out its recently introduced Safety Check feature to tell you if contacts in the area are okay -- survivors only have to report in to ease your mind."
http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/25/nepal-earthquake-internet-efforts/

How they got it wrong with Nepal earthquake posts on social media
"The ripples of the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal were also felt in the virtual world, where some were left red-faced thanks to their insensitive promos and embarrassing posts on social media."
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/not-getting-it-right-how-insensitive-posts-on-nepal-quake-were-booed-on-social-media/article1-1341186.aspx

Nepal earthquake: Photos emerge of people taking selfies in front of damaged landmarks
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/nepal-earthquake-photos-emerge-of-people-taking-selfies-in-front-of-damaged-landmarks-10206491.html

Blog Essay

During my spring break traveling through Northern India, one of our local guides proudly informed me that soon, all of India would have access to wireless internet. Passing a backdrop of crumbling buildings and slums, I made the man repeat himself, sure that I had heard incorrectly. Sure enough, in June 2015, the first phase of  government initiative, Digital India, will provide WiFi access to 25 cities, with the goal of eventually offering wireless internet throughout the entire country (Government of India, n.d.)

The motivation to invest in infrastructure for wireless internet seems straightforward. Digital skills are increasingly a requirement for employment in any field, making it an economic imperative that all citizens are able to gain skills to become more viable candidates.  Although merely providing free Internet won’t eliminate the digital divide, it at least begins to lay the groundwork for social mobility of digitally isolated citizens. 

Nevertheless, cities who have attempted to offer municipal WiFi access have been largely unsuccessful the United States. In 2004, Philadelphia officials embarked on one of the first initiatives to provide citywide Internet access. The project aimed to make Philadelphia more digitally inclusive by allowing disadvantaged communities to get online. However, telecommunication companies immediately stepped in to dismantle these efforts, concerned about the impact on their revenues.
Bills arrived on local government members desks, and spokespeople took the task of convincing the public that public WiFi was nothing more than a drain on taxpayer resources (Levy, 2004). 

The campaign telecommunications companies put forth seems to have stuck. The Economist described municipal WiFi as “doomed to failure”. Citing the number of public places that offer WiFi, the article concludes that widespread access is entirely unnecessary (The Economist, 2013, p.3). This argument, however, fails to consider the number of individuals across the country who live in rural and low-income communities.

Meanwhile, across the globe in a developing country, leaders have recognized the importance of access to the Internet in achieving long-term growth. As the global economy continues to run on information, providing widespread access will be critical in maintain a globally competitive workforce. Over the coming years, these issues and recent calls for net neutrality will force the United States to confront the role corporate interests have played in stagnating digital literacy.

Works Cited

            Government of India. A programme to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Government of India.

             Levy, M. (2004). Telecoms’ lobbyish push to quash Philadelphia’s municipal WiFi p. Pittsburg Post-Gazette, p. B17.

           The Economist. (2013). Whatever happened to municipal Wi-Fi?. Retrieved 28 April 2015, from http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2013/07/wireless-networks

Blog Essay

            My research paper focused on the effects on anonymity on human behavior on the internet.

Blog Essay

“White Flight in Networked Publics? How Race and class Shaped American Teen Engagement with MySpace and Facebook” by Dana Boyd and How it Relates to the Digital Divide that Everyone has Experienced

Racial profiling on Next Door

http://pando.com/2015/03/30/the-racists-next-door-why-nextdoors-racial-profiling-problem-isnt-the-companys-fault-its-societys/

Gaming and Chipotle's "The Scarecrow"

Last class, we discussed games as new media tools for campaigns. I thought it was interesting to consider how far game culture has evolved, not only with the progression of the quality of games people are creating, but also with the growing following games have generated.

Social Media, Privacy, and Freedom (Blog Essay-Aaron Marks)

In my research paper, I discussed the lack of personal privacy allowed to people on their social media and how it violates people's freedom as a result. I would like to expand upon my point in more plain terms here.

Online Anger

Interesting program on online anger, trolling & rage tweeting.
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2015-04-21/rage-tweeting-trolling-and-online-anger

"Mobilegeddon" - Google to favor mobile friendly sites in search

Timely in light of yesterday's presentation

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/04/20/mobilegeddon-could-impact-your-business/26090627/

Amy Schumer - A very realistic military game

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/ac9kui/inside-amy-schumer-a-very-realistic-military-game

Edward Snowden Timeline

When it comes to highly covered events and topics in the news we tend to have a hard time grasping the overall concept of what is happening. Al Jazeera has made it easy with the Snowden scandal with this incredibly helpful and interactive timeline.


http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/multimedia/timeline-edward-snowden-revelations.html

BBC on Drones: surveillance or security?

BBC on Drones: surveillance or security?
The changing drone laws in the coming year

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150318-i-use-a-drone-to-spy-on-people

IG says US Postal Service can save money with Google Glass

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/04/08/5-ways-the-postal-service-could-save-money-with-google-glass-type-eyewear/

Blog Essay: Yik Yak's Effects on Campus Cultures

Kelly Moseman

Yik Yak’s Effects on Campus Cultures

Since the social media app was first introduced in late 2013, Yik Yak has revealed a culture of racism and cyberbullying on college and even high school campuses across the United States. Yik Yak is an app for iPhones and Androids that allows “users to speak their minds without revealing their identities, and, sometimes, to insult, shame, and threaten” (English, 2014) and the posts are shared with other users in their area. Students especially enjoy being able to use the app because they it is a platform where they can express their thoughts and feelings without having to face any real-world repercussions for their words, aside from a few negative, also-anonymous responses. “Yik Yak has become a venue for anonymous hate speech, sexual harassment, and other impermissible forms of discrimination” (Scheinman, 2015). At what point does Yik Yak transform from being an, essentially, anonymous Twitter feed to an attack-site, forcing students to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome on their campuses?

Although the app has been available since 2013, it only very recently became popular when its founders decided to stop charging fees for usage of the app; the number of users has skyrocketed since. The posts are completely unfiltered — my own feed on any given day at American University (which also tends to pick up on the Georgetown and George Washington feeds) ranges from complaints over homework or AU’s food services, confessions about sex or drug usage, jokes with racist undertones, and more. For the most part, a quick glance suggests that the app might actually be pretty harmless, just a glimpse into the tumultuous lives of undergraduate students.

This is far from the truth. At AU and countless other college campuses across the country, racist and sexist remarks have created extreme tension between students, especially in the wake of events such as Michael Brown’s shooting in Ferguson and the ensuing riots or The Rolling Stone withdrawing their support of the young woman from the University of Virginia who said she was raped by fraternity members. This tension has also been extended to exist between students and administrators, especially when students begin to call for a ban of the app on their campuses and pressure administrators to respond. Since its usage has expanded, AU has hosted several forums on Yik Yak’s effect on the community; AU’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion and several professors are actually joining together to host a debate and discussion on the app this Wednesday night. 

What university administrators then struggle with is the fine line between their students’ right to free speech and wanting to create an inclusive and safe space on their campuses. From Yik Yak, “professors can learn about certain patterns of holdover bigotry that inflect campus life in ways otherwise invisible to the adults in the room” (Scheinman, 2015) and then are tasked with addressing and discounting these negative feelings of prejudice toward others in the lecture hall. 

Yik Yak’s creators were inspired by a desire to give students across the country a voice where they otherwise might not feel they have one. However, when students are faced with bigotry and sexual harassment when using the app, there is no way for it to be successful in creating an inclusive environment on college campuses. The anonymous posts lead students to feel unsafe and unwelcome on their campuses, a space where they should feel safest. Yik Yak has only served to make college students across the United States uncomfortable, and when there are other platforms for expressing thoughts and feelings that are simply safer, it is probably time to start facilitating a dialogue about banning the app throughout the country.

Works Cited

English, B. (2014, May 14). Yik Yak app evokes allure, alarm on campuses - The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 13, 2015.

Scheinman, T. (2015, January 29). The folly of banning Yik Yak on school campuses. Retrieved April 13, 2015.

The government hides surveillance programs just because people would freak out

"The lengths to which the FBI will go to keep these devices secret from the public is alarming. As a Guardian investigation detailed on Friday, the FBI makes local police that use them sign non-disclosure agreements, and goes as far as to direct them to dismiss charges against potential criminals if the phone surveillance will be exposed at trial (as is required by due process rights in the Fifth Amendment)."

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/11/the-government-will-hide-its-surveillance-programs-but-they-wont-eliminate-them?CMP=share_btn_link

Blog Essay: Anita Sarkeesian's Fight Against #GamerGate

Trigger warning: rape threats, harassment, death threats

Blog Essay: The Depth of the Digital Divide

Franny Valour

Blog Essay #1

3/29/15

Blog Essay: Rand Paul & the role of technology in 2016

(Getty Images)

All the News That’s Fit for Your Wrist: NYT Plans “One Sentence” Stories

Here is a story from American Journalism Review on the "one sentence" stories for Apple Watch: http://ajr.org/2015/04/03/one-sentence-stories/

What We Have Lost in Shift From Cigarettes to Smart-Phones

"What We Have Lost in Shift from Cigarettes to Smart Phones"

Great article about the cultural role of smartphones & technology in cultural (if slightly cynical).

https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/william-davies/what-have-we-lost-in-shift-from-cigarettes-to-smartphones

Event Rapporteur - Nora Kirk

Our Data, Our Health: The Future of Mobile Health Technology
Whose Data is it Anyway?

Event Report

            On Tuesday, March 31, I attended an event through The Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law regarding strategic communications for advocacy. This event was part of a three event series on human rights skills. The event was run by Fernanda Katz Ellenberg, International Programs Coordinator for the Law School and former Senior Advocacy Officer at the Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Center for Human Rights, and Cate Urban, Communications Manager with WEConnect International, an organization that focuses on helping women-owned businesses compete on the global market.

            First, Ellenberg went through her background in strategic communications with the RFK Center. She explained how much of the work she did was on the ground with activists in other countries, doing things such as writing op-eds, helping promote petitions, working with celebrities, but primarily writing press releases. She didn’t go into much depth with many of the other options other than saying that accessing big names for a good cause is possible if you are persistent and stubborn. Often times they may not show up to an event, but they may make a donation or make a statement on social media supporting your cause, or even give you a quote for a press release. But primarily the event focused on how to write an effective press release.

            The first and most important thing, according to the two speakers (though Ellenberg did most of the talking,) is to not show your hand in a press release. You need to balance presenting your message effectively with not providing too much information to keep your edge above competing non-profits. Also, it is important to keep the press releases short. The speakers recommended holding them to one page at most. The next thing one should do while writing a press release is decide who you are talking to. Understanding your audience allows you to appropriately tailor your message. If you are speaking to lawyers focus on the legal aspect of things, while if you are speaking to a general public, it is better to keep things more broad. After that, you must ask, why now? Why is it important to convey this message at this time as opposed to a week from now? Often times press releases are responses to a particular event to help draw more attention to it. Timing, thus, is incredibly important in crafting an effective press release. Finally, the speakers emphasized the importance of crafting an effective title. Titles should be 50 characters at most, and should broadly convey the topic of the release without giving away all of the information. An example Ellenberg used was a, self-admitted, poorly done press release she had crafted in response to a statement made by RFK Center President, Kerry Kennedy, on the Ugandan Parliament legislating on an Anti-Homosexuality bill. The title used was, “Kerry Kennedy, President of the RFK Center, Expresses Grave Concern over Legislating Hatred by the Ugandan Parliament.” Ellenberg said that this title was too long and would have functioned better as an introduction sentence. Instead, she said the title should have been along the lines of, “Kerry Kennedy Says Uganda Parliament is Legislating Hatred.” It is short, it gets the message across, and it introduces the already well known Kerry Kennedy into the picture.

            Beyond that guide, the speakers presented four other tips to being effective. First, make sure all the information you are presenting is appropriate. This means making sure you are not saying too much, and the information you are presenting doesn’t get anyone you are trying to help in trouble. Second, include a call to action at the end. This can be anything from, “look out for more news on this issue,” to, “donate to our cause.” Including a call to action allows people to know what the goal of the press release effectively is. Third, don’t personify organizations. Don’t say that an organization did something, say that a specific person from an organization did something. It gives credit to those who actually do the work and seems more professional, according to the speakers. Lastly, “media spawns media.” This is to say that getting a press release in the Huffington Post gives your organization the credibility to move up to larger media organization like CNN or The New York Times. It also allows you to pressure these larger organizations, saying “company X is talking about this important cause, why aren’t you?”

            Overall, this was a very helpful event for anyone trying to work in strategic communications and the information the speakers provided seemed very well thought out and will hopefully be very useful for any potential career path I may follow. 

Fostering Sustainable Behavior: Community Based-Social Marketing

I wanted to share this PDF version of the book, Fostering Sustainable Behavior: Community Based-Social Marketing. While it's more focused on developing environmental campaigns and programs that promote behavior change, the strategies can be applied to any sort of behavior change campaign.

Constituents with Stolen Identities

A new article written by Politico finds that "constituents" sending messages to representatives are actually hijacked identities and use fake addresses within the districts.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/net-neutrality-email-american-commitment-116553.html?hp=t4_r

Event Report: Digital Diplomacy and Non-State Actors

I attended an event hosted by The Embassy of Italy as part of their Digital Diplomacy Series called Digital Diplomacy and Non-State Actors on Wednesday, March 25. 

Event Report: Strategic Communications for Advocacy

        On Tuesday, I attended an event at the Washington College of Law called “Strategic Communications for Advocacy.”