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NCT IN R.A.P

When asked to create a 2 minute video on a topic within new communication technologies, I thought to myself, 'why not focus on all of them?'. Straight away I knew I wanted to do something different and creative, something that I myself would find interesting and exciting to watch. So I decided to create a music video of me rapping a summary of all the topics covered in the course. The whole experience was just so fun and exciting. The YouTube link is posted below for anyone who would like to check it out! https://youtu.be/uD1QTkAT0Vc

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Privacy Within The World Wide Web

The World Wide Web is an Internet based information system consisting of multiple trends, such as Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0. The advent of Web 2.0 has jeopardised the individual’s right to privacy in today’s society. “There’s this large trend – I think the next trend in the Web, sort of Web 2.0 – which is to have users really express, offer and market their own content, their own persona, their identity” (Doerr, et al. n.d.). The World Wide Web first began with the advent of Web 1.0. They later introduced Web 2.0, which was the very beginning of their streak. This is where the notion of privacy became a threat in today’s society, specifically through forms of social media, such as Facebook. Web 3.0 pushes the boundaries even further, as their promise to make online searching easier potentially threatens the individual’s right to privacy (Phillips, et al. 2011).

Web 1.0 was the first generation of the World Wide Web; however the date it ended cannot be determined on a timeline. The web began with static content limiting any chance of interactive communication between users (Nisiforou, et al. & Laghos, et al. 2014). This means that Web 1.0 was a read-only phase of the World Wide Web. It allowed users to search information and read the content that was uploaded but did not allow them to provide feedback. This was until Web 2.0, the “read-write” web, was first introduced. Since 2004, Web 2.0 was considered the ‘Social Web’, as it was responsible for introducing a number of social networking sites, allowing users to not only express their own opinions by giving feedback, but to also contribute by editing the content of the page and interact freely with other web users on the sites (Techopedia, n.d.). Rather than containing static information, Web 2.0 is more dynamic with its content (Dressler, et al. 2016). Information used to be provided for you, similar to a lecture, whereas now not only is the information there but you can also respond to the content with your own opinions or knowledge, much like a proper conversation. Although the advent of Web 2.0 was somewhat beneficial to users, it also created risks in relation to their privacy.

Over the past decade, the web has become a vital part of the online user’s daily routine (Grandison, T. 2014). Their constant need to share their opinions, interact with other users, and express their identity has blinded them from the risks that may occur in relation to their privacy. Floridi (2006) refers to privacy as the ability to control what you consider to be your personal information. Inherently, we are our information. Yet, it appears the boundaries of public and private information have been somewhat blurred over the past decade (Ju, et al. 2014). Web 2.0 is guilty of increasing the possibility of one’s privacy being invaded. It provides its users with ample opportunities to share their personal information through forms of texts, photos, videos, and audios online (Ju, et al. 2014). Once this personal information has been uploaded onto the web, it tends to remain there for an unpredictable amount of time. This is concerning, as the information that is uploaded can be easily accessed by a mass audience, consisting of strangers, governments, companies or organisations (Ju, et al. 2014). It appears the public is not concerned about their privacy being invaded, as long as they feel they are in control of it. Research was developed in order to get a vague idea of the college student’s opinion and how they perceive the boundaries of public and private information within today’s society. Tufekci’s research (2008) shows that this particular issue of privacy does not really faze students, particularly males. It is revealed that they are more likely to reveal their personal information online than most females (Ju, et al. 2014). Users understand the risks that emerge from sharing their personal information online, however they choose not to do anything about it due to loss of publicity. The main social networking site that is responsible for the invasion of privacy is Facebook.

Facebook is one of many free social networking websites that accompanied the advent of Web 2.0. It allows online users to constantly update their profiles, post statuses, upload photos, videos and audio, and connect with their family and friends through instant messenger. Web 2.0 is consistently encouraging its users to update their profiles on a regular basis by sharing as much personal information about them as possible (Zimmer, et al. 2013). Majority of Facebook users are within the younger generation, therefore they are either unaware of the types of risks that occur from revealing personal information on social media, or they simply don’t have a care for it. Facebook become the official owners of any personal information, photos and statuses that its users upload (Hurlburt, et al. 2012). Facebook users are aware of this, however majority of them don’t realise the significance of its consequences. They place an excessive amount of trust in social network providers to keep their information and photos safe (Grabner-Krauter, et al. 2009). When users update their profiles with personal information, they expect it to stay private. A survey was conducted for college students in order to understand their perceptions of online privacy in relation to Facebook. Results indicated that most Facebook users were ‘unaware of the visibility of information they put on Facebook’ (Ju, et al. 2014). Last year in October, Facebook released an update that affected user’s privacy in a negative way (Hern, et al. 2016). Hern (2016) claims that ‘it’s now not possible to choose to hide your profile from strangers’. This means that every Facebook user’s profile is now exposed to strangers, no matter how strict they have set their privacy settings. Web 2.0 appears to be loosening the strains on privacy over time. Web 3.0 pushes the boundaries of privacy even further.

Web 3.0 is considered the semantic web and referred to as the “read-write-execute” web. Promises were made that computers will be able to interpret information exactly like humans, and will ‘intelligently generate and distribute useful content’ (WittyCookie, 2012). With these new features that have been added to the web, there will be more relevant search results and users will be able to access more accurate information. However, this can be seen as a negative trait. Due to the information being more accessible and reliable, a privacy policy is needed now more than ever, as it is now much easier to retrieve personal information (Dialogue Café, 2016). Web 3.0 is targeted individually rather than in groups of people. It generates information the individual user would typically benefit from viewing. This could be perceived as a helpful tool, but it is also seen as an invasion of privacy. Web 1.0 was the era where users had control over their information, whereas in Web 3.0, there is no guarantee where or how the user’s information is being used (Manolescu, et al. 2011). Not only is the web taking control of online user’s personal information, but they will soon also begin to control their opinions, their beliefs, and their identities. The new opportunities offered within Web 3.0 are further exposing the risks of privacy invasion.

Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 are specific trends within the World Wide Web. Web 1.0 is considered the “read” web, Web 2.0 is identified as the “read-write” web, and Web 3.0 is referred to as the “read-write-execute” web. The advent of Web 2.0 has jeopardised the individual’s right to privacy in today’s society. As the different trends have developed over time, the online user has slowly lost control of their privacy, therefore allowing the web to take over and invade their personal lives. Research showed the vast amount of Facebook users that are unaware of how their personal information is being used. In order to regain control of their privacy, online users, specifically the younger generation, need to become more aware of the risks of privacy invasion, and try to refrain from posting their personal information online, as it is now easily accessible by strangers. In today’s society, multiple trends of the World Wide Web, as well as social network providers, have threatened the notion of online privacy.

Reference List

Dialogue Café, 2016, The pros and cons of Web 3.0: how to meet the challenge of the semantic web, weblog, 24 April, retrieved 23 September 2016, http://www.dialoguecafe.org/blog/2012/04/the_pros_and_cons_of_web_30_how_to_meet_the_challenge_of_the_semantic_web.html

Doerr, J. n.d. BrainyQuote.com, retrieved 19 September 2016, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_doerr.html

Grabner-Krauter, S. 2009, ‘Web 2.0 social networks: the role of trust’ Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 90, no. 4, pp. 505-522, retrieved 19 September 2016, http://link.springer.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/article/10.1007%2Fs10551-010-0603-1

Grandison, T. 2014, ‘Security and privacy in web 2.0’ IEEE Internet Computing, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 41-42, retrieved 19 September 2016, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/xpls/icp.jsp?arnumber=6939612&tag=1

Hern, A. 2016, Facebook is chipping away at privacy – and my profile has been exposed, retrieved 23 September 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/29/facebook-privacy-secret-profile-exposed

Hurlburt, G. F. 2012, ‘Web 2.0 social media: a commercialisation conundrum’ IT Professional, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 6-8, retrieved 19 September 2016, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6359719

Ju, R. 2014, ‘Issues of privacy and surveillance in information age: in the web 2.0 environment and organisational setting’ China Media Research, vol. 10, no. 3, p. 87, retrieved 19 September 2016, http://go.galegroup.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/ps/i.do?p=EAIM&u=griffith&id=GALE%7CA381285579&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon&userGroup=griffith&authCount=1

Manolescu, D. 2011, Web 3.0 and privacy, weblog, 3 October, retrieved 23 September 2016, https://ecrimeexpertblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/web-3-0-and-privacy/

Nisiforou, E.A. & Laghos, A. 2014, When our changing society meets the social media era, retrieved 22 September 2016, http://www.igi-global.com/chapter/when-our-changing-society-meets-the-social-media-era/111911

Phillips, J. 2011, Is web 3.0 an intrusion of our privacy? Retrieved 21 September 2016, http://rinf.com/alt-news/sicence-technology/is-web-3-0-an-intrusion-of-our-privacy/

Stritter, B, Freiling, F, Konig, H, Rietz, R, Ullrich, S, Von Gernler, A, Erlacher, F, Dressler, F, 2016, ‘Cleaning up web 2.0’s security mess – at least partly’ IEEE Security & Privacy, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 48-57, retrieved 19 September 2016, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/xpls/icp.jsp?arnumber=7448337&tag=1

Techopedia, n.d. Techopedia explains web 1.0, Techopedia Inc. Retrieved 22 September 2016, https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27960/web-10 

WittyCookie, 2012, What are the major differences among Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0? Retrieved 23 September 2016, https://wittycookie.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/what-are-the-major-differences-among-web-1-0-2-0-and-3-0/

Zimmer, M. 2013, ‘Patron privacy in the “2.0” era: avoiding the faustian bargain of library 2.0’ Journal of Information Ethics, vol. 22, no. 1, p. 44, retrieved 19 September 2016, http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/1661656491?pq-origsite=summon

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Essay Development

Now that I’ve found a topic for my academic essay, it’s time to start planning.

Since my topic is focusing specifically on privacy within Web 2.0, I figured why not compare terms of privacy within other trends of the World Wide Web. I have decided to discuss privacy within Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 and the differences between them both, Facebook and how online users, specifically the younger generation, are unaware of the risks that can occur when sharing their personal information online, and finally Web 3.0 and how it is pushing the boundaries of online privacy even further.

During our tutorial this week, we were asked to explore the web for a site that would store all our research for our academic essays. One of the sites that were suggested was Diigo.com. I found this site incredibly helpful when planning my research, as it neatly stored all of my sources in my very own library. It was super simple and took less than five minutes to organise!

Now that I’ve finished planning, it’s time to write the essay…Wish me luck!

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Choosing A Topic

A variety of topics were provided for us to use as a basis for our academic essays. The topics offered include issues relating to the worldwide hacktivist network ‘Anonymous’, conflict between copyright and freedom of speech, privacy, cyberspace, and cyberpunk. 

With the advent of Web 2.0 came online social networks like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc. These companies collect data about their users. The questions were asked: Do social networkers have a right to privacy? Is the notion of privacy dead?

Using the questions from the topics provided as inspiration, we were asked to formulate our own research question in order to develop a proper thesis statement for our academic essays. I chose to focus on the issue of privacy within the creation of Web 2.0. My particular topic asks the question: ‘Did the advent of Web 2.0 jeopardise the individual’s right to privacy?’

(WARNING: It’s time to check your Facebook privacy settings again, n.d.)

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Political Participation – Internet Edition

Government Interest Through Social Media

I was scrolling the Internet searching for a Gold Coast e-petition that I would be interested in signing. I finally found one concerning the creation and implementation of a community driven Master Plan for The Spit. ‘It is proposed that, as the State Government is custodian of this area then the State Government is the body responsible for the creation and implementation of the Master Plan…’ (Hutley, D, 02 August 2016). I tried searching for a way to message Annastacia Palaszczk, one of the State Government representatives, about this particular project, but it appears she is harder to contact than I anticipated. I found this rather strange, as I imagined being a State Government representative, she wouldn’t be too difficult to contact, compared to a Federal Government representative. It seems the most effective way to contact a government representative would be to physically write and send them a letter. Apart from State Government representatives, there are other representatives within local and federal government. A representative of the Local Government is Michael Hart and a representative of the Federal Government is Malcolm Turnbull.

I was on Twitter and thought I would check to see what President Barack Obama has been up to this past month. As I was scrolling through his feed, I came across many societal issues that he had tweeted about. A portion of his 77 million followers had liked, retweeted and most likely replied to his post. Platforms such as Twitter allow me to interact with powerful figures as seen below:

Twitter also allows me to become aware of the news that is occurring around the world without having to turn on the TV. This way, I can retweet these stories and share my opinion by replying to them.

Government Censorship In Australia

The Australian Government has devised a plan to censor the Internet through a clean feed Internet service. Basically Internet Service Providers will be required to prohibit all potentially dangerous and inappropriate websites, guaranteeing children safety. The target market for this proposal is schools, homes and all public computers. Australia’s plan to censor the Internet puts them ahead of China and Iran to Western democratic nations. This is the first time a Western nation has ever formally legislated to prohibit users accessing certain online materials (Travaglione, K, July 2009).

How Does The NBN benefit us?

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is a $37.4 billion investment, but what are its benefits and is it really worth paying that much money? Sandy Park believes that updating to an optic fibre network will accelerate broadband speeds up to 40 times faster than the current network, keeping Australia in level with other countries. An added benefit is that people in rural and regional areas will be granted easier access to these services, as high definition conferencing will be increased, as well as boost the level of interactivity, which will eventually lead to personalisation (Kennedy, J, 06 March 2013).

Searching The Australian Hansard

We were given the task to search up the Australian Hansard to find the last time our local member spoke in Parliament, and then we had to message them expressing our opinions on their speech. I must say I struggled finding a local member who had spoken in Parliament recently, however I had no problem finding information on federal representatives who had spoken. Local member speeches need to be made more available on the Internet for those who want to view their opinions.

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Social Media Usage In Today’s Society

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7JY5YKB

I was interested to see the role social media plays in people’s everyday lives, so I created a simple survey asking them questions relating to their social media usage. After receiving a total of 67 responses to my survey, I analysed the results and came to the conclusion that the respondents that spend the most amount of hours on social networking websites have the most social media accounts compared to the respondents who spend 0-3 hours per day on social media. I also discovered that many of those people use social media for either personal interest or to connect with their family and friends, which is interesting considering most of them said they often use social media whilst in the company of others. Social media is considered to be a social instrument where people can connect with their family and friends online, and yet it is exactly that which is preventing them from doing so. Social media is the cause of people becoming more unsociable by the minute.

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The Evolution Of The Mobile Phone

http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/1331375

Have you ever wondered when the first phone call was made on the mobile phone? No? Well I bet you are now. I have prepared a timeline (link) stating multiple milestones of the mobile phone. We were originally given the option to write about cyber punk, but I was more interested in the evolution of mobile phones, as it is something I use every single day. I was intrigued to discover all the different dates throughout history of when all the different models and networks relating to the mobile phone were first introduced.

(Sagamer, 2014)

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What Really Happened On The Night Of Census?

Completing ABS census was always a tedious experience, and yet it was something that needed to be done. This year’s census, however, appeared to be much worse. In other words, the ‘Census 2016 was a total flop’. On the night of August 9, the census site had been shut down by 7.45pm due to security concerns after three significant ‘attacks’ had previously occurred throughout the day (ABC News NSW, 10 August 2016). My family and I, a family of six I might add, were in the midst of completing the census when all of a sudden, the site had redirected us to the first page. We tried to get back into it and it completely shut us out. We left it and figured we’d try again in an hour. More hours passed and we still couldn’t access the site. It was ridiculous. A whole night wasted, and half our census data had completely disappeared. This malfunction resulted in the census being unavailable to the public for more than two days (Uhlmann & Doran, 14 August 2016).

So my question is, what really was the cause of these ‘attacks’? And is this a sign that technology isn’t always a necessary mean of every societal event that occurs?

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Social Media - Privacy

I have been apart of the social media world for eight years now, yet it still continues to surprise me. I originally decided to get into social media because my friends and family were all getting into it, so I thought I would too. I’ve never really had an issue with privacy on social media, as I only provide the information about myself that I want Facebook to know. However, many other people have privacy issues on social media.

(Belloma, R, 30 April 2015)

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What Do Google And Microsoft Have In Common?

Apart from both companies specialising in computer software, given Google’s software is internet-related, how is it that these two companies share a common interest? 

Well, both Google and Microsoft each created software that allows you to type and save documents. They each contain helpful tools including spelling and grammar, speech recognition, graphs, tables, inserting images into documents, and many other useful tools. Google’s software is called Google Docs, whereas Microsoft named their particular software Microsoft Word. Although these two programs are almost identical, they do share dissimilarities. Due to Google Docs being created more recently, it contains certain benefits allowing you to add other people to your document through their email. This becomes particularly beneficial for group projects either in university or in the career world, as they can each edit each other’s work, leave comments, and even create a group chat, all within the Google document. I have been involved in multiple group assignments throughout my first year of university, and can I say, these particular aspects have definitely made the process a lot easier, especially when we were unable to have group meetings.

I was given the challenge to try something new with Microsoft Word, something that I have never attempted before. While playing around with Google Docs, I discovered that you could convert word files to Google Docs, and vice versa. I thought that was pretty interesting, so I played around a little bit more and eventually found myself staring at the exact same document on two different programs.

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Keeping My Emails Separate

Some people choose to consolidate their student or work email with their personal email, that way they can view their mail in one particular place rather than multiple. They believe this to benefit them because rather than having to check various email accounts on a daily basis, they can go to one where all their mail is kept together with the extra benefit of only having to remember one login. I, however, choose to keep my student email and personal email separate from each other for a number of reasons. I believe that the combination of both my emails would negatively affect my learning, as my personal mail would only interfere with trying to read my student mail. I like to keep my university life and my personal life separate, not only to prevent being distracted whilst studying, but also for the fact that I can freely check my emails relating to my personal interests without the constant reminders of everything that is occurring in my university life.