Blog Post 5: Illegal downloading/media sharing

In my honest opinion there are very few possibilities available to the government and/or media to prevent activities such as downloading music for free or sharing media with peers. These activities are difficult to regulate and monitor, making preventive measures a serious issue. It is impossible for the government or the media to monitor friends giving media to other friends in the privacy of their own homes. Although it may impossible for the government and the media to bring a complete halt to this type of activity, there are a few options available that could at least reduce the volume.

Since the major issue for the media is the loss of money, the best way to reduce activities such as media sharing and illegal downloading, would be to drastically increase the prices for their respective media. Increasing the price for music, movies, etc. would account for the inevitable loss of money that occurs from illegal downloads and file sharing. Although there is a very real threat of this backfiring completely, with people avoiding purchasing media altogether, it is highly unlikely as at least some portion of the population would still be willing to pay.

For the government, one way they can reduce these activities is to regulate web activity on a strict basis. They would need to be far more diligent about regulating IP addresses and protocols to insure that any illegal downloading or file sharing would be caught on to. This method would especially work for the government if they could prove that the fines associated with these activities were real threats, and not just silly myths, a belief that many people who engage in these activities hold. However, this method also contains a serious problem in that a proposal like this would need to be voted on, which may be difficult as it is a clear invasion of the privacy of internet users.

One final opportunity the government and media have to reduce this activity is to come up with a sort of incentive program to prevent people from wanting to give media away for free. If internet users had a legitimate reason to not give purchased media away for free to their peers, it may reduce the amount of illegal activity occurring. This method may be difficult, however, since monitoring who shares media and who doesn't is a difficult task in itself. Since this activity is on such a large scale, it is nearly impossible to monitor. I believe this would be the best method for the government/media to pursue as it is least likely to offend or anger internet users.

As I stated earlier, I believe that regulating or monitoring activities like this are impossible without creating tension between the different groups affected. The government should have no place in this type of activity at all, since it does not immediately affect them. The media, while affected, should in a sense, "get over it", because these activities will occur whether they like it or not. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/upshot/one-third-of-top-websites-restrict-customers-right-to-sue.html?ref=technology&_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0

The article above is important to Internet Communication because it addresses an issue that many internet users tend to ignore. It talks about how many of the top rated websites have clauses which prevent users from suing the site if something were to go wrong, such as a breach of personal information. I personally believe this is important because I constantly overlook these agreements when creating accounts myself. This article definitely makes you think twice about just clicking "I Agree" instead of reading what you are actually agreeing to. The Internet is a valuable source of information and entertainment but it is important that we understand the situations that could arise as a result of carelessness.

Blog Post #2

I agree most with Metcalfe's network law. While Sarnoff's law makes sense, it is more difficult to apply it to modern communication. Sarnoff's law is a basic model of understanding the value of a network, as that value would obviously increase when the number of users increases. I believe that Metcalfe's law provides a deeper understanding of how the value of a network increases. Metcalfe's law states that the value of a communication network is squared with each new member making at least one connection. This makes more sense when applied to Internet communication since it is a global network that is seemingly infinite. As the internet becomes increasingly larger and more users are connected to the network, the value of the network as a medium of communication increases as well. As we learned from our lectures on the history of the internet, we saw how fast the number of internet users grew, in a short amount of time, which explains why the internet is the way we see it today. The internet of today is a vastly complex source of information and communication, which can be attributed to the vast amount of users who are connected.

Five years from now, I believe people will receive the majority of their information from the Internet alone. It has been growing at a rapid pace over the past 20 years and will only continue to do so. It will be the primary source of information because of the increased value of having more users connected, according to Metcalfe's law. I don't believe it is inconceivable to think that other means of getting information, such as books or radio and television, could face a drastic decline in value as far as a source of information goes. They may never completely die out, but the value of the global network cannot be denied.

"Why We Blog" Summary

The article, "Why We Blog", describes a study conducted on the different uses of blogs for unique Internet users. The article suggests that Internet users utilize blogs for different purposes. These purposes include blogging to document one's life, blogging as commentary on a variety of topics, blogging as a cathartic outlet for thoughts and emotion, blogging for muse or inspiration, and blogging as a means of community. The study found that users were motivated to blog for these reasons. People use blogs to document their lives and what is happening in them, either for personal reflection or to share with an audience of friends and family, and sometimes even for strangers who may not actually know the blogger. Some users blogged to comment on opinions they have of particular issues, in which the blog evolved into a form of "democratic self-expression". Many users blogged as a means of catharsis, a medium through which they could express their emotions and thoughts to readers. Then, there were those who blogged as a means of inspiration, such as the group of bloggers who shared their poetry amongst a group. These bloggers found that by sharing poetry with one another, they were inspired to write their own poetry, which they could then share within the group's blog as well as their wider audience. The last motivation of blogging found by the study was blogging as a means of community, in which bloggers used their respective blogs to communicate within a specific group of people. Overall, the study found that blogging is extremely versatile in it's application for different Internet users. Blogging continues to evolve in the way people are using it and will continue to develop more uses as the medium evolves and as Internet Communication increases.

Personally, I have seen all of these motivations present in different blogs I have read. I agree that each unique Internet user has different reasons for blogging and these reasons are meaningful to the particular blogger. I also noted how the part of the study which analyzed blogging as a means of community applies to our class. I believe this will help our class to communicate better amongst ourselves, and to have more engaging discussions. We all grew up in the age of the Internet, and many of us may feel more comfortable sharing our thoughts and ideas through the use of the blog, as opposed to traditional forms of communication.

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