Melki, Jad - Myths and tensions of digital age
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Transcript of Melki, Jad - Myths and tensions of digital age
Web Connection Density
Word Airplane Traffic
myths and tensions of the digital age
global media access = diversity?
If the global flow of atoms is constrained by trade restrictions and by taste, and the flow of people by employment opportunities and immigration laws, the flow of information is constrained by our interest and attention…
We pay attention to what we care about and, especially, to persons we care about.
Information may flow globally, but our attention tends to be highly local and highly tribal; we care more deeply about those with whom we share a group identity and much less about a distant “other.”
Ethan ZukermanDigital Cosmopolitans: Why We Think the Internet Connects Us, Why It Doesn't, and How to Rewire It
the illusion of diversity
How much media use?
http://onesecond.designly.com/
myths and tensions
The parity of digital media access
Global Internet Penetration
http://thewebindex.org (visualizations)
Word Airplane Traffic
Internet Traffic: How evenly distributed globally?
Real time: http://www.akamai.com/html/technology/dataviz1.html
Global Air Traffic vs Global Internet
Online Censorship
Internet Penetration & Accessibility
Consumption vs Production
What do we produce… Revolution?
Internet Access vs Mobile phones
7+ billion people on EarthOnly 40% have access to internet http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-
users/ 75% have access to mobile phones (2012)
Global Internet Penetration
Mobile vs desktops internet access
Mobile vs desktops internet access
Syrians (and Syrian refugees) during war
Social Network vs Email
myths and tensions
The homogeneity of digital media access
World Dominant Social Network?
World Dominant Social Network?
but that was yesteryear….
Social Networks video
myths and tensions
The benefits/risks of digital media access
Location-Based Services: “Geolocators”
Zimbabwe
Monitoring illegal forestry…
and disaster.
Haiti Earthquake
Facets of privacy threats in the digital age
• TMI (Too Much Information)• Data Tracking (Commercial)• Data Tracking (Government)
TMI
• Silly– Does anyone really care what you had for breakfast?– How many “selfies” are too many? Narcissistic or empowering?
• Serious – Cyber bullying, risk to minors, stupid/criminal behavior
• 78% of kids in the US experience cyber bullying. • In 2012: 15-year-old Amanda Todd committed suicide after 2 years of
relentless harassment online.
Photo by Ela
Narcissistic
Photo by Ela
TMI
• Silly– Does anyone really care what you had for breakfast?– How many “selfies” are too many? Narcissistic or empowering?
• Serious – Cyber bullying, risk to minors, stupid/criminal behavior
• 78% of kids in the US experience cyber bullying. • In 2012: 15-year-old Amanda Todd committed suicide after 2 years of
relentless harassment online.
TMI: Privacy threats
TMI: Privacy threats
TMI: Privacy threats
Mind Reader Video
TMI: Privacy threats
Data Tracking and Gathering (Commercial)
• What is the primary goal of Facebook?• How many of you read the conditions before signing up?• How valuable ($$) are data for companies?
Terms and Conditions Video
Data Tracking and Gathering (Commercial)
• How much can companies know about us?
Target video
Data Tracking and Gathering (Government Surveillance)
• All this data: a goldmine for governments!• Government surveillance is on the rise globally.
– USA (NSA), Russia, Iran, China, Syria, Germany, Brazil…– Guardian report on government surveillance
Data Tracking and Gathering (Government Surveillance)
Data requests received by Google
Data Tracking and Gathering (Government Surveillance)
Data requests received by Google (by country)
myths and tensions
The neutrality of digital media access
Understanding Search Engines
• Components of a search engine (keyword based)– Crawler: Constantly explores the web, copies, updates (ping) &
delivers pages to the search engine provider.– Indexer: Analyzes delivered pages, extracts search terms and
indexes them in a database– Runtime system: answers queries, returning most relevant pages
from the indexer.
• Key is the meaning of “most relevant”– Implications of Google’s “PageRank”
Search Engines
• Search engines are not neutral but follow intentional algorithms
• Increasingly personal and invisible algorithms that may create “filter bubbles”
Filter Bubble (until 4:45)
Net Neutrality
• A two-tier internet?
John Oliver Net Neutrality
myths and tensions
The diversity of digital media access
Global Access = diversity?
If the global flow of atoms is constrained by trade restrictions and by taste, and the flow of people by employment opportunities and immigration laws, the flow of information is constrained by our interest and attention…
We pay attention to what we care about and, especially, to persons we care about.
Information may flow globally, but our attention tends to be highly local and highly tribal; we care more deeply about those with whom we share a group identity and much less about a distant “other.”
Ethan ZukermanDigital Cosmopolitans: Why We Think the Internet Connects Us, Why It Doesn't, and How to Rewire It
The illusion of diversity and global access
Facebook app