...I'll Be Watching You

Just about every time we join a social network, shop online or use an interactive website, we are asked to submit to a "privacy policy" or "terms of use". These are policies stating that our personal information WILL be collected and distributed. If we don't like how the information is used, that's too bad. The website accepts no responsibility. Our options are to either accept the "privacy policy" or not use the website. Many (if not most) of us don't even read the policies before we agree to them. After all, they're usually very lengthy and written in legalese... and we just want to get on to the website. So we enable the use of cookies and provide whatever information that is asked... and we are off to our new Internet experience.

Although I'm mildly concerned about this "invisible" information floating around the net, I'm more vigilant about overtly and voluntarily posting personal information and photos on social networks, etc. We often post info and pics that are intended for our friends, family or other specific audience that can be viewed by anyone. I think it's more likely that this type of information would be used for nefarious purposes.

It's not possible to use the Internet to its fullest extent while maintaining total privacy. We need to use savvy and discretion to minimize the potential for damage.

Betty White Is Right!

BETTY WHITE'S SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE MONOLOGUE - MAY 8, 2010

It's funny... It's appropriate for our discussion... And it's just 4 minutes long!

Most of my knowledge of social networks is second-hand. You see... I do not have an account with any of the popular social networks. About a year ago, at the urging of friends, I opened a Facebook account. Almost immediately, I was receiving requests and contact from people with whom I really didn't care to have any dialogue. I found it mildly creepy. I also didn't want to take the time to fill out the profile, or actively post personal information online. I deleted my account within six hours.

88-year old actress Betty White became the oldest person to host Saturday Night Live after a fan opened up a Fan Page on Facebook urging NBC to invite Betty White to host an episode of SNL. The page went viral. It received coverage from other media and White did indeed host the May 8, 2010 episode. In her monologue, the actress thanked her Facebook fans and also poked a little fun... saying that Facebook "sounds like a huge waste of time". I echo Betty's thoughts! I've seen my 17-year old daughter spend hours on Facebook (usually while I'm doing homework!).

As hard as I have tried... I have never been able to fit more that 24 hours into one day. Managing a Facebook account would take a certain amount of time away from other things that are important to me. I already spend a great deal of time parked in front of a computer, and I'm completely happy with my current styles of communication. I'll eventually open up another Facebok account... simply because social networks, especially Facebook, are now an integral part of society and I don't want to be left out! I also understand that social networks can also be used for practical purposes (e.g. job search, business networking). Social networks are here to stay. It will be interesting to see how they continue to evolve.

Ruminations of a Non-Traditional Student

What do I want from an online education? That’s a complicated question, so I’ll try to give a brief, but thorough explanation. Let’s start with my situation…

I am the type of student often referred to as “non-traditional” (although I’m not especially fond of that label). I’m 47. I have enjoyed a fulfilling job and career, and I’ve worked for the same company for the last 16 years. I earned a B.S. degree from Ohio State in 1986, but never entered my chosen field. My primary income has always been meager, but I have found other enjoyable ways to supplement my income. I am a single parent, and my youngest daughter is a high school senior.  I have had dozens of hobbies, many of which I have abandoned in favor of the next new fascinating field of interest. I have been interested in online communication since it first became mainstream in the mid 90s. I created a generic Angelfire website and went on to create several other websites.  Using the now-archaic Microsoft Front Page software, I created sites for our community theater, my church, a relative’s business and a personal travel website. However, technology soon exceeded my self-learned abilities, and Adobe’s Dreamweaver became the standard for website construction. I found Dreamweaver’s learning curve to be very steep, and decided that paying for professional instruction and guidance preferable to hacking away at it myself. I chose COTC because it has a campus in my hometown of Coshocton. Initially, I simply wished to take a class or two to learn how to build a quality modern website. Next thing I know… I’m a full time student. I am in my third quarter at COTC. I have taken some of my classes online, and some in the traditional classroom. I have several reasons for going back to school and several expectations from my online education. Here are my main reasons…

1. GAIN KNOWLEDGE – I simply want to learn how to build quality websites. I’m going to school to learn in a structured way, rather than trying to go about it alone.

2.  MAKE SOME MONEY – Eventually, I’d like to cash in on my investment. As I mentioned, I’m already in an enjoyable career, but it will always be necessary do something to supplement my primary income in order to achieve my financial goals.

3. CHALLENGE / ACHIEVEMENT – I am enjoying the challenge of learning new things in an academic environment, and I have set high standards for myself.

4. RECOGNITION – I’m looking forward to the achievement that graduation day represents.

5. SET AN EXAMPLE FOR MY DAUGHTER – My youngest daughter is a high school senior and we are currently in the midst of choosing a college. It’s my hope that as she sees me working on classwork and homework for hours, it will show her that college takes much more initiative and self-determination than high school.

Online education has some major advantages and drawbacks when compared to a traditional classroom education.

Online classes are incredibly convenient. A student can schedule lectures and assignments around his other responsibilities. If I didn’t have the option of taking classes online, I’d never be able to fit college into my schedule. The biggest drawback of online classes is the lack of face-to-face interaction. In the classroom, students can learn from asking questions of the instructor… or hearing the answers that others have asked. Also in the classroom/lab, a student can have some quick dialogue with the instructor (or another student) if he is having difficulties with a project. Online classes have mechanisms for dialogue (discussion boards, blogs, online office hours, etc.). While those things are all very helpful, they’re not as effective as face-to-face communications… especially in the hands-on project-intensive classes of the DMD program. Overall, I am very satisfied with my blend of online and traditional classes at COTC. It seems like I just started… but I’m almost halfway there!

The Illusion Of Net Neutralty

The Internet's amazing growth can at least be partially attributed to hands-off regulatory policies. However, governments, internet service providers and websites (especially peer-to-peer) have, in fact, implemented policies and rules which restrict or limit Internet content and access.

For example, Internet regulation by the Chinese government has been well-documented. Although some of this regulation appears to be loosening, Chinese Internet users still do not have nearly the access as their Western counterparts. Individual Internet usage is monitored. Ideas that appear to be politically damaging, subversive to the Chinese government, or offensive ti the Chinese culture appear to be the ideas that are most likely to be suppressed. Many other countries also have aggressive Internet censorship policies. It is unlikely that all countries will abandon their policies in order to create true "net neutrality".

The US government's approach to internet censorship appears to have been largely hands-off. However, the issue has been addressed by the FCC. Many would agree that government policies addressing the distribution of child pornography or terrorist threats would be prudent. However, that would lead us down the slippery slope of trying to determine what else constitutes a significant threat to warrant censorship. Furthermore lobbyists for billion dollar companies (e.g. Google, Verizon) will base their arguments on whatever is most financially advantageous for the companies they represent... rather than any deeper philosophical issues.

I believe that the Internet is very free and accessible to Americans, but not absolutely so. Furthermore, I believe that future political and corporate influence is a threat to the concept of net neutrality.

References:

NY Times - "The Illusion of Net Neutrality"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/opinion/23iht-edwolf.5002859.html

Computerworld - "Google CEO - China's Internet Censorship Will Fail in Time"

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9194860/Google_CEO_China_s_Internet_censorship_will_fail_in_time

How Stuff Works -  "How Internet Censorship Works"

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-censorship.htm/printable

Wired - "FCC Delays Net Neutrality"

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/09/fcc-delays-net-neutrality-over-google-verizon-proposal/

ARS Technica -  "FCC Proposes Net Neutrality Rules (And Big Exceptions)

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/fcc-proposes-network-neutrality-rules-and-big-exemptions.ars

Welcome To My Blog... "The Blog Of The Wildebeest"

Hi All,

I'll explain the "wildebeest" thing at a later time. Right now... on with the questions we're to answer in our initial blog.

Given my Myers-Briggs personality type (INTP), I believe knowledge, information and education are key to financial success and personal fulfillment. Currently I am enrolled at COTC primarily just for the sake of learning new things. I initially just wanted to learn how to build better websites. After meeting with an adviser at the Coshocton Campus, I began to explore the possibility of pursuing a Digital Media Design degree. Many of my Ohio State credits transferred to COTC. In my third quarter, I am now beginning some of the classes in which I am especially interested.

As a non-traditional student, I was concerned about juggling school with my career, family and other responsibilities. Although my schedule is rather tight, I'm pulling it off so far, and enjoying the experience. I'm looking forward to some of the "meatier" classes like web design and digital photography. Ultimately, I'd like to use my DMD education as part of a side business at home.