BlogPost 10:

 “Does Facebook and Its Users Constitute a Superorganism?”

 Yes. There are many superorganisms within Facebook. It was first created by a single person and then it just spread like crazy. That one individual (Mark Zukerberg) showed it to his friends which all liked it and then those friends spread it to their friends creating a swarm and many other big groups. Once Facebook had a big enough user base people started to create groups and forming "superorganisms". For example a group of people RSVPed to a particular band's concert that they all like and enjoy. Others create groups about topics that they enjoy and share it with other people around the world who may join the group and discuss that particular topic. Those two examples along with who you choose to be friends with and choose to share certain information from your prorfile with, those are all examples of superorganisms. There are thousands if not millions of superorganisms on Facebook. All of the groups, lists, friends and attendance lists are superorganisms which individuals create and work in a group to share or accomplish a particular task or subject.

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography   Research the literature to determine the conceptual boundaries of your topic. For this  bibliography, include 4-6 references. Each reference is to be cited using an acceptable bibliographic style such as APA, Chicago or MLA. Beneath each reference, include a succinct summary of how and why each reference informs or contributes to your topic.  Also, situate each reference within the conceptual field by discussing what the reference is about including the historical, political, cultural and/or economic perspectives it establishes about digital media and/or social justice. (Blog credit)

Wielicki, Tom, and Lukasz Arendt. "A knowledge-driven shift in perception of ICT implementation barriers: Comparative study of US and European SMEs." Journal of Information Science 36.2 (2010): 162-174. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 Oct. 2011.
<http://0-journals.ohiolink.edu.library.jcu.edu/ejc/pdf.cgi/Wielicki_Tom.pdf?issn=01655515&issue=v36i0002&article=162_aksiposouaes>

This reference contributes to my story very greatly. This article is about a wide range of topics that relate to my story, such as: ICT literacy skills, digital divide, pros and cons of expanding the digital world in Europe. I especially like this article because it makes a comparison between European countries, including Poland and the United States. Not only does it explain the differences, it also helps me draw conclusions from the statistics and other various factors that contribute to minimizing the digital divide. This article is mainly about medium sized enterprises however in the long run, the problems that they face and changes they incur so will the individuals.

Poland Riga Digital Literacy. Country Profiles Wikispaces, 2007. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://countryprofiles.wikispaces.com/Poland+Riga+Digital+Literacy>.

This is a great reference because it uses statistics from various sources to illustrate and explain the literacy level and the competence of various age groups in Poland and shows how they changed over years. This website also contains statistics on how many people have computers, internet access and if/how they utilize it. This is a great source because I can break down the figures and explain why they are and compare them to the ones of United States’.

"Poland Internet Usage Stats and Telecommunications Reports." Internet World Stats - Usage and Population Statistics. 1 July 2010. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://www.internetworldstats.com/eu/pl.htm>.

This website has statistics about the population of Poland and their internet usage. Some of the other important information that will tie into my project nicely is the information about the ISP fierce competition. Also mentioned is the country’s very low Gross Domestic Product and how it effect the deployment and adaptation of the technology to customers and/versus companies. I plan on using this information and statistics to expand my explanation on Poland's digital evolution.

Ponder, Jaroslaw K., and Ekaterina N. Markova. Bridging the Eastern European Digital Divide: Significance of Mobile Telecommunications in Poland and Russia. Tech. University of Wuppertal, 2005. European Institute for International Economic Relations, 2005. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://tinyurl.com/4xlzw5n>.

This source contains information about utilization of mobile telecommunication and the narrowing of digital divide. Because Poland is much more advanced in mobile market than computers this paper explains how it is cheaper to own and use a cellphone’s 3G data to access the web and because of that a lot of people rely on cellphones as their main data connection. In terms of the project I will explain that the mobile market in Poland is much more advanced and cheaper than here in the US and how and why because of that people choose to mainly rely on their cellphones to stay connected versus ordinary computers.

Poznanski, Przemyslaw. "There Will Be More Internet in Poland." Gazeta Wyborcza. 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://wyborcza.pl/1,75248,10381218,Bedzie_wiecej_internetu_w_Polsce__Nawet_w_Polsce_B.html&usg=ALkJrhhHLK90-GFcOA7Wgcwn60dHtmMcKg>.

My dad sent me the link to this article when he was reading the newspaper and knew I was looking for information like so for my digital story. This article is different from any sources that I have because it is written by a Polish journalist for the national newspaper. It gives another view on the factors that contribute to digital divide and statistics and polls that were done with in the country and not by a foreign annalist or research group. I have used google to translate this article so my instructor could read it and verify its content. A big part from this article that I take away, besides the age and statistics is the whole budget issue. I find it amazing that European Union gave Poland 255 million euros to complete the expansion of broadband but it came very short, it is about a fifth of what will be needed to finish the project.

Marciniak, Mirosława. "Absorption of Structural Funds in Poland within the Context of Information Society Development on Rural Areas." Economic Science for Rural Development Conference Proceedings 18 (2009): 210-216. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 Oct. 2011.

This is my back up source that I don’t really need because the information it provides has been already covered and cited with previous source(s) but I decided to include it to build up my ethos and credibility.

This article talks about trying to minimize the digital divide between the urban and the rural areas of the country and people’s reluctance to. It also brings up excellent point about the money issue. What I found interesting was the fact that most low budget projects get approval and get done while the big projects which involve millions of dollars are denied and I wonder if it is so because of people's reluctance.

BlogPost 9

“Describe an example of Emergent Behavior that you participated in or that you witnessed”
Justify why your example constitutes Emergence, describe the scenario from both your individual perspective and a global perspective (outside observer)

During the emergent behavior activity on Wednesday, I have participated in and witnessed a lot of emergence but I found one particular example interesting. That was the one when we had to create words with the letters that were on the back of our t-shirts.  This particular case showed a lot of emergence because it was interesting to see how people split up and tried to form words with the letters that were assigned. Everyone that had a vowel was very wanted because its very easy to build words around them. In my particular case I had a consonant, C, and i found my self wandering around the atrium trying to fit in only to realize that no one wanted me as its is not a common and easy letter to work with. I think that I had it bad, now think about X, V and Q , no one wanted them. That's what my experience was like, little groups forming and me walking around trying to fit, ending up by myself. As an outsider, the professors in this case also had an interesting view. I'm sure they saw people trying to find groups and few walking around trying to integrate their letter in or expand the word.

Weblog 8

Following are the two debate queries.  Please provide both sides of the issue for each query with references.  (1000 words).

2.) The evolving capabilities to speak out and criticize the Chinese government using microblogs and other Internet social media will lead to more and greater freedoms for the Chinese people.

For:

Chinese government limits it's citizens' rights to freedom of speech and the amount of truth that's in the media by censoring and actively monitoring blogs, news and other media outlets. People would like to tell the truth about what is really happening in the country but they can't because the government censors every media outlet because they do not want to information to get out and become public. That's where the micoblogs come in. I am not exactly sure how they work and why they are not censored but they are not and the people of China can express their anger and the truth about what is happening in the country. The rest of the world loves the microblogs because they can get the real unaltered news and if something bad is happening in the country other nations can act on the injustice and the infringement of laws and more importantly basic human rights and needs. While the microblogs are not censored the government certainly knows about them, and because of that it is very important for people to be careful and not say the wrong things because they may end up in jail or to be never heard of again. However because the microblogs are some how uncensored it shows that people are slowly finding ways around the censorship and the "great firewall". In my eyes the use of microblogs will eventually begin a protest and/or a revolution and will overthrow the government or at least gain some more just laws in the future years.

Against: 

Although a lot of Chinese people use the microblogs to let out their anger and let the rest of the world know what is truly happening in the country it could cause more harm than good. While the microblogs exist and are being used, the government still monitors and kind of controls them. I say kind of because the government can control what is being put on these microblogs by telling the journalists that they will get in trouble and punished if they publish something that the government disapproves. Also there are tens if not hundreds of agencies and groups that the government hires to monitor the blogs and edit any posts that they disapprove of. If the government became fed up with the information that is being put on those blogs they could easy set harsh consequences for these actions that would discourage people from using those services. Government already knows that its citizens are discontented with the way things are and voicing these concerns over the internet will not accomplish anything, it will only make things worse by newer and stricter laws and consequences. If the people of China truly wanted to rebel, EVERY SINGLE citizen would have to take action and voice his/her opinion and displeasure at once in hope of a big outrage and achievement more freedom or rights that way.

WebLog 7

Following are the two debate queries.  Please provide both sides of the issue for each query with references.  (1000 words).

1.) The US government should institute formal policy that bars overseas sales of systems that provide targeted Internet surveillance if such systems are used to violate human rights or freedom of speech (such as the current internet censorship in China).

http://euobserver.com/24/30197

For:
There are many reasons why the United States should create and enforce a formal policy that bars overseas sales of systems that provide targeted Internet surveillance if such systems are used to violate human rights or freedom of speech. The root of such action is that America is a democracy that has a strong belief in basic human rights and world peace. America spreads and promotes those beliefs and principles through signing of treaties and other various agreements with other nations or unions that have similar intentions and core beliefs. Because America is such a strong nation with many allies, it feels that it has to do whatever it takes for all other nations that violate human rights and freedom of speech to stop and follow democratic, basic beliefs which entitle everyone to have freedom of speech. With the allied forces America feels the need to intervene or pressure nations or governments where human rights are being taken away or threatened by unjust regulations, movements or protests.
America should follow European Union's footsteps. In the past week EU forbidden European technology companies to sell equipment to repressive governments around the world that abuse human rights. Those technologies violate basic human rights by unknowingly monitoring citizens' internet activity such as emails or blog posts, phone calls and text messages. It's not a problem that only European companies face, Americas' do too. Companies such as Cisco, Linksys and Microsoft have faced those problems in the past.


Against:
Although America should continue to promote world peace and basic human rights it should "limit" itself. Yes it is a very powerful nation but putting too much pressure on its companies, laws, regulations and other nations that follow different principles could end badly. Firstly the major companies that have their headquarters and factories the US could simply choose to move overseas where no such regulations exist, which would lead to even easier business practices and a larger profit line. As for the nations that are violating basic human right, if they are pressured too much or
are not able to purchase certain equipment because of regulations forbidding the sale to their country from the manufacturer's, they will get angry and upset. This could lead to a bigger problem such as a boycott, protest or even a war in very extreme circumstances.

United Sates does not have to and should not force our beliefs, practices and regulations on other countries that handle things differently than we do. While I believe they should be able to and do intervene in extreme circumstances, for example to rescue American citizens held hostage; they should not over do it. By over doing so, they are pushing or even transgressing the boundaries and treaties that we have set with other nations. If we infiltrate other nations they will get upset because we would never let anyone do it to us. In my opinion, it's kind of like a one way thinking and doing that America participates in. Also just because we have our own beliefs, morals and regulations, it doesn't mean that the other nations do too and follow it, in fact they will probably have completely different ones. It's two different worlds out there and we should leave it that way, we're better of doing so than trying to change other nations' government, beliefs and regulations and creating friction, heat and potential trouble.

WebLog 6

Discuss the readings. What is your twitter literacy level?  How is it evolving? How would you define 21st Century Literacy Skills?  How does someone acquire these skills?  Do schools teach 21st Century Literacy Skills? What are the relationships between technology, participatory cultures, and 21st Century Literacy?  (the multimedia equivalent of 500+/- words)

 I consider myself an advanced twitter user. I started using twitter right when it came out, back in May of 2006.  My account number is 306 which means I started using it the very first day it was released, I actually had to get invited to it because it was a closed environment at first. I love twitter, just the idea of posting anything that's on your mind at any given moment to share with the entire world within a hundredth of a second, it's amazing.  Twitter didn't really become popular popular until late 2009-early 2010 because people thought that the idea of posting what you are doing, thinking going is just stupid. What they realized then is that it is much more than that; you can share important information, articles, break stories and even have polls or contests and interact with your followers. I myself love the idea that you can follow certain people and they do not have to follow you back, its kind of like a one way relationship, which is great. Aside from my love for twitter I would say that 21st century literacy skills are to have the technological equipment, fulfilling the digital divide AND knowing exactly how to use it and be proficient in it. In my eyes you need to own a computer and know how to use it to its fullest potential, whether it is just to access and read the webpages or to actually be a creator and create the content, you have to personally state your need for the technology. Adults if they weren't exposed as a child have to be physically shown and taught how to use the technology. However as a kid from the 90's and from then on, we basically grew around the technology it is is like a second nature to us, just from messing with it as a kid you learn how to use it and you gain more skill from just the use. Schools do not have the 21st century skills in their core curriculum. Today it is assumed that each teen knows how to operate the machine and be digitally literate. Schools do however offer elective classes where the individual may choose to learn about technology and becoming more proficient with it, it is however not a requirement. I'm not sure what stand to take on this; I feel like this should be a requirement however to those that have the literacy skills, sitting in the classroom just because they have to would be like a punishment to them. There is a close relationship between technology and cultures and the literacy just follows. For example, today students go to their classes wih their laptops and cellphones. In most cases they are free to use it to take notes or however they would like where as back in the day you were strictly only allowed to bring a pen and paper with you. We also live around the technology, we schedule our plans based on what is playing on the television and communicate with each other via emails and texts vs strictly telephone calls few years ago. In my opinion it is kind of implied that as people now use emails and text for communication the digital literacy is spreading between people as they know how to utilize and take advantage of it.

WebLog 5

Please discuss your experiences as an internet user.  Consider Besser’s article, what are your experiences as a consumer versus creator of internet content?  How have your ICT literacy skills evolved over your lifetime with respect to Warschauer’s model (as depicted in Figure 1), the notions of literacy and ICT access (depicted in Table 1), and Warshauer’s  discussion of the six principles of literacy and the related six principles of ITC access.  How have the physical, digital, human and social resources of your life journey allowed you to effectively make use of existing information on internet as well as contribute new content?  (+/- 250 words, at least one graphic, one photo and a podcast +/- 30 sec.

 I found both of these 2 articles very interesting. While they do have good theories and thorough ideas, some of the statistics and reasoning are outdated as they were both written in the early 2000's and a lot has changed in the ICT world since. I can't really comment from internet creator's point of view because I don't create content on the web, I preliminary just use it, however I can imagine that with the evolution of technologies and the narrowing gap of ICT illiteracy and division it is much easier to create and publish new content that gets bigger exposure than ever before. As a user I noticed a huge change, every thing is much more easier to access and there is tremendous amount of information on the internet thanks to the new creator tools. Regarding Warsachauser's model, I'm sure that my ICT literacy skills developed overtime however just looking at the Figure 1 I feel like I am proficient in all of the points. The only thing I would not consider myself fully proficient in is industrial capitalism. This is because I do not create enough content to monetize off of it yet. ICT literacy skills and access are somewhat related. In order to have total access to ICT you need to be proficient in technology and know how to use it and vice versa. ICT literacy has more than one type and definition, it's all about in what context you use it in. For example if all you need to do is print off articles so you can read them later and you know how to do it you are considered proficient and literate in ICT, however if you need to know how to access the content, create it and distribute it but you don't know how to distribute it you are not fully literate. Digital Social resources have greatly developed recently and they allow me to effectively use and share information on the internet. Facebook for example, with this digital social environment its easier than ever to keep in touch with your friends and share information. Physical factors also changed greatly, now I have a smartphone in my pocket all the time, a device that is more powerful than some computers. Thanks to smartphones I can take facebook with me wherever I go and if I need to look something up on google, there it is, in front of me wherever I am in a matter of seconds. With smartphones you can also create the content and share it wherever you are, it's a beautiful thing.