The Illusion of Privacy

I think one of the prime examples of this would be everyone favorite. When you start a new account on Facebook you aren't told that you must immediately go to options and set your security. At the start your account can be seen by anyone. For those that think they need to fill in every single field that is bad. They would be showing where they live, birthday and even children. I personally think this should be opposite and start completely secure. Even the advertisements on the side of the screen examine your interests to customize what they advertise for you. Chances are if there is software installed in the system that allows this, it wouldn't be a far stretch to say that there is someone out there that can break into it. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

I will admit to being paranoid, I check all the security setting all the time just to make sure. I have small children and feel as if I need to be a little paranoid. If you have good internet security software you should check it someday to see what it has caught. I bet you would be surprised how many tracking cookies, malware and even small viruses you have caught. Then, of course, you will think back to where you've been and I would be willing to wager it is seemingly safe sites. The security on the internet is, in most cases, barely better than the hackers out there looking to get in. It's a scary thing to think about.

 A little word of advice, don't trust the free virus protection. The worst viruses I have ever encountered online have walked right through free security programs.


I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and as a friend said recently, "gobble til you wobble".

Social Networks

I will admit to a couple of things. I used to have a MySpace account, I have a twitter account and I actively use my FaceBook account. Most of my friends on FaceBook are also in the DMD program. To be honest I have most of the positive parts of social networking. My friends include class mates, family and several people I have met online and been friends with for years.

In the past I have seen a few of the things I consider the bad parts of social networks. Many people spend a lot of time online to the point of losing or in some cases never developing social skills. The anonymity that comes with being online also brings out the worst in some people. Being able to say what you want to anyone can make some users take it too far and be mean just because they know they can get away with it. In my experience these people are fairly rare though.

For the most part there is more good than bad. I will continue using them to communicate with family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Online Education

I have had some good experiences and bad experiences with online classes so far. My main gripes are with team assignments and availability of some of the instructors. Just for the record nothing bad refers to this class. I have had nothing but good experiences with DMD online classes. Team assignments are fine, I can work with most anyone. The problem is not giving a way to communicate easier with your team. Making it so that teams have to meet in person for an online class defeats the purpose of the class. I know that an instructor can set up a class chat room but most don't bother to do it. That annoys me greatly since a student has to work extra hard for online classes anyway. As for availability, I have had several instructors that take a week or more to respond to an email. If I have a question about a weekly assignment and don't get a response until the following week then what help is that exactly? I have even been involved in a class that had to go to the Dean over lack of communication from the instructor. After I graduate in the Spring I will be immediately beginning work for my Bachelor's degree at Franklin and all the classes will be online so I do enjoy these kinds of classes. Has anyone else had similar issues?

I want to also say thank you to all of the veterans out there who have served and put their lives on the line for all of us. Thank you.

My Take on Net Neutrality

First thing, I'm going to ask that you read the entire post before you form an opinion. Please and thank you.

The idea of net neutrality is a good one.  All service providers giving equal service to all content.("Frequently asked questions:," ) Great idea!

Think about this. Communism, as a concept, is a fabulous idea. Everyone is totally equal. Everyone gets all of the same things. No one is above anyone else. ("http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/communism ," ) As a form of equality, Communism is perfect in theory. Note the "in theory" and we will return to this later.

In the United States, equal rights were supposed to balance things. The thought that "all men were created equal" is something to puff your chest about and be proud of. In implementation, maybe not a complete failure but not great either. (Kellaher) In spirit, great. Note "in spirit" and we will return to this later also.

Now think about net neutrality. Take a minute and give it some serious thought. 

Fabulous idea, don't you think? Equality on the biggest scale. Now let us go back to Communism. This concept will never work because a leader or body of leadership would have to be able to deal with the fact they are not better than the common people. Look at Communist Russia or "Red" China. They are oppressive and many of their people flee to other countries to escape it. Not so great in practice, wouldn't you agree? Now here is where the warning at the beginning comes into play. You'll understand it soon. Equal rights, women have been allowed to vote and ethnic groups have been given more rights. Great! Since this went into effect there have been constant debates on equal pay and jobs for both genders and there are still ways in which equality is laughable. Ethnic groups still have places where they are segregated, let's think about China Town and Harlem as examples. The people that live in China Town pretty much live there of their own will. They live there because they are more comfortable with their own people who treat them without judgment. Harlem, in New York, is nearly the same as it always was. More crime, less response from law enforcement but less judgment because of a common skin color. Our president is ethnic, anyone with eyes or ears knows this. He has recently come under fire for how he has done. I won't go into views here, this will remain nonpartisan. He hasn't, however, started a war over weapons that have never been found. He hasn't been involved in a scandal with an intern that drew attention from the entire world. You will never make me believe that he would be under so much scrutiny if he were not ethnic. Let's go back to net neutrality now without dwelling or debating my personal opinion on politics if you don't mind.

To make net neutrality work you would need a central leadership without bias. Bigger issues have failed here and I seriously doubt this would get what equal rights and Communism never have. You would also need company leadership that would put their best interests below that of the people. Find one of those for me. No company can be both successful AND not be self serving to some extent. The last thing that would be essential would be all the countries to agree on this issue. We can't even get all the countries to agree on global warming and that is a huge issue. So, in theory net neutrality is fantastic but also impossible.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/communism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com 

Kellaher, Karen. (n.d.). Equal rights, are we there yet?. Retrieved from http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4786

BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION: Kellaher, Karen. (n.d.). Equal rights, are we there yet?. Retrieved from http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4786 [NOTE: Italicize "Equal rights, are we there yet?"] PARENTHETICAL CITATION: (Kellaher) 

Frequently asked questions: what is net neutrality?. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.savetheinternet.com/frequently-asked-questions?gclid=CJyV9ZqIj6UCFRZy5QodpV4rOQ

BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION: Frequently asked questions: what is net neutrality?. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.savetheinternet.com/frequently-asked-questions?gclid=CJyV9ZqIj6UCFRZy5QodpV4rOQ [NOTE: Italicize "Frequently asked questions: what is net neutrality?"] PARENTHETICAL CITATION: ("Frequently asked questions:," )

BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/communism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com [NOTE: Italicize "http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/communism"] PARENTHETICAL CITATION: ("http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/communism ," )

The Instructors at COTC

     I will start by admitting the fact that I absolutely hated 1st through 12th grade. That being said, I honestly have had a blast at COTC and specifically the Digital Media program. Unlike some of the programs I have seen on campus, DMD feels the most like a family and it is because of the instructors. The teachers in the DMD program take the time to get to know you and make you feel like a member of their family. Don't get me wrong, I have not always gotten along with every single one but it has been rare.
     At first it was a bit intimidating, not often do you come up against so many extremely intelligent teachers. After a while you begin to realize that they are all just as geeky (if not more...no names here) as you are. I have learned something from each and every one, even those that I have butted heads with. A person learns how to satisfy future customers by learning what each instructor wants to see in a piece of work, be it a web site or photography. Each teacher has different likes and dislikes, for instance Kathleen likes triangles and close in macro shots with nice depth of field. Adaptability is our greatest asset and learning everything you can glean from the instructors is our greatest resource.