Wednesday, June 4, 2014
TWIF Flattener #9 - In-Forming
Use one of the current events sources linked at http://svhs-hwc-fall2014.blogspot.com/2014/06/approved-sources-for-twif-current.html to find a recent news article that relates to, supports, or refutes Friedman's assertion that in-forming was a "flattener." Your comment should include the title of the news article, a link to the article, and a summary of the article including an explanation of how the article relates to this point. Don't forget to check your rubric for evaluation criteria!
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http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/07/14/331384825/in-europe-google-stumbles-between-free-speech-and-privacy
ReplyDeleteIn Europe, Google Stumbles Between Free Speech And Privacy
This article describes the struggle that Google faces about balancing freedom of speech and privacy rights in Europe. The article states that in May, the European Court of Justice ruled that people in Europe have the right to be in control of information published publicly about themselves. Basically, on Google there is information about everyone and everything, and some people feel that it is their right to be able to tell google to remove the information. Google is now accepting formal requests for the removal of personal information. This relates to Friedman’s point about the in-forming flattener, Google. Friedman states that Google provides access to information that people never before had access to, such as personal information. According to this article, Friedman is absolutely correct about that. This article supports Friedman’s arguments about Google by agreeing that Google has a wide range of personal information.
Power of Microsoft's Bing an open question in search industry http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/19/us-microsoft-bing-insight-idUSKBN0EU2EO20140619 Friedman’s ninth flattener, “In-forming,” is about how the development of search engines has leveled the information playing field across the globe. Anyone anywhere is now able to go online and search these engines for the information that they need and can have it in the blink of an eye. The first entries into the search engine market included Google, Yahoo, and MSN search. They all have access to the same vast pool of digital information and can respond to an inquiry instantaneously. In the end, the most successful search engines are the ones that people are most comfortable with and name recognition plays a huge role. Bill Rigby’s article, published by Reuters, explains that Bing’s success is uncertain due to the fact that it is one of the later engines into the market. People have been using Google and Yahoo as their main resources for years and it has become second nature to “Google” something if it is not known. Bing is just Microsoft’s latest attempt to capture some of the market share that Google has secured. For the first four years of Bing’s existence, Microsoft lost billions of dollars in its online services market. Bing has been unsuccessful at steering the market share away from Google, but has taken some business from Yahoo who is second in the market. Advertisers are becoming reluctant to promote their products on Bing because it has so few users. Investors have even suggested that Microsoft sell Bing to a company who could better utilize it. Friedman’s evaluation of how search engines have flattened the flow of information across the globe is correct, but at some point the industry has become saturated and dominated by one major player.
ReplyDelete“Going Dark: The Internet Behind the Internet” (No author given)
ReplyDeleteNPR: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/05/25/315821415/going-dark-the-internet-behind-the-internet
In The World Is Flat, Friedman explains how search engines like Google allow anyone to access countless websites by using the given keywords to find the most popular and often the most helpful sites. Other search engines, like Yahoo, allow people with similar interests to connect through Yahoo Groups. However, this article explains that, while these search engines allow users to access a seemingly infinite amount of information, there is a large number of web sites that no one can access through normal search engines. This is called the “Deep Web.” Search Engines like Tor (The Onion Router) can access this “Deep Web” while allowing the user to remain completely anonymous. This also allows users to access the “Darknet,” a place inside the Deep Web that people use to anonymously do illegal activities like buy drugs, see child porn, hire assassins, etc. However, the Deep Web is more than just the Darknet. Tor also allows normal people, such as Chinese or Arabic protestors who are worried about the government spying on them, to access many sites and collaborate with others anonymously. This article relates to The World Is Flat by describing a different search engine that allows users to access even more information while remaining anonymous and explaining how Tor can be used for good and for bad purposes.
"Yahoo Acquires Flurry to Bolster Mobile Offerings" by: Vindu Goel
ReplyDeletehttp://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/21/yahoo-acquires-flurry-to-bolster-mobile-offerings/?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A16%22%7D&gwh=2F400901601920BA57DCAB10D0F3EA93&gwt=pay
In Chapter 2 of The World is Flat, Friedman says that 'in-forming' is a flattening force. He says that companies such as Google, Yahoo!, and MSN are giving individuals the power to conduct their own research. Not only that, but they no longer have to go to a library to their research. Even further, people do not have to go through countless books and encyclopedias anymore; the information is at their fingertips. Friedman also mentioned how these companies made a lot of money on advertisements. Recently, Yahoo! bought Flurry, a mobile ad and analytics company. By acquiring this company, Yahoo! can compete with Google and Facebook in the mobile global ecosystem.
"Big Questions Now That Europeans Can Edit Google Search Results"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/05/13/312156200/big-questions-now-that-europeans-can-edit-google-search-results
In chapter 2 of The World is Flat, Friedman discusses the impact that search engines such as Google had on the flattening of the world. He makes a point that as search engines start to advance, more and more information will be available to the public, whether or not it was intended to be. This article discusses a decision that was made to allow search results in Europe to be removed. Search results were already removed due to copyright issues, but now, embarrassing or harmful results are being removed. This almost reverses what was expected to happen with search engines. Suddenly, at least in Europe, small amounts of information are disappearing. This article also poses many unanswered questions about the system. This goes along with Friedman's discussion about the privacy of search engine results.
Google to invest over $1B in satellites to spread Internet access
ReplyDeletehttp://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/6/2/google-satelliteinternetaccess.html
In Flattener 9, Friedman writes about in-forming. He explains in this section that Google tries to stay ahead of the competition in any way, stating that Google hires mathematicians to work on its search algorithms. This article states that Google is going to invest over a billion dollars to create satellites that will spread internet access. It plans to launch 180 low-orbit satellites and will try to increases this number in later years. Google’s investment in these satellites supports Friedman’s statement because doing this helps Google pull ahead of its competitors and increase its revenue.
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ReplyDelete“Netflix Grows Subscriptions in US as Pay-TV Declines
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-25825125
This article shows that, while the percentage of homes using streaming services such as Netflix climbed to 27%, pay-TV channel subscription declined by 6%. Additionally, seven out of every ten films and TV shows are watched through a streaming or on demand service. This illustrates that people are gravitating towards instant television over traditional cable TV, probably because of the rise of Netflix and the high costs of cable TV.
This correlates with what Friedman explains about television in The World is Flat. He says that “TiVo allows viewers to digitally record their favorite programs and skip the ads, except those they want to see. You watch what you want when you want. You don’t have to make an appointment with a TV channel at the time and place someone else sets and watch the commercials foisted on you. With TiVo you can watch only your own shows and the commercials you want for only those products in which you might be interested.” He then predicts that broadcast TV, where the viewer does not collaborate with their users, will become less popular, and that the companies that will succeed are the ones that establish connections with their users (181-82). This is exactly what Netflix and other streaming, on-demand services do—provide digital content that viewers can select and view whenever they want without any ads. Therefore, the fact that TV viewers continue to migrate to Netflix and other streaming services instead of traditional television supports Friedman’s argument.
Google's prototype self-driving car will have a steering wheel after all
ReplyDeleteRules set by the California DMV require a steering wheel on all test vehicles so that the driver can take over in the case of failure
By Alex Hern
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/22/google-self-driving-car-steering-wheel
In chapter 2 of The World is Flat, Friedman talks about Google as a flattener of the world. When he wrote his book, Google was still mainly just a search engine. But nowadays we know that Google manufactures many other flattening products, such as their own Google brand phones which allow people to connect with each other. As Friedman mentions, Google also owns YouTube, which allows anyone to view videos that people around the world uploaded. But the new product this article talks about is mind blowing. Google now has a new self-driving car! The car is still just a prototype, but the article says that Google is trying to get rid of the so-called obsolete items in a car, such as the brake pedal. The car will simply have a stop/go button and possibly a steering wheel. This goes to prove what Friedman said about Google going above and beyond other companies.