I am the second Purser to have taken CS404 at BYU. My blog is thus a improved version on my brother's from 5 years ago.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Private is Public
Google me. You will discover that I won an essay contest, got a 30+ on my ACT, ran slowly in all my 5k races, and made All-State Academic in cross country. I never posted this information. I’ve never met the people who did. Strangers have the power to make private information public without permission. Most information is dormant like mine: unheard, unseen and completely harmless. But for those in the public eye, private is public. Google 47 percent. You will discover that Mitt Romney made some incriminating remarks about Obama’s supporters. Surely Romney never posted this information nor met the person who did. But months after these remarks were posted, Romney’s campaign was impacted. Privacy is near unattainable in the information age. Choose a public life only with full knowledge of the risk.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Wield Social Media Well.
No tool is inherently good or bad. A
few months ago, a handful of people created a film promoting an anti-Islamic viewpoint
and posted a trailer to YouTube. As a result, violent radical minorities in the
Middle East and Africa protest against the United States. All fifty states are
held at fault for a film very few were involved in. Whether or not that is
fair, we cannot undo another’s wrong. As a few use the internet as a platform
for hate, the majority must work on a higher plane. Our responsibility is to refrain
from hateful speech and promotes positive messages. While others may ‘project
their experience’ on others, we must be a voice of understanding. We wield
the power of the Internet. Social media impacts our world. Actively work to
make that impact positive.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
“Teachers unions are having a harder time
getting what they want,” according to NPR. Unions are a product of the
industrial revolution, a way of uniting workers to benefit from organization. Today
unions retain the high costs of traditional organization against the possibility of more opposition. Unions represent the interests of a few against the
public. As the public gains power against union interests, unions lose power. Pockets
of opposition can organize themselves more easily than ever before, through
social media sites and other online venues. These pockets of opposition are not
as tightly knit or as large as a union. But their opinions are more easily heard
and harder to defeat. They bond in comment sections under newspaper articles,
videos, and blogs. They become more than just neighborhood gossips as they
reach larger audiences. If unions don’t find ways to incorporate these new
voices, the costs of staying organized will be too high to remain organized.
In case you missed the link I'm responding to:
In case you missed the link I'm responding to:
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Winners and Losers
I am a winner in the Information Age, more by luck than choice.
My brother suggested I take an introductory programming course so on a whim I
enrolled. As a result, I found zeal in place of the monotony I have always known
in school. I excel in my classes now, but at first I struggled because I lacked
confidence; I nearly quit. When I became a teaching assistant, I saw that many
struggle, but few admit it. Girls lose largest in this environment. Many of the
girls I talk to expect to fail and see failure in their successes. They freely
admit that they are not smart enough or talented enough to excel when I have
already seen them excel. Other girls my age tell me, “I could never do what you
do,” but they never try. The winners in the Information Age do not take the
time to recognize aptitudes, encourage success, or empathize in failure. The winners create losers out of girls like
me.
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