# Matt's Wiki Tutorial Reflection I watched the video tutorial linked below: <iframe width="651" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6A5EpqqDOdk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> <br/> ### What I Learned - how to add headings (see above) - how to embed videos (see above) - how to add **bold** text - how to add *italicized* text - how to add links: [Matt's Home Page](https://hackmd.io/@matt-rose77/SkQM73Py_) - how to add bulleted lists or 1. numbered lists - how to embed images: ![image alt](https://imagesvc.meredithcorp.io/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F6%2F2017%2F12%2Ftcdnann_ec020-1.jpg) ![image test](https://i.imgur.com/SLQA9KE.png) ### Matt's Reflection I found the Markdown tutorial easy to follow and so far I enjoy using it. I'm not positive I followed all of the instructions from the syllabus, but I think I understood most of them.
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Matt's Home Page Required assignments Wiki tutorial Web search and evaluation Filter and label your email Adblocking Privacy footprint Reading responses

4/19/2021
Matt's Reading Responses (Set 2)

5 Reading Responses March 16 - Ads Online ads are now a staple of commercial businesses because they can easily track user activity and target ads using a vast dataset of factors including demographics, time of day, locations, interests, online behavior, etc. According to Stokes (2014) in "Online Advertising," social media is an increasingly popular platform for online advertising because an individual's activity on social platforms can provide ad servers lots of information about a user/customer. While some platforms lend themselves better to certain types of ads, social media is also a great tool for advertisers because it can host a range of display ads and sponsored content. Some of the main display ad types include: Banner adverts, which are graphics on a webpage that can be interacted with. They vary in size and may expand with interaction. Interstitial banners, which appear on the website between pages. Popups and pop-unders, which open new windows either over or beneath the main web page.

4/19/2021
Matt's Privacy Footprint Practical

While I don't usually pay much mind to my Internet footprint and am not typically too concerned about my privacy, I found segments of the readings eerie, particularly those describing intentionally covert tracking methods that everyday platforms use. In Chapter 11 of Kernigham's D Is For Digital, Kernigham describes methods such as invisible 1-pixel embedded images that create cookies and track users across site and hidden JavaScript in URLs/HTML that disguise third party cookies as first party cookies to circumvent blockers. While I don't really care when I can tell I'm being tracked, I still find these practices disturbing because they are intentionally misleading and even directly go against permissions explicitly set by the user in the case of the disguised cookies. As I've said in previous responses, I don't see an inherent wrong in user tracking myself, but I still think users should be able to disable tracking. Rather than seeing these settings as a challenge to be overcome, ad services should acknowledge the boundary set by users who disable third party cookies. In the Haridy's article about the myth that Facebook listens to our conversations through our devices' microphones, I found it interesting that he explained how Facebook wasn't listening because the cell phones tested didn't use as much data as a virtual assistant like OK Google and then did not elaborate on what these assistants are doing. I've heard the same rumor about virtual assistants that I have about Facebook listening in to our conversations. While I understand that listening for keywords is part of their service, I'd be interested to see what these same researchers have to say about the rumor that these assistants track us in the way that people imagine Facebook has been. My Identity As I'm writing this, I'm realizing the instructions say to conduct a Spokeo search but I earlier clicked a link to Intelius that I can no longer find. After putting in my name and hometown into Intelius, the service was able to link me to my parents and my brother (whose name appeared twice in my relatives list for some reason). However, it displayed by middle initial as "B" when it's actually "R" and I'm curious to know where online my middle initial it listed as "B." I also tried entering my name and town on Spokeo and was not able to find myself in their list of Matthew Roses from the area. Browser

4/2/2021
Matt's Ad Blocking Practical

Before UBlock Origin: After UBlock Origin: I definitely noticed that sites loaded faster with UBlock on, and I found I was able to more efficiently read web pages without the insistent distraction of attention-hungry banner ads, pop ups, and floating ads. While this no-ad system makes it easier to interact with the content I intend to, if every individual blocked all ads it would create a problem in which ad-supported free content would not be sustainable. Free sites may have to implement pay walls or, if no users are willing to pay for previously free content, shut down entirely. As I argued in a prior reading response, ads are not inherently bad and, while they may be annoying, they allow us to have easy, unpaid access to lots of online content. However, I still believe that users should be able to deny permission to be tracked by ad servers. Rather than moving towards ad blockers, users who are bothered by tracking should be encouraged to activate tracking protection as discussed by Marti in "Targeted Advertising Considered Harmful." In this way, users would be able to browse the Web without being tracked across sites by third-party ad servers. Users would still be shown ads, and therefore tracking protection would not be a detriment to advertisers as ad blockers would. However, these ads would be relevant to the content on the page rather retargetted based on a user's previous online behavior. Marti explains that this makes ads more meaningful to viewers and increases their signaling power as long as users know they are not targeted, which the user of tracking protection would know. Ad "blockers" like AdBlock Plus that allow some ads through their filter, as long as they are deemed acceptable and as long as advertisers pay the blocker, are after their own profit and do not offer the best solution to users. While ads may be more in line with the page's content, this is the same effect that tracking protection would have. Furthermore, the model is susceptible to corruption in which unrelated ads eventually get through the filter for high prices, creating a similar environment to the pre-blocker Web except with another middle-man seeking to profit. Therefore, the best solution for those who are bothered by ad tracking but enjoy free ad-supported content is to implement tracking protection. Unfortunately this does not provide a solution for users like myself who are not really bothered by tracking but would simply prefer to view web pages for free and without ads, as UBlock allows. I suppose we are instead forced to accept that we have to allow ads on our pages if we want to continue to enjoy the benefits of ad-supported content. Although as ads lose their impact and users develop "banner blindness," a term coined by Betsy Haibel and quoted by Marti to describe users gradually tuning out constant online ads, even this system people like myself now take for granted may need alterations.

3/17/2021
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