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# System prepended metadata

title: Set 1 of Reading Responses!

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# Set 1 of Reading Responses! 

### Checklist for potential reading responses
- [ ] Jan 14 Tue - Attention
- [x] Jan 17 Fri - How the Web works
- [x] Jan 24 Fri - Fake News
- [ ] Jan 28 Tue - Learning
- [x] Feb 04 Tue - Cooperation
- [ ] Feb 07 Fri - Social Networks
- [x] Feb 11 Tue - Student Nominated Topic
- [x] Feb 14 Fri - Exam Review
- [ ] Feb 21 Fri - Contribution & Gender
- [ ] Feb 25 Tue - Manipulated
- [ ] Feb 28 Fri - Ads and social graph background




## Response 1: How The Web and HTTP Works

1/17/2020
by: Risa Tapanes

I often pat myself on the back for my heightened computer literacy or online competency skills. I feel important when my parents ask me to help upload music to their phones, or when having to explain what Instagram is to my grandmother. In actuality, I have really just grown up with much more technology than them, and in comparison to other kids my age, I think I spent a lot of time on the computer growing up. Now if my family were to ask the deeper, perhaps more philosophical questions of, “but what IS the internet? Not just what you can DO on there?” I wouldn’t be so sure. With the breakdowns from MDN and Hartley Brody, I can teach myself (and others) what these this complex landscape consists of in a more comprehensible language.

MDN explains it simply - the web begins with clients and servers. The client, which is your internet-connected device, and the server is what you are trying to reach via the internet, such as an app or webpage. 

This communication between client and server can be analogized by imaging a long, two-way road. Starting as the client, we meet a few stops along the way. The first is your internet connection - “is your router on?” and  “is your device connected?” are good questions to ask. Think of this as the energy you need to get down the road.

Wait a minute - this road is a little longer than anticipated. Thankfully, we have made another stop at TCP/IP, your new mode of transportation. This tool “define how data should travel across the web.” (MDN, 2016)

Before we start our engines though, we have to make sure we know the address  - in this instance, a DNS or Domain Name Server. This will bring us to our specified location...er, webpage.

Now that we have finally made it to our destination, it is time to converse and speak to what we need. This ‘language’ is called HTTP - a ‘Google Translate’ for laymans terms when typing online to specified directions to give to the webpage. HTTP acts as a cryptography to keep out unwanted eyes and ears in relation to your internet privacy.

Now that we have made ourselves clear, we can leave with what we came for., via code files and assets. And of course, a completed webpage ‘transaction’. But so often, we seem to take these things for granted. Many young Americans have been used to a constant internet-driven environment without fully realizing the complexities  of how even the smallest thing online is made possible. I now know that I will not take my internet connection and competency for granted, as I know I could not fathom piecing all ‘road stops’ together.



## Response 2: Fake News

- Craig Silverman, “This analysis shows how fake election news stories outperformed real news on Facebook.”
- Adam Mosseri, “News feed FYI: Addressing hoaxes and fake news.”
- Danah Boyd, “Did media literacy backfire?”

*Had everyone in the country learned and used “crap detection” skills, would we have been so affected by “fake news”?*

1/24/2020
by: Risa Tapanes


I use Facebook and I'm proud! There, I said it - not something most young adults will admit to these days. So often Gen Z young adults side-eye Facebook as a place for older folks wanting to post photos of their family, or give an unsolicited opinion about the government. Even if you find distaste in the website for the aforementioned reasons, it's at least ironically funny to see what fake news has spread and who on your friends list is actively falling for it.

There is a reason we know more about our news through social media than reliable, unbiased sources via an online journal or 5 o'clock news. It is about the headline and how well it captures us - "clickbait" culture, if you will, whether or not the headline was a hoax. Silverman shares, "the top-performing fake election news stories on Facebook generated more engagement than the top stories from major news outlets." (Silverman, 2016) In response to this engagement, whether it is a "like" to show interest, or a comment to debunk the myths in the article, the piece itself still soars through the algorithm. The more hits, the more likely something will show up on your homepage. 

In the height of fake news - the 2016 presidential election - Facebook acknowledged the issue. On their end, they are trying to distinguish credible sources, without seeming biased and without silencing voices. To best combat the issue of misinformation and fake news, it is best NOT to engage. Even if your comment or share is to tell your friends how funny it is that someone could believe this, or that there are absurdities in the article, the truth is, many Facebook users are not as media literate as Gen Z, who grew up navigating the web. Adam Mosseri, who works with Facebook, tells users: "report a hoax if you see one on Facebook, which you can do by clicking the upper right hand corner of a post." (Mosseri, 2016) He also shares that when reports are made, the article will be sent to a third-party fact checking organization. While it is being reviewed, the content will have a disclaimer you must accept to acknowledge what you see might not be factual.

Had everyone had adequate access to media literacy education growing up, it would not have necessarily solved all of our current issues. In fact, it is sometimes raised that a heightened sense of media literacy drives too much distrust in sources and experience. In a lot of cases, factual or not, "people believe in information that confirms their priors." (Boyd, 2017) Both sides of the political spectrum are at fault here, falling for fake news, or not getting enough credible sources to distinguish their views. Boyd writes: "Media literacy asks people to raise questions and be wary of information that they’re receiving. People are. Unfortunately, that’s exactly why we’re talking past one another."(2017) Fake news has become such a running joke, that now if one party sees something they don't want to hear, they will dismiss it as fake news, and scold those who were 'silly enough to fall for it.' As Boyd says, there's no easy way to move forward or completely combat these issues. It is best to keep an open mind, know how to find credible resources, and to think before you repost or share!

## Response 3: Cooperation
02/04/2020
by: Risa Tapanes

**"Why do we cooperate, and when and why do we fail to do so?"**

The internet is a ruthless place. Trolls, spam bots, and predators are more common than you think. Yet so often, we turn to the computer when we need an answer or advice. 

Certain websites have rules and regulations to go by. No swearing or inappropriate behavior on Club Penguin or you'll be blocked, no nudity on Instagram, so on and so fourth. But other sites, and places within the 'dark web', are lenient, or have no rules. 

I think there is a general sense of human decency and empathy when it comes to behavior online. Perhaps that relays the notion "people are more generous when they feel they are being watched,"(39) or oppositely, there is an option for anonymity online. Hiding behind fake characters, filtered photos, and false names, it can be easy to disobey rules, whether written or ones of a general understanding. 

While I have seen cruel behavior online (nothing close too home), I have found lots of cooperation and communities online. The first I think of is a Facebook private group for women in the music industry. In real life, things can seem cut-throat/"by hook or by crook," (36) but on this online forum, women are able to openly express ideas and opinions on the industry, plus job openings. In this specific case, we tend to have a mentality in real life of there not being 'enough room' for women in the music industry and we are battling each other for jobs, but online we are able to converse and support each other, even share job postings. Though I am often a reader, less of a poster, when I have shared opportunities to the group I have seen it as a “I’ll scratch your back, and someone will scratch mine,” (38)...eventually.

I believe in that specific Facebook group for women in music, we mostly fit the elements for a wise crowd. Diversity of opinion, independence, decentralization, aggregation, and trust. But perhaps it is because the group explicitly states it goals for inclusion and promoting diversity, while having admins monitor and facilitate discussions.

## Response 4: The Dark Web

02/11/2020
by: Risa Tapanes

Ok, I know I said a few posts ago that I considered myself to have a high level of media literacy..but I had no idea what the Dark Web was. I am definitely one of the ones who perpetrated the notion it was entirely “a creepy catchall that includes everything scary lurking online: terrorists, pedophiles, dope dealers, hackers-for-hire.” (Kushner)

The Dark Web, ran through Tor - a tool to create anonymity online - actually receives a majority of its funding from the Department of Defense. While everyday people think Tor, or the idea of strategized anonymity online, is inherently bad, it did not begin that way. Kusher tells that it was originally designed by and for the Naval Research Lab. Because of this, Tor had to be released publically so that it wasn’t clear just the military/government were using it. At first, it was not just used by criminals, but used by “dissidents” in other countries, fighting for their rights. 

Within the Dark Web, and using Tor, is Memex - the search engine of it all. This allows users to dive into the Deep Web, versus what we know to be the Surface Web. For example, when you search for Netflix on a regular browser like Google Chrome, it takes you to the log in/sign-up page - a paywall. With Memex, it will open right through and into the site’s content behind the paywall. Tor hides this by “bouncing connections from your computer to destinations... through a series of intermediate [relays].” (Wright) This is more simply explained as an onion of encryption - layers upon layers to mask activity.

Now that there's a place for an online blackmarket, how does one pay? Through crypto currency like Bitcoin. With this, there is no middle-man (like a bank) keeping track of transactions. Everything is open-source so people can have transparency and build upon the current systems. Everyone has access to the ledger of receipts. Digital transactions behave like physical ones with Bitcoin. 

To be honest though, I am still a little confused with most of these concepts, but I have more of a base understanding than I did before these readings. I have no intention on investing in Bitcoin or surfing via Memex, but as the internet and technology develops rapidly everyday, it is in my best interest to try and keep up!


## Response 5: Exam Review
02/14/2020
by: Risa Tapanes

2 multiple choice, 2 essay - answers below


1. TCP contributes to...
    a. addressing and routing
    b. reliably delivering data
    c. requesting a web resource 
    
2. Metcalf's Law refers to...
    a. the value of social networks is proportional to the number of possible contributions (2N)
    b. the value of broadcast network is proportional to the number of viewers (N)
    c. the value of telecom networks is proportional to the number of potential transactions (N2)

3. Briefly explain deep versus dark web - are they the same thing?
4. Examining bias, opinion, facts, and expertise, how might you be able to distinguish reputable news versus fake news?

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.



##### Answers 
1. B
2. C
3. The dark web lies within the deep web. What we know day-to-day is the surface level web, but using TOR, we can access the deep web easily. The deep web is password encrypted, not readily available. Past the password encrypted level, if you were to venture down an illicit path, would be the dark web.
4. Real news will have little to no bias, no personal opinions given, high in or strictly facts, and the journalist or reporter will have much expertise. Fake news is high in biases and opinions, little to no (or even false, but presented as true) facts, and the writer typically has no real expertise. 





