Topic 4 Reflection

This week’s topic revolved around ethics in social media and internet use itself. For a lot of students in this module, one of the things that came to mind was Justine Sacco’s tweet that gave her worldwide notoriety. This tweet gained traction across the internet for it being ludicrously racist. As a result, the whole internet criticized her for posting something so racist and called for her employer to fire her.

I read in Leah’s blog about how the event came to be, thanks a to TED talk video on that blog post. Justine only had 170 followers on Twitter at the time the tweet was posted. One of her followers leaked the tweet to a journalist who then spread it even further. In the space of ten days in December, Justine Sacco was googled over a million times. This example shows how quickly something can get around the web and that people who post things on social media need to be careful as one of their ‘followers’ or friends’ could leak your post you found to be funny, while the whole internet finds it offensive. Things on the internet can spread like a disease and before you can explain your racist post, you’re vilified by the whole world.

Tom‘s blog looked at the idea of ethically tracking personal data with companies. I did something similar to this, but Tom looked at how companies track what websites we visit and anonymise the searches so that it no longer ‘constitutes’ personal data. Even though it improves service, a company can look at my browser history without my consent. We both discussed how an employer can spy on their employee through the company bandwidth, which is something that needs to be thought about whoever is working in an office.

Word Count: 297

Blogs commented on:

https://tomburrellblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/22/ethics-of-tracking/comment-page-1/#comment-22

https://leahcowan.wordpress.com/2015/11/22/public-shaming/

Using and Posting on the Internet with Caution

As mentioned in previous posts, the amount of impact the internet has on our lives is enormous. Every little thing you do, be it a post or a something you search for, plays an important role in how you use the internet. This is because your employer can spy on you in many different ways. Your employer is capable of checking your searches within the company computer you are using and can perform monitor searches. These two things can be done through the company’s bandwidth, which is very unsettling to those working in an office now that they’re aware their employer is potentially spying on them.

Despite this being unethical, not using the internet carefully can potentially be very damaging. One case is Justine Sacco’s Tweet, which got Justine fired for posting a racist tweet without considering who could see the tweet. Another similar incident occurred when Sir John Sawer’s cover was blown because his wife posted family pictures on Facebook without changing any of the privacy settings. One thing led to another and all of London was able to see all the photos the former chief of MI6’s wife had posted onto Facebook.

Here is a video which shows an example of what happens when you don’t mark your posts as private and are not careful about what you post on the internet.

It is unethical how your employer can spy on you and look you up on google, but I believe it is necessary for the employers to make sure they know who they’re hiring and monitoring their progress in the office. Though its unfair that my employer can spy on what I’m searching while at work, but I shouldn’t be surfing through Facebook, I should be getting those required tasks done as soon as possible. Though it is a little bit harsh to argue against someone’s privacy, that same individual isn’t paid to come to work to surf Facebook.

Large Man Looking At Co-Worker With A Magnifying Glass — Image by © Images.com/Corbis

On the other hand, for people like Justine Sacco and Sir John Sawers to be subject to such scrutiny, they had it coming. Not so much John Sawers as it was his wife’s fault, but Justine Sacco should’ve never posted that Tweet as Tweets and status updates are so easily accessible by so many different people. By not making the most of your privacy settings and posting on social media with caution, incidents like the ones mentioned above can be avoided.

Word Count: 404

References:

How social media can ruin your career, video, KroesKontroltv, 15 March 2013. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CImhaCY1YP4 [Accessed 21 November 2015]

Litty, M. (2014) 6 Ways Your Employer Can Legally Spy on You, Recruiter. Available from: https://www.recruiter.com/i/6-ways-your-employer-can-legally-spy-on-you/ [Accessed 20 November 2015]

Ronson, J. (2015) How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life, The New York Times. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/how-one-stupid-tweet-ruined-justine-saccos-life.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Magazine&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article&_r=3{Accessed 20 November 2015]

Sengupta, K. (2011) A spy in Speedos: Wife blows cover of MI6 chief on Facebook, The Independent. Available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/a-spy-in-speedos-wife-blows-cover-of-mi6-chief-on-facebook-1732759.html [Accessed 20 November 2015]

Siciliano, R. (2015) Be careful what You post in Social Media, LinkedIn. Available from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/careful-what-you-post-social-media-robert-siciliano [Accessed 21 November 2015]

 

Topic 3 Reflection

This topic was all about developing a professional online profile, which includes websites like LinkedIn. LinkedIn has become a very important website for people who want to connect with companies and potentially get work from companies on LinkedIn. However, from reading other blog posts, LinkedIn isn’t the only website to look at if you’re trying to promote yourself online. By reading Chris‘s blog, which focused on musicians and photographers, websites like Instagram and Soundcloud play a large role in promoting one’s photos or music. He goes on to say how it is crucial for artists to constantly share their work in order for them to get noticed, otherwise no one will be able to see their work if they don’t share it as much as possible.

In Georgina‘s blog, she talks about the importance of making a good impression with employers who quickly glance at your online profile. She stresses the point of how it is important for you to have multiple online profiles so that you are much easier to find on google, so having an account on Twitter or Facebook will serve as a benefit to you. Georgina also used a personal example of how her blog’s views skyrocketed after applying for multiple jobs.

Both blogs discuss that making your presence known is the most important thing about maintaining a professional online profile. I completely agree with this because if you don’t make your presence known online, potential employers won’t be able to see what kind of skills you offer. This can potentially prevent any fantastic work opportunities from happening because you didn’t promote your work and profile as much as possible.

Word Count: 280

Posts commented on:

Creating a Digital Professional Profile to become a Freelance Content Creator

Developing an authentic online professional profile

Reflecting Upon Topic 2

This is a topic that a lot of people from younger generations are quite familiar with, as the internet grows more and more popular as time goes by. After working and getting familiar with this topic, I have learned a lot more about why people have more than one identity and why having more than one identity can be harmful to others. To be specific, I learned more about catfishing by reading about it online and on Lphenix‘s and on Hollie‘s blogs.

Catfishing is something that anyone can easily come across, especially if using a dating website like Tinder, but by reading about it on the blogs mentioned above and with articles, I have come to understand why some people would consider using an alternative persona despite the fact it can be quite unethical. I have also learned that by creating multiple online personas, people are at greater risk of being a victim to identity theft. I for one do not have multiple accounts from the same social media website, and by reading about it on other blogs, I may not want to create multiple identities regardless of the situation. It should be mentioned that Facebook now has privacy settings that can be altered so only your friends can see your profile for example.

On the other hand, I have come to understand more why people under constant scrutiny have multiple personas, like athletes and politicians. A world-known musician can’t necessarily share a Facebook account for his/her fans and his/her personal life because they may not want all the attention from people they’ve never known and/or seen before, especially if its something better kept within his/her personal sphere.

All in all, this is a topic I was somewhat familiar with before writing about it, but it is something I understand a lot more now. This is the case for speaking for multiple identities as it was something I never knew could be thought of as a positive and I never thought about how multiple identities worked for famous people.

Word Count: 338

Blogs commented on:

Multiple online profiles: An accident waiting to happen?

https://holliekinch.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/online-or-offline/comment-page-1/#comment-2

Topic 1 Reflection

After reading about the discussion between ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’, I have now come to realize that different generations are placed in different ‘digital’ groups, which is something I never knew existed before. I’m aware that the younger generation are quicker to grasp to technology, but to split generations in two groups was something I have never come across and found it strange to discuss two groups primarily on age. I’ve heard people of the younger generation calling older people technophobes for not being able to grasp technological advances, but this discussion was something completely new to me. I’m not saying that the groups are only separated by age, but saying the digital immigrants use the internet solely to book holidays or check their bank balances isn’t necessarily true. As I mentioned in my discussion of this topic on my blog, some people in the so-called ‘digital immigrant’ part of the discussion actually use things like social media more than people from the ‘native’ group. I see this on a day-to-day basis as my Facebook news feed contains more pictures and status updates from immigrants than natives.

In an article by the Huffington Post (which is also referenced on the blog post for this topic), it is mentioned that people of the ‘digital native’ group view the world in a more egalitarian manner while also expressing cynical views towards the government, for example. On the other hand, people who are considered to be ‘digital immigrants’ are very goal-oriented, which is something I sometimes see with older generations. Sometimes I feel that ‘digital immigrants’ I’ve met and spent time with can pressure me into getting work and figure out what I want to do when I finish university, which makes me feel uneasy at times. On the other hand, some people who are considered to be digital immigrants have a slightly different point of view. These members of digital immigrant group have told me (from personal experience) to not worry about it, which makes me feel a little more comfortable.

All in all, I initially had no idea that there was a discussion on how the internet was across various age groups and it’s an argument I can relate to at times (Huffington Post), while the other argument saying that ‘digital immigrants’ use the internet to solely check bank balances and book holidays is something I find to be completely untrue.

Word Count: 401

Comments found on: http://sophiepitman.wordpress.com and http://bryonykeen.wordpress.com

Distinguishing between digital “natives” and digital “immigrants”

We live in a world where technology has become an almost essential part of peoples’ lives. Communicating between people from every corner of the planet has never been so easy. The one thing that comes to mind, however, is trying to understand and distinguish those born into the technological age, the digital natives, and those who have had to adapt to it, the digital immigrants. It is something that goes far beyond the idea of it simply being one being born into the technological age while the other one has had to adapt to it.

DeGraff (2014) describes digital natives to view life in a more “horizontal” way than digital immigrants. This means that they view the world in a much less prejudiced way. DeGraff also explains that digital natives hold sceptical and critical views on social institutions such as the government. I completely agree with this as the internet allows us to see other peoples’ opinions and how they react to things very easily. From personal experience, I’ve come across many people of this generation who are indeed very critical about the government but also lean to a very equal mind-set. However, DeGraff goes on to say that this generation isn’t very goal-oriented and that it’s the digital immigrants who are the goal-oriented generation. This is also something that is relatable as natives aren’t necessarily ready to start a career, while digital immigrants can pressure natives into getting jobs and working very hard for a living. Adding to that, digital immigrants can also come off as brutal as they are so oriented on doing things like finishing important projects and doing deals with other companies, which can make the native feel very pressured.

On the other hand, David White (2008) describes the two entities as “residents” and “visitors” as opposed to immigrants and natives. The resident is someone who spends a lot of time on the internet, such as using social media websites, while the visitor is someone who uses the internet to buy train tickets. White (2008) goes on to say that the visitors won’t necessarily blog or share their opinions on the internet. This isn’t necessarily true as many people who could fall into the “visitor” category have facebook accounts, blog and share their opinions on thousands of different topics everyday. Therefore, it is possible that some visitors could be transitioning in the realm of the residents.

To conclude, this discussion between natives and immigrants or residents and visitors has no easy explanation. It is definitely true that the natives are more horizontal and that the immigrants are very goal-oriented, but how White (2008) describes their use of the internet isn’t necessarily true. It can be argued that the immigrants are slowly integrating with the natives because the immigrants also blog and post pictures on their social media accounts. Likewise, not all people of the “native” generation live on the internet as some have started to delete their social media accounts, thus moving away from the internet world.

Word Count: 512

References:

White, D. (2008) TALL blog. Accessed 09/10/15 from http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2008/07/23/not-natives-immigrants-but-visitors-residents/

DeGraff, J. (2014) Huffington Post. Accessed 09/10/15 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-degraff/digital-natives-vs-digita_b_5499606.html