oh COME ON!

The web is meant to be open and free! How can companies limit access to something that is put out there for the public to browse for FREE!? how do you limit the WORLD WIDE WEB? In that sense I definitely do not agree that companies have the right to charge for access to certain sites. As far as certain speeds go though, I think that can be understood. I like the example the writer gave in the SFGATE-BUSINESS INSIDER article, about the post office: You pay more for overnight or 2day shipping. If you want the higher speed broadband then you simply pay slightly more. That’s business. That is the Internet providers personal service, not them blocking out someone else’s website/business.

I am not exactly sure how net neutrality should be legally applied to the web. I think the Internet should remain neutral all around–the end. Even after reading all of our articles, I don’t understand why the government would want it either or why companies would try to do this. I just don’t understand WHY. If website content is free then why limit us to that free website by charging us a fee?

I think it is going to be impossible to do this anyway. Seriously, every single day, every single hour, people are coming up with ways to get around websites and emails and viruses and hacking and the list goes on and on…Even if net neutrality was to be triumphed upon, there would be a way around it. The Internet is an open source, the millions of users would just thrash it one way or another. Do we really need to deal with more legal issues with something like the Internet, when we’ve got bigger issues to kill? I mean, they’ve already got us being tracked and privacy issues are being challenged, so much openness with so much blockage doesn’t work. It’s one or the other. You track us or block access. I don’t know, just a thought, the worldwide web cannot be limited. It is infinite.

Go Ahead and Track Me

I definitely think its fair game for a company to supply you with free services. I mean, they have to get their income from somewhere; we all got to eat (lol). It is not an invasion of privacy if a company doesn’t tie your name to it. As long as they don’t get a hold of my credit card or SSN, we will be all right. This goes along with our previous blogpost about privacy and secret-ness. Nothing is private on the net and it shouldn’t be a surprise that we are being tracked in this manner either. All that information is fair game and useful for companies advertising wise sales, and potentially helping you find services you need a lot easier and many time with discounts.

The stats and information these companies collect are probably some of the most valuable information out there for businesses. We are exposed to so much on the web and we have so much at our disposal, so if a company doing its due diligence to create statistics and market research, then they should be able to make money from it. Ultimately it benefits everyone, the consumer, the vendors, large corporations and the average Joe.

Just to consider another perspective though, perhaps there should be a tradeoff. People should have a choice of being tracked. For example, if you select yes, (sort of similar to email lists for various retailers where you can opt in or out of special offers and etc), then there should be an incentive. If for example, a website charges for subscription or something, then maybe it can be free or a cheaper rate in exchange of being tracked, but the whole concept is basically the person or consumer should have a choice in being tracked.

It is kind of like television, you get to watch for free, but within the programming there are advertisements. And although the advertisers don’t see or track your viewing preferences, they air specific commercials on certain channels, also considering the program and timing. The advertising on channels is what the channel owner makes money off of.

"They" can track me all they want, and if any crucial illegal harm is brought up on me, then IT IS ON – legal action baby! Until then, let us all benefit one way or another, whether it be advertisers tracking me and giving me deals or tracking to see how to monitor websites better.

Play Your Cards Right

"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."

What an interesting quote. It’s sort of like those sayings, what came first chicken or the egg?

I don’t know if I agree or disagree.

The Internet is definitely not a private place. If you are going to put something online, there is like a default disclaimer you should be aware of - all things are public, post at your own risk. But then you wonder about banking and credit card websites and bill pay online, right? How private is that? It probably isn’t that private but those companies build up their repuations and boost up their security to prove to us they are secure through certifications and spam control and such.

Webster’s dictionary defines private as something intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person, group, or class. Secret is defined as something kept from knowledge or view. Both are intangible and both essentially mean the same thing but technically they don’t. A secret is usually between two people and privacy can be a general place or group or something in that manner.

The internet is no place for secrets. There is some privacy within security options on websites, like social networking sites, you can block certain things. However, once a picture, or a status, or whatever it may be, has been uploaded on the website, it is also roaming/streaming around the world wide web.

The timeline that was posted showed how we basically went from government watchdogs invading our homes to check for proper MORAL conduct, to a law that allows wiretapping in which government or whomever can listen in on anything and everything we are saying or doing. That is just scary, its not about morals anymore, it's about who knows what first, no matter how dirty you got to get to get the information.

The owner of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg, for instance, everytime there is an update to facebook, the update includes privacy control and basically he wants everything and everyone to put all their information out there, no secrets. To show the world the truths that lay underneath it all. That nothing is really private, allow people to join in. I feel his concept is to make or put all people on the same level of exposure.

So, in other words, how do you feel about some of the loosening of privacy controls and more open displays of what were once considered private behaviors on the web?

I will say that I am not surprised. As our generations grow, there are more and more things that are becoming translucent. We want everything clearly spelled out for us, we don’t want complications. And with those wants comes many other consequences that we have to deal with.

I feel the loosening of the privacy controls and open displays of material once considered private is not a bad thing, because I am one of those people that do not want to be blindsided. I already know that nothing is private anymore, and I feel as long as our personal morals are straight and we are fully aware of the consequence or repercussions of our actions, I don’t see a problem with the loosening of anything. Let people do what they want, I mean, they are going to anyway.

I will leave you with a few sentences from two of our readings that I feel says a lot and goes along with how I feel with all this.

“Most generalizably, youth focus on all that they have to gain when entering into public spaces while adults are thinking about all that they have to lose. Part of the challenge in this is figuring out where someone's at and what their expectations are.”

––––– Danah Boyd

“Ours is a world that is both everywhere and nowhere, but it is not where bodies live…We are creating a world where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity.”

–––– Davos, Switzerland

So basically, the choice is yours. You decide and define what you call and want private or to remain secret. I don't believe people join networks and post scandalous material without knowing what they are doing. it's all a game. Play your cards right. or wrong. what's your motive?