Author: xgj201

Prior to reading this article I never really thought about how much the medium through which information is dispersed really does affect the content of something and the way in which we perceive it. I think this quote, “the medium is the message because it is the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action” is a great example from the text of the way in which the medium affects the reaction to the content. To a certain extent, I agree with this because obviously depending on the medium used, the information will reach a different audience. If I publish in the newspaper my audience is mostly going to be retirees while if I publish on social media my audience will most likely be teenagers. However, I think that nowadays the medium through which an information source is dispersed doesn’t matter as much, if a piece of information is relevant enough or is that amazing it will find itself being dispersed through other mediums than its original form and will then reach a much larger audience regardless of the original medium used. 

Reading Long Live the Web made me realize the importance of the internet in our daily lives. Reading about the standardized and open protocols which allow the internet to function and which give it access to anyone that understands these protocols really showed the truly global nature of the internet and the immensely important role the internet now plays in fostering democracy and of our increasingly globalized world. Prior to reading this article, I had never really thought about how certain websites and companies such as Facebook, Apple and certain Google services create barriers around web connectivity by forcing you to create user accounts and making you use their own proprietary services rather than the common on HTML protocol which is open to all. By doing this the companies are creating closed off networks which as described in the article hinders connectivity and the free sharing of information and rather puts our information in the select hands of a few which in turn gives them immense power. After reading about how certain companies have also introduced things to hinder our access to certain websites that offer differing political viewpoints or that are owned by rival companies I now even more firmly believe in the need for a set of rules such as the ones put in place under President Obama which established Net Neutrality as the law of the land in the USA and which protected internet users from predatory practices from internet services providers. It is a shame that the current US administration removed these rules under the guise of a “free market” as this decision will only further serve to erode American democracy. 

The article “The strange geopolitics of The international Cloud” I think goes hand in hand with this other article because it goes hand in hand with the problems of the internet today and the use and storage of user data which is extremely valuable information. Who owns the data stored in the data centers of certain countries is an extremely important question as the answer could lead to certain companies or governments having access to potentially sensitive information about its users and its citizens. In our globalized world, this becomes an increasingly important question and one which regulations should be put in place immediately to protect users from predatory practices by governments and corporations alike. The GDPR adopted by the European Union is a great example of regulation which could be adopted in order to protect user data and other countries which seek to preserve the freedoms and privacy of its citizens, in my opinion, should immediately adopt similar regulations.  

This reading was an interesting take on what has become our societies dependence on technology to perform even the most basic human tasks. I think that the fact that Forster is illustrating this in such a way; by showing us this in a dystopian type of story enhances the argument that society is heading towards total dependence on technology. The fact that it is a story makes it interesting to read and puts the argument in a space separate from our own so that we are able to see the truth in it. I think if this was just a rhetorical piece it wouldn’t be nearly as effective as it could easily be dismissed as over the top and just an article trying to scare people. Vashti’s character accurately shows in today’s world our human interactions are becoming diminished as rather than living in the moment we become absorbed in the world within our devices, this is represented in her not even wanting to see her son. Even seeing her son becomes a hassle for her as it seems she would rather stay in her home, absorbed in her comfortable protected world. The “machine” represents this world which we are heading towards and I think that this story serves as a powerful warning that we shouldn’t forget about our human needs and emotions and that we should be cautious on over-reliance of our technology.