Total Information Awareness

Total Information Awareness is the name of a massive U.S. data mining project focused on scanning travel, financial and other data from public and private sources with the goal of detecting and preventing transnational threats to national security. This can also be called the Terrorist Information awareness act, which is part of the Homeland Security Act.

This is an image of the logo the Total Information Awareness Office that was in charge of this act and all of its software and data collection.

This program was created to collect information that could help the government prevent further attacks on the US. It was unmasked in 2002 and terminated in 2003, because of public backlash. When this occurred all of the software was transferred to the hands of the NSA where it is now used for counter terrorism measures.

Now there are both good and bad impacts surrounding this act. There is a way in which this could potentially invade the privacy of the American people, but isn't that worth keeping the country safe from terrorist attacks? The idea of this software is to have the incite to know where extremists are in our country and be able to know what they're doing in order to stop them.

To me this sounds like solely a positive impact. I don't think there should be a reason to fear the government knowing your information, unless you have something to hide. If you are a law abiding citizen, there should be no reason to worry about conversations with your family about dinner, or best friend about the boy you met the night before.

While there are some questionable aspects of this act. Overall, it shows how our government cares for the safety and well being of the American people.

My Online Footprint

The idea of an online presence is very interesting to me. When we were younger, and didn't know the dangers of an online footprint, googling your name was just a fun online activity. In fact, in middle school, it was an accomplishment to be the person with the most photos of themselves to show up. I would always take pride in knowing that I had multiple pictures even at a young age because of ties with my Uncle, who at the time had just become the first open gay ambassador of the United States of America. The photo below, is the photo of my family that would frequently appear when you googled my name, or even David Huebner, my uncles name.

Looking back, that was a very naive way to think. Scandal after scandal with facebook leaking personal information and selling your data to companies makes this little contest we used to find fun and entertaining seem so stupid. Just today I went back and did the same thing, I googled my name and looked for what information about me may pop up. 

These 4 photos came up almost immediately without the need for scrolling. The question is, while I did not personally post these, am I okay with them being connected to my online presence? 

https://www.google.com/search?q=erin+huebner&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwip6p-uurbhAhUHvFkKHfbTDuUQ_AUIDigB&cshid=1554381623796309&biw=1440&bih=727

Luckily for me, everyone of these links speaks positively about me and things i've done in my lifetime. One article highlights my high school water polo team, who my senior year won the state championship for the 3rd year in a row. The article discusses my leadership as a senior captain, as well as the goals i contributed to help my team win. Leadership is a great quality looked for when entering the work force, so in the end this article could potentially have a positive impact. A second article was written about me traveling with the Princeton Tigers club water polo team, who I played with for 3 years, to the Junior Olympic tournament in California where we got 3rd place over-all out of a hundred plus teams from all over the US. This article doesn't really have a clear benefit to me, but it also is very positive, and causes no need for alarm. The last article, talks about my biggest middle school accomplishment, becoming the first Student Liaison on the North Penn Educational Foundation, which is a foundation that provides grants to teachers in my school district to aide them in providing new and innovative ways to educate our students. I like that this article is linked to my name, not only because it was one of my most prided moments, but also because it shows good qualities that employers look for. The article shows my ambition, dedication, and generosity. The forth picture is simply my LinkedIn profile, which I check on a weekly basis to make sure it is representing me in a way I see fit. 

As for my own social media presence, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn are about all I ever use. For all of these platforms, I carefully watch what is posted and what I am tagged in.  I have one simple question that always helps me decide what is appropriate to post; the woman that taught me how to swim in her backyard pool, coached me when I joined summer swim team, coached my High school swim team, got me my first job as a lifeguard at her country club, and now will be my boss as I become an assistant swim coach for her team, follows my social media. The easy question is "Is this okay for Coach Rob to see" if its a yes, then post it! If i even have to question, then it wouldn't be good for my online presence as a young adult looking to be successful after college.

Innovation Pros and Cons: The tablet

The world of communication is evolving every day, new technologies change the way we talk, share, and receive information. The first tablet was the Linus Write-Top, which was released in 1987. This tablet had a green screen that detected writing from its special stylus. It was considered to be revolutionary at the time. Being a regular tablet user myself, with the newest IPad pro, the Linus is really intriguing to look at because it is so chunky and basic, which greatly differs from the sleek and fresh design of the IPad.

The line of IPad pros we know now began in 2015, a full 28 years after the release of the first tablet and 22 years after the release of the first ever IPad in 1923. The business insider wrote a very intriguing article about the overall history of tablets, which highlights the surprise in how early they came about, as well as the leap and bounds of innovative progress that has been made to them since.
https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-the-tablet-2013-5

When I think of how the tablet has changed communication, I very frequently think of an airport. Obviously before the time of smartphones, laptops, and tablets people waiting for a flight would read the paper, or a magazine, or a book. Now a days tablets are increasingly popular for frequent travelers because of their compact size, and full laptop capabilities. A tablet has all or the functions to be able to provide online news papers, books, magazines, movies, television shows, and more.  The large leaps that we've made in technology astound me everyday, and the tablet is only one example!

Supreme Court Video Reflection

I never really knew all that much about the Supreme Court, which made this video both interesting and informative.  One of the things that impacted me the most, was how the Justices talked about how they all shake hands before any meeting or case. I can only imaging that it is very difficult to spend so much time with a group of people constantly discussing different political beliefs. IT has to be unimaginably hard to draw a line between their work, and their beliefs in order to not have animosity towards each other. It is really admirable for them to have the will power to do this. I also liked how they discussed cases get to the bench and how few cases the Supreme Court really sees. This was really clarifying for me to learn about.

Communication Technology

https://www.inc.com/andrew-medal/how-communication-technology-is-changing-future-of-brand-management.html

This article I just recently read has a very interesting perspective on communication technology. Being a strategic communication major this article stood out to me because it has an impact on my future. It talks about personalizing the sale which is becoming increasingly important in todays market. People do not want to be contacted with robo calls, or scripted messages. I found this very impactful because of how it discusses the way new technologies will impact all of our current procedures.

Comic First Amendment Relief

http://www.laloyolan.com/the_bluff/things-you-can-t-say-during-first-amendment-week/article_a320446f-ba25-5777-ac11-dc6aba217b16.html

This article is absolutely hilarious. Total MUST READ! The way the name has been changed to "hmmm*" is one of the best things I've ever seen in a political article. The to do's and not to do's are relatable but still used in a comic manner. Don't talk about Aux Cords during First Amendment week?!? Why? But why not! The idea of a week dedicated to free speech adoration is great too!

Supreme Justice Against the First Amendment

https://www.wgbh.org/news/commentary/2019/02/20/clarence-thomas-wants-to-eviscerate-the-first-amendment

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is Presidents Trump's first ally in his fight against freedom of the press. It's very alarming that people with so much power want to turn the clock back all the way to a "pre-civil rights era." The First Amendment is first for a reason, because it is arguably the most important. Reversing a court decision that sets a precedent based on the First Amendment would have ginormous consequences. What made this article even more interesting is the notion that this opinion appeared as if out of the blue. It is shocking that an opinion such as this one could lie dormant for so long.