Diffusion Theory

 Pioneers

Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone were the pioneers of Twitter. They were assigned to work on the project in 2004 after Odeo’s plans of creating the first platform to support podcasts fell through. They set out to create an app that focused on words and thoughts, unlike previous apps that were focused on pictures. 

Early Adopters 

Some of the oldest Twitter accounts include cofounders Jack Dorsey (@jack), and Biz Stone (@biz) and Noah Glass, a software developer who helped Twitter be what it is. His username is (@noah). As well as (@crystal) who is the first woman to join the platform. Being the 15th person to join the platform. Other than that, no personal information is known about her. Number 18 is a user who went by (@adam) the account has since been suspended so not much is known about him either. These early accounts have massed thousands, sometimes millions of followers.  

Early Majority

While Twitter had a steady increase of users soon after launch, with celebrities' and politicians alike creating their own accounts. One event in particular really spread the word about Twitter. Just a year after its launch at the South by Southwest conference and festival in Texas, Twitter held a launch event where 7,000 people attended. Following that event Twitter's daily tweets went from around 20,000 to 60,000. 

Late Adopters 

Late adopters of the platform are going to be people who don't use social media. Typically this means people who are older and less versed in technology. They would not know how to navigate the platform. They also just wouldn't have any interest in the platform. But if they have a younger relative show them the ropes they would be more likely to join.

Laggers

Laggers are going to be people who refuse to learn how the platform works. Whether it is "too complicated" for them, or they pride themselves on being off all social media platforms. These people are just not going to care to join the millions upon milli9ons of users who use Twitter daily. But when these laggers join the platform they will see the positives of joining. They will have so much information at their fingertips, and a place to freely express themselves. While there are some negatives, that is the case with any social media platform. 

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Twitter 

https://www.oldest.org/technology/oldest-twitter-accounts/#:~:text=The%20oldest%20Twitter%20account%20ever,assigned%20user%20ID%20of%2012.

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/manage/publications/advantage_aut_20_art6.pdf

Anti-War Voices

 News has a very distinct point of view that they showcase whenever it is being written for an article or broadcasted on television. This point of view tends to lean in a conservative direction. This includes the ideas about war, a conservative way of thinking is very pro war, among other things. Anything that is slightly off from this set idea, is silenced, ignored and swept under the rug. Especially when it comes to something like being anti-war. War has been so engraved in our society that it seems like there is no other way of thinking. People have been fighting wars for this country for centuries. It is almost as if you are “Anti-America”. What I mean is, if someone is anti-war, they do not appreciate the sacrifices made by American soldiers. Since this country was built on war, they are taking America for granted. The news tends to be the type of media people view the most. Meaning their opinions are shaped heavily by watching the news. So if mainstream news outlets do not shed a light on these other viewpoints, in this case anti-war. Many people will not agree with the sentiment therefore have no desire to go looking for anti-war articles/voices. Since people are not looking for information on anything anti-war. It is not moved to the top of the algorithms on platforms like Google, Bing, etc. This can also include other algorithms like TikTok or Instagram that curate your feed to show you what you are into. So if the majority of people do not have a mindset that is anti-war, it will be buried in the trenches of the internet.

EOTO Technology Presentations

Something I found interesting while watching my classmates' presentations, was the fact that pigeons were an option. Today, we know pigeons as dumb birds who walk around New York City and eat crumbs off of the sidewalk. It is cool to think they served more of a purpose at one point in time. I knew that pigeons would carry messages back then because there was no fast mail service. What I did not know is that people thought it would be a good idea to strap a bomb to a live animal and throw them into battle. I really want to know what must have went through a war generals' idea when they thought of doing this. I am also surprised about how they managed to come up with a version they could even test. I am left with a few questions though. Like how did they even make a bomb small enough to strap to the pigeon so that it could still get off the ground to fly? And with the bombs having to be so small because pigeons are not that big, how did they think this was an effective way to fight their battles? 

Back to the initial part of this presentation, the fact that a pigeon is capable of carrying a piece of paper and delivering it somewhere pretty far away is pretty impressive. It does not seem like something that actually happened in our history. A pigeon carrying something seems like something that could only happen in a movie. And I think he and the rest of his group did a great job explaining their topics. I made a mental note of what I should do to make my next presentation more professional and engaging. Overall the group also had a very cohesive look to their slides, they looked like they belonged in one team. 

History of Twitter

Twitter made its official debut in July 2006. Plans started in 2004 after Apple added podcasts to their platforms. A smaller company named Odeo felt they could not compete with Apple and needed a new direction. Jack Dorsey would be the original head of the platform. He worked alongside former Google employees Evan Williams and Biz Stone. Dorsey would be the creator of the ‘Tweet’. A small post of only 140 characters, (later 280 in 2017). The very first tweet that was ever posted was by him and it said; “just setting up my twttr”.  In 2008 Williams took over as CEO. Two years after that, Williams was replaced by chief operator Dick Costolo. Twitter saw its company change hands many times over the years. Though Twitter was popular and had a steady stream of users. Seeing a 1,300 percent increase in 2009. They also helped popularize the @ symbol and the concept of hashtags. Despite the popularity it was failing to have steady revenue. That was until April of 2010 when they released “promoted Tweets”. Custom Tweets companies could use to promote their products. And when users searched for things, a promoted tweet would appear. This helped them become the company they are today. Twitter cemented itself as a mainstream social media platform when celebrities began to use it and achieve over one million followers. With actor Ashton Kutcher being the first person to ever do so. Everyone could see Twitter’s rise in popularity. And it began to help in Presidential elections, with Obama edging out his opponent John McCain in the 2008 election. The platform evolved from a place to share random thoughts and events. But a place to get verified news and information. For example, The Iranian presidential election of 2009, the hashtag #IranElection trended. Covering the aftermath of the election which caused riots that resulted in people being killed. Nowadays any major event from around the world will have Twitter coverage. Over the past seventeen years Twitter has grown beyond anyone’s imaginations. With 217 million daily active users as of late 2021. They have expanded the platform’s capabilities with the addition of Twitter Spaces. A feature that lets users with over 600 followers host audio calls with hundreds of people. In October of 2022 the management of Twitter would be handed over to Elon Musk after he purchased the platform for 44 billion USD. Since he has acquired the platform, a lot has changed. Including getting rid of the character limit of Tweets altogether, users can freely say whatever they want and not be limited by the number of characters they are allowed to use. That is not the only thing he has gotten rid of. He has also gotten rid of celebrity verification. They will have to subscribe to a monthly service to get it back. The last major thing he has done (as of now) is renaming the platform from Twitter to just the letter X. He did this after failing to name PayPal X years ago. Since the name change, “Twitter” has been losing what has made it such a unique and stand out platform. 

Twitter has had quite the impact on the world, and social media as a whole. It has given a voice to people all over the world and has even helped make some real change happen. Including the Arab Spring in 2011 to help fight against a dictatorship. And as recent as the Black Lives Matter protests of the 2020’s. On a lighter note it has become a place where people with similar interests, different ones, people from the same universities and different ones, can come together and laugh. People all over the world have a place to share funny, heartwarming, or sad moments.  

Sources

https://www.zippia.com/twitter-careers-11916/history/ 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Twitter 

https://www.kpbs.org/news/news/national/2022/11/22/how-twitter-became-one-of-the-worlds-preferred-platforms-for-sharing-ideas 

Eight Values of Free Expression

The value that resonates with me the most is the seventh value, Promote Innovation. As someone who wants to go into a creative industry after graduation this value is the most important to me. If the government had the power to control what media was made and seen. Life would be boring and honestly not worth living. I need creative outlets to function from day to day. Not just the ability to create media, but to watch things that have already been made. If the seventh value did not exist we would be a very angry society. If the right was ever taken away, people would start underground newspapers, and start a protest against the government to not silence them. In the 1960’s and 70’s there was just that, an underground press that gave a voice to people that did not have one. People all over the United States would freely express themselves. As you went from city to city, thoughts changed. For example people in Baltimore would express their frustrations with war. People in Minot, North Dakota worked to destigmatize mental health for women and members of the LGBT community. These were things that at the time, could not be expressed freely but that never stopped anyone from speaking their mind. With the seventh value people don’t need to be so secretive anymore. Another benefit of the underground press, it shaped how the aboveground press would be run. At that time it was newspapers but as we know newspapers would eventually evolve into the social media we have now. It is crazy to think that people felt the need to go against this value to protect themselves from public scrutiny. Despite the value clearly stated, “citizens actively fulfill themselves in many diverse and interesting ways” Anytime anyone brought up something that was ‘diverse’ and went against the conservative majority, there was shame and silencing. Although it has gotten better by today's standards, the sixties and seventies were not that long ago. My parents grew up in a time where free speech wasn’t always the right thing to do.

A second value that resonates with me is the sixth value: Promote Tolerance. While the value I previously talked about people having the right to express themselves creatively. This value talks about ALL people having that right. This is probably one of the most important values on this list. The seventh value becomes completely useless without this one. Because what is the point of free expression if it only applies to SOME people. I have been lucky that in my lifetime I have seen people of all kinds freely speak their mind when they felt the need to. This is mostly thanks to the power social media has granted us. Anyone has the ability to make a profile and express themselves. For better or for worse, with political tensions rising in the United States, this value really comes into play. Everyone can freely express their opinions on an issue without fear of being silenced by a majority that does not agree with them. Tolerance as a whole is something that our society has really struggled with over the years. But as time has gone on, we have actually moved beyond just tolerance, but moved on to acceptance. 

Sources

Supreme Court

 What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?

Justices are individually responsible for deciding each case. And they don't work as one unit, I figured they'd make all decisions together. And I did not realize how much work goes on behind the scenes. I always assumed it was just people in a court room.

What is the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court?

The world would not be what it is today without the supreme court. Society needs this group of people to keep the government in check. Nothing would be solved and I feel like society would not progress, with things like slavery and women's rights. Nothing would change without the push from the Supreme Court.

What was the most surprising thing you learned?

That the supreme court will review and evaluate any case that is put in front of them. Regardless of  who wrote it, whether it is a legal official or a prisoner they will make sure to look it over.  

How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court?

The only time I hear about the Supreme Court is when they are making a major and controversial decision. This made them seem more human and down to Earth. I have more respect for the Supreme Court now than I did before watching both videos. 

TED Talk

How do these issues affect you? You friends and family?

These issues affect everyone everyday. Majority of the population uses their phones 24/7. I know that I use the FaceTime feature on my phone almost every day so I can keep in touch with my best friend that is now states away. Now I don't drive but basically everyone I know does, and I have definitely appeared in those photos the police stations keeps on file. Both my sisters have been driving since they were under eighteen, scary to think that police stations have photos of minors on file. But really these issues could affect anyone in my life, if someone is always listening or having access to things they shouldn't. Any of the women in my life (myself included) could be at risk of having photos leaked that they want to stay private. And I think about my mother who has spent over thirty years working for Raytheon, someone could access her phone and laptop and potentially leak classified information. 

What should the government be doing about these issues?

The government needs to figure out how worth it this data really is. Yes I can understand wanting to catch a criminal. But innocent people are at risk every day because of the governments lack of control of this data. People should not have to worry if their phone calls are being tracked and personal messages are being read. The government needs to put limits on how and when data is being collected. But besides personal information, the distribution of pornographic pictures is a much more serious issue that they have done nothing to help prevent. They need to be on top of when they get a report of something like this and act immediately to get it taken down. Followed by proper legal action. Obviously the government can't police everything that goes up on the internet, but in cases where revealing photos are being spread, they NEED to do something about it. Especially when there are minors involved.

What can we do to protect ourselves from invasions of our privacy?

Things we can do to protect our privacy include, not allowing apps to collect our personal data. We can make sure this setting is turned off in individual apps. We can also make sure we are careful with what we post online, don't reveal too much about yourself so information doesn't fall in the wrong hands. Sadly we can't really control what the government does, and they will always have an eye on us with the increase of technology. Like we can't stop them from taking pictures of us as we leave our cars. But we just need to be mindful of what we do on and offline. 

Top 5 News Sources

TikTok

    In today's digital era, I don't watch the news or go to normal news sites for information. because I don't really need to, as soon as something major happens, all I need to do is open the app and there it is. And with TikTok's video format everything is explained in detail with a visual to accompany it. Unlike your average news site, you can just take in the information and leave. No popups asking you to buy something, or twenty adds surrounding an article.

Twitter

    Twitter is an app that I spend most of my time on. You wouldn't think this would be a good source for news but it is. With accounts dedicated to different updates, whether it be something pop culture related or serious news. it is all in one place. With accounts like Pop Crave and Pop Base I am always up to date. Any news I need will all be there, and if it is not there directly it will link me to the direct news source.

TMZ

    One of the many news sources that Twitter leads me to. Whether you think they are shady or not, TMZ is the number one place for celerity news and updates. Which is really the only type of news I am personally interested in. With TMZ I don't have to spend a lot of time trying to scroll to get to the point because the headlines are always so jarring they get to the point immediately. 

New York Times

    I don't really use this one often for personal news updates, bur if I need something for school this is one of my go to places. Since it has been around forever I know it's a trusted news source and it has never failed me. Whether I need pop culture or something a little more serious like a past tragedy, I can trust that New York Times will have something about it. 

Boston 25 News

    This is a personal choice for me being from Massachusetts's. This is the go to news source for when I'm back home. Every night before dinner or when I'm getting my nails done, it will be on a television playing. I like this one because it is being played on a TV instead of me having to search for it myself. It is always playing (whether I like it or not).