Monthly Archives: November 2022

Chai Cookies

This week, I decided I wanted to try something a little different than my usual recipes, and give a shot at a remix of an Indian classic. Chai is a staple in every Indian and South Asian household, and is commonly served with an assortment of sweet or savoury goodies to keep your guests entertained. It stands to reason then, that combining the flavours of chai with a cookie would result in the most perfect and delicious fall treat!

For the majority of this recipe, I used this recipe from Ginny over at In Bloom Bakery! It’s one that my sister has used before to great success, though I wanted to try and tweak it to see if I could recreate the flavours of chai that I love so much. For the spices, I cut back on the amount cinnamon significantly in comparison to the original recipe, using about 2 teaspoons instead of an entire tablespoon and a half. I also increased the amount of all the other spices, leaning a little more heavily on the cardamom since that’s the flavour I prefer to taste most prominently in my chai.

A diagonal shot of a sheet of cookies in rows of 2 and 3.

I was super happy with how they turned out for the most part, they’re absolutely delicious cookies with crisp edges and a soft pillowy interior, but there was something missing in the flavour profile that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It wasn’t until I pulled them out of the oven that I realized there was no flavour of real tea in them! Next time I make them, I think that I will substitute out one of the egg yolks in favour of a couple tablespoons of strongly brewed orange pekoe tea to see if I can impart a little more of that chai flavour.

Democratic Data

It’s almost impossible to avoid being on social media. I receive updates from my school, friends, family, and organizations I’m involved in through social media. I’ve tried to take breaks, but the fear of missing out on something gravely important, like a friend forwarding a reel, keeps me habitually checking notifications. With increased usage of social media comes the collection of vast amounts of personal data on every user. We’ve grown accustomed to sharing more of our lives than others would ordinarily see, and with that comes the natural concern for personal privacy. But what we share can be used on a larger scale to analyze information about our personality, voting habits, and personal beliefs, and target us with ads and posts aimed to sway our political leanings. Can data then be used fairly within a democracy, if it can also be used to manipulate voters?

Data reveals who we are. It can predict how we will behave, what we believe in, who we will vote for. It is a given that our online data is being shared, from the moment we agree to privacy policies. There is little we can do to mitigate this personal privacy breach other than opting out of the odd cookie or choosing to stay off of social media. Unfortunately, the latter option is impossible for those who receive updates from their schools, workplaces, friends and family, and public services from social media feeds. Data use is now an unavoidable part of democracy, but not a wholly negative one. Political parties can use data to learn the needs of their voters to determine which issues to focus on in their campaign, lending publicity to important issues (Hankey et al., 2018). Though social media is widely cited as negatively affecting democracy, it cannot be said that it is a universally poor resource for information. Social media invites people who would not usually have a platform to participate visibly in social and political issues. But this can be explored too; our behaviour is influenced by that of others. If we can see how many people support an issue, we are more likely to become involved (Margetts, 2018).

This is not a new part of democracy. Advertisers and politicians alike market to certain demographics with messages that invoke a reaction based on personal experience. The difference is the scale of information available for use in political campaigns and the detailed profiles that can be created for each voter (Hankey et al,. 2018). If politicians build social media campaigns using thousands of data points to identify statements that may sway voters, the information being spread is likely false or only partly honest (Amer & Noujaim, 2019). Rather than being a true reflection of their ideas and goals, their platform becomes untrustworthy. A candidate may authentically intend to curb carbon emissions, but a quotable statement on environmentalism will also draw the attention of left-leaning voters who are on the fence. This creates a political process that is closer to a popularity contest than a democratic election, visible in the personal insults levied at political candidates based on their appearance, age, and gender, rather than their political platform and qualifications.

The 2019 documentary The Great Hack features Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting company that processed data points on American voters to determine who could be persuaded through targeted ads to vote for the Republican party. Their involvement in the campaign led many to wonder who can rightfully view and use personal data. Is it still democratic to intentionally influence voters with the aid of data that can identify each person’s personality, personal connections, personal history, and political opinions? Even if the voter alone is responsible for what they put on their ballot?

Political campaigns increasingly rely on social media to directly address voters, as opposed to using mediums like news outlets that require intermediaries (Sahly A. et al, 2019). With that freedom to discuss their platforms, politicians may stretch the boundaries of a democratic election by discouraging respectful and productive debate. In the 2016 presidential campaign Donald Trump was known for using conspiracy theories and false information circulated by extremist groups to demean fellow politicians and incite anger among his supporters (Marwick, A. & Lewis, R., 2017). This reads like a description of a soon-to-be authoritarian, rather than a candidate for presidency in a democratic country. With inflammatory statements, political issues can quickly become a collection of misinformation and disinformation that, coupled with strong loyalty to either the ‘left’ or the ‘right’, create a prime environment for uninformed and emotional voting. People under a democracy should make freely formed decisions. If social media were truly democratic, its main function would not be profit. Social media companies need to make money from freely downloadable apps. Advertisement and the sale of data are the main sources of income for these corporations, which means users are the product (Mod, 2017). Advertisers buy data to determine effective marketing strategies to target specific audiences. Even more invasive and morally questionable are the political campaigns that collect data on voters, with the aim of gaining their support. A democracy by definition is a system that is governed by and for the people. With data gathered from social media used to purposefully aggravate or polarize, democratic elections become akin to marketing campaigns. As social media is now inextricable from democracy, it will need to be considered as such, and regulated to prevent extremism and manipulation.

Works Cited:

Amer, K. & Noujaim, J. (Directors). (2019). The Great Hack [Film]. Netflix & The Othrs.

Hankey, S., Morrison, J., & Naik, R. (2018). (rep.). Data and Democracy in the Digital Age.

Margetts, H. (2018). Rethinking democracy with social media. Political Quarterly, 90(S1).

Marwick, A., & Lewis, R. (2017). (rep.). Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online.

Mod, C. (2017, January 13). How I Got My Attention Back. Wired. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2017/01/how-i-got-my-attention-back/#.djqfcpajo

Sahly, A., Shao, C., & Kwon, K. H. (2019). Social Media for Political Campaigns: An Examination of Trump’s and Clinton’s Frame Building and Its Effect on Audience Engagement. Social Media + Society, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119855141

Mini Assignment #4 (video remixing)

Grilled Salmon Recipe from YouTube Shorts

I was craving grilled salmon steak today and saw this juicy recipe. Today, I decided to make my own grilled salmon steak by remixing the recipe!

Recipe:

Salmon
Black Pepper
Salt
Mustard
Mayonnaise
Garlic
Green Beans
Enoki Mushroom
Oyster Mushroom
Yellow Potato
Olive Oil
Rosemary
1 Table Butter
Green Onion
Sugar

First, you have to marinate the salmon with black pepper and salt. Do not marinate the skin so we can cook the salmon crispy. Leave it for about 10 mins, and let’s make the sauce! Mix 1 teaspoon mustard with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise and add two spoons of sugar. If you want more sweetness in your sauce, you can add more sugar. Slice the green onion and mix it with the sauce. When you’re done with making the sauce, slice the garlic thinly and take out your favourite frying pan. Put about 4 tablespoons of olive oil and fry the garlic until it’s brown and crispy. When the garlic is crispy enough, take out the garlic and put marinated salmon into the garlic oil.

Press the salmon for about 10 seconds, so the skin is grilled crispy enough. Lower the heat and leave the salmon for 5 mins. Take out half the butter, rosemary and more sliced garlic and add to the frying pan. Let the butter melt and mix with the scent of rosemary and garlic. When it melts, use a spoon to spread melted butter oil over the thick part of the salmon so that all parts of the salmon are cooked evenly. Do not throw away the oil because it will be used to cook vegetables.

Now the salmon is cooked, it’s time to cook the vegetables. Make a hole in the potato with a sharp fork and put it in the microwave for 8 mins. While the potato is cooking, Put enoki mushroom, oyster mushroom, and green beans into the oil that we cooked salmon. Add half the butter and stir until the mushrooms are slightly brown.

Finally, decorate the plate with sauce, rosemary, and fried garlic and put everything we cooked! It’s time to eat, yum!

Here’s my actual result; it was so crispy, buttery, and had so much flavour! Hope you love it too.

Women. Life. Freedom.: An Analysis of Iran’s Protests and Digital Democracy

While there have always been citizen movements and protests throughout history, the introduction of social media has added a new layer to these events. Notably, Iran has seen several protests since the Islamic regime took over in 1979. Iran’s Green Movement in 2009 marked the first widespread protests against the totalitarian regime. In recent months, nation-wide protests in Iran were catalysed by the tragic murder of 22-yeard-old Mahsa Amini who died at the hands of Iran’s “morality” police for simply failing to entirely cover her hair. Beyond the political aspect, these events raise the question: what tools are citizens using in Iran and how have they changed over the years? Could this not only reveal the democratization that digital media affords, but also mark the democratization of Iran entirely? This essay will argue that social media platforms create democratic spaces for dialogue. An analysis of Iran’s recent protests reveals the democratic digital space that plays a role in documentation and producing digital evidence, allows information to transcend borders, and how this can unfortunately be hindered by the government through censorship.

Firstly, social media plays a vital role in documentation and producing digital evidence. Gender inequality and the disregard for human rights have been inscribed in Iran’s legal system and decades of discrimination and oppression have led to several uprising movements against the horrific government. Social media’s role in the recent protests has been multi-faceted and while it is not necessarily a central driver in mobilization, it is certainly a helpful tool. Social media creates a democratic space where citizens can “[spread] awareness and solidarity” and offers “the ability to witness your fellow citizens and your fellow women taking a stand” which certainly creates an incentive to mobilize (Alterman, 2022, para. 6). Digital media helps document and circulate the injustices occurring which consequently fuels protests. This documentation creates a digital footprint and essentially archives this historic moment. So, while the democratization of digital media does not determine “the exact shape and form of protest, movements, or the eventual movement to democracy” (Alterman, 2022, para. 6), it does offer an opportunity to share information, critical updates, and news. According to Andrea Ratiu (2022), because traditional media is heavily biased and controlled by the Islamic regime, many Iranians turn to digital media for their news — Whatsapp, Telegram, Instagram, and Clubhouse being the most popular sources. For example, Clubhouse has become a powerful tool for Iranians to circulate opinions and document the recent events (Khalaji, 2022). Clubhouse allows users to join drop-in meetings and conversations virtually, creating a public sphere like space. Expect this “public sphere” is open to the underserved, including both men and women.

Moreover, digital media allows information to transcend borders and unites voices. Unlike traditional media, social media creates opportunity for dialogue and two-way engagement, both inside Iran and internationally. According to a Pew Research Center study, 86% of Americans get their news online through their phones and 53% get their news specifically from social media (Shearer, 2021). Twitter, for example, is used by 23% of Americans, and more than half of those users get their daily news on the app (Atske, 2021). These numbers point to the reliance on social media for news and the important role social media plays in circulating information. Iran’s nation-wide protests have not been solely confined within borders, but have traveled worldwide, with people amplifying Iranian voices. In this way, social media helps highlight the issue so that Iran is not isolated. Evidently, digital media is a critical tool for marginalized people around the world (Ratcliffe, 2022).

Artist: Mahdieh Farhadkiaei

For instance, many artists outside Iran have band together in solidarity for Iranian women’s freedom. Many Iranian artists are creating powerful pieces to spread awareness and fuel the conversation surrounding the tragic injustices Iranian citizens face daily. These brave people speaking out against the regime are part of a larger counterpublic: “a subset of publics that stand in conscientious opposition to a dominant ideology and strategically subvert that ideology’s construction in public discourse” (Fattal, 2018, p. 1). This counterpublic is manifested in forms of feminist Iranians, artists, singers, authors, activists, leaders, and many others that unite for the same reason: they are tired of this horrific regime that hinders their basic human rights.

This piece combines an image of the Azadi (Freedom) tower with Matisse’s dancers and the ‘women, life, freedom’ protest slogan. Artist: Jalz

Essay: Filter bubbles and their creation of echo chambers and polarizing viewpoints

Introduction

Algorithms lurk beneath the surface of an individual’s every search and click on websites like Google and Facebook, gathering a user’s data to display information the company believes the user wants to see. These algorithms are portrayed as helpful to the user tailoring their experience in a personalized manner so that they may obtain the information that is correct for them (Google’s Search Algorithm and Ranking System – Google Search, n.d.). However, there is a more nefarious side effect of collecting data, that side effect is called a filter bubble. A filter bubble is an abstract concept to explain an online lens an individual may see through when an algorithm takes their data and only provides them with information representative of that data (Techopedia, n.d.). Filter bubbles are nefarious as their application sculpts a user’s point of view by continuously reinforcing their original viewpoint, blocking them from gaining a deep understanding and doing so without them realizing that it is happening. On the other hand, if the user is getting the information they want, then why does it matter to know all sides? While asking for and being presented with data the user wants to see may seem efficient and ideal in concept, the information the user cannot see deters them from knowing all sides of the coin restricting the user from obtaining a truly objective answer. To gain deeper insight, a user must be shown a breadth of answers. The solution to getting around filter bubbles and accessing that breadth of answers starts with understanding what effects they may have on the user. Such effects may hinder a person’s ability to profoundly question and obtain a well-rounded answer, due to filter bubbles and their propensity toward echo chambers, and polarizing viewpoints.

Echo chambers

Due to filter bubbles, a person’s ideologies tend to isolation (Berman and Katona, 2020). This isolation propels the person to seek information that reinforces their initial viewpoint, creating echo chambers. When an individual has an isolated view on a subject and they are searching for answers, they may gravitate towards information that instils confirmation bias on their point of view. Research has shown that people do not prefer to use opposing information to alter their views but instead will use the information they find that confirms their original viewpoint to double down on what they already believe (Kappes et al., 2020). Even if a user specifically searches for an opposing point of view, regardless of the information brought forth to them through filter bubbles, the user will tend to agree with the information that pertains to their isolated viewpoint. This propulsion towards their initial point of view builds an echo chamber from other users that have similar beliefs, thus confirming their own beliefs.

Echoing beliefs of a user’s viewpoints is encouraged and projected by social media groups that have aligning viewpoints of the user. Groups on social media platforms like Facebook are formed by like-minded people who join to have their views confirmed (Vicario et al., 2016a). When social media platforms allow the creation of groups coupled with algorithms that perpetuate confirmation bias, the ability to find a space that projects and confirms a user’s biased views allow the user to exist in an echo chamber.

An individual that joins a social media group that has aligning viewpoints ends up reverberating and strengthening their own viewpoints within that group. Vicario et al. (2016b) finds that when communities create homogeneous clusters (Facebook groups for instance) with like-minded people, these clusters become the primary driver of information isolation. Furthermore, Dandekar et al. (2013) devised a model that shows homophilous networks paired with an individual’s biased assimilation results in a more extreme view of information pertaining to their initial viewpoint. Therefore, the reverberation of the individual’s pre-existing reinforced views within a like-minded group on social media acts to create echo chambers that perpetuate information isolation.

Polarizing viewpoints

The by-product of echo chambers is that they tend to deepen polarizing viewpoints. Filter bubbles hinder users from expanding their viewpoints past their own, and this lack of expansive awareness generates polarizing societal views (Min et al., 2019). It is understood that echo chambers emerge from confirmation bias, but when a website’s filter bubble inducing algorithm contains social filtering mechanisms, these mechanisms have been shown to strengthen social polarization and disjoint echo chambers further (Geschke et al., 2019). Filter bubbles exacerbate social polarization as algorithms with social filtering propel the user towards echo chambers that provide confirmation bias.

Of the many infinite issues that may be addressed online, viewpoints on political topics are often inherently polarizing in nature and on the issue of Brexit, social media echo chambers increased social polarization. A study and analysis done on over 1 million Facebook users that searched for Brexit information in 2016 revealed their search results influenced polarization on the perception of Brexit (Vicario et al., 2017). The echo chambers Facebook created with their filter bubble inducing algorithms, socially and politically polarized the matter of Brexit by filtering search results and only showing results that were congruent to a user’s initial viewpoint.

Not only did filter bubbles induce social and political polarization on the issue of Brexit, but filter bubbles also induced social and political polarization during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Analytical testing done by Guo et al. (2020) on over 50 million tweets from Twitter suggested social and political polarization of the presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump. Like Facebook, Twitter played a part in the social polarization of what information was presented to the user based on the sites’ respective algorithms. More specifically, socially polarized information pertaining to Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In combination, polarization and the creation of homogeneous communities or echo chambers were further exacerbated by filter bubbles during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Conclusion

When an individual uses social media and search engine platforms to try to access true information, how that individual receives that information and what part of the truth they receive depends on the website’s algorithms and the data gathered about the user. This selective and filtered process creates the phenomenon known as a filter bubble and while seemingly harmless and at times thought of as efficient, the filter bubble has a more nefarious side. This nefarious side being, algorithm induced filter bubbles perpetuate echo chambers, and polarizing viewpoints. These by-products that filter bubbles perpetuate are significant because they all have the ability to sculpt the mind of the user and propel them toward a singular, isolated ideological viewpoint without them even realizing it’s happening. Homogenous clusters called echo chambers allow a singular viewpoint of an issue to be chorused, thus strengthening this viewpoint through confirmation bias. These self-serving echo chambers lead to further polarization on society and their points of view regarding all matters, but particularly social polarization that is political in nature. The social polarization echo chambers cause in social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter divides and reinforces a user towards their initial viewpoint, giving them information filtered specifically for them through their algorithms social filtering mechanisms. One by-product of filter bubbles begets the other and the sum of the whole stops an individual from being able to ask thoughtful questions and receive well-rounded, deep answers to those questions.

References

Berman, R., & Katona, Z. (2020). Curation Algorithms and Filter Bubbles in Social Networks. Marketing Science, 39(2), 296–316. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2019.1208

Dandekar, P., Goel, A., & Lee, D. T. (2013). Biased assimilation, homophily, and the dynamics of polarization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(15), 5791–5796. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1217220110

Dwoskin, E., Stanley-Becker, I., & Kelly, H. (2020, November 4). Trump’s early victory declarations test tech giants’ mettle in policing threats to the election. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/03/misinformation-election-social-text/

Geschke, D., Lorenz, J., & Holtz, P. (2019). The triple-filter bubble: Using agent-based modelling to test a meta-theoretical framework for the emergence of filter bubbles and echo chambers. British Journal of Social Psychology, 58(1), 129–149. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12286

Google’s Search Algorithm and Ranking System—Google Search. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2021, from https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/algorithms/

Guo, L., Rohde, J. A., & Wu, H. D. (2020). Who is responsible for Twitter’s echo chamber problem? Evidence from 2016 U.S. election networks. Information, Communication & Society, 23(2), 234–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1499793

Kappes, A., Harvey, A. H., Lohrenz, T., Montague, P. R., & Sharot, T. (2020). Confirmation bias in the utilization of others’ opinion strength. Nature Neuroscience, 23(1), 130–137. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0549-2

Min, Y., Jiang, T., Jin, C., Li, Q., & Jin, X. (2019). Endogenetic structure of filter bubble in social networks. Royal Society Open Science, 6(11), 190868. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190868

Techopedia. (n.d.). What is a Filter Bubble? – Definition from Techopedia. Techopedia.Com. Retrieved February 22, 2021, from http://www.techopedia.com/definition/28556/filter-bubble

Vicario, M. D., Vivaldo, G., Bessi, A., Zollo, F., Scala, A., Caldarelli, G., & Quattrociocchi, W. (2016a). Echo Chambers: Emotional Contagion and Group Polarization on Facebook. Scientific Reports (Nature Publisher Group), 6, 37825. http://dx.doi.org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1038/srep37825

Vicario, M. D., Bessi, A., Zollo, F., Petroni, F., Scala, A., Caldarelli, G., Stanley, H. E., & Quattrociocchi, W. (2016b). The spreading of misinformation online. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(3), 554–559. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1517441113

Vicario, M. D., Zollo, F., Caldarelli, G., Scala, A., & Quattrociocchi, W. (2017). Mapping social dynamics on Facebook: The Brexit debate. Social Networks, 50, 6–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2017.02.002

Essay: Elon Musk’s Attempt to Democratize Twitter

Introduction

This essay will focus on the notion that Twitter creates democratic spaces for dialogue. I will be presenting a neutral stance by providing examples of why Musk’s acquisition may help Twitter to become a more democratic platform and why his recent acquisition may actually contribute to autocracy. Then I will ultimately conclude by supporting or disagreeing with these statements after presenting the facts I have researched.

Context

Elon Musk acquired Twitter Inc. on October 27, 2022 for $44 Billion USD (Conger & Hirsch, 2022) officially becoming owner and CEO of the social media company. The motive behind this move was to simply to create a platform that promotes free speech and to create an inclusive space for everybody.

Those familiar with Twitter and Elon Musk prior to the acquisition should be familiar with how active Musk was on the platform compared to other celebrities and influencers, specifically interacting with the public in both positive and negative ways (Figure 1, 2, 3).

The Good

Since Musk acquired Twitter, he has made it clear that he has a mission for Twitter to become “the most accurate source of information about the world” (Figure 4). In doing so, one of his main tools will be to revitalize Twitter’s “blue checkmark” verification to “democratize journalism & empower the voice of the people” (Figure 5). According to Edgerly & Vraga (2019), “innovations to [Twitter] verification appearance is needed. One option is to attempt to restore the value of a verification badge” (Edgerly & Vraga, 2019). This suggests that there is little evidence that current verified accounts are more trustworthy than non-verified ones but mentions that reiteration of the verification system is needed to provide better evidence, which is something Musk is attempting to work on.

Often, we find that news channels and journalists want to capitalize on mainstream media for personal gain without even fact checking their stories. On October 28, 2022 media outlets across the USA were fooled and quickly took to Twitter to post their stories where two random men stood outside the Twitter HQ posing as ex-employees immediately after Musk’s acquisition of the company (TMZ, 2022). One of the media outlets that got duped came from CNBC, who later posted to Twitter apologizing for the incident (Figure 6). “An important goal of factchecking journalism, correcting misinformation, is only attainable if audiences are exposed to, pay attention to, and ultimately engage with the fact-checking content – accepting its conclusion and participating in further communication (Kim et al, 2022). Media outlets only started to realize they got this story wrong after seeing the response and engagement from the public on Twitter. The public did not accept the conclusion gathered by CNBC and communicated that through replies on Twitter. Ironic as it is, Musk is targeting these exact incidences of misinformation that are churned by media outlets. Again, it is still unclear how he plans to do this but if he achieves his goal, then it will be beneficial to all Twitter users.

The Ugly

Musk now owns Twitter, creates content on Twitter and also consumes content on Twitter. It can’t get more autocratic than that, he owns the whole company and has the ability to display what content he believes should be highlighted. The biggest question now is, what is the fine line between free speech and hate speech? How will Musk act in an impartial way that truly creates a democratic platform for all users? “Freedom of speech is really not black and white. This is very messy territory. We’re dealing with humanity” (Davies, 2022). Even a Supreme Court in Norway found it difficult to decipher what constitutes as hate speech, “But what constitutes ‘hateful or discriminatory speech’ is rather broadly defined in this provision. The difficulty in defining such subjective concepts as ‘hate’, ‘persecution’, and ‘contempt’ is yet another issue” (Nguyên Duy, 2020). This will need more of an action-based response by Musk rather than a verbal one. If the Supreme Court had a tough time on deliberating on this, how in the world will Musk be able to tackle this? We will see how this gets addressed by looking at our Twitter feeds over the next few months.

Recently Musk announced a change to Twitter’s “blue checkmark” system to a subscription-based model called “Twitter Blue” at a price point of $8 USD per month (Ohnsman, 2022). He hopes that users will pay for the blue verified checkmark and be recognized as a trustworthy user. In true billionaire fashion, it seems like the CEO only cares about profiting off their users rather than trying to create a democratic platform organically. Jennifer Grygiel an associate professor and expert on social media stated that, “He knows the blue check has value, and he’s trying to exploit it quickly” (CBC News, 2022). It seems like Musk wants to see how this verification pay system will play out and make a quick buck off existing users, rather than tackling the real issue at hand, democratization of Twitter.

Finally, it is easy to say that Musk has a brutal track record when it comes to political views, lifestyle choices and his care-free attitude. All of this can easily be found on his Twitter account @elonmusk. Musk does not hold back and has many controversial tweets that I have outlined in the context section of this essay. In addition, according to a survey of 2014 people conducted by Preply.com, “2 in 3 of those we polled said they do not want Elon Musk to take over Twitter, though Republicans are more supportive than Democrats” (Zajechowski, 2022). Evidently, it is difficult to trust this kind of leader when it has been proven time and time, that he seems to take life as one big joke.

Conclusion

Now that we have looked at both sides of the argument, which one is correct? Well, I bet you knew this one was coming, but it depends. And it depends on how you look at it. For me, I think of it as, will Elon reach his goal of providing a platform that promotes free speech and power to the people? Well yes, eventually he’s going to get there. And he’s going to pay whatever cost just to make himself look good. But at what cost? How many people will leave the platform in doing so? How much hate speech will go under the radar? How bias will the platform be towards Musk’s liking? And what will Twitter become in the near future?

Another question to ask is, will the platform be authentically democratic? I doubt it. It’ll be skewed in a way that Elon wants the platform to look like and he’ll gather a bunch of lawyers in preparation if anyone tries to go against him.

In summary, I believe Elon needs to focus on what he’s good at, making cars and sending rocket ships up to space. There’s no doubt that he’s a brilliant person, but he needs to control his ego and step out of the spotlight by letting better leaders deal with democratizing Twitter.

Featured photo: Singh, M. (2022). TechCrunch From: https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/06/elon-musk-twitter-blue-verification-india-launch/

References

CBC News. (2022, November 6). Twitter users can soon buy a Blue Checkmark ‘just like the celebrities’ for $8 a month | CBC News. CBCnews. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/twitter-subscription-verified-accounts-1.6642108

Conger, K., & Hirsch, L. (2022, October 28). Elon Musk completes $44 billion deal to own Twitter. The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/technology/elon-musk-twitter-deal-complete.html

Davies, P. (2022, October 28). Musk’s twitter: A platform for Free Speech or extremist hate? euronews. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/10/28/will-elon-musk-s-twitter-become-a-beacon-of-free-speech-or-a-soap-box-for-hate-speech

Edgerly, S., & Vraga, E. K. (2019). The Blue Check of Credibility: Does Account Verification Matter When Evaluating News on Twitter? Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 22(4), 283–287. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2018.0475

Kim, H. S., Suh, Y. J., Kim, E., Chong, E., Hong, H., Song, B., Ko, Y., & Choi, J. S. (2022). Fact-Checking and Audience Engagement: A Study of Content Analysis and Audience Behavioral Data of Fact-Checking Coverage from News Media. Digital Journalism, 10(5), 781–800. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.2006073

Nguyên Duy, I. (2020). The Limits to Free Speech on Social Media: On Two Recent Decisions of the Supreme Court of Norway. Nordic Journal of Human Rights, 38(3), 237–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/18918131.2021.1872762

Ohnsman, A. (2022, November 4). Rupert Murdoch 2.0: How twitter gives Elon Musk the power to shape public opinion. Forbes. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2022/11/03/elon-musk-twitter-social-media-baron/?sh=a317f8b28739

TMZ (2022, October 29). Twitter layoffs hoax, duo posing as laid off employees trick reporters. TMZ. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.tmz.com/2022/10/28/twitter-layoffs-hoax-pranksters-trick-media-outlets-pose-fired-employees-elon-musk/

Zajechowski, M. (2022, September 12). Survey: Is free speech under attack? Preply. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://preply.com/en/blog/twitter-free-speech-survey/

Appendix A

Tweets that were referenced above.

Figure 1. Elon responds to a Twitter user with feature requests to be incorporated into his Tesla.

Figure 2. Elon responding to Bernie Sanders in a controversial tweet.

Figure 3. Elon tweeting out his political views to his followers in an attempt to influence voters.

Figure 4. Elon tweeting that Twitter needs to be an accurate source of information about the world.

Figure 5. Elon tweeting that the blue check mark will democratize journalism and empower voices of the people.

Figure 6. CNBC’s Deirfre Bosa apologizes for spreading misinformation on the Twitter employees who were fired on the job.

Is This Monetized?

This week in POSIEL, we discussed the idea of monetizing our websites through advertisements, and whether or not this is something we are interested in doing for our site. For this, I played around with Google Analytics, and set up a Google Ad-sense account. However, I ultimately decided that I will not be monetizing my...

(Re)Mix it Up!

Our latest assignment has asked us to “remix” anything of our choosing. So, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to mix up my current workout routine! Currently, I focus almost entirely on cardio and yoga, as these are activities that I find most enjoyable, and ones that I find myself continuously excited and...

“Two’s, Seven’s, and E’s for F’s”

Remixing something? Hmmm… I created a piece of art for my remix, so if you are interested why I chose what I did- this is why. As I work in this abstract sector we call crypto, I see astonishing art and digital collectibles traded all day. When I began, it all seemed so confusing and bizarre but as time past I became addicted.

Do not get me wrong, there is plenty of garbage out there but hidden in all this noise I have found some of the most impressing artists and people. The work I chose to remix is by an man name Tyler Hobbs. Texas born, digital artist produced many collections but this one specifically resulted in some of the biggest sales in web3. When I say big, I mean big… like millions.

His collection called “Fidenzas” was my focus and I decided to utilize Adobe and combine the 3 most expensive pieces sold on secondary market into one. I called it the “Two’s, Seven’s, and E’s for F’s”, now why in the world would I call it that? Well because in total there was 2727 Ethereum transacted for pieces of art called Fidenza’s.

Go check it out in the mini assignments section!!

Ownership and Connection

This past week I’ve been carrying out little tweaks, and running into a couple of problems with the website that I’ll have to deal with soon. When someone makes a comment they are led to a page with a list of errors. I’m not sure if this is because I need to approve comments before they’re visible, but I’ll see what I can do. There are also a list of warnings at the bottom of posts about accessing array offset- I’m not sure if they were caused by me updating the theme, so I’ll need to look into that too.

I’ve been focusing on small things that improve the navigation and visibility of the website, like including an archive of posts by month for PUB 101 because I realized it may be a bit tricky to see my progress through the course without a timeline. I linked my website in my social media profiles, and I think it’s directed some more readers to the website because users have increased in the past couple of weeks.

I’ve also been thinking about ownership of content with the readings we were assigned this past week. I own this domain, but Instagram has the license to use the content I’ve posted under the Knitting After Hours profile. I caught myself thinking about the future of this blog as I prepared for course selection for next semester, whether I’ll feel motivated enough to keep it up. I’d love to continue with it because it’s a new mode of expression for me. It’s a place where I don’t need to align my writing with the style of an organization I’m volunteering for, or format my writing for an academic setting.

I was born at the time when the Internet had already been around for a while, but I didn’t grow up on the Internet. I got my first phone when I was 10 to call my mom and my dad for emergencies, and nothing else. I stayed off social media until my second year of high school. Even so, over the last five years with my small Internet presence I’ve become accustomed to giving up a certain amount of privacy in order to stay connected. A blog is something entirely different. This website’s purpose is not so much connection as it is logging my progress in this course and exploring my interest in knitting and related topics. I own what I put out on this website, and it’s a reflection of me.

I also gave some thought to Google Adsense, and decided not to install it. After testing to see where the ads would appear on my site, I realized I don’t like the idea of having things that I didn’t create on here.

I want to build and continue this website. I hope to write knitting patterns at some point, and I would love to be able to use this website as a way to list them for download rather than using a platform like Ravelry. I also think it’s good for me to detach a bit from the expectation that I give up ownership when I put things out on the Internet.

What is MEV? Why is MEV so relevant after the Ethereum merge?

MEV: “Maximal Extractable Value”. To understand MEV and its relevance post Merge, you must first grasp who will perform block confirmations on the network. While Proof-of-Work (PoW) $ETH relies on miners to secure the network, Proof-of-Stake (PoS) $ETH will rely on “validators”.

In both consensus processes, pending transactions are held in the network’s “visible waiting area” known as the “Mempool”. Transactions will sit until a miner or validator selects them, orders them and creates a block out of the information.

Once complete, that block is then validated by nodes in a network and added to the official chain. When the pending transactions sits in that mempool, miners and validators have found ways to profit from them by including, excluding or reordering transactions in a block.

This strategy is the maximal (formerly miner) extractable value (MEV). In other words, MEV can be viewed as an “invisible tax” that miners/validators can collect from users. Think of it as the maximum value a miner can extract from moving around transactions when producing a block on a blockchain network.

Over the next little while we will begin to see more and more activity. Competition between block building protocols, validators and former miners will all be present as they aim to take hold of this market

Sunday Picnic Sweater

This is the simplest sweater I’ve knitted. It’s also the third sweater I’ve knitted, and the only one I haven’t unravelled. The pattern is by Angeline Webb on Ravelry. I used KnitPicks Wool of the Andes worsted yarn in Peacoat for the sleeves and back, and an undyed skein my mother gave me for my birthday last year.

This sweater is knit flat, even the sleeves, and then seamed together after being blocked. The first two sweaters I tried were knit in the round. One had cables, and the other had colour work. I think I have this problem where I try too much too quickly, because I get overexcited and forget that I’m still relatively new at knitting. Now I’m a little more experienced, but when I made my first sweater I could definitely have used more practice before attempting intermediate techniques.

One of the things I love about knitting is that even if you make hundreds of mistakes, all is not lost. You can reuse yarn for new projects, backtrack to fix dropped stitches or wrong stitches. And even if you don’t catch a mistake until you’ve washed your project, woven in the ends, and folded it away into your closet, it’s okay. The point of any hand-made thing is to be perfect because it was made by you, not because it’s free of errors.

When I wear hand-knit sweaters I don’t care that I accidentally knitted instead of purled a couple of stitches, and I really doubt anyone else cares either. I remember how it felt when I wore the first sweater I made. It was warm and heavy. It smelled like coffee and vanilla hand lotion and wool wash and my cats’ fur. I was proud of myself. Even though that sweater doesn’t exist anymore and its yarn is going into a new pattern, I don’t think about the mistakes I made more than I think about how excited I was that I had taught myself how to knit.

(Process Post #7): A Take On Digital Cyberspace

Genshin Impact v3.1 Tier List

Character rankings of characters from v3.1 — Tier list created using tiermaker

For this week, I decided to compile a tier list for the characters in version 3.1 of Genshin Impact. The rankings are based on my experience with the character and how I think they are valued depending on their kit. Furthermore, I do not own all the characters so some of the characters are based on what I’ve seen on how people have used the characters. Depending on how you use the characters some character’s rankings can change and can differ depending on the person. There may be characters with that you may not agree with the rankings. So please note that this is all based on my experiences with each of the characters.

Process post #9

Copyright is a very sensitive subject because there is nothing more resentful than losing what you have created to others. When I chose the subject “perfume review” as my blog theme, I wasn’t even thinking of copyright. Everyone has a different opinion about the perfume, but some may have the same opinion. Then am I violating the copyright of the person who wrote the perfume review before me? The copyright for the Perfume review seems very vague. The definition of copyright I know is that you shouldn’t take someone else’s idea and claim that it’s your idea. However, the copyright for the opinions on perfumes is so vague and extensive that I cannot give an accurate definition.

In the article You Say Tomaydo, I say no copyright infringement: Recipe book not an original compilation by Henein; recipes are not subject to copyright because they are technically just a collection of facts. I actually never thought about the copyright of recipes, so this really shocked me. Are the representative recipes of famous chefs in the market not copyrighted? Perhaps the chefs are already famous, so the public will know that they are the chef’s recipes without copyright. But what about the recipes that ordinary people post on their media? If the recipe becomes very popular in the future and everyone insists it’s my recipe, the person who first shared it will be very sad. Since the recipe also has no copyright, there cannot be a copyright for perfume reviews which are vaguer than recipes. However, I don’t want to take someone else’s ideas and offend them, so I should be more careful from now on.

Reference:

Henein, P. (2015, October 29). You say tomaydo , I say no copyright infringement: Recipe book not an original compilation – copyright – canada. You Say Tomaydo , I Say No Copyright Infringement: Recipe Book Not An Original Compilation – Copyright – Canada. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.mondaq.com/canada/copyright/439012/you-say-tomaydo-i-say-no-copyright-infringement-recipe-book-not-an-original-compilation

Process post #8

Today, all issues in the world spread rapidly online and dominate people’s beliefs and opinions. All the news and videos that spread online often divide and incite people. Online is no longer a safe place. Can we really believe all the content and videos we see online? As mentioned in “something is wrong on the internet” by Bridle, the culture, politics, and interpersonal relationships considered central to own identity were shaped by the internet, and in ways that are beneficial. However, looking at the many controversies and stereotyped writings raised online today, I often wonder whether this online space will positively affect future generations.

I want to talk about how scary media manipulation is to people. It’s an intractable subject, but I’ll try to give you my honest opinion. For example, the famous George Floyd incident who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis. This was a genuinely devastating incident, and the police officer’s reputation went down to a very bad image ever since this incident happened. I think that all unreasonable and discriminatory police officers should be removed from their job titles. Hopefully, there will be a change within the police department through this case.

However, I also agree that media incitement has made all the police’s perceptions so bad. Now people only post bad things about police in their media; they never post good things police have done. It seems like they are trying to find a way to hate the police department and make the public to distrust them. We should know that while there are bad police officers, many good officers work hard every day with good motives to help citizens. These days, there are less police personnel, and very few people are applying to the police. Police are essential resources in society, but if people’s stereotypes of police do not change, it is going to be hard for police to help citizens. I feel that so many people are easily swept away by the media these days. It is important to train ourselves not to be too influenced by the media.

Reference:

Bridle, J. (2018, June 21). Something is wrong on the internet. Medium. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://medium.com/@jamesbridle/something-is-wrong-on-the-internet-c39c471271d2

Process post #7

I’m going to be honest .. most of the websites I visit are online clothes, so I’m going to talk about https://www.fashionnova.com/ website, which I frequently visit. I believe if you’re a woman and love shopping online, you will for sure know about fashionnova because it is so popular. Whenever I visit their website, I never think about their design. From a design standpoint, the site has a lot to offer but is a little bit messy. I can’t say this website is well organized because when I first entered this website, it took me a while to understand their homepage. There is too much content on one homepage. It is noticeable that the website editor wanted to emphasize their anniversary sale. Still, the typography they chose does not really suit the website, and the size is too big, which makes the letter blurry. Also, there are way too many pictures and fewer explanations. Trying to put so much content on one page makes it difficult for readers to grasp what they want to find at a glance.

I noticed that they did well with dividing categories by section using many menu bars. There are so many different types of clothes that it is difficult to find a specific style that consumers want. However, all of these types are divided into sections, allowing consumers to enter the website and immediately click on the item they want to buy to shop. In addition, at the bottom of the page, there are links for information necessary for consumers, such as how to contact them, and the track order is clearly stated. Sometimes it’s hard to find the contact information on some websites. It was good to see that the information that is important to consumers was well organized at the bottom. Moreover, in the part that lists the wearing image and price of clothes, the price is written bigger and bold than the name of the clothes, making the eyes comfortable. It is also very convenient for consumers to find the available colours of the design without having to click on them because the editor displays a small coloured circle showing the colour’s availability.

Overall it is a good website that contains lots of information and products. However, if they organize their homepage with fewer photos and a smaller size of the font, customers will find the website more accessible and more convenient.

https://www.fashionnova.com/

Process post #6

In fact, I didn’t spend much time maintaining my blog in October. Whenever I enter my blog, I try to fix many loopholes, but it is difficult to touch them because I am afraid of making them worse. Finally, my blog has been reorganized to some extent, and I have learned a lot during that period. As I mentioned in my previous process post, my desire to make an aesthetically pleasing website is important, but accessibility also matters. I made up my blog, constantly thinking about whether the direction I was pursuing also coincided with the accessibility factor.

My biggest problem was building my main page, which is the homepage. I tried to separate my homepage from the about page, but then there was not much to put on my homepage since I chose a very white and minimalistic theme. The white theme made my empty homepage look even more empty. So I decided to put the About section on the homepage. Therefore, as soon as readers enter my blog, they can see what this blog defines right away, and my blog looks full. Also, when readers first entered my blog, too many menus could confuse them, so I left a minimal menu bar and erased all the rest. Considering the accessibility factors of readers, I was heading in the direction of the blog I wanted. I’m still inexperienced, but I’m proud of myself for decorating the blog considering both of these things, and I want to make this blog more accessible in the future.

Process post #5

When I first started blogging for this course, I was worried that I wasn’t doing the right thing. My whole life, I was far from being creative, diving into something I could create by myself. Youtube, influencer, blogger, the world is changing, and now you can earn money by being creative and just being yourself. It was hard for me to be creative because my whole life I was trained to do what others told me to.

Like Cory Doctorow mentions in his article “The Memex Method,” Blogging isn’t just a way to organize your research; it’s a way to research a book, essay, story, or speech you don’t know you want to write yet. It’s a way to discover your future books, essays, stories, and speeches. What he mentioned in his article really helped me boost my confidence because I don’t have to be the shame of doing a bunch of research on what to write in my blog.

Blogging is such a unique thing to do because it requires your own creativity but also needs to attract an audience. You have to think about the audience first such as what they like. Personally, I feel like it’s a newer version of a diary. You keep your own thoughts in a diary and don’t share, but when it comes to blogging, you have to share it with the audience, and they should like your writing. I think writers and editors differ because editors don’t have to follow the rules. As is mentioned in Tanya Basu’s concept of the digital garden, It’s more of focusing on what you want to cultivate over time.

After reading those two articles, I feel better about my blog and writing. I want to entertain my audience, but at the same time, it’s also my personal garden, which I should feel confident with whatever I’m posting.

References:

Basu, Tanya. “Digital Gardens Let You Cultivate Your Own Little Bit of the Internet.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 3 Sept. 2020, https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/.

Doctorow, Cory. “The Memex Method.” Medium, Medium, 10 May 2021, https://doctorow.medium.com/the-memex-method-238c71f2fb46.

Do not copy copy

For a process post, I thought to share my thoughts around copying content and what I believe is the ethical approach worth considering. I have always been an observant individual and when it comes to content consumption, I continue to see many similar posts in the crypto twitter space. I personally believe content comes mainly from iteration and that is why I see it as a great utility to improve the content you are creating. That being said, it is not about copying directly but more consuming and adding your own flavour will translate to better pieces of online work. It is something difficult to grasp but very important in understanding. I have been listening to many Twitter spaces and I was listening to a very well respected individual in my respective industry that was adamant in being ok with copying as long as it does not involve plagiarism. It is something to be weary of as you do not want to put yourself in a situation that can discredit your work.

Peer review #2

For the second peer review activity, I was able to explore one of my peers, Kristen’s fitness journey, http://kirstenlifts.com/. When I first entered the website, the homepage’s representative image caught my eye. The image of her working out clearly shows what this blog is about: Kristen’s fitness journey. This represents the distinct identity of Kristen’s fitness blog, and it gives the audience a hint of what she is going to share. It made me wonder who she is and how she got into this fitness journey, such as what motivated her. Her motivation for fitness was well written on her about page. She is in the process of losing weight and wants to share her experiences with weight loss also hopes to inspire someone who comes to her blog with the same interest. As a full-time university student, I agree that staying healthy and working out regularly is hard. Looking into her journey and fitness goals have already inspired me to work out and made me wonder how she will reach her goals.

However, the theme she has chosen does not really reflect the vibe of the fitness journey. Her theme seems more appropriate for a management company or a small startup company. Also, the logo of her blog reminds me of the management company site rather than fitness. It would have been more noticeable if her theme choice had been more suitable for fitness since it gives a slightly dull feeling. The colour of the homepage is too dark, blurring the overall atmosphere and making her picture less eye-catching.

Moving on to Kristen’s blog posts, it is noticeable that all the posts are kind of short and lacking details. If I’m a subscriber, I want to know more about her workout routine and eating habits, but the posts make me wonder what information she is hoping to share because important details seem to be missing. In order to bring readers to the blog, it would be better to elaborate details on her own tips, such as her workout routines and what diet helped her lose weight. Posts that are too short and lacking in detail can dampen readers’ interest.

Overall, Kristen’s blog has a lot of potential for development. I’m looking forward to more fitness journeys and tips she’ll upload soon. Her enthusiasm and love for fitness are clearly shown on her blog and will surely impress many subscribers.

If you are looking for an amazing fitness journey by Kristen, please click here! http://kirstenlifts.com/

Top Second-Hand Clothing Apps

There are two main aspects to sustainable fashion, the production of the clothing, and how they are disposed of. The former is rather difficult for us to control in our daily lives, but there are methods we can employ that allow us to sustainably dispose of clothing. The most prominent way is give away your […]

Posiel Aggregated Feeds

from "PUB 101: Publication of Self in Everyday Life"