Cyber Terror

By Zaid Shuhaibar

This CNN video shows that there are many upcoming problems and dangers that are caused by cyber space. The video begins by explaining how cyber threat of business and military information has jeopardized the US economy and national security. The video suggests that the United States should a cyber czar in the white house, regulate private critical infrastructure, robust military presence in cyber space, and to rewrite existing laws to make it easier to prosecute cyber crimes. I believe this video makes people very aware of the dangers of Web 2.o and make this issue much more serious then many believed it should have been.

This relates to many of the class discussions we have had in speaking about Internet privacy. This video however goes beyond person privacy and suggests that our country has a whole is in danger of losing its privacy to terrorists. If terrorists were to get access to some important information that is available online, the US could be in extreme danger. This promotes many questions in how the United States should handle this situation. Should they do more than what the article suggests to assure that we as a country are safe? And should they put limitations on the Web which may lessen its usage, however would make it more private and protected?

Google Takes Over

Another development google is working on now is what is being called Chrome. This is their latest venture into a new market place.  It is a browser alternative to the popular Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox. It seems that google is in everything technological. They also have the ability to connect everything now. The question is should we trust Google. If you think about it, with this browser they can track your web page visits as well as searches as well as see your home with google maps. Not to mention their new phone which im sure could be possible of tracking information Google desires. Now I am not a conspiracy theorist, however there seems to be more Google everywhere you look. They are literally branching out into fields not thought possible to budge such as taking on the iPhone and now internet explorer. They seem to be garnering quite a lot of power.

Bud T.V.-Advertising 2.0

By: Melanie Hoffman

Everyone has probably watched the superbowl, or part of the superbowl in the past five years, and knows how the commercials during the game sometimes get more attention than the game itself. The commercials aired during the game are sold at about 1.2 million/30 second spot, so every company that buys a spot wants to put out a great, and most likely hilarious commercial.

Personally, I think the company that does this best is Budweiser, who usually has 6-8 commercials during the super bowl, all of which are very funny and memorable. Now their commercials outisde of the super bowl are also like this, which is why they are so popular.

The Anhueser Busch corporation has decided to capitalize on this popularity by creating an interactive website called bud.tv that is an extension of their marketing campaign, completely separate from their website Budweiser.com. This website, bud.tv, started out by featuring extra ads that were made but never chosen to air, along with a couple interactive games and interviews with the stars of past commercials.

now, it has become a popular site that gets about 20,000 hits per day and features user generated footage and weekly ad series produced by the corporation for viewers. essentially, a popular advertising campaign has become an online community, that features only commercials.

and you though that with inventions like tivo that advertising was going to slow down and even eventually diminish.

Budweiser is not the only company creating sites like this, but their’s is the most well known.

I think that these new types of sites is proof that the world of advertising is evolving and being influenced by Web 2.0.

White House should oversee cybersecurity (?)

The incoming president should create a new White House office and appoint a presidential assistant to oversee a “comprehensive national security strategy for cyberspace,” a Washington-based think tank recommended Monday.

The recommendations came in a report produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, a panel formed in August 2007 “after the United States suffered a wave of damaging attacks in cyberspace.”  Therefore, this task will be placed on the shoulders of President-elect Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States.  The CSIS report says that “cybersecurity is now one of the major national security problems facing the U.S.” and that “only a comprehensive national security strategy that embraces both the domestic and international aspects of cybersecurity will improve the situation.”  The report says any decisions “must respect American values related to privacy and civil liberties.”  The report also says the United States should coordinate “all the tools of U.S. power” — diplomatic, intelligence, military and economic — to deal with cybersecurity.

 

Furthermore, it proposes the creation of a new presidential office — the National Office for Cyberspace.  It says the president “should appoint an assistant for cyberspace and establish a Cybersecurity Directorate” in the National Security Council “that absorbs existing Homeland Security Council functions.”  The report also calls for setting “minimum standards for securing cyberspace, to ensure that the delivery of critical services in cyberspace continues when we are attacked.”  It recommends “requiring better authentication” of digital identities, which it says “significantly improves defensive capabilities.”  The report calls for updating old cyberspace laws that were “written for the technologies of a less-connected era.  ”Only secure products and services based on standards and guidelines developed in partnership with industry” should be purchased by government, the report says. Research, training and education should be expanded, the report recommends.

President-elect Obama has made detailed cybersecurity proposals, and they are listed on his Web site.  He has called for “strengthening federal leadership on cybersecurity,” supporting an effort “to develop next-generation secure computers and networking for national security applications,” and protecting the IT infrastructure, preventing “corporate cyber-espionage.”  Other Obama proposals include combating the transmission of “untraceable Internet payment schemes, mandating  ”standards for securing personal data,” and requiring companies “to disclose personal information data breaches.”

Could this really be the solution to the problems we have been grappling with in “University 2.0″ all semester long? How un-hypocritical do you think this new effort will really be? And how will this new amped-up security measure effect the expansion and advancement of Web 2.0?

U.S. sues Sony Music over children’s online privacy

I was doing some research for my project 3 topic when I came across a Reuters article regarding children’s online privacy. My project 3 paper deals mainly with the interaction between the government and the people. After reading this article and a few others, I felt that maybe I should include the businesses as part of the discussion, because it seems companies are the ones that look for and use personal information that is all over the web today.

This article talks mainly about how the US government is seeking to sue Sony for allowing children under the age of 13 to register as users on their online music sites. From my research, online child privacy laws date back to 1998 with the approval of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. This law was aimed at preventing any information that children may unwittlingly release online to be used by advertisers and other such people who would use the information to gain revenue, consumers, etc. The laws have evolved since then. It was interesting to note that Sony had violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule which stems from the Act of 1998. The lawsuit filed in Manhattan sought to fine Sony for its violation of the Act as enforced by the FTC.

It was hinted at that Sony would agree to pay a #1 million dollar fine as well as putting in place a screening process that complies with the FTC rules and hiring  a web compliance officer to monitor the issue for the future.

The issue with Sony brings about the question that has been around for the entire course, how far does online privacy go? Is it the job of the government to protect us from online criminals and manipulative businesses, or should it be the users that protect themselves? After all, we live in a 2.0 society where we actively give out personal information. Although many people see this as the reason for having a government, to protect the people, we still have to at least try to help ourselves instead of hoping someone else will do it for us.

GWorld 2.0?

By: Melanie Hoffman

In the most recent edition of the GW Hatchet, there was an article entitled “University delays GWorld system upgrade: GWorld 2.0 slated for completion be fall 2010.”

the article discusses the new GWord system which has been titled “GWorld 2.0.” when this system is put in place, the GWorld cards will no longer swipe, but feature a tap-system similar to the metro smatrip cards.

That means that you wont have to take out your card to get into buildings or pay. in otherwords, the picture on the card will not have to be looked at since the card will work while in your pocket or purse.

does this mean less security? I think so. If your card is not being checked for verification when you use it, anyone can use any card at any time, with no one asking to see if the picture on the card is yours.

this could mean more identity theft, and more problems when you loose your card or your wallet gets stolen. One is already hassled when he tries to get a new card, imagine how that will be with the new system.

in the article, the university was quoted and said that the project had been delayed partially because the company that will provide the cards was going to update their system and security, so the university did not want to rush into the project when the company would produce a more secure product in the near future.

I personally think that the cards we have now work fine, and i am a little hesitant to accept the fact that in the future i could spend $40 at Safeway or at a restaurant and just tap my card without someone checking to make sure it was mine.

Family Genealogy on the Internet

At the beginning of the semester, my mom told me to look at this website genealogy.com.  Over the summer  my aunt had created the genealogy of my family.  She had created a family tree with each person’s name, age and some members of my family even had a picture.  At first I thought that this was simply a project that my aunt had spent too much time on and dismissed it.  Now after a semester of this class, I realize that this type of website definitely pertains to the information that we have studied this semester.

What is the importance of websites such as genealogy.com that allow a person to search for their family online or create a family tree? What does this demonstrate about the way that our society is using the internet today to archive the present as well as the past? Is there a point where this type of website provides too much information about a person? What does this demonstrate about what is important to our society today?

Perez Hilton and the Internet Celebrity

The article titled “Blogs to Riches: Perez Hilton Migrates Into Cosmetics, Fashion and Music” was written by David Browne and appeared in Star Magazine November 18th of this year.  This article describes a day in the life of Mario Lavanderia, whose alternative personality is Perez Hilton, as well as describes his background and his work.  Personally, the title of the piece was what caught my attention.  The phrase “Blogs to Riches” is a very catchy one and definitely describes the way that internet celebrities are created and sustained today.  While Perez continues to work on his website that contains all of the celebrity gossip, he also has perpetuated his stardom by crossing over into more traditional forms of entertainment.  

In our society today, the internet has made fame so accessible and created new celebrities, who otherwise would have gone unnoticed.  The accessibility of the internet creates more celebrities and allows more people to become celebrities. These new celebrities demonstrate the change in the values of our society especially our obsession with instant gratification. Due to this instant gratification, the internet celebrities are often short lived in comparison to the traditional celebrities.  However some internet celebrities are able to increase their fame through traditional forms of media. And this is exactly what Perez Hilton continues to do by involving himself in the fashion, cosmetic and music industries. 

Do you think that Perez is going to become more of a celebrity? Why did his celebrity gossip site have such an impact on society that he has become such an influential celebrity? What does he demonstrate about our society today? What values do we find important in our celebrities today? How much do you think the internet has changed what a celebrity is? And how do you think it will change in the future?

Activists take the revolution online

Social activism is being transformed by the Web.  Some of the most creative forms of protest and philanthropy are taking place online.  Activists are conducting demonstrations on YouTube, holding virtual fundraisers and using social network sites like Facebook to change the world — one mouse-click at a time.  These cyber-pioneers include a nonprofit group that uses animated 3-D characters to protest the global shortage of drinking water; a Web company that allows ordinary people to create their own personalized charity; and a Goodwill blogger who reshaped the thrift store’s image so thoroughly she was invited to New York Fashion Week.

Ted Hart, co-author of “People to People Fundraising: Social Networking and Web 2.0 for Charities,” says the Web has already become a crucial source for nonprofit fundraising. Americans donated $550 million online in 2001, but that number grew to $10.4 billion in 2007, he says.  ”It’s a new world for a lot of nonprofit organizations,” Hart says.  ”No longer is it good enough to say give us some money.  The rules have changed.”

Yet some people warn that this new world offers people an excuse to engage in “drive-by activism,” superficial forms of cyber-activism that require little commitment.  ”The Internet makes it very easy for people to jump in and out of social activism,” says Matthew Hale, assistant professor at Seton Hall University’s Center for Public Service.  ”If all the activism is online, it is easier to quit than going to meetings every week.”

With all that being said, one begins to think whether or not real activism is more effective online or in person.  Do you think that real change can only be accomplished by committed individuals working together? Should online activism just be reserved as something that empowers people to take the next step, or does it also help clear one’s conscience?

MySpace and Google join forces to beat Facebook

MySpace.com is teaming up with Internet search leader Google Inc. in a campaign to extend MySpace’s reach and counter the expansion of their common rival Facebook Inc. The alliance came together after Myspace’s campaign to allow users to search the web while still being logged onto their host website. Myspace is trying to accomplishing such a goal by selling it’s website to advertising websites to allow its users to log onto the website while on the Myspace website at the same time. By working with Google, Myspace looks to expand this campagin rapidly. MySpace and Google previously joined forces a year ago to promote a service, called “OpenSocial,” that competes against Facebook’s warehouse of online software programs.

Facebook also is peddling its own universal login service to create more ways for its roughly 130 million worldwide users to share their personal profiles and favorite applications wherever and whenever they want on the Web. Along with giving more privacy to its users, both websites are trying to brainstorm ways to give more leeway for social interaction. The competition is heating up while Facebook  recently hired Google’s chief operating officer.

What does the extreme competition show about our society and its priorities? The fight for social networking supremecy is no where near over. Whose side are you on?