EOTO Reflection

 The coolest thing I learned from our EOTO  presentations was that Netflix was originally a mail DVD service. I remember Blockbuster a little bit as a kid but I think it closed before I could fully form actual memories. I like how quickly it pivoted the platform to streaming things online as a way to make themselves stand out. and when streaming things online became the norm they pivoted their model again to adding more Netflix originals. They're quite Innovative and despite many other streaming services coming out they still managed to be the ones on top.

Another really cool thing I learned was about the origin story of Facebook, it was originally a ranking system for the college guys to rank girls at Harvard, and instead of kicking Mark Zuckerberg out when they found out he made a deal with them and helped them eventually strengthen their online security. Like Netflix Facebook kept changing their model it went from a ranking system of the girls at Harvard to a way to get to know your roommate that was University-Based ( kind of like today’s ZeeMee.) To the social media giant that we know today and despite Gen-Z’s lack of use for Facebook it is still one of the most popular social media platforms.

Finally, a third thing I learned is about carrier pigeons! I had no idea that they were given Medals of Honor and did such Brave things. the pigeons we see today are not very bright so I had no idea that they had the cognitive function to be able to continue to do their jobs in the face of adversity. I also had your idea that they weren't around in the US today for systems because we have faster technology. I just thought they weren't around because the US hasn't had a war on our home turf in a bit. If they would still end up doing that experiment that they did in 2006 comparing a carrier pigeon to the internet in South Africa. I wonder if pigeons would still be faster?

The Typewriter

 

Blog Post Four

The Typewriter

An example of a typewriter

The invention I chose for our presentation is the typewriter! I chose this invention because I love to write and I wanted to learn more about what came before our modern computers and word processors. Also, I used to play with my grandma‘s old typewriter as a kid and I thought it was the coolest thing! According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the typewriter is defined as: “a machine in which the characters are produced by steel types striking the paper through an inked ribbon with the types being actuated by corresponding keys on a keyboard and the paper being held by a platen that is automatically moved along with a carriage when a key is struck.” (Britannica)

The typewriter has hazy origins many say was originally invented by an Italian man of unknown origin as a way to help blind people write. While others say it was invented by English royalty to make proclamations more efficient. Nonetheless, it was reinvented, patented, and brought to the United States by a man named Christopher Sholes in 1867. Scholes originally put the keyboard in alphabetical order but noticed that when he often typed with letters in that order, many of the vowels or consonants that we commonly use would get stuck together if they were used at the same time. Because of this, he invented the keyboard order that we know today also known as the QWERTY keyboard. When Sholes brought the typewriter to America it was not powered by electricity. However, that did not stop people from making the typewriter a household phenomenon. The typewriter was featured in many commercials and print advertisements as well as radio programs. Which just showed how important it became to not only communication but pop culture. “The importance and popularity of [Sholes’s most popular typewriter] can be seen in its advertisements. Some of my favorites were those that included the results of typewriting competitions and those that included the names of companies that bought their product. Another favorite was an advertisement from 1915 that indicated the [typewriter] had won the First Grand Prize at the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915. During WWI their advertisements touted the typewriter’s contribution to the war effort – one encouraged people to get involved using their typing skills” (Library of Congress) although Thomas Edison tried it was eventually IBM who Commercialized it in 1873 and made the first successful electric version in the 1920s. “It is interesting to note that Mr. Sholes invited Thomas A. Edison to Milwaukee to see his miracle machine and Mr. Edison told Mr. Sholes at the time that someday the typewriter would be operated by electricity. In fact, a short time later Mr. Edison built a typewriter which was operated electrically -- by a series of magnets. Since it was a large, cumbersome and expensive machine, it was never marketed.” (IBM) Unfortunately, after several decades the typewriter eventually became obsolete in favor of more efficient devices such as word processors and today’s personal computers, but the typewriter and its contributions will never be forgotten, as it was a large stepping stone to today’s modern culture and technology.

(My work cited page wasn't formatted correctly so here are all my sources)

https://www.britannica.com/technology/typewriter

https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/modelb/modelb_history.html#:~:text=The%20first%20practical%20typewriter%20was,on%20a%20sewing%20machine%20stand.

https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/science-and-technology/the-typewriter/typewriter-chapters/history-of-the-typewriter/#:~:text=Early%20days,to%20print%20it%20on%20paper

https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/march/typewriter-production-began#:~:text=In%20the%20U.S.%2C%20one%20of,patent%20in%201878%20US%20207%2C559%20).

https://smithsonianeducation.org/scitech/carbons/typewriters.html

The Eight Values of Free Expression

 

Eight Values of Free Expression

Speech Bubble

The first value I would like to discuss is value number four, “Individual Self-Fulfillment” This value allows American citizens to create their own identity and explore what being a person means for them. When doing this we often find Kindred Spirits and support groups that can help us through unique challenges. This value resonates with me because I am part of a minority community.

Growing up I never felt like I fit in really anywhere, from the age of 12  on it was really hard for me as I was one of the only mainstreamed disabled children in my district of about several thousand. I wasn't sure who to turn to when things got medically complex and knew that as much as my friends loved me they would never truly understand the experiences I went through because they were not disabled. I felt really lonely and angry and I wasn't sure where to turn at the time. It took 3 years and lots of social media stalking but I finally found the community I was looking for. It is a community of about 200 girls in chairs that get together every year in Los Angeles. many of these girls are from around the world and have been through similar things that I have. having their support and unconditional acceptance means the world to me and if it weren't for the ability to explore this part of my identity that is so Taboo in other countries I would have never found the community that I have and would have never come to a place of mostly acceptance around my disability. I would still be that lonely angry kid who just wanted someone to understand her. I find it unfortunate that many countries don't allow this level of freedom of speech that we have because it leaves many minorities isolated from people who could be their peers both in person and online. 

The second value I would like to talk about is Participation in Self-Government, I think this one is important because it's one of the principles that even the founding fathers stood on when they wanted to leave British rule. they wanted to be able to know what was going on and have a say in their government and the British rule was not giving them that. It saddens me to think that many countries today still have to deal with not understanding or being given the choice to control their government. Because we have many protections surrounding Free Speech we are also able to exercise autonomy in what we believe, and the information we can access. a lot of countries that don't have free speech have censored information that only says what the government wants them to hear. I'm thankful that we don't have this otherwise many voices that would not get a chance to speak normally would be completely eradicated. it's important that we hear these voices out because they have a different perspective that could potentially lead to positive change in the future.

What I learned about the Supreme Court

 

The Late Honorable RBG

What I learned from the Supreme Court documentary

I think the biggest thing I learned is how closely the judges work together. For example, I originally thought that a committee that was not made up of the judges and made up of a jury would be the one to choose which court cases were reviewed by the Supreme Court ( I thought this would work the best because it would hopefully eliminate as much bias as possible.) Turns out that the judges do not only decide the outcome of the cases they take but they decide which cases they take as a group which I thought would be harder to do especially because many of these judges are of different political parties.

I really liked hearing about how they shake hands before every meeting they have, they said that they do this to avoid grudges or any lasting bitterness over a difference of opinion. I think that's really noble and makes them work better as a team and I hope they still continue to do that today even if many of the judges in the documentary are no longer there. 

I also learned that the Supreme Court had a huge role in keeping slavery around for a lot longer than it needed to be. I don't know why I assumed this but I figured that because Congress was so divided the Supreme Court was also divided when it came to slavery. Turns out they weren't as divided and ruled slaves as not citizens and ruled their citizenship as unconstitutional. I also didn't realize that once slavery was abolished many people held a grudge against the Supreme Court about their decision on slavery.

 I also learned that the Constitution does not specify the number of judges on the Supreme Court and that it's been fluctuating since its very founding. Before 1869 when they started having nine judges they used to have an even number of judges because they didn't think that split decisions were going to be as much of an issue as they've become. Over the years people have tried to change the number, (FDR tried to pack the Supreme Court with 15 judges) but it's always stayed at 9. 

References

Roos, D. (2020, September 23). Why do 9 justices serve on the supreme Court? HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/supreme-court-justices-number-constitution

Stephens, D. [@davisstephens7898]. (2013a, September 11). Comm3390 Supreme Court, Pt. 1. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRoXYRsaeo

Stephens, D. [@davisstephens7898]. (2013b, September 13). Comm3390 Supreme Court, Pt. 2. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca8qSuWxcG8

 Blog Post 1

Media Sources I love and why…

1. https://www.dailychatter.com/ou-cis/
   Daily Chatter— “DailyChatter is an international daily newsletter whose sole mission is to help people know the world better. We search for meaning and context in this immensely complex world and filter what we’re hearing through our staff of deeply experienced journalists based in Europe, Asia, and the United States. DailyChatter is proudly non-partisan and completely independent of all other media. We are privately owned, subscription-based newsletter. Our sole loyalty is to our subscribers.” (Daily Chatter) This news source was created by my mom‘s friend and offers daily news of all kinds of categories! I like this source not only because of the variety of news options it offers but because it offers this news in small doses, (Once daily quotes to your email) with a positive spin so the first thing you see in the morning is something happy rather than something negative.

2. The Huffington Post — I personally love this news source because of the voice that the contributors bring to the table. Many news sources can feel preachy or pompous and the Huffington Post feels like you and your friend are swapping stories without taking away from the news itself. They even have a section called Voices to make sure that they can amplify as many perspectives and voices as possible, You can choose from a variety of minorities such as race or LGBTQ plus, and many of their opinion pieces are written by Real people who don’t have a degree in journalism which makes it more relatable than the average news source.

3. Vogue— (fun fact: I met an editor of Vogue through a chance encounter and she was super nice) Despite being a fashion magazine, I feel like Vogue also does quite a bit with civil rights. They have many activists come on and interview them about their achievements and struggles. On Teen Vogue they even have an entire section of their website devoted to civil rights stories that are easy for teenagers and tweens to understand. This can range anywhere from Brown versus Board of Education, to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, this allows girls, especially teenage girls, to read about people just like them doing big things and inspiring them to advocate in their own communities.

4.  New Mobility— Being in the largest most intersectional minority group (Disability) I often struggled to get media written in authentic voices about the disability experience or issues we face, until I found New Mobility. This is a magazine written for disabled people by disabled people and it’s refreshing to be able to hear about issues that hit close to home without feeling a disconnect. I especially love this magazine because they allow anyone to become a contributor. I even applied last year and they seemed to like my piece. 

5. The Washington Post (TikTok) (disclaimer, if you use TikTok as your sole news source please make sure that you are fact-checking these videos because you shouldn’t believe everything you read or watch, I don’t condone the use of social media platforms to spread misinformation.)  Before discovering their TikTok, I didn’t really read the Washington Post. I knew that my parents liked it but I thought it was for old people. Discovering their TikTok however has completely changed my mind. Many big political events can be overwhelming for even the most policy-savvy person. The Washington Post TikTok however makes these events easy to understand and humorous while not taking away from the story.

Links to news sources

DailyChatter, the world in your inbox every weekday morning. (2017, February 13). DailyChatter.
https://www.dailychatter.com

HuffPost - breaking news, U.s. and world news. (n.d.). HuffPost. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://www.huffpost.com/

Nast, C. (n.d.). Civil Rights Movement. Teen Vogue. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://www.teenvogue.com/tag/civil-rights-movement

Washingtonpost. (n.d.). TikTok. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://www.tiktok.com/@washingtonpost?_t=8fE4L5hXcQ2&_r=1