Wiki Audit Blog

Auditing the Wikipedia article Global Warming Conspiracy Theory proved to be time consuming and enlightening. To be very honest, from the beginning I never knew that Wikipedia was written by ordinary people. I rarely used the site so I never investigated the sources prior to this assignment. As I discussed in our presentation, Wikipedia can be used as a scholarly resource only on the condition that the sources are verified. The site is not completely reliable because the articles are in continuous flux. There is an unlimited ability to alter facts and insert ficticious information. This technology may produce thousands of informative and accurate articles, but it cannot be compared to the consistancy of traditional encyclopedias. In fact, the ability to edit Wikipedia lends to the ability to alter history and cultural truths. The site satifies our desire for quick information, yet it should probably be avoided for use in serious research. The one main strength Wiki has is the availablity of many different opinions on subjects which opens doors to further research. Also, I do not want to minimize the enormous success of the project itself having created a free online encyclopedia through the contributions of volunteer writers, and its ability to educate millions of people for free. Personally, I will use Wikipedia for quick reviews of subjects and current events, and still use my library for research.

The Facebook Effect: Part One

After reading the first section of The Facebook Effect, it was not easy for me to conceive that Facebook began as a social networking site for the ivy leagues excusively. It seems so casual and commonplace,composed of mostly family, lifelong friends and neighbors. Maybe this is so because my facebook represents my lifestyle. Mark Zuckerberg had always intended it to be a site generated by its users, voluntarily. "Thefacebook had no content of its own. It was merely a piece of software-a platform for content created by its users."(p31) I am glad Zuckerberg insisted on keeping the site simple and minimalistic in design. It is what makes Facebook easy to use and appealing to all ages, unlike MySpace with its "distincitive Times Square look"(p75). It's not about dating, or meeting strange people, it's about making socializing easier. Also, Zuckerberg's resistance to Saverin's idea of banner advertising certainly kept the site looking more 'personal' and not like a commercial billboard, which is probably an added reason for its success. It is understandable how allegations of stolen ideas arose very quickly after Facebook's success. With sites like sixdegrees, houseSYSTEM, Friendster, and MySpace already in existance, Zuckerberg was obviously not the only person contemplating a social networking site. He was simply able to execute his refined ideas with the help of his co-founders. What is truly astounding is the actual "effect" of Facebook. The examples given of the FARC group and protests that followed, and of the elections in Iran are overwhelmingly inspirational. I never realized the serious impact Facebook could have on the world. I'm looking forward to finishing this book. :)

Made to Break: Part Three

There was so much information in part three of Made to Break (some of it similar information from the first book we read, Computers). I will focus in this blog on one specific topic.
In Weaponizing Planned Obsolescence, I was amazed by the depth of technological espionage that occurred between the U.S.S.R and the U.S. in the 1980's while I was busy smoking in the high school bathroom. The true accounts given here could be script material for a spy movie. The life stories of Gus Weiss and the KGB mole Vladimir Vetrov were fascinating. Weiss's creation of the American Tradecraft Society (p230)was a crucial element in the protection of national security. Weiss keenly watched the Soviets develop technology that they obviously could not afford to research and develop. He and the A.T.S. spent many years protecting American technology, covertly. And with the information gathered through Vetrov, Wiess and the U.S. government were able to sabotage the Soviet pipeline project and satellite equiptment through 'planned obsolescence'(p254). The events that followed, the privatization of the Soviet oil supply, Putin's effort to regain control of it, and the U.S. entering into a war with oil rich countries, are certainly in a curious sequence. Could it be that the threat of economic growth for the Soviets and the countries they supply oil to, North Korea, China and Japan, caused the U.S. to ensure its own supply of oil through a senseless war?

Made to Break: Part Two

What I liked about the Radio, Radio section of Made to Break was how it reminded me of when I was young, and how I used to watch my father haul a large tool box of 'tubes' in the back of his van when he drove to repair a customer's television. He owned a television repair business for twenty five years. During that time we saw many trasformations due to obsolescence. That box eventually disappeared as technology changed to transistors and so on. What Radio, Radio also explained was how friendship only goes so far in business. Sarnoff and Armstrong were the perfect example of this. One key point made was how technology became so specific that manufacturers were able to control the product's durability life span. "By the 1950's, product life spans were no longer left to chance but were created by plan, and it is at this moment that the phrase planned obsolescence acquired the additional meaning of "death dating.""(p113)
The War section of the book also revealed some fascinating history. The scientific push for the development of nylon (by DuPont)was a result of the political climate and the Japanese silk industry (P117). It is amazing how the economies of countries were played like a game of chess; and how political decisions were made as a result of economic stresses. For example,this case with Japan joining the Axis alliance (p122)due to their crumbling silk industry and need for external resources, among other reasons. Because of the political climate it was our economic and political duty to create a synthetic silk and develope an indigenous supply. Who knew so much was involved in the creation of nylon pantyhose! Apparently,some negatives do turn out to be positives.