Interesting Facts from Communication Technologies

Google started as "back-rub" because the founders mistyped domain name to get google. The founders raised $1 million to open up a shop. They got $25 million venture capital funding to process 500,000 queries a day. Yahoo then made them their go to browser and then they had 200 million queries a day. Google changed communication through gmail. You could find photos instantly and store them there too.

Martin Luther mailed 95 thesis using printing press. He stated that printing is a "gift of God". Johannes Gutenberg invented it in the modern age, but ancient Asian civilizations developed it long before. 

The US Postal Service was created in Boston in1639. Ben Franklin was the first postmaster. The first roads and routes for delivery were developed in 1788. The first delivery was by railroad in 1832, and the first stamps were introduced in 1847. In 1860 the pony express was created, and zip-codes were introduced in 1963. Barcodes were later introduced in 1983. Pricing was controlled for every state. The USPS became a lifeline for the nations communication. Some problems were that it sometimes costed more to ship items than to make it. A problem with the USPS today is that not enough people work for them.

Bluetooth is used in all wireless technologies. In 1999 the first bluetooth device was created. Bluetooth makes phones, watches, computers, and headsets work.

The camera obscured was the first camera developed in 1685. It was a little box with a tiny hole to capture the reflection. China developed the true first camera in 400 BC. The first modern-day handheld camera barely worked in 1685. It was then perfected in 1816. Kodak, the most well-known camera company was  invented in 1888 by George Eastman.

Netflix was founded in 1997. Up until now there were mail orders for dvd rentals, so online streaming took business from Blockbuster and Redbox. Netflix first partnered with Xbox and Microsoft to help them with online screening. By 2016 Netflix was available in 190 countries. They took lots of business away from movie theaters, which caused theaters to start their own subscriptions to get people to return to live cinema. Before Netflix there weren't many options online for movie ordering, but now there are now over 300,000 options. A negative effect of Netflix is that it can lead to TV addiction and a sedentary lifestyle. A positive impact was that the Hollywood movie industry changed what type of movies were being made. 

Pigeons were first used to deliver messages in the ancient olympics to alert towns whether their athlete had won. The first airmail pigeons were used in New England 1896. Carrier pigeons were used a lot in WW1. It took 6 weeks to successfully train a carrier pigeon. Sadly, fewer than 10% of pigeons survived WW1. Soldiers and military as a whole grew to care for their carrier pigeons and realize their importance during wartime, so France said anyone who messed with a pigeons flight would be executed. Pigeons have won the Dickin Medal which is awarded to any animal who distinguishes themselves highly for a wartime act of bravery. 

History of the Phonograph

Music today can be accessed from the touch of a smartphone, watch, dashboard, and even by asking the AI who controls your speaker to play whatever you wish. There was no Siri in the 1800s, or any of the other technologies I mentioned above. People listened to music by going to live events or singing it themselves. That was soon to be changed in 1857, when Edouard Leon-Scott invented the phonautograph. 

The original development of the phonautograph was not what we know today as a record player. It was able to record sound waves on a glass plate, but was unable to play those sounds back. That wasn't very useful, as you could now capture music but not listen to what you had. This is because Leon-Scott did not intend for his invention to be used for listening, and rather analysis of the acoustic sound waves. The phonautograph would eventually inspire Thomas Edison to develop it further, leading to the modern day phonograph.

In 1877 Edison created the phonograph based on technologies of the phonautograph, while incorporating the telegraph and telephone. He was originally trying to create sound from inscriptions of the telegraph but realized the sounds of the telephone may work better to his advantage, and developed a needle to transcribe those sounds onto a tin foil cylinder. A second needle made it possible to replay these sounds on the phonograph. Edison's new invention was patented on February 19, 1878.

The public eventually lost interest in the new device and Edison stopped advancing it. Alexander Graham Bell made his own modifications to the phonograph following his invention of the telephone. He coined his updated phonograph as the graphophone. However, Bell's interest in developing the phonograph sparked Edison to continue on with his own adjustments. He eventually started a company to sell his phonographs.

At the time of 1901, wax cylinders were being mass produced so consumers could record their songs in bigger quantities. Eventually the cylinder was replaced with a disc, which is what we are now familiar with as the record player. The phonograph is a device that has been developed and advanced many times, but it has paved the way for how we save and record messages, music, and information.

As frenzy began and phonographs were installed in the streets to play music to passersby, there was question as to what to play. Comedy skits and military bands were of the first to be heard, then followed by Opera. Soon musicians and producers realized that music would have to change with the development of the phonograph, and as people liked certain types of songs, there was the emergence of music genres. Also, up until now music was hours long. Composers created symphonies that could not fit on phonograph disks. They started creating songs to fit the exact times the disk could hold, about 3 minutes. This is still how songs are today. One major implication of the phonograph is the development of the modern day length of song. Today, almost all songs are about 3 minutes in length.

The phonograph had many implications on music and society as a whole. For one thing, it inspired many people to learn new types of music. People could now listen and learn for as long as needed whereas they used to need to watch and learn from a live performance. On the flip side, the phonograph made it possible for musicians to be taken advantage  of by their record labels. This was worse for black musicians, who were paid a flat rate and didn't make any royalties. Record producers also took advantage of poor, white, southern singers, as he stated they'd be so excited to be recorded they wouldn't need any money. This situation only got worse with the development of radios, who could play anything and only had to pay composers and publishers.

With the invention of the radio, and later on cassette players and tapes, the phonograph and records went from the most used form of listening to music-- to the least. The phonograph simply couldn't keep up with recorded cassettes and compact discs. Phonographs are still around today, however they're mostly used for decoration or display.

The 8 Values of Free Expression- Protect Dissent

Of the 8 values of free expression, I deem protect dissent as most important at the start of our nation, and now today as we are in turmoil. This value allows you to disagree with the government, media, or most popular/accepted opinion at the time. Without this, you would be forced to agree and comply with other peoples' wishes when you don't want to. From an early settler who disagreed with Great Britain's unfair taxes, to an individual today who doesn't wish to be COVID-19 vaccinated, they're both allowed to take that stance, even if their government or peers don't want them to.

Early Americans had forms of communication, but nothing like we have today. The founding fathers probably never could have imagined the tools we have like the internet, social media, emails, etc. However, their idea of protect dissent benefits Americans today in times of online political censorship, polarizing ideologies, and government intervention in the two. A form of social media I can't not call out for these practices is Twitter. Twitter censored opinions of those who disagreed with 2020 election results, those who questioned efficacy of experimental vaccines, those who questioned aid packages sent to Ukraine, those curious of Hunter Biden business dealings, and so much more. Now, perhaps some think that people with those views should be banned, since they're spreading "disinformation theories", but that's a major problem. Since when was disinformation a term used in everyday vocabulary? It seems as though you can flip to any news broadcast, wait 5 minutes, and hear it mentioned at least once. Our problem today is not that we don't agree with each others opinions, or that we think others' views are downright backwards-- it's the attempt to try and censor others because you don't agree with or don't like what they're saying. That's what's wrong.

People have criticized the government and their supporters through every administration, yet only in modern, recent times has there been a call for the censorship of those views. Today there is the theory that if somebody doesn't agree with you they must be actively trying to harm you. In reality, someone else's beliefs can't harm you. If you make the personal decision not to look at opinions that make you go crazy, you'll be fine. This happens to everyone, you just need to be tolerant. Tolerance is one thing protect dissent needs to function. If people are not tolerant of other opinions, not willing to give them a space to be heard, there will be mob rule and opposing ideas are squandered. I am ever wary of this occurring today. 

From my point of view, I see almost all mainstream media outlets reporting on the same thing. No journalists are real anymore-- they don't find their own stories, they read a script that's given to them. So the news is reporting on all the same stuff using all the same terminology. Social media networks censor those whose opinions differ from that of the mainstream media. To top that off, our government is currently being investigated for colluding with social networks to censor the opinions similar to those I mentioned above. Now that seems to me like our government doesn't want us disagreeing with them. This is why Americans have protect dissent. I hope that someday soon we will no longer have to fight for our right to free speech. Social media networks are not required to allow our free speech, but they should not be able to collude with other huge organizations in our country to create a "right" and "wrong" way of thinking. Many do not notice this battle we are currently facing, or believe it to be true, but I hope for the prosper of our nation as a whole that oppositional censorship is something that does not live on.

The Supreme Court

I've always been interested in history and politics. I was an officer in my high school's history club and took an AP government course my senior year, so I've always understood the gist of the supreme court and how they function. This video covered mostly general information but there were a few small things I did not know. I wasn't aware that anyone unhappy with a court ruling could petition their case to the court, even prisoners. I was shocked to learn that the supreme court didn't always have high respect, and it wasn't until Marbury V. Madison with the help of John Marshall that they became respected. I was also shocked to find out that they receive around 7,000 potential cases each year, and that court decisions were released almost immediately to the press.

My most important takeaway from the video was when one justice said that interpreting the Constitution never gets easier or more clear on how to do so. It makes sense because the Constitution is such an old, intricate, important document and the judges know they must cross reference every aspect of a case to see if it really is constitutional. They decide on cases with the thought of the American people always in mind and I imagine it is very hard to do so despite how long you've been serving on the court.

The most surprising thing I learned was that when it is announced or reported that the court upheld a decision or ordered for something it doesn't mean they've taken any true action. Upholding something could mean not agreeing to take a case based on a prior one-- simply turning a case down the terminology is "upholding". The video did not change much of what I already thought of the Supreme Court. I have always believed it is one of the most honorable positions in our government and I respect their rulings despite backlash from the country. I believe they act with the best interest of the American people. After all, they are American citizens themselves; they do hold high status, but they are equal to me.

Media Sources: Who I Like

In today's time it's difficult to find a reliable news source that gets to the point. Biases are nearly impossible to ignore but allowing yourself an array of options paired with what you deem as fair judgement will leave you informed. Your pursuit of knowledge must be everlasting to stay fully informed. Obviously you can utilize sources you don't deem as reliable 100% of the time, just do personal fact checking to find that same information without the author or outlet's personal opinion. Some sources I use that fall into that category are Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. I also want to highlight One America News and Project Veritas.

Instagram is one of my most frequently used apps. Obviously I use it to post cute pictures of my friends and I, but I way more of the time I'm scrolling through my feed or explore page. One thing about Instagram is that it shows you what you want to see based on what you've showed them you like. More often I go to my explore page to be amused, not to be informed. I enjoy the cooking videos, memes, outfit ideas, and pet friendships. I see some news on there, but not much since I use my explore page to be entertained. Where I do find news is in my feed. Most of my feed is political. I follow accounts of senators, candidates, news stations, as well as ordinary people just sharing their opinions. This is all obviously through a particular lens-- my affiliations, because why would I want to scroll through a bunch of people I disagree with. When tabloids or headlines of news stories pop up, I don't click on them and rather go to my search engine. There I have a wide variety of sources to tell me what happened. I love Instagram as a media source because I can get information quick and share it easily with my friends.

Snapchat is fun for talking to friends, posting events on your story, and videoing what you do in a day for your friends. However, they also have a news section with both private snapchat news segments like Now This, as well as well-known public media like the BBC. They have interesting video segments too, but I mostly look at the ones with actual news. These are fun and interactive, as they play music and affects, and click to each new slide for you.

TikTok is another mostly fun app where news media is still available. TikTok puts Instagram's explore page to shame as the entire app is specialized for you through the use of your data on there and other apps. They personalize ads, videos, and "sounds" that they think you like based on how long or how much you interacted with other videos of that nature. I use TikTok for entertainment but if there is a topic I want to know more about, or a situation everyone is talking about, I can search it up and get hundreds of thousands of hits. There's not much traditional news on TikTok with reporters giving current events-- it's mostly regular people like you and I posting their own media, tutorials, thoughts, or research. I use TikTok mostly for tutorials or explanations of things I don't quite get the first time around. 

One America News is a news network that can be downloaded on the Apple App Store or Google Play for live broadcasting. The easiest way to access their stories is to go to their website, where they have stories and segments on a wide variety of topics with no opinion placed into any of the reporting. OAN was founded because its creators were sick of listening to news with bias from the journalist or their company. While some commentators featured in their stories may display their own personal opinions, the network itself does not. I like them because of this concept, and since it's hard to find news without opinions today.



Lastly, Project Veritas. Many have criticized the reporting method of PV, but I'm a fan. If the truth is hidden, then hide a camera and go find it. They are referred to as a "conservative activist group" by mainstream media who don't support them. Project Veritas is currently only available via their website, or on Telegram through a free subscription to them. They've been banned on virtually all social media platforms, yet what they're doing has led to real change in places they expose wrongdoing. Not being allowed on social media hasn't set them back because people who are subscribed to them share the videos and traction grows. I really like the founder James O'Keefe and the values he has built the network on. They are often challenged in court, and have been raided by the FBI multiple times. This only pushes them further to contuse what they do because they do it for the American people, and don't try to please other media sources or the government.