What other choice do we have?

Today's world is a weird one, with so much strife going one, corruption, scandals, wars, genocides, hunger, poverty, etc. there is so much wrong that is out of our control. Yet, we decide to hear about these things and do nothing about them.

Most people today get their information online through a website article, or through an ad on social media. Yet we truly underestimate, how much of our information is getting leaked, but do we care?

Realistically, most people don't share super private information over text through Facebook, unless they're inn their 50s+. As for me? I'd rather speak face to face with those I have to tell something personal too so THEY don't go out and say it using screenshots or whatever.

I'm not too concerned with the level of information of mine that's getting leaked unless it's credit cards, social security numbers, driver's license, etc., but those things are super valuable, and quite difficult to replace. I don't think people knowing my address is too big of an issue until people start showing up at my door.

I think we as a society are too caught up in what we DON'T want people to know rather than what we WANT them to know. We're so afraid of what can harm us, where we should be celebrating what can help us, and not live in fear or concern of what we think the internet is doing to try to attack us.

I understand that it can be a little weird when you get ads about what you've been thinking about, but is it really that bad, I mean, if you need it you can go get it quickly. I think we need to take a step back and determine what really makes us upset, and what society SAYS we need to be upset about.

Besides, what else are we going to use for worldwide news? Its not like there's another internet...

Whistleblower vs "Whistleblower"

Last week a classmate described the difference between a Whistleblower and a "Whistleblower." this differentiation was pretty eye opening.

With the Trump impeachment hearings currently going on, there's a lot of talk about "whistleblowers" appearing in the White House, but it's an important distinction to make.

A Whistleblower is a "Federal employee who reports wrongdoings to better the system, and they are protected under the 1989 Whistleblower Protection  Act (WPA)"

A "Whistleblower" is "a federal employee who reports mismanagement for a political agenda." 

These differentiation's are quite important, so we understand how true some of these statements are. It's super frustrating to not know who you can trust, because of political corruption.

This fact demonstrates why doing personal research is so important. With all the biased news going on today, we need to understand the unbiased side of the story as well.

Alternative Media

What is Alternative Media?

"Alternative media are forms of media that differ from the current established mainstream, whether it be by content, format, or distribution. Alternative media can be print, digital, audio, video, and so on. In today’s society, anyone can have a platform from the comfort of their own homes, a luxury that was not available before the internet and modern technology.”

Alternative media is generally blogs that aren't like the ones I write. Alternative media online are normally very opinionated and lean towards one side of the other depending on political parties.

Some may be very neutral in what they write about, but most are not so neutral. I stumbled upon a couple that are different in their own rights in terms of where they stand.

One was a strong anti-war blog and the other a libertarian site.

I found both of these to be quite interesting you often don't hear much based on these view points which is part of the intrigue about alternative media. We often hear the main points of contention from big sources like FOX or CNN, but these other sites give us some insight into other viewpoints which should help better our understanding of the world and our issues.

Is our online privacy really private?

The debate of online privacy has been a hot topic issue in media ever since the world found out about Facebook's dark secret of the myriad of information they have taken from people for years. This should come to a shock of no one, but it has, and since people are so shocked about this issue, I'd like to explain all the other media outlets that take and use your info for their own gain.

It's almost foolish to believe that while on the internet you can act anonymously and do and say things you normally wouldn't. I can relate this to being around friends, you can say things to them that works within the context, but if a certain button is pushed, they'll be able to use it against you without the context.

So, companies can assure you that they are protecting all your info, but without the context they're only using your info to attract ads so that the website you love can stay afloat. TV and Newspapers do this all the time, as they request certain ads to be put on their networks by using their data collected from their customers.

If people knew this then they'd not be as upset because its TV and they could just move elsewhere, but because it's the internet people suddenly lose their minds.

"Facebook has revealed 30m accounts were affected in a data breach last month. The company said hackers were able to access personal information for nearly half of those accounts.

That information included name, relationship status, religion, birthdate, workplaces, search activity, and recent location check-ins. The company had initially said 50m accounts were affected."