Post 7: YouTube (Presentations #1)

History of YouTube

On February 14, 2005, Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley registered their video-sharing site, YouTube.com. It was not until April 23rd of that year that the first YouTube video was uploaded. The eighteen-second video, entitled "Me at the Zoo" is of Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo and was uploaded to his channel. A few weeks later, beta testing began and started to attract around 30,000 visitors a day. At its' official launch in December, the website began to see more than two million views on its videos a day. YouTube began to gain more popularity and in Fall 2006, was acquired by Google. 

"Me at the zoo" by jawed 

Post 6: Google (EOTO)

EOTO: Google

Google was founded in 1995, after PhD students Larry Page and Sergey Brin met while studying Computer Science at Stanford University. As students, the two of them felt inspired to build a search engine to navigate the complex World Wide Web in order of its' relevancy. They wanted the engine to show results not only relevant to a search, but also relevant to what other people have claimed to be relevant and valuable. The website was originally called "BackRub," due to its ability to analyze backlinks. It was later renamed "Google" as a misspelling of the large number googol; 1 followed by 100 zeros, referencing the search engine's immense collection of data. 

The domain google.com was registered on September 15, 1997. In 1998, Google began to gain popularity and the computer company Sun Microsystems helped Larry and Sergey incorporate Google, therefore, creating Google Inc. Together, they raised around $1 million dollars and launched their headquarters in Menlo Park, California. In mid 1999, Google began processing 500,000 searches a day and in 2000, it became the main search engine. By the end of 2011, the search engine began to receive nearly three billion searches a day. In 2012, Google became one of the largest American companies not listed in the Dow Jones stock market index. 

This, of course, changed in 2015 after Alphabet Inc acquired Google and became its' parent company. Under Alphabet Inc., Google rebranded from Google Inc. to Google LLC. In 2016, Alphabet Inc. earned most of their revenue from Google advertising, making Google their largest subsidiary. 

Now, Google is the most used search engine with over 70% of all online searches being conducted by Google. Additionally, Google owns over 50 products and services including YouTube, Gmail (Google Mail), Blogger, Google Docs, Google Slides, Android, Waze, Google Chrome, Google Drive, etc. 

Google's services and products, as listed
on their site

Post 5: Eight Values of Free Expression

What is Permitted Under Free Expression

The First Amendment grants five freedoms to the people, one of which is the Freedom of Expression. There are eight values to the Freedom of Expression, which include the (1) Marketplace of Ideas, (2) Participation in Self-Government, (3) Stable Change, (4) Individual Self-Fulfillment, (5) Check on Governmental Power, (6) Promote Tolerance, (7) Promote Innovation, and (8) Protect Dissent. 

1. Marketplace of Ideas (Discovery of Truth) - 

    The first value of Free Expression is the Marketplace of Ideas. It explains that through competition, superior products sell better than those which are inferior. It uses competition to judge its' reliability. Therefore, the theory criticizes the use of censorship, and instead encourages others to use their First Amendment right to express their ideas. The concept of the freedom of speech and press comes from John Milton's 1644 pamphlet, Areopagitica, that was published as a response to the Parliament restricting what can be printed. 

2. Participation in Self-Government -

    The second value of Free Expression is the Participation in Self-Government. Philosopher Alexander Meiklejohn argued that under the First Amendment, self-governance justifies freedom of speech. He additionally believed that the main purpose of the First Amendment is to ensure that voters are capable of making well-informed choices about their self-government. 

3. Stable Change (Safety Valve) - 

    The third value of Free Expression is Stable Change. This concept stems from philosopher Benedict Spinoza's Tractatus-Theologico Politicus. In it, he defends freedom of thought and expression. His ideas laid the foundation for several political societies, including that of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. His idea was later adapted into the safety valve theory; a philosophical justification of the right to protest, which is heavily emphasized in the First Amendment. 

4. Individual Self-Fulfillment (Self-Actualization) - 

    The fourth value of Free Expression is Individual Self-Fulfillment. This theory comes from C. Edwin Baker's "liberty model" which was created to be an alternative to the marketplace of ideas. Baker's model suggests that the freedom of speech promotes the values of self-fulfillment and self-realization.

5. Check on Governmental Power (Watchdog Role) - 

    The fifth value of Free Expression is the theory of Checking Value. This theory, was proposed in Vincent Blasi's 1977 essay, The Checking Value in First Amendment Theory. It explains that the media has a role in the system of checks-and-balances. We (the media) essentially act as a "watchdog" to the government. 

6. Promote Tolerance - 

    The sixth value of Free Expression is the Promotion of Tolerance. Lee Bollinger proposed this theory in his 1986 essay, The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech. Bollinger explains that freedom of speech normalizes extremist speech and protects it, allowing for society to form their own norms on what is and is not okay to say.

7. Promote Innovation - 

    The seventh value of Free Expression is the Promotion of Innovation. This theory was proposed by Jack Balkin in his book, Living Originalism. In it, he claims that communities in which free speech is valued and protected are more diverse, due to the idea that people feel more inclined to express their own opinions.

8. Protect Dissent - 

    The eighth and last value of Free Expression is Protecting Dissent. Steven Shiffrin, in his book, Dissent, Injustice and the Meanings of America explains that our system is not supposed to be that of a "mob view." Instead, he argues that we have the right to criticize the government; that it is in fact, our patriotic duty to do so.

Post 4: Anti-War

Antiwar Voices: Are They Being Suppressed? 

After looking at the website ANTIWAR.COM, I noticed that it was very sketchy-looking. Just to be safe and make sure that I would not get a virus on my computer, I looked it up on Wikipedia. Surprisingly enough, I found information about the website. According to the Wikipedia article, the site was founded in 1995; which explains its' sketchy appearance. It was founded as a response to the Bosnian war, and their first objective was to "fight against intervention in the Balkans under the Clinton presidency." 

As for the American Conservative website, it appeared less sketchy. The Wikipedia article mentions that it was founded in 2002 in opposition to the Iraq War. The website itself states that it is not about debt and warfare, but about "liberty, localism, a strong middle class, staying out of foreign wars in which American interests are not at stake."

Prior to exploring these websites, I have never really heard strong antiwar voices. In fact, I never heard of either the sites. I believe that the reason antiwar voices are suppressed is due to the idea that being antiwar is unpatriotic. The United States was founded from a war, and we often celebrate war as well as our military. Personally, I believe that antiwar voices should not be suppressed. Instead, I believe that they should at least be acknowledged, which would help in supplementing the idea that everyone's voices are heard.

Post 3: The First Amendment

  Black Lives Matter: Is it Political?

On February 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin walked into a 7-Eleven in Sanford, Florida wearing a dark gray sweatshirt with a hood over his head. He bought a bag of Skittles and Arizona tea and walked out. Although this is a seemingly innocent thing to do, it is apparently unlawful for a young black male to buy a snack from a convenience store. While walking back home, the neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, noticed Martin and decided to call 911 to report his "suspicious" behavior. Zimmerman is instructed to not approach Martin, however, he does so anyway. Out of "self-defense," Zimmerman chooses to shoot and kill Martin. 

As a response to this tragedy, the Black Lives Matter movement was founded, whose mission is to "eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes." 

As more innocent Black lives are being taken, the Black Lives Matter movement has been growing. The growth of the movement has also lead to a growth of backlash, as people make the false accusation that it is a hate group. 

Under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, freedom of speech and the freedom of expression is guaranteed to all citizens. This means that movements, such as the Black Lives Matter movement is protected under the First Amendment. 

Although protests organized by the Black Lives Matter movement have the reputation of being violent, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) analyzed more than 7,000 demonstrations between May 26 and August 22, 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. Of course, the 7% of protests that have induced violence are not protected. 

Nevertheless, it is important to hear and listen to the Black Lives Matter movement. Even if you have a different opinion, it is necessary to listen to others in order to help end discrimination in both the U.S. and the world as a whole.