Privacy Control

Hello all. My name is Krystal Bruyer and I am from a very small town outside of Rochester, NY. I am a junior studying Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) and I transferred to Cornell from Michigan State University (MSU) after my freshman year. Although MSU had quite the social scene and excellent athletic teams, I do like Cornell a bit more (not to say that Cornell does not also have excellent athletic teams…).

Despite how long the internet has been around, it continues to have some issues. A big one is privacy control. This issue would not fall under one of Wallace’s categories of online spaces since not as many people were aware of the internet’s capabilities when the book was written compared to what people know now and how much accessibility people have now. When people are now able to do internet banking and purchase items online, how do they know that they will not be a victim of identity theft? Their web browser might have the little padlock at the bottom right corner telling them that it is a “secure” website and they might have the newest and best security protection installed on their computer, but how does internet identity theft still happen? How do we keep this from happening? Who should be involved in stopping it? The simple answer would be to have internet companies and credit card companies create more secure websites together. On the other hand, if we make websites too secure, how do we monitor when people are using the internet illegally? People are always exchanging illegal information over the internet and downloading illegal documents that, if caught, can be a serious criminal offense. Should the government or Homeland Security monitor our internet use or does this invade a person’s right to privacy since this is the United States of America? The amount of monitoring that is currently in place and with new laws, for instance, stating that computer repair people must report the owner if illegal files are found, have already put many people behind bars in recent years. Another recent controversy is the start-up of “Google Maps,” putting a high definition camera on every street corner. Soon, anyone will be able to zoom in on a particular street at anytime of the day and see people close-up and everything that is going on in that location at that moment. This could be helpful in monitoring illegal activity but it can also be a serious infringement on privacy. Then again, as long as the camera is located in a public place that every person has the right to access, are “Google Maps” really an issue of privacy?

Social Interactions

Hi, my name is Sara Jih and I’m a junior majoring in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering (ORIE). I was born and raised in Houston, Texas (yee-haw!), where the weather is much hotter, but thankfully, everywhere we go, we are blessed with air conditioning. I enjoy traveling, special foods, museums, and dancing (ballet, tap, etc.).

One phenomenon the internet has created is the vast opportunities for social interaction. People from all over the world can spend hours on end in chat rooms or messaging each other. Wallace refers to this internet environment as synchronous chats because people online at the same time can hold real-time conversations with each other. For the not-so socially inclined people out there, this has given them a chance to interact with people more than they ever would in person. Why is it easier for some people to talk online? Is it the anonymity that makes them feel more comfortable in their own skin? Some say that online chatting has allowed shy people to develop and strengthen their social skills as they become more content with the way they respond to remarks, but others argue that it is hindering them when they spend most of their time online and not experiencing the face-to-face interaction.

What is it about the internet that makes it easier for shy people to converse with random strangers, and in some cases, even fall in love? I can understand using the internet as a tool to meet people for dating purposes, but I don’t quite understand how people can fall in love over the internet, miles and miles away from each other, and eventually get married. I would feel like it would be awkward meeting this person in real-life because people may act differently in person than they do online.

Wallace states that “greater Internet use is associated with increases in loneliness and depression,” but maybe people don’t feel as lonely when they are able to use the internet to talk to other people. In many ways, chatting online has satisfied people’s need to socialize. People can go days locked up in their computer room without getting offline and never feeling like “Hmm, it’s been awhile since I’ve talked to someone in person,” but feeling more like their eyes are tired from staring at the screen for so long.

Internet has become another means of social involvement, but I guess online chatting can be considered an aid or an impediment, depending on whether you’re turning yourself into a social hermit or blossoming into a social butterfly.

Email Etiquette

Hello fellow Red bloggers. A specific element of the online space of email has always interested me. I check my email at least ten times a day and use it to communicate not only with parents and friends, but also with my past internship employers and other people with authority positions. Now that I have been back to school for over a week I have been emailing back and forth with several professors. I have always been unsure of the grammar and punctuation to use in emails to people in positions of authority (such as professors and employers). If I were to send an email to someone I was working for or to a professor, I would most likely use proper punctuation and write it in letter form.
I have found that frequently, people in authority positions will respond to emails without using the same formalities. Sometimes professors simply sign letters with their first initial (whether or not they have students refer to them as “Professor X” in person). It is the same case with my previous employers. Perhaps it is because my past employers were just too busy to write a formal email using a proper “Dear Skyler” heading and a “Sincerely, X” closing. I am always curious as to how to respond to their casual messages and what commands this informality. Is it more appropriate to follow their tone or should all emails to people in positions of authority display the same respect one would use if he/she were meeting with this authority figure face to face?
If I were to email a friend I would most likely not capitalize letters and use very informal punctuation. This is not only because of laziness but also because it just seems more appropriate to write to a friend in a relaxed manner. What is it about the internet that commands such informality? Perhaps the internet in general is a more friendly and personal atmosphere that no matter who you are emailing, it is appropriate to address he/she as a friend. Has anyone else experienced this?