Please see Attachments***

DISCUSSION #3

WELCOME to the discussion for WEEK 3. Please respond in complete sentences for each question, unless directed to do otherwise, demonstrating in your reply that you have read the material in order to receive full credit.

Topic 1: Fake News

This week, you watched Christiane Amanpour & Chris Anderson How to Seek Truth in the Era of Fake News (TED Talk video):

https://www.ted.com/talks/christiane_amanpour_how_to_seek_truth_in_the_era_of_fake_news

Discussion:
Amanpour mentioned that she wished that the proliferation of platforms upon which we get our information meant that there was a proliferation of truth and transparency and depth and accuracy.
Questions

Explain at least two ways fake news could affect the results of future elections or may have affected the recent presidential election?

What are three ways you can verify articles and images to avoid being fooled by fake news?

What can companies like Facebook and Snapchat do to stop users from spreading fake news? What can we, as consumers, do? What do you think would work, especially with younger users?

Topic 2: The Decline of the Newspaper Industry

This week you read “Current Popular Trends in the Newspaper Industry” by Jack Lule

(Also Attached Below)

https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/mass-communication-media-and-culture/s07-04-current-popular-trends-in-the-.html

Discussion:

It is clear that the newspaper industry has undergone major changes. Over the next several years, the industry will likely continue to experience a complete upheaval brought on by dwindling readership and major shifts in how individuals consume news. As newspapers scramble to find their footing in an ever-changing business, readers adapt and seek out trustworthy information in new ways.

Question #1:

Pick a recent major national event that interests you. Then, select two papers of the six discussed in the reading and explore the differences in how those newspapers reported on the story. How does the newspaper’s audience affect the way in which a story is presented?

---

Minimum Topic Response: Word Count = 70 (per topic). Your response is required to be AT LEAST 70 WORDS long. If your reply for this question is less than 70 words, you will lose points. You can use Microsoft Word to count the words in your response to make sure you have met the requirement.
NOTE 1: Please make sure you answer EACH item and LABEL each item (#1, #2, #3, etc) so that I can easily check that each item has been answered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Discussion #4

WELCOME to the discussion for WEEK 4. Please respond in complete sentences for each question, unless directed to do otherwise, demonstrating in your reply that you have read the material in order to receive full credit.

Topic 1: Copyright

This week you read about copyright and some of the laws governing digital rights management.

https://www.dmca.com/Solutions/view.aspx?ID=712f28a5-93f2-467b-ba92-3d58c8345a32&%3fref=sol08a2

Discussion:

Copyright protection is available for original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible form, whether published or unpublished. The categories of works that can be protected by copyright laws include paintings, literary works, live performances, photographs, movies, and software.

Question:

Make an argument for or against the following statement: “Copyright is the only way for musicians, artists and filmmakers to protect their integrity. What’s important is not profit, but protecting creative content from unfair use. Copyright should remain an important part of our law”. Justify your response with support from the reading.

Topic 2: Customer Location Data

This week you read the article “Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint Suspend Selling of Customer Location Data (web page).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/06/19/verizon-will-suspend-sales-of-customer-location-data-after-a-prison-phone-company-was-caught-misusing-it/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b8d983625d10

Discussion:

Verizon, AT&T and Sprint will no longer share its customers' location information with several third-party companies who failed to handle the data appropriately.

Question:

Do you agree with phone companies sharing their customers’ information with third party companies? Why or why not? Support your answer.

Topic 3: The Curly Fry Conundrum

This week you watched The curly fry conundrum: Why social media "likes" say more than you think by Jennifer Golbeck.

https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_golbeck_the_curly_fry_conundrum_why_social_media_likes_say_more_than_you_might_think

Discussion:

The goal of Golbeck's Ted Talk presentation is to make people aware that (a) data is being collected about you, (b) companies are profiting from this data, (c) you don't have a lot of power to prevent your data from being collected, and (d) you SHOULD have control over how your data is being used and who is using it. She also brainstorms ways users could regain control of their data through the legal system or by having companies modify their data collection policies.

Goldbeck's discussion of Target is very relevant. Target is renowned in the industry for its data collection practices. Target maintains a customer relationship management database which includes information from in-store purchases (they link all of your purchases to a unique identifier) and data they collect externally (e.g. data from Facebook and other sources). Combine the two data streams and Target can predict, with very good certainly, what your gender is, where you live, how far you travel to work, your relationship status, and they can even tell if you are pregnant, and if so, when you are due. The amount of money spent each year in pregnancy-related purchases is tremendous. In efforts to win the market share in this profit area, Target has hired a team of statisticians to perform predictive analysis. The goal, in this particular situation, is to predict which women are expecting (or soon to be), without asking them directly, by analyzing their purchasing behavior (e.g. cribs, baby clothes, prenatal vitamins, etc). This way Target can "target" this particular demographic (with coupons, discounts, and other offers) early in the process, thus getting a jump on the competition. Goldbeck mentioned an example where a father stormed down to Target to complain about his young young daughter receiving pregnancy-related coupons in the mail only later to find out his daughter was pregnant.

Question:

What are your thoughts about companies collecting data about you? Do you feel this type of data collection is a beneficial or detrimental? Why? Do you feel you have a right to know what data companies are collecting about you? Does this concern you as a consumer?

---

Minimum Topic Response: Word Count = 70 (per topic). Your response is required to be AT LEAST 70 WORDS long.

NOTE 1: Please make sure you answer EACH item and LABEL each item (#1, #2, #3, etc) so that I can easily check that each item has been answered.