Opportunity for Advancement

Link to picture HERE

When I was a kid, my family would sometimes play the Atari.  The picture above is from the Atari game Pac-Man.  The graphics were only 2-D and the sounds weren't the full orchestra soundtracks you find on games today.  Over the years it has been fun to watch how games have improved.  Now they have virtual reality headsets you can wear that make you feel like you are actually in the game.

Toys have also improved over the years.  Everyone can now build their own working robots.  LEGO has different robot packs you can buy called MINDSTORMS.  People are able to program the robots and use a phone/tablet app to control them. Amazon has a STEM club; Science, Technology, Engineering and Math toys. With the Amazon STEM club, you join a subscription for once a month, every other month, or every three month and they will send you an age appropriate STEM toy at that frequency (cancel at anytime).

Another "toy" people are using: drones. People are able to fly drones around the sky and take videos and pictures from new perspectives:

Did you see the show they did with drones at the Olympics? Check out the picture below!
There are so many things we can do with new technology!

Find the picture HERE

A little privacy please!

The world is so much more connected than it was in the past due to the internet! There is so much information sharing going on that we sometimes forget how unsafe it can be.  As we become more connected, we are also making ourselves more vulnerable to becoming targets. We sometimes put more trust into technology than we should.

The data market is booming so the more data collection websites can do, the better. Social media websites want more site traffic and don't always have your security in their best interest.  Even when a website has great security measures, they can still be hacked into and information can be stolen.

People who have had bad things happen to them from sharing their information, didn't believe that anything would happen to them, but something did. People have been blackmailed, people have had their identities stolen, people have had money taken, people have had their technology devices taken-over, people have been stalked and even killed.  I just wanted to create this blog post as a friendly reminder to check your online security. 

Check out these links for some great tips to increase your security:

1. Online Privacy in Under 1 Hour: Improve Your Security Fast
2. How to improve your online security and privacy in 10 easy steps

What do you do to keep your stuff safe?  Have you or anyone you know had problems with online security before? Click HERE to leave any comments below.

Barrier - obstacle that keeps you in or out, depending on where you stand

I think most people have heard about the Great Wall of China, but have you heard about the Great Firewall of China? The Great Firewall of China refers to the virtual barrier that China has created for filtering/monitoring internet usage.  They only allow content that is favorable to the communist party and other political views.

China isn't the only country that has strict internet restrictions.  There are other countries who also filter email accounts, use keyword filters, and website blockers (you can find more information about different restrictions HERE).  In some of these countries, people have been punished for the content they have placed on the internet with things like jail time and even death.

Here in the United States, we have very limited censorship.  We are able to access all kinds of content from all over.  We do have some laws that require censorship on things like obscene materials, but most web content is easy enough for us to obtain (you can find some of those laws HERE).  There are, however, internet companies that have a large amount of power over what we are primarily exposed to.  Companies like Google and Facebook can control what content they want us to see; what content shows up first in our searches, feeds, and ads.

Internet censorship can be a good thing, it can protect people from accessing harmful material, but it is important to remember that it is one more way your world is altered and manipulated.  It can distort the way people feel and think about things.

What are your thoughts about internet censorship?  Do you think anything should be done about it? Do you think there will be consequences from it overtime? Click HERE to comment.

One of the best ways to persuade others is by listening to them - Dean Rusk

Take a look at the following pictures below and think about how they can manipulate you to think and feel a certain way about war and soldiers. 

There are people out there who collect data on the things you do, and use it to persuade you and manipulate the way you do things. If you are like me, you have probably noticed your set of keys growing over the years with all the savings cards from every store.  All those special savings cards are tracking your purchases and learning about the way you spend money.   The websites that you visit are saving tracking cookies to your browser to keep track of your interests so they can maximize advertisements.

I recently read another post on the Mind Shift blog about how tech companies like Google, Facebook and YouTube manipulate you (you can find that article HERE).  They are able to apply behavioral techniques and neuroscience to keep your attention.  One of the tactics used is auto-play videos.  When a video auto-plays, you don't have to hit any buttons or make a choice to watch, it happens on its own. Auto-play videos grab your attention better and keep your attention longer by playing other videos. Facebook has created an algorithm for notifications similar to what slot machines use, called variable rewards.  Notifications can be a trigger for a reward response in the brain and the algorithm creates a timing for these notifications that keeps you hooked longer. These big companies have been dumping money into this science; learning the audience and figuring out ways to keep the audience's attention.

What if we used the same science and technology to help teach people important lessons?  Could we use something like 'variable rewards' in a good way?  OR do you think it would be worth it to dump loads of money into other science and technology to help with teaching things people need?  Tell me your thoughts.