Study tools

Personal Need Analysis Paper
- Importance: Great for understanding individual needs in coursework.
- Deadline: End of the week for submission of visual analysis papers.
- Submission Method: Must be submitted via Canvas.

Presentations Overview
- Format: Oral presentations of media analysis.
- Schedule: Starting one week from today.
- 20 students, presentation slots broken down as follows:
  - 6-7 presentations per day over three days.
- Final classes are:
  - Tuesday, December 9
  - Thursday, December 11
  - Tuesday, December 16 (Last class before finals)
- No Finals Week Meeting: No obligations to meet during finals for this course.
- Presentation Length: Aim for approximately 8 minutes.
- Logistics: Order of presentation will be discussed in class.
- Options for Presentations:
- Live presentation or pre-recorded video allowed.
- Key component: Must include your voice.
- Time Flexibility: A range of 6-10 minutes will be tolerated, but avoid extremes (3 or 15 minutes).

Open Floor for Questions: Any confusion regarding papers or presentation formats should be addressed immediately in class.
Sign-up for Presentations: Students wishing to secure an early slot should communicate their preference before the next class.

Key Themes: Technology as a medium and its implications for media analysis.
Decentralization:
- Definition: The process of distributing or dispersing functions, powers, people, or decision-making away from a central authority.
- Analogy: Comparing decentralization to public libraries and supermarkets; traditionally, people go to centralized locations for resources.
- Central Authority Examples: Libraries provide centralized access to information; grocery stores centralize food access.

Early Civilization: Based on centrality of resources and specialization of tasks.
- Transition from self-sufficiency to specialization in tasks like farming, clothing production, etc.
- Importance of Centrality: Civilization relies on central authorities for efficiency and organization.
Decentralization Model in Internet: Takes everything previously centralized and redistributes it, allowing direct access.

Centralized vs Decentralized Networks:
- Centralized models inhibit direct user interaction; decentralized models encourage user-to-user connection.
- Hub and Spoke Model: Traditional centralized systems operate around a main hub (e.g., libraries, governments).
- Decentralized Web Model: Users connect directly without gatekeepers, reflected in modern communications.

Physical Infrastructure: The physical technology supporting the Internet also represents its decentralized nature.
No Central Ownership: The Internet is a peer-to-peer network with multiple servers, enhancing robustness and resilience against failures.
Significant Players: Notable companies like Amazon dominate server space, impacting access, but have created redundancies.
- Example: Amazon Web Services (AWS) control substantial web traffic; outages can affect multiple connected platforms.

Introduction to Key Technology:
- Developed by the Rand Corporation, this protocol underpinning Internet functionality is known as packet switching.
- Basic Concept: Large data sets are divided into smaller packets sent across networks. Each packet comprises:
- Header: Includes routing information.
- Payload: Contains the actual data.
- Functionality: Upon reaching the destination, packets are reassembled in the correct order.
Redundancy and Resilience: Data can be stored on multiple servers, facilitating access even in failure scenarios.

Drop in Scarcity: Digital data access evolution leads to reduced scarcity; all users can access the same data simultaneously.
Rise of Personal Computing: The advent of computers enables the decentralized growth of digital resources.

Rules of Access and Data Use:
Basic standards include HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), defining how browsers and web servers interact.
The standards for data transmission are relatively few, making the decentralized web manageable despite its complexity.

Analogy to Historical Frontier: Growth of the Internet likened to American westward expansion, representing uncharted territory and opportunities for creativity.

Market Evolution: Explores the speculations of what succeeded and failed in early web businesses including eBay and eToys.
Business models have changed: Many tech companies function without traditional profitability but instead focus on user acquisition and data monetization.

Venture Capital:
- Defines funding systems as critical in growing tech startups.
- Often results in unforeseen market outcomes, both nightmarish and beneficial.
Example Companies: Uber and Airbnb, relying heavily on user data rather than immediate profitability.

Market Analytics: As services become more widespread, users must grapple with their data privacy and how their information is used without direct oversight.

Maintenance and Evolution: Websites and Internet infrastructure are affected by ageing technology; periodic updates and innovations are necessary for long-term health.

Geographic Disparities: Areas with installation challenges are often neglected, impacting economic viability and access to information.
As alternatives like 5G arise, they could impact existing Internet users differently based on location and accessibility.

Evolving User Landscape: Understanding how and why the Internet works is crucial for navigating its implications in education and commerce.
Calls for heightened awareness regarding the privacy, efficiency, and distributive nature of modern Internet frameworks and how they affect daily life.