Joshua's reflection
privacy
I remember struggling to find a social issue in which I would like to write about all semester. I was really at a lost until a discussion occurred at work that really struck my interest. It was in a meeting that we were warned that we were not to post anything negative about the company on any social feed. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Google + etc. This sparked a heated discussion about company policy and their right to monitor our private lives. I thought about it and realized that it goes much further than just company wide, it’s happening everywhere. I wondered if we are really being monitored or was this just an empty threat. That’s when I decided that this would be a great issue to research further.
The first person that I went to was my Brother in law who works for Google. We exchanged multiple e-mails and he was very cooperative. I did find him to be defensive at times which was understandable since I like Google too. I was just trying to expand my knowledge of corporate policies and practices. I am a very private person, or at least I thought I was. What shocked me was how much of my private information was available to everyone with a computer. I know understand why my e-mail is always spammed with ads from places I’ve never heard of. It’s that kind of world that we live in. They call it the digital age; I call it the end of living anonymously. We throw so much information about ourselves into cyberspace that it really shocked me. The problem is, most times there is no way around this.
I really enjoyed researching this issue with different formats in mind. We started with a memoir which was on the personal side and are ending with a collaborative project where we use all the mediums we’ve used in between. Changing a paper into a slideshow proved to be a little more difficult that I imagined. I think I definitely grew from that one. I think it has really helped put me in a steady progression. I found out that I knew a lot less than I thought I did when I started on this journey. You can see a little bit of this progression on my e-portfolio.
Collaborative group projects are difficult. It’s always hard to get a constant flow of communication since everyone has different schedules. We had our problems but I think it ended up making the experience better. You learn people strengths and weaknesses and then cater to that. I had real strong peer editors in my group and I always counted on them to give me great feedback and sort of leaned on them for that. I struggle with time and it was a definite luxury for me to be able to get their feedback .
My advice for future students would be to always pay attention to the peer reviews and use them. I know it is easy to get offended with some of the critiques but in the end I learned that even the harshest ones can be useful. That being said, that’s why it is also important to give good constructive criticism that is useful and respectful. It really does genuinely help.
The first person that I went to was my Brother in law who works for Google. We exchanged multiple e-mails and he was very cooperative. I did find him to be defensive at times which was understandable since I like Google too. I was just trying to expand my knowledge of corporate policies and practices. I am a very private person, or at least I thought I was. What shocked me was how much of my private information was available to everyone with a computer. I know understand why my e-mail is always spammed with ads from places I’ve never heard of. It’s that kind of world that we live in. They call it the digital age; I call it the end of living anonymously. We throw so much information about ourselves into cyberspace that it really shocked me. The problem is, most times there is no way around this.
I really enjoyed researching this issue with different formats in mind. We started with a memoir which was on the personal side and are ending with a collaborative project where we use all the mediums we’ve used in between. Changing a paper into a slideshow proved to be a little more difficult that I imagined. I think I definitely grew from that one. I think it has really helped put me in a steady progression. I found out that I knew a lot less than I thought I did when I started on this journey. You can see a little bit of this progression on my e-portfolio.
Collaborative group projects are difficult. It’s always hard to get a constant flow of communication since everyone has different schedules. We had our problems but I think it ended up making the experience better. You learn people strengths and weaknesses and then cater to that. I had real strong peer editors in my group and I always counted on them to give me great feedback and sort of leaned on them for that. I struggle with time and it was a definite luxury for me to be able to get their feedback .
My advice for future students would be to always pay attention to the peer reviews and use them. I know it is easy to get offended with some of the critiques but in the end I learned that even the harshest ones can be useful. That being said, that’s why it is also important to give good constructive criticism that is useful and respectful. It really does genuinely help.