It's a difficult question whether or not a degree in journalism is worth it. My dream job was to work at the Rocky Mountain News. When that paper went defunct I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a journalist anymore. The newspapers are dying off, and you don't need a degree to start a blog. I ultimately decided to stay with journalism because it still has lessons to teach.
Journalism taught me to check information, and then double check it. I learned that it was important to be skeptical of any information, to get an understanding of where the information came from, and for what purpose was it being released.
My favorite story was one I did three years ago. I was covering a seminar hosted by TJ Leyden, a former white supremacist who was going around campuses teaching a message of tolerance. The seminar was powerful, and Leyden was risking his life talking about his former association with the Neo-Nazi movement. In the crowd there was Walter Plywaski, who had survived the holocaust. The meeting of these two men was a powerful moment in my life. The fact that I was able to tell the story of these two men and how they met showed me the importance of good journalism.
There are times where I love being a journalist, and then are times where I feel like as though it's a terrible job. Through the good and the bad, the Journalism program has taught me how to write, how to report, how to connect with the world, and to be both a good journalist and a good person.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Old laws and new tech
Yahoo is taking on the government over e-mails and probable-cause warrants.
The problem began when prosecutors in Colorado wanted to gain access to a suspect's e-mails for an investigation. The suspect used Yahoo as an e-mail provider, which led to prosecutors issuing an order to Yahoo to show the e-mails.
Under the Stored Communications Act, a prosecutor can access e-mails without a probable-cause warrant as long as the e-mail was over 180 days old.
Yahoo did give prosecutors e-mails that were over 181 days old. But refused to hand over e-mail that had been previously viewed, accessed, or downloaded that was less than 181 days old; which they believed violated their fourth amendment rights. Yahoo is in court against the Department of Justice over the records.
The Stored Communications Act was created in 1986, a time where e-mails were stored on the clients computers. Today's e-mail providers store their client's e-mails on servers that could be on there for years.
Yahoo is backed by tech giants like Google and Microsoft, who are looking for an update to the law.
Yahoo's fight with the Department of Justice is a demonstration of what happens when the laws don't get updated with the technology, and it may be time for congress to go through their technology laws and see what still works and what needs to be updated.
The problem began when prosecutors in Colorado wanted to gain access to a suspect's e-mails for an investigation. The suspect used Yahoo as an e-mail provider, which led to prosecutors issuing an order to Yahoo to show the e-mails.
Under the Stored Communications Act, a prosecutor can access e-mails without a probable-cause warrant as long as the e-mail was over 180 days old.
Yahoo did give prosecutors e-mails that were over 181 days old. But refused to hand over e-mail that had been previously viewed, accessed, or downloaded that was less than 181 days old; which they believed violated their fourth amendment rights. Yahoo is in court against the Department of Justice over the records.
The Stored Communications Act was created in 1986, a time where e-mails were stored on the clients computers. Today's e-mail providers store their client's e-mails on servers that could be on there for years.
Yahoo is backed by tech giants like Google and Microsoft, who are looking for an update to the law.
Yahoo's fight with the Department of Justice is a demonstration of what happens when the laws don't get updated with the technology, and it may be time for congress to go through their technology laws and see what still works and what needs to be updated.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Machine to Compete on Jeopardy
Very soon there will be a very interesting constestant competiting on the popular game show Jeopardy. His name is Watson, he is not a professor, a historian, or even technically alive. Watson is a super computer being developed by IBM in an attempt to create an artificial intelligence smart enough to beat the best of the organic world.
Watson raises some interesting questions. The first being is this even fair, and when I first heard about a computer competing on Jeopardy, it sounds like it would be a man against google search. But Watson is going to be more than just a machine filled with information. But there is more to Watson than information recall. Watson is not going to be connected to the internet, but rather his skill will be in comprehending language.
It will be interesting to see how Watson performs against some of the smartest people in the world. Could be that Watson gets destroyed by champions like Ken Jennings. Or Watson could be victorious and be the most humbling example of the rise of computers since Deep Blue. Either way this is a significant achievement for artificial intelligence, and the ramifications of Watson should be felt for quite some time.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Lessons Learned From a Day in the Life
I've finished writing up a day in the life story. I wrote about Forrest Swick and Jessica Raymond, the security analysts who work for UNC.
The biggest challenge I faced with this story was that while I learned a ton about how network security works, it was hard for me to find the best vignettes I could write about.
The easiest part was getting the information, Forrest and Jessica were really friendly and helpful, and it was fun to hang out with some fellow geeks for a couple of hours talking computers.
The most important things that I learned from the assignment was how to make my computer a lot more secure than it was, I'm going to get some security programs. The most important thing I got out of this as a journalist was the importance of talking to people and getting information as far away from your deadline as possible, time is a precious commodity for a journalist with a deadline, and I'm going to start utilizing it.
The biggest challenge I faced with this story was that while I learned a ton about how network security works, it was hard for me to find the best vignettes I could write about.
The easiest part was getting the information, Forrest and Jessica were really friendly and helpful, and it was fun to hang out with some fellow geeks for a couple of hours talking computers.
The most important things that I learned from the assignment was how to make my computer a lot more secure than it was, I'm going to get some security programs. The most important thing I got out of this as a journalist was the importance of talking to people and getting information as far away from your deadline as possible, time is a precious commodity for a journalist with a deadline, and I'm going to start utilizing it.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Introduction
I have a couple of goals while writing this blog. The first is to get a feeling for blogging and to have a blog to which I regularly contribute. My other goal is to measure my progress as both a writer, covering the tech beat, and as a journalist.
Most of my experience in journalism stems from working at school newspapers. I worked on the Trojan Voice at Thornton High School and The Mirror at the University of Northern Colorado. I've also published a couple of articles at different places, including Northern Vision, UNC's alumni magazine, and Yuckytown, a Greeley-based blog.
I am covering technology; specifically, I am covering technology that relates directly to the lives of students at UNC. I will also cover the IT department and the steps that its staff takes to keep UNC's computer networks running and safe. I will also be covering technology, both hardware and software, designed to make lives easier. And I will be covering some of the more philosophical issues that have arisen in the modern age, such as artificial intelligence and the ramifications of an increasingly technological world.
Some of my strengths as a journalist are my ability to organize information in a way that is concise and easy to follow. As for weaknesses, I have to be careful in reading over what I write in order to avoid silly mistakes in my writing.
I don't have a lot of experience with blogging. If you look on my links list you'll see that I also have a blog called the Brave Little Poster. I have one update on it. Part of the reason that I never updated it was for two reasons. The first was that I could never find anything cool enough to write about that I felt was worth showing to the world, and the second was that even if I did, I doubt many people would see it. But I've come to learn that the world of journalism is changing, and just as my blog is about the world adjusting to new technology, I find that I have to, too.
For those who have come here looking for computer security tips, a fantastic website is the SANS Internet Storm Center, which monitors virus activity and security holes.
In closing, I will present a video of some of the things that I love about technology. The video is a demonstration at a Game Jam event hosted in Sydney of a game called GNILLEY. The game is played using sound, with the player using different pitches and volume to get past obstacles. The video manages to combine technological innovation with hilarity.
Most of my experience in journalism stems from working at school newspapers. I worked on the Trojan Voice at Thornton High School and The Mirror at the University of Northern Colorado. I've also published a couple of articles at different places, including Northern Vision, UNC's alumni magazine, and Yuckytown, a Greeley-based blog.
I am covering technology; specifically, I am covering technology that relates directly to the lives of students at UNC. I will also cover the IT department and the steps that its staff takes to keep UNC's computer networks running and safe. I will also be covering technology, both hardware and software, designed to make lives easier. And I will be covering some of the more philosophical issues that have arisen in the modern age, such as artificial intelligence and the ramifications of an increasingly technological world.
Some of my strengths as a journalist are my ability to organize information in a way that is concise and easy to follow. As for weaknesses, I have to be careful in reading over what I write in order to avoid silly mistakes in my writing.
I don't have a lot of experience with blogging. If you look on my links list you'll see that I also have a blog called the Brave Little Poster. I have one update on it. Part of the reason that I never updated it was for two reasons. The first was that I could never find anything cool enough to write about that I felt was worth showing to the world, and the second was that even if I did, I doubt many people would see it. But I've come to learn that the world of journalism is changing, and just as my blog is about the world adjusting to new technology, I find that I have to, too.
For those who have come here looking for computer security tips, a fantastic website is the SANS Internet Storm Center, which monitors virus activity and security holes.
In closing, I will present a video of some of the things that I love about technology. The video is a demonstration at a Game Jam event hosted in Sydney of a game called GNILLEY. The game is played using sound, with the player using different pitches and volume to get past obstacles. The video manages to combine technological innovation with hilarity.
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