Matthew McGovern's Final Blog Post

I believe that technology's role in society can be summed up into one statement. It's Here To Stay.

If we were to compare the daily lives of the average American in 2024, to someone in say, 1975. They are two completely different worlds. As discussed in class throughout the semester, we concluded that anything and everything comes with advantages and disadvantages. This revolution poses questions such as, Is technology really helping us? Does it make us smarter? Does it improve our life experience? What do you think?

I believe it's fair to say, that technology has definitely improved countless aspects of society and the people with whom it resides. For one, society has utilized technology to improve our healthcare. I found one example while researching that I would have never considered, but found very interesting. 

The fusion of technology and healthcare brought along the invention of Electronic Health Records. (EHR) This has made patient information instantly accessible and created efficient workflows and a stronger relationship between patient and provider. This level of organization is critical for a facility, like a hospital, to operate correctly.

Furthermore, technology has played a key role in addressing one of the biggest issues in healthcare: Chronic Illnesses. One of the more profound inventions that technology has introduced, is Teretinal Imaging. 

This allows providers to capture retinal images that can be instantly monitored and analyzed by board-certified eye care providers. These conveniences and new inventions represent the best in technology. Not only that, but they represent how I believe technology should be used - To help and serve civilization. 

This information is coming from RentinalScreeningsOnline.com

Advances in health care and the medical field, are certainly more than enough to prove the positives of technology in today's world. Lives can be saved and illnesses can be treated and addressed accordingly with superior processes than what was practiced say, 35 years ago. 

That said, is technology healthy? I can say from personal experience, as a student who stares at a screen(s) all day, it can definitely be a little draining as the hours go on and on. Digital eye strain is something that comes with constant technological use. Specifically with computers, phones, tablets, etc. 

Sometimes called, Computer vision syndrome ( CVS ) is one of the most commonly reported symptoms of too much screen time. 

An article written By Kaspersky.com included a study that suggests over 60% of Americans are or have been affected by computer vision syndrome. This includes headaches, blurred vision, and eye strain. This got me thinking not only about my life as a university student in 2024, who can definitely relate to this study but also about the workforce in 2020. Like many, COVID-19 greatly altered my Dad's professional environment.

Before the pandemic, he would leave the house every morning, and drive to his office. This changed when we were all forced to stay inside. Instead of driving to the office, my Dad set up an office in a room in our house and began working from there. He had a big monitor, a desk, and all of his office essentials.

What's interesting, is even though he has returned to the office pretty regularly in the past year or so, post-pandemic, on occasion he still works from his home office. ( In between his weekly commute to Philadelphia ) I have memories of him telling me that the number of people who returned to the office after COVID-19, had subsided.

This made me think about how, in that time frame and even after 2020, technology has transcended itself from just a tool used by people to a necessity of life. It has become a part of how we are as humans.

*Think about how much we use our phones.

Without the invention of online conference platforms, who knows what kind of post-2020 society we would be living in. Here is an interesting article from, Traning Mag, that talks about how technology refined the work-from-home, or remote, experience.

As a student, 100% of my responsibilities involve me to be on my computer in some capacity. It is essentially a desk job where I type away and surf the internet as I complete assignments, and papers and study for exams. This is not exclusively a negative mind you. The Internet provides quick access to resources such as Grammarly, Quizlet, Google Drive, etc. 

From an academic perspective, the internet and technology as a whole, has more than enough positives going for it. I like to read as much as the next guy, but using the gift of the internet sounds more appealing, than tierlessly flipping through books for hours on end for a research paper.

One caveat, however, is my appreciation for handwritten note-taking. Taking notes with a computer is no doubt more reliable and efficient than typing notes on a laptop. I have found that handwriting all of my notes results in enhanced literacy and comprehension. Executive Pens Direct, seems to agree with me.

They state that writing your class/study notes on paper leads to processing information much faster than typing them out. 

Reflecting on my habits as a student exemplifies both the best and worst of technology, as it does for millions of students in high school and college alike. This philosophy is identical to my stance on AI's relationship to screenwriting. ( Which I have written about in previous blogs ) 

AI or technological tools, in general, can not replace the imagination of the human mind. 

Furthermore, everyone's online footprint is different. Some people use social media, others do not, but everyone has a footprint of some size. Personally, I try to keep my footprint rather small. As I have written in the past, I do have an Instagram account, however, I do not post anything myself. I suppose I just never got into it. 

From a professional perspective, I think my approach has advantages. It's true, employers do in fact Google who they choose to hire. This has always been in the back of my mind. Granted, I wouldn't say that's the sole reason why I choose not to post, but I think it's a percentage. Career Builder posted an interesting report about how employers use social media networking to research potential candidates. 

Whether we like it or not, thanks to modern-day technology, what we choose to post online is etched in digital stone, and will follow us for years. 

As stated at the beginning of this blog, technology is here to stay. This statement is not meant to be taken negatively or positively. I am merely addressing it based on the psychology of the 21st century. Technology powers our world, and its integration, beyond American society, has cemented its face on Earth and will continue to further establish itself. 

Self-driving cars will be made, AI will become a mainstream commodity, and sometime in the future, the technological practices of 2024 will be seen as ancient. I believe that technology has its place in society, but it must exist to serve the people who use it. This may seem dramatic, but this discussion reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks" "  

-     Albert Einstein.

Blog Post #10

This round of EOTO presentations was very different from the first. There were many topics and ideas that I had never heard of before. Even myself, before researching my topic, Alternative Media and Civilian Journalism, were for the most part, very oblivious to me, and took time to understand thoroughly before presenting to the class. 

However, there were a few presentations that caught my interest. My favorite presentation topic was one that I was able to relate to and identify with. My favorite presentation was centered around the concept of Cord-Cutting.

This is the idea of cutting your cable and joining the modern world of streaming services. While, I had never heard of the phrase, "Cord Cutting", I am very familiar with the rise of streaming and its implications for cable channels. This is nothing new. The era of streaming services and the death of cable has slowly solidified over time, but it really came to pass during COVID-19.

This article from KPMG talks about the relationship between the pandemic and streaming services: COVID-19 accelerates streaming challenges as well as demand

These streaming services took on a life of their own and took down cable when everyone was huddled away in their homes during the pandemic. Worldwide Isolation was the final nail in the coffin that the streaming business needed to establish itself; 

While taking into account the historical success of Netflix. Personally, television and film consumption took up a substantial portion of my time in that period, and multiple streaming services definitely played a part.  

I have many thoughts about this. I really enjoy streaming services. To the point where I now never use cable to consume my entertainment. Whether it's through my smart TV or applications downloaded onto my phone, streaming services have become my go-to source of media entertainment. 

They have provided not only great convenience but also produced some of the absolute favorite entertainment over the years. My favorite streaming services currently, are Max, Netflix, and Paramount +.

 In my experience, these services provided the greatest content and stand out over the rest by producing content I am personally drawn towards. Today, I would say that I use at least one streaming service every day in some capacity. 

One of the additional points mentioned by the presenter was financial considerations. She mentioned that one of the negatives associated with streaming, was the consistent monthly charge when signing up for one or more platforms simultaneously. 

This is a fair perspective, especially when considering recent price increases of every platform as time goes on, which for many, can be a real turn-off. 

I have found an article that digs into great analytical detail. This comes from CNET and was written by Kourtnee Jackson and Ty Pundlberry in August of 2023. They crunched the numbers and compared the overall cost difference between cable channels and streaming. They wanted to get to the bottom to see if we really are getting the best bang for our buck if we, "Cut our Cable". 

If interested, find the article here: Streaming Services vs. Cable Smackdown: Is One More Affordable?

The next EOTO presentation that I found intriguing, was Spiral Of Silence. This is the tendency for people to stay silent when they find themselves in the minority or have less than popular opinions regarding a controversial topic. 

When people find themselves in a minority, The Spiral Of Silence suggests that they'll hide their opinions or beliefs and choose not to share them with the majority out of fear of social isolation or exclusion.

I found a great video from PBS, talking about confirmation bias and echo chambers. Specifically on social media, and how easy it is for one side to dominate the validity of your feed.  

Thankfully, the video narrowed down two primary methods to keep your social media algorithms clear of such biases:

1 Read diverse content.

- Left / Right

- Multiple perspectives

2 Don't interact with potentially controversial content.

You can find the video here: How Social Media Algorithms Create Echo Chambers | Be MediaWise

I found this one interesting because it related to other EOTO topics discussed by other students. The Spiral Of Silence seems to differ from Confirmation Bias and Echo Chambers. Both Confirmation Bias and Echo Chambers are involved when one seeks to self-justify and solidify their own opinion whether it's true or false.

While the Spiral Of Silence involves shying away and hiding how you truly feel. The other two take place when one actively promotes and voices their opinion without fear, based on no other data than the sheer fact they believe it to be true. 

They all seem to represent different sides of the spectrum and are representative of how people react and behave when they have to decide how they want to be either represented in a group or associated with general public perception.

These two EOTO presentations, while not necessarily related, were the two that stood out to me. Cable Cutting is easy for me to give my two cents on as it relates to how I choose to consume content. 

Spiral Of Silence stood out to me because it related to many EOTO presentations, specifically in my own group 2. While at the same time, having very little prior knowledge of the concept myself. 

Blog Post #9

"It's Not About How You Post. It's If You Post."

This was the most impactful quote and one of the most prominent takeaways from the AI video we watched in class. For the last two years or so, AI has risen to become a very divisive hot topic issue. It has been brewing up for a while, but the era of AI is before us, and now we must decide how we must proceed. As you can imagine, everyone has an answer. What do you think we should do?

 Today's general consensus concerns the morality and responsibility of how AI is administered in society. After watching the video, I really appreciated the special emphasis on AI's relationship to the future of the workforce. The threat that AI poses to taking away countless jobs, specifically in America, is one of the biggest concerns that civilization has when faced with AI. 

Funny enough, the professor of my Digital Imaging class told us that AI-generated artwork threatened his job as a teacher of Adobe programs like Photoshop and Illustrator. Going back to the video, one man predicted that AI would take over 50% of jobs in America in fifteen years. That's crazy!

Mark Talmage Rostron of Nexford University created an extensive article that attempts to forecast how AI will impact the workforce up until 2030

Furthermore, the video showed how an AI program called Alpha GO, was incorporated with a chess-like board game. Interestingly enough, this program would compute and provide moves that no humans could ever fathom. " Algorithms win games," they said. 

This was reinforced later on in the video, when they showed a warehouse full of robotic arms, packaging up items to be delivered. This reminded me of something I remember hearing about a couple of years ago. 

Amazon attempted to utilize drones and artificial robotics in its delivery systems. David Streitfeild of The New York Times reported on Amazon's inclusion of technology with delivery. 

Look Up, It's A Can Of Soup! According to research online, Amazon has been slowly using delivery drones for almost one year. I have never seen one myself, but here is a picture of one:

Additionally, one woman spoke about something that I felt specifically related to my own relationship with the internet. She spoke about how we approach social media with the assumption that we are the ones using it. When in reality, social media is using us. Not only social media but instead of searching on the internet, the internet searches us as we leave behind what's called Digital Exhaust. 

Admittedly, this is not something I've considered very heavily in the past. As I've written in posts in the past, online security has never crossed my mind as a main concern. I was always aware of the threats out there, but to take action and protect myself never solidified genuinely until our recent discussions.  

Furthermore, this video got me thinking about how AI has entered into my own major and interests. I decided to study Media Production due to my love of film. One of my favorite courses that I have taken in previous semesters, has been a screenwriting class.

I very much value and cherish the intensive creative process that goes into writing a high-quality script. The class taught me the importance of leaning into your creativity and perspective. In a sense, your brain and human spirit are your greatest tools as a writer. 

Well AI has certainly made its way into Hollywood! As we all know, the SGA ( Screen Actor's Guild ) and the WGA ( Writer's Guild ) went on strike in pursuit of improving working conditions in the industry. One of the biggest contributors to the 2023 strikes, was AI's inflictions on actors and writers. 

Hollywood studios are now in a period where they have to make a decision on where they stand on applying artificial intelligence when writing scripts. Additionally, Actors refuse to give away their likenesses and refuse to be replaced with AI replications that will be used long after they die. 

My take on AI's relevance in Hollywood? I believe that we must proceed with caution. If we continue with where we're going as a society, AI will only grow and become more powerful. I do not support studios owning and using AI to make a replication of an actor's likeness.

From what I have seen in the past few years, I don't think it can replace genuine performances from real human actors.  Deepfake and de-aging technology have admittedly made impressive strides, but real humans on real sets are guaranteed to be more natural and authentic on screen.

Screenwriting-wise, I think it may be a little complex. Just like actors, you can not artificially replace the pure creativity of a writer's brain. A strong writer's room will always be superior to, "A robot" As Bryan Cranston put it, during his SAG speech over the summer. ( And I agree! ) 

AI programs such as Bard and Chat GPT, COULD, potentially serve as a generator of ideas. I have memories of staring at a white page, unable to get myself to pinpoint where I wanted to take the characters in my script, and that can be difficult to overcome.  

I hypothesize, that in a few short years,  AI text generators will make profound tools to get our minds thinking creatively with examples of where to start a story. But a writer MUST be able to take it from there. AI can NOT serve as a copy-and-paste program.

If you're interested in how the writers resolved the strike, Check out this Article from Wierd

        " In short, the contract stipulates that AI can't be used to write or rewrite any scripts or treatments, ensures that studios will disclose if any material given to writers is AI generated, and protects writers from having their scripts used to train AI without their say so." 

Just like any new tool or resource, the next order of business in society is to weaponize it. AI will be no different. But I would hope that corporate industries, Hollywood, and humans in general, would only use AI with positive intentions going forward.

What do you think?

Blog Post #8

Citizen Journalism and Alternative Media separate themselves from big businesses and governmental control by independently publishing content that promotes diverting views and perspectives on social issues.

According to Smart Capital Mind - alternative media offers different perspectives on topics than what is presented by a corporation and believed by mainstream audiences.

This is thought necessary when industries are unwilling to give dissenting viewpoints equal time to more traditionally acceptable perspectives on topics that generally concern the public.

Alternative media also serves to diverge from everyday news sources that are accessed by the public. For a real-world example, the likes of CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC news channels. 

This type of media attempts to shed light on topics or specified details of topics, that mainstream sources may overlook or avoid altogether. This apprehension may stem from the attempt to placate to what industries believe their audience(s) want to hear and will be attracted to.

Here I have provided a Pew Research Center Graph ( 5 Graphs down ) illustrating how a group of respondents would categorize false information as one of the biggest problems on social media.

Alternative media takes the form of newspapers, websites, radio, television, and movies. Even ebooks would fall under this category. It's important to note, that the actual source of where the media comes from, seems to matter less. 

What's important, is that the creator is producing content with the intent to offer alternate insight that may be considered "Counter-Cultural" at the time. ( Public perception may change )

The idea of alternative Media has existed for decades. However, it became more prominent in the middle of the 20th century. This era brought along a substantial uproar regarding race, religion, lifestyle, orientation, politics, and social organization. 

As you can imagine, alternative media began with printed newspapers and magazines. 

In the 1960's however, low-budget movies, independent radio, and television broadcasts were created and became a quick tool to display any diverting voices about what was going on in the world around them. 

This may be a stretch, but while researching the different styles of alternative media, I had a bit of an epiphany. I have written in previous blogs about my admiration of The Rolling Stones. 

I believe they are relevant to the conversation of alternate media because they are no stranger to intertwining their music with social issues. In fact, their popular 1968 hit Street Fighting Man, shed commentary about antiwar protests in London.

This just goes to show how far back this type of media publishing goes and is a perfect example of taking an issue into your own hands and creating a piece of uncompromised media with an intended message.

Here is an article that goes into a bit more detail if you are interested. ‘Street Fighting Man’: The Story Behind The Stones’ Political Classic

Online personal websites have achieved a top spot in what is to be considered alternative media. Today, you are just one keyword search away from finding just about any stance on any given issue. Beyond a simple definition, the implications allow alternative media to justify its own existence. 

For example, being that it's an election year, at the time of writing this. ( February 2024 ) I expect to see a large portion of the internet voicing different stances and opinions regarding how they feel about the outcome. 

If someone is furious as to who becomes President - in the perspective of alternative media, and by extension the First Amendment, that person would be well within their rights to criticize the decision on a blog, podcast, or website post. 

Take this article by Jeet Heer of, The Nation.com. You may have heard a bit of the bizarre, yet strangely interesting discourse centered around the discussion of Joe Biden's physical condition as President, more specifically his age. 

As peculiar as it may sound, it is an additional high-quality example of an independent source taking a stance: Biden and His Supporters Should Be Honest About His Age.

Civilian Journalism, is the same idea of an independent source providing an uncompromised perspective on social issues. Just based on the definition, this concept is very simply put. 

As stated by Brittanica.com - Citizen Journalism is journalism that is conducted by people who are by no means professional, nor have any prior affiliations or incentive to report one way or another. In other words, they have no one to answer to, except their own perspective. 

This type of journalism has a variety of implications, both good and bad. On one hand, civilian journalism, like alternative media, makes good use of the First Amendment promise. 

Not that I would ever do this, but If I so choose, I could wake up one day, and publish my perspective on how Trump ruined this country during and after his presidency. On the other hand, this type of reporting seems to be a no-strings-attached kind of deal. 

Theoretically, this may lead certain onlookers to read popular blogs intended to promote misinformation and sway a voting populace to gravitate toward their personal political stance. civilian journalism ultimately rests in the hands of the integrity of the journalist. 

Furthermore, I found a pretty interesting article that I believe coincides with the ideas of both alternative media and civilian journalism. This comes from Mapping American Social Movements. 

What this site is discussing is something called the Underground Press. This newspaper served to give voices to marginalized groups in totalitarian societies and help them build stronger communities.

Before the Vietnam War era, the underground newspaper was used to describe the publications of resistance groups in totalitarian societies with radical and countercultural publications.

News media at the time was dominated by uniform television channels and wire services that all fed into the same urban daily newspapers. The underground newspapers, however,  reported on subjects with viewpoints that could not be found in any mainstream media. 

The underground media attacked the mainstream media for its uncritical coverage of the Vietnam War for its casual racism and sexism in their publishing.

The underground newspaper provided an outlet for certain groups to respond and challenge established narratives presented to the public. 

The underground media also stood apart from traditional printing, by including a radical use of graphics such as collages, and color printing. Many groups and individuals published literary magazines, and books of poetry. With its radical and unconventional publishing, the underground press represented itself as a prosecutor to the disruptive social media revolution in the 60s and 70s.

Both Alternative Media and Civilian Journalism present the opportunity to go against the grain and challenge publishers to consider overlooked details of reporting while giving a voice to the voiceless.

Blog Post #7

 

Online privacy is an interesting issue. I am 21 years old at the time of writing this blog, meaning, I was born into the digital age. My privacy online and how my data is monitored, does not enter my mind very often. However, I am fully aware of the dangers of the internet and the vulnerability of your data. 

Regarding internet safety, I had an interesting experience over winter break in December. I was home with my family, and one day I walked into our living room and my Dad told me that he had received a notice that I had some form of data compromisation, due to one of the websites I had browsed. I was shocked to hear this, and to this day, have no idea as to what caused this. A few days later, my Mom sent me and some family members an article discussing how to stay safe online. Unfortunately, after searching on my phone, I am unable to find it. However, this article is very similar in concept. 

Find it here: Internet Safety for Kids and Teens

The first Ted Talk, by Juan Enriquez.

I found it to be most relevant to me, as a young adult who is predominately online. Juan discussed internet privacy and brilliantly related it to the permanency of tattoos. " Electronic tattoos shout," he says. I agree. Having caution and being careful with what you post is very important for a multitude of reasons. In a professional sense, it's in your best interest to present yourself decently and ask yourself how you wish to be received online.  As years have gone on, my social media usage ( in terms of posting my own content ) has greatly decreased, so this has not been very prevalent in my life. 

Furthermore, I really enjoyed the Tdd Talk from Catherine Crump. 

She talked about the rise in how police departments have increased it's mass surveillance, by tapping into street cameras and scanning license plates. She posed the question to us, to think about how this rise in mass surveillance, has become a threat to our civil liberties. To me, it requires a fine line of reason. This is all hypothetical, but it is interesting to ponder. My opinion is, that society must reach an ideal conclusion where citizens can live safe lives, and not worry about the livelihood of their data. While at the same time, allowing the police to protect and serve the people, and find a way to use all tools at their disposal, to do their jobs efficiently.

As discussed in class, there are ways in which we can protect our data. such as a VPN, alternate search engines, as well as clearing out our G-Mail. Previously, I did not consider the implications of my internet presence or digital footprint. However, I am now wondering how to safely navigate online, and protect my data from threats. It is interesting to think about just how easy it is for large corporations to collect our data, even if we don't realize it. For example, we talked a bit in class about how Google has access to every single bit of data that we put out through our daily search engines. In terms of data protection, as I mentioned, I have never put too much thought into monitoring my digital footprint. I think about it in similar terms to my iPhone. I don't know the exact logistics of this, however, I have no doubt that Apple has been keeping tabs on all users of their products; iPhones, Apple watches, laptops, etc. 

Digital privacy and security is a complicated topic, and have never been more relevant. I am glad to have discussed this in class, and now I have a stronger understanding of digital privacy.  

  

Blog Post #6

When I think about why anti-war material has become hard to come by in mainstream news, I don't think I have a definitive answer. I would guess that, in part, it stems from the majority of narratives or agendas being pushed out by the media of modern-day. News industries and organizations tend to only report on what they feel is in line with how they want the public to perceive them. As someone who does not watch the news very often, this issue presents itself as a bit complicated to me. However, due to my limited existing knowledge of algorithms and how a media company's relationship with an audience solidifies, it is not a far leap to assume that 2024 news outlets have strayed away from establishing themselves as a reliable source of public information, and have taken on the perception that catering to one political stance is of more importance.

Here is the site that I am referencing below: AntiWar.com

Looking at this site and seeing all of the different reports indicating that war is very much prevalent across the world, and making it very clear that America has played a substantial role in the epidemic, makes me ask questions about the current news media. 

If it is true, that in a sense, anti-war messaging, has indeed been replaced with pro-war news, or news that showcases a narrative that is in some way opposite, I suppose I'm only left to ask why? What outlets specifically have played a part? Again this goes back to my inferior knowledge of modern-day politics, but I am beginning to think of possible explanations.  For one, I would think that it depends on how a company or news outlet wishes to be seen or perceived by current-day audiences and viewers of news through TV, websites, social media, etc. 

I did manage to find the Washington Post's Policies and Guidelines page:  Read Here

This page stood out to me, as I think it is relevant to thinking about where the intentions of news outlets lie, and where they should lie. As well as who is the best choice in deciding how they operate. NOTE: This is not an endorsement of The Washinton Post, as I say, I do not keep up with politics, nor am I a consistent follower of this outlet. However, I thought their policies and practices were relevant to discerning this topic of conversation. 

At the top of this page, is a quote that I found intriguing:

"Democracy Dies In The Darkness"

To me, I think statements like this are relevant to this conversation. To revisit the original problem, if in fact anti-war media has been intentionally replaced by current modern-day outlets, I think is a representation of democracy dying in the darkness.  If you ask me, the job of a news outlet that is responsible for producing information for the public, their number one priority should be impartiality and honesty in their material. 

If anti-war has been intentionally silenced and made difficult to find, then, in my opinion, and to my limited knowledge, would be to drop any preconceived agendas or playacting to whoever that company believes to be most agreeable in the context of today's modern political climate. However, that said, I do not believe this should result in the elimination of opinion pieces. If a reporter/or writer wants to share an opinion with their audience, that should be considered to be common practice. The important part is to not mistake their opinion publishing as any form of fact. 

Again, I do not consider myself political, or educated on current events ( Unfortunately) This blog post is simply my perception or interpretation of the proposed issue of antiwar reporting being silenced by modern-day news outlets. I'm sure there are others with superior opinions on the subject matter, but this one is mine. 

I think this 2021 article from the Reuters Institute For The Study Of Journalism, drives the point home:

Impartiality is still key for news audiences

Blog Post #5

The first presentation that piqued my interest, was the Cassette Tape. This presentation was created by someone in my group, and it had a few points that stood out to me. Firstly, I was very glad to hear that the presenter mentioned The Rolling Stones' utilization of the cassette tape in the 60s. This was most prominent with popular songs such as I Can't Get No Satisfaction. This was great to hear because I am a huge Rolling Stones fan. I have listened to their music religiously for the past 2 - 3 years. When she was presenting this information to the class, I couldn't help but smile and nod my head and say, "Yeah that's true." Below is an image I really like. Taken by Aubrey Powell in 1973. In accordance with the Goats Head Soup album.

Here is an awesome YouTube Video someone made at a museum that houses the original tape recorder! Unfortunately, it doesn't provide any details as to where it's located, but I thought it would be worthwhile to include. 

Youtube Video

Furthermore, to add to that, the Stone's relationship to the Cassette tape goes beyond the Out Of Our Heads 1965 album. They also used this awesome technique on some other famous songs. From what I know, they incorporated the cassette tape when recording, Jumpin' Jack Flash, and Street Fighting Man. All amazing songs that mixed alternate tunings with revolutionary recording methods to create some of my favorite tones and sounds in all of Rock N Roll history. As a guitar player myself, I see Keith Richards, among others, as a revolutionary artist. His influence is a substantial reason as to why I have continued to play for the last 3 years. Aside from the stones, I'm just a music fan in general. So hearing about the originality of the cassette tape and how it evolved into MP3 and our iPhone, made for one of my personal favorite presentations. 

Article about Keith's Cassette Tape

Other presentations caught my eye as well. I thought the telegraph presentation was interesting too. In part because I did not know that the telegraph was used to communicate and send signals to trains carrying supplies. My knowledge of the telegraph was slim to none beforehand.

But this anecdote got my curiosity going. I wonder how exactly that worked. I suppose they would communicate via radio signals about what cargo each train would be carrying. This is something new to me, and I was glad that the presenter included it. 

I did find a little article that goes into more detail as to how trains would work with the telegraphs, in terms of transmitting information. Makes me think about how limitations in technology impacted society, and how modernization in the last 1800s and early 1900s was implemented.

This article talks about Granville Woods, the original railway telegraph developer. It is from the:

National Inventors Hall Of Fame website. 

Additionally, the presentation about Bluetooth included one of my particular favorite pieces of information. I thought it was very cool how the Bluetooth logo, was derived from a Nordic character. I also was unaware that a historical figure originated the name as well. The reason that this interested me, was because If I had one million guesses, I never would've guessed that Bluetooth had ties to such ancient history. That was the wildest thing I heard from all of the presentations because it was so out of left field. Though I was very glad to hear it. I was attracted to the connections to the deep mythology of the origins of Bluetooth and Norse mythology as well. 

From what I recall from the presentation, I believe that I have found a pretty cool image ( drawing ) of the original Nordic figure that initiated the Bluetooth name. Looks very cool. Just looking at this, drives the point home. I just think it's crazy to think about how such a modern invention, could date back to events from centuries ago.