Blog Post #4 - EOTO Com Tech Timeline

 The History of the Cassette Tape

The compact cassette tape was invented by Lou Ottens. He ran the development of the product for the Dutch company, Philips, who first produced them; Ottens was the technical director of Philips’s audio division at the time. The product was introduced at the radio exhibition, Funkausstellung, held in Berlin in 1963.

The reel-to-reel technology that came before compact tapes was unreliable; the products were larger and easily damaged. Ottens took his frustration and decided to create something more user friendly and set goals to "make it smaller, cheaper, and easier to handle." He succeeded in just that.

His tape technology began spreading quickly throughout the 60’s and was becoming even more useful and accessible to a number of ages. Tapes could be played in cars but also used in fun children's toys like the “Talkboy” and “Talkgirl” that were on the market in 1992-1999. Manufactured by Tiger Electronics, they are handheld voice recorders with a fun variable-speed voice changer. You may remember seeing this in the popular holiday movie Home Alone 2; Kevin records his uncle in the shower, and he lost his family in the airport because he was changing the batteries in his “Talkboy.” (maybe do a demonstration or just show them). Another tape recorder, the “Walkman,” was introduced to the market in 1979 and was wildly popular all around the world.

Cassette tapes played a vital role in helping indie and punk bands spread their style; underground artists began recording and distributing entire albums on cassette tapes, reaching a larger audience with more ease. Demo tapes aided hip-hop’s development as a genre. Radio shows recognized the impact of the cassette tape as well, attributing some of their success to the fact more people heard their shows over tape instead of live because tapes could be distributed widely from hand to hand.

Cassette tapes helped in both the distribution and formation phases of content. They have helped authors remember and quickly record ideas and notes that led to them writing great novels. Bands' legacies like the Rolling Stones would have looked completely different if it weren’t for Ottens’ creation. Their number one record, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” would not exist without help from their guitarist Keith Richards’ bedside Philips recorder. The device caught a guitar riff he no memory of writing but had played during the night after waking from a dream.

The invention of the cassette tape sparked what Ottens referred to as a “worldwide revolution in the individual availability of music,” that surprised even him. He will be remembered for his products and inventions, but largely because he created something that was not only efficient for the time but connected people. His invention created a culture based around mixtapes. Listeners could record the radio and compile all their favorite artists into one tape. This recording could be played in the car or most likely passed off to a friend. This accessibility could also be utilized to create personalized albums or playlists as a gift for an occasions like Valentine’s Day to confess one’s feelings or birthdays to express love and gratitude. Cassette tapes were truly versatile and appealed to many demographics.

Although the cassette tape was deemed successful and widely used for two decades or so, the next project wasn’t far behind as production for the compact disc began in the 1970’s, with its commercial release in 1982. Even Ottens himself was recorded saying "The cassette is history," and "I like when something new comes." He himself listened to most of his music on discs which he also helped to pioneer.

Blog Post #3

 Eight Values of Freedom

The first amendment protects our freedom of speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition as Americans. In other words, our freedom of expression. Scholars have developed eight speech theories to describe why that is so important to us: Marketplace of Ideas, Participation in Self-Government, Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfillment, Check on Government Power, Promote Tolerance, Promote Innovation, and Protect Dissent.

One of the Values of Free Expression that caught my attention and I have seen used consistently today is number eight, Protect Dissent. It clearly states the fact we have the right to disagree with the government and everyone else. Our government cannot and should not use compelled affirmation of belief to force us to believe anything. How are we supposed to spark change if we do not have the right to address issues and weigh in on them? I love how it reads that it is our “patriotic duty to criticize the government.” Once old enough to vote, taking part in an election comes with the responsibility to educate oneself and make a decision on where one stands with certain policies or decisions made for our country. Our country will never be perfect and will always involve disagreement, but it can be better if we allow everyone the right to disagree and encourage modification when necessary.

In Steve Shiffrin’s Dissent, Injustice and the Meanings of America, he discusses the benefits of encouraging young people and all who can, to challenge what injustice they may see. His “dissent-based” approach involves the invitation to open more criticism towards the wealthy and powerful so we can avoid unjust public debate and “loosening the grip of commercial interests on the media.” I find this to be an interesting point. Adoption of the media has given all who choose to utilize it, a platform to share their thoughts with a large audience. Among the thousands of ads and posts, it can be hard to see the information one may actually be interested in or benefit from. While all are free to choose how they want to use the various social platforms available, it can be easy to become distracted from what their original and sole purpose is: to share information. Instagram was created so people could post memories from their life and share that with the people important to them. Now it is a place of online shopping, influencers, scammers, etc. It can feel exhausting to be on the app because ideas, products, and lifestyles are constantly being pushed into your view. It has led to the issue of how online influence can be abused by some and used to dampen other’s freedom to express themselves. A similar concept can be discussed regarding another speech theory.

While I believe theory six, Promote Tolerance, is very important, it can be taken to the extreme by today’s public and cause people to lose sight of the fact we all have the right to disagree with everyone. After all, if no one disagreed, (a highly unlikely instance), there would be no use for the first amendment. Social media has given the masses the power to take down all who they disagree with. If someone shares their opinion online, they are at risk of being shunned and ostracized due to the backlash from “cancel culture.”

For example, in April of 2023 at a basketball game, two women were criticized for making fun of a woman in the background of a video she posted on TikTok. A New York Post article reported on their response in which they admitted their actions were wrong and should have handled the situation better, but explained they felt extremely uncomfortable being videoed for around 5-10 minutes and were receiving terrible messages from strangers on the internet. Yes, bullying should not be condoned, but did their choice to act somewhat inappropriately towards the woman deserve the subsequent punishment of hundreds of death threats?

Even the woman who had shared the video posted a reply to the situation explaining all she wanted was an in person apology, which she received, and didn’t approve of the online harassment towards the two women. People questioned if it had turned into the illegal action of doxing: searching for and publishing private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the internet, typically with malicious intent. It’s interesting to me how a use of a freedom can turn into an unlawful action. If that is now a common occurrence and outcome of people trying to create norms, as stated in theory six, maybe that freedom needs to be more clearly outlined.

Blog Post #2

 Reflection on the U.S. Supreme Court

Being assigned to watch two videos on the Supreme Court, the most powerful judicial body on Earth, was fascinating. The beginning of the first video helped me to learn some general information: there are nine justices, they are trained in the law, and serve an average of 16 years. The court receives 100 new cases every week about 7,000 a year, many being written explanations of why people disagree with past court rulings, and the justices meet weekly in conference to decide what cases they will accept and decide and discuss/vote on cases that have already been argued.

Besides these facts, I didn’t know much about the Supreme Court and I haven’t found it to come up in many conversations I’ve been a part of. Other than the Roe v. Wade decision in February 2022, I haven’t heard of other more recent cases being referenced in school or daily conversation. Cases involving large ideas like racism aren’t, I wouldn’t as relevant, but something I haven't had to worry about seeing solved or disputed over. The Dred Scott (seen left) decision interested me as it shifted the view of the Supreme Court for many people. It added so much to the controversy of abolishing slavery, creating more tension in the country, and helped spark the start of the civil war. Learning of one case having so much influence made me understand Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s point of current justice’s having an advantage; they can refer to and learn from the 200 years of history of the court and are able to see “ the folly of ideas" and "wisdom of others.”

Something I never considered before watching the video was how the justices can’t act as activists and bring their own ideas of problems to the court; they have to wait for the people to bring it to them. After pondering this idea, I realized how it could be very problematic if justices could present their own criticisms and issues whenever they wished. While they help in the process of change, they themselves must focus on staying impartial. One justice made the comparison of being appointed to the court as being struck by lightning. While I always assumed being in a justice’s position would be overwhelming, it goes far beyond what I had imagined. Justice David H. Souter shared that a few of his colleagues said it can take 3-5 years to become more comfortable, saying they only start doing their work properly when they forget they are there, which takes time.

I didn’t realize how much opinion writing is involved in a justice’s work. The second video explains it’s the most time consuming part of their position because their decision binds all other courts to their reasoning. I was shocked to know this process can take up to months, the first draft of each justice’s reasoning taking about 4 weeks alone! Justices often redraft in order to put their best effort into swaying the others to their opinion. The opinions with the court case decisions that are published, can range from a few pages to 80. It’s clear how much effort each justice puts into each case.

It has to be daunting being a new justice around the other members of court who have been to multiple conferences and have more experience. I like how watching video allows the viewer to get an inside look into how justice feels. After all, when someone is so respected and has power, it can be hard to remember they are human; just like us they have a hard time entering new situations or accepting when they have the right to weigh in and certain privileges.

Justice Sandra O’ Connor emphasized the fact each case gets the same individual consideration. It doesn’t matter the status of whoever wrote and submitted it, everyone will be considered. I admired Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist’s system of letting each justice talk before one of them talks twice so everyone can share their thoughts. In class discussions, I have found it difficult to add in my two cents at times because the same few of my peers would regularly speak and not really give the opportunity for more voices to enter the conversation. Sometimes I am part of few that can get caught up and not realize how our additions may be taking away from someone else's speaking power. It’s a great idea to adopt a simple system such as Chief Justice Wiliam H Rehnquist’s so everyone feels they have the chance to share their perspective.

Blog Post #1

   Top 5 Sources of News and Information

    As an 18-year old who will be voting in a major election for the first time this year, I have been working on prioritizing my knowledge of current events. I find I am hesitant at times, to trust what I see in the media, and it can be very difficult to discern the truth from fake news. I only recently joined the social media world and it’s very easy to be misinformed by an eye-catching post or video from an unreliable source. I look forward to learning about my peers' favorite news sources so I am able to begin expanding my knowledge and feel confident in what opinions I hold and share.

#1 Morning Wire

A source I rely on and visit almost daily, is the  Morning Wire. It is a podcast presented by Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief, John Bickley and co-host Georgia Howe. It shares the latest updates on politics, education, sports, culture, etc. I’ve been a listener for about a year and I enjoy listening to the 10-15 minute episodes on the way to classes or the gym. It’s a fast and convenient way for me to stay up to date on information about what is going on. It covers news on schools across America, the Israel-Hamas War, background information on a Netflix special regarding a murder case, candidates and debates for our upcoming presidential election, and more. They bring on guests that specialize on the certain topics they may be discussing each day and have many contributors/reporters that regularly speak including Cabot Phillips, Megan Basham, Amanda Prestigiacomo, Tim Pearce, and David Marcus. They launched their first episode Monday July 19th, 2021, and have been releasing new episodes daily, as well as short afternoon updates.

#2 Instagram

As I mentioned before, I am relatively new to social media, and downloaded Instagram for the first time about two and half years ago. While it can be a rumor and fabricated news filled platform, it can be reliable if used with caution. For example, during one of my first few scrolls I came across a video of what I thought to be a rare moose with albinism that I shared with my mom, an avid moose lover. To my disappointment, my mom noticed the video had been edited and it was in fact just a plain, old, normal moose. To avoid similar embarrassing interactions, when I scroll through posts now and come across celebrity or political updates that interest me, I dig deeper. I visit the information’s source, or find the real one, and confirm the reality of it; sometimes this includes a short search on Safari and visits to other online sources. I also rely on news organizations profiles whose posts have a small introduction into an update and provide a link to a full story anyone can take advantage of and access.

#3 CNN

CNN or the Cable News Network, is a news channel founded in 1980. They have a website that provides stories on topics such as Entertainment, Business, the United States, Health, Politics, Sports, etc. I often refer to their site when I'm researching for my scripts for Vision club, the news organization on campus. They constantly release short, up to date articles that are a fast read and full of useful information. I have recently used it to stay updated on the caucuses being held for the upcoming presidential election. They directly quote their sources and are found to be relatively unbiased.

#4 WFMY News 2

   

Another source I rely on when writing my Vision scripts is the WFMY News 2 website. The station serves as the CBS affiliate for the Piedmont Triad region. While being aware of our country’s current events is very important, so is knowing what is happening here in North Carolina, especially the Greensboro and High Point Area. I like to be aware of local crime and the site offers news stories, weather updates, and NC sport’s scores/schedules. Just today I learned our area would be receiving another blast of arctic air this weekend, which I am not looking forward to. The articles are rather short and they also have many featured videos if someone may prefer more visual aids.

#5 Wikipedia

When I’m in need of a quick answer I often turn to Wikipedia. With most searches, a small Wikipedia section appears to the right with a short explanation. While it is edited by volunteers which can negatively affect its reliability, it is free and accessible.  I wouldn't reference the site on important classwork as there are far more credible resources to turn to, but it offers information on almost every topic and can be useful in simple social conversations. I appreciate how each page is organized by small sections which are easy to navigate.