Central Question: How has the transition from print newspapers to online newspapers affected the ways in which Americans produce, receive, absorb, analyze, and participate in daily news coverage?

Vote.com- Dick Morris
Morris’s thesis is, essentially, the following:
• Due to the rise the Fifth Estate, the public will demand greater depth of story and politicians will be forced to bow to these demands
• The news will no longer be dictated and distributed by only a few top journalists and/or editors
• The Internet will destroy the bi-partisan nature of American politics

However, Morris also acknowledges that the Internet’s ability to do these things will be dictated by its financial viability. In his book, Dick Morris gauges a news-site’s financial viability by the following equation: Visitors • Visits • Impressions per Visit = Total Impressions.

According to Morris, those websites with the most Total Impressions can sell the most advertisements, and are, therefore, the most financially viable.

Conclusions:

1-Though I think there is some truth to Morris's this thesis, it also remains largely unachieved. I think that what we have seen, instead, is that though the Internet has certainly become a tool of the masses, it has also been wildly misused by the masses. Though many thought the Internet would give the public the opportunity to call bs, it has also given the public the opportunity to create bs.

2- I do agree with Morris that the Internet has the potential to weaken bi-partisan politics. The problem, however, comes with the fact that the Internet allows us complete freedom in conveying a dismay with the news venues it has created. We have corporate-controlled news venues that sell us the news, and news venues run by individuals or small organizations that respond in anger, inundating the public with an overwhelming amount of messages. Where is the compromise we need?

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1.) Facebook Relationships by percentages
a. Single – 199 (26.96%)
b. In a relationship – 213 (28.86%)
c. In an open relationship – 3 (0.004%)
d. It’s complicated – 9 (0.01%)
e. Engaged – 32 (0.04%)
f. Married – 48 (0.065%)
g. No Status – 234 (31.7%)
h. I would additionally like to figure out the percentage of these relationships that are actually real outside of Facebook
2.) People who are engaged and number of Wall Posts in comparison to number of friends:
a. Erin – 39 (0.05% of friends)
b. Maria – 73 (0.06% of friends)
3.) Survey of people’s thoughts on Facebook and relationships
a. https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1223345233167
b. Questions:
i. Do you think Facebook has changed how relationships are viewed by members of society? Why or why not?
ii. Are you in a Facebook “relationship”
iii. What is your relationship status on Facebook?
iv. Are you in a real relationship outside of Facebook?
v. With regards to your current or most recent relationship, when did you update your relationship on Facebook in relation to the actual day the relationship began?
vi. Please comment on the term “Facebook Official” with regards to relationships.
vii. If there is anything else you’d like to add regarding relationships and Facebook it would be very much appreciated!
4.) Interviews with specific people
a. Someone in a real relationship both in and out of facebook
b. Someone in a real relationship only outside of facebook
c. Someone in a fake relationship only inside of facebook
d. Someone really engaged both in and out of facebook
e. Someone falsely engaged on facebook
f. Someone really married both in and out of facebook
g. Someone falsely married on facebook

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*CHANGED FROM ORIGINAL TOPIC*

Central question: Does the internet, (and in the case of myself and my peers, through social networking web sites), place the U.S. public at a greater risk for cyber-terrorism?

Research format:

Cyber-terrorism, definition:
According to United States Institute of Peace, Quoting Computer Science Professor Dorothy Denning - unlawful attacks and threats of attacks against computers, networks and the information stored therein...to intimidate or coerce a government or its people...of political or social objectives...[V]iolence against persons or property...caus[ing] enough harm to generate fear. Attacks that lead to death or bodily injury, explosions, or severe economic loss would be examples.

Focus: Capabilities of hackers, in the hands of international and regional terrorist groups.
Examples:
- Hesbollah's use of Facebook to learn of potential kidnapping targets on Israeli military bases: http://www.metimes.com/Editorial/2008/09/08/cyber_terrorism_perils_of_the_internets_social_networks/4637/
- Bombings in Ahmedabad and Dehli, India, by hacking un-protected wi-fi networks: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-Govt-must-take-steps-to-tackle-cyber-terrorism-/367253
- Widespread availability of civil constructions, such as dams, which make author Dan Verton particularly paranoid: http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/congress/2004_h/040224-verton.htm


Fieldwork: Classwide, and otherwise survey regarding posted Facebook information, knowledge of privacy policies, and threats of exposure.

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How has the Internet affected copyright and intellectual property laws and issues?

Original material is protected by copyright upon its creation and the creator has exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the work, as well as the right to create other works derived from the original.

The material must be “in a fixed tangible medium and be original.” The idea of what is in a fixed tangible form is under question when it comes to the Internet:
• If something is copied and put on the Internet, is the online copy an original?
• If something created electronically in a fixed and tangible medium?
• If something is created on a computer and the sent over the Internet and not saved on the computer, is that material protected?
o Triad System Corp. v. Southeastern Express Co. found material in a computer’s random access memory “sufficiently fixed to be protected.”

All of these issues will become more and more important as time goes on and the Internet grows. Eventually these issues will need to be addressed by the Supreme Court or other larger body of legislature.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
• Implements two treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization
• Criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works.
• Criminalizes the act of circumventing an access control, whether or not there is actual infringement of copyright itself.
• Heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet.
• Limits the liability of ISP’s for copyright infringement by their users
• There are certain exemption rules which are updated every three years

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