Bringing the Dark to Light

There are three layers of the internet; the clear net, deep web, and dark net or dark web. The clear net is the first layer which are websites you can get to such as Google and Yahoo. The next layer is the deep web, websites that require you to pass through security such as your email or your Facebook page. The last layer is the dark net. The dark net are networks that requires special software to get into.

Terry Gross from Fresh Air podcast "Infiltrating 'The Dark Net,' Where Criminals, Trolls And Extremists Reign", interviews Jamie Bartlett, director of the Center of the Center for the Analysis of Social Media, about the dark net. They talk about how to get into the dark net and what people use it for and why.

The dark net was originally created to allow the U.S. Naval intelligence officers to browse the net without giving themselves away. The network is completely anonymous. A person's location or any kind of information about them are hidden. It is remarkably easy to get on the dark net. All someone needs to do is to download a free software online, and it looks like any other web browser. There are about 50,000 sites, most selling illegal products or services. It has come to be known as the black market version of eBay or Amazon. An individual pays for the product or service with bitcoin, a crypto-currency, and it gets delivered to you.

The question everyone is probably asking is "Why haven't governments shut down the dark net yet?" Bartlett says even though there are a lot of illegal activities happening on the dark web, there are people out there that use it for social benefits. The benefits of internet freedom and of internet privacy are so enormous, not just in a democratic country but in a country that is under control by a brutal dictator. Should we bring down a system that provides protection and privacy for people who wants to voice their opinion because the bad guys are using it for illegal activities?

When Does it Stop Being Artificial?

Can we build artificial intelligence without losing control over it? Sam Harris tries answering this question in his TED talk presentation. Harris paints a grim future of robots taking over the world. He says in the future we would either stop advancing our computer's hardware and software or create A.I. that will be smarter than we are. Super machine that will think "about a million times faster than the minds that built it".



Machines that can build other machines. Sound familiar? Hollywood have been creating movies based around this for years. Terminator is one of the most popular A.I. apocalyptic movies about A.I. going rogue, taking over the world and destroying humans, showing us what can be our future if we aren't cautious.


Harris then goes into the best case scenario of super A.I. Super machines that works just as we want them to. Machines that will be "labor-saving" and do all jobs. Humans would be free from working. Unemployment will sky rocket. This sounds fantastic, but Harris says there will be wealth inequality. People who create/own these efficient robots will be the only ones profiting and everyone else who is unemployed will not have any money to buy anything. I disagree this will happen. I believe when this happens, world currency would change from money to something different. Or maybe currency will become obsolete all together. Everything will just be free because A.I. will create an abundance supply of life necessities.

Harris offers a interesting and relevant critique of super A.I in his presentation. I do agree that robotics will play a major role in our industrial and civilian future. Checks and balances are as critical to A.I. engineering as many other aspects to life. Too much of any good thing can always be a bad thing.

How Best Buy and Newegg are Using Facebook and Twitter

With 1.71 billion active users on Facebook[1] and 313 million users on Twitter[2] worldwide in 2016, social media has become a major way for businesses to reach out to their customer base. Two organizations that are utilizing these platforms are Newegg with more than 1.4 million likes on Facebook and 155k followers on twitter, and Best Buy with 7 million likes on Facebook and 831k twitter followers.

Facebook and Twitter offer one major benefit for these two organization and that is free marketing. Best Buy paid nearly $775 million on advertising in 2013[3]. These ads are only aired or printed for a short time period, whereas a consumer can find any previous ad Best Buy posted on Facebook in case it was missed the first time. Newegg advertises their products the same way. They post and/or tweet their promotional deal and based on the "likes" and "retweets," they can determine what to focus on with their customer base.

Newegg's Facebook and Twitter followers are usually consumers that are interested in video games and building their own computer. They offer sales on many types of hardware that allows you to customize your very own computer or to upgrade your current one. Best Buy advertises towards a wider range of consumers compared to Newegg. Best Buy focuses on modern technology for the family household such as home appliances, entertainment systems and tech gadgets.

Even though Newegg and Best Buy are very active on Facebook and Twitter, they seem to only respond to consumers on Facebook. Best Buy seems to be better at replying to a customer's questions or concerns than Newegg. That is most likely because Best Buy is a much bigger organization and can afford a customer service representative that is dedicated to social media.

With so many people using social media as a way to do business and keep in contact,  what better way to advertise or get your product out there than to use Facebook or Twitter? Everyone will see it some way or another and it makes it easier to contact them about questions you have and to ensure you receive a timely response.

[1] Fiegerman, Seth. "Facebook Is Unstoppable." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 27 July 2016. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

[2] "Twitter Usage/Company Facts" Twitter. Twitter, 30 June 2016. Web. 27 Oct. 2016

[3] Kumar, Kavita. "Best Buy Shifts Emphasis from Super Bowl Ads to Digital Marketing." Star Tribune. Star Tribune, 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.

Why I'm at MATC

I am pursuing my degree in the Web and Software Developer program at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Why did I decide to pursue this program? When I was younger, making a personal page was the "cool" thing to do and some of the websites allowed HTML coding. I didn't know it at the time, but as I was turning my page into something that described me visually, I was teaching myself to code. Ever since then I believe programming to be my passion in life.

Now to why I chose MATC instead other schools in the Milwaukee area. I needed a school that has great programs, something I could afford and that is flexible with my schedule. I currently work full-time with a night shift schedule. MATC has an abundance of classes that are offered online, and many night classes that I am able to attend before I come into work.

This will be my second semester here and I am loving every minute of it. From all the people I meet to all the new things I'm learning. Once I finish my degree and become employed, I know I can apply everything I learned here to the ever growing IT programming field.