0-5 minutes:
This documentary was made in the year 2000. These hacktivists fight against global capitalism as well as large transnational companies (Kelly, 2002). With each of the four character's operating skills, they work together, virtually to fight governments and corporations (Kelly, 2002).
HACKTIVISM
What is it? Most of you probably think that hackers are people who like to cause trouble and harm to the Internet. However, hacktivism is defined as hacking for a specific cause on the Internet. Hacktivists are people who work either alone or with non-governmental groups (NGOs) to fight with electronic civil disobedience for such a cause (Still, 2005).
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION:
Get together with a few people next to you and discuss your thoughts on what we have just learned about hacktivism.
1. Did you ever think of hacktivists working to do good or have you ever thought of them as troublemakers?
2. What do you think of them now?
5-10 minutes:
HACKING ETHIC
What does development of the Internet and the Open Source Movement have to do with these hacker ethics? Hacktivists are working to control authority on the Internet, they're working to provide free access to all the information on the Internet with the hacking tools that are already available for them to use (Still, 2005).
CORPORATIONS
There's the idea that computer programming is the intellectual property and there's the idea of information. These two ideas are opposing views of each other.
In addition, Microsoft engages in politics by working with the Chinese to gain agreements. At the same time, they are not acknowledging their country's human rights violations (Still, 2005).
HACKTIVISTS
Hacktivists use their power to stand up against corporations. On the other hand, corporations and the government use rhetoric to frame hackers as destructive, unproductive, and a menace to society. This is where most of us get the negative idea that hackers are causing trouble to the Internet (Still, 2005).
10-15 minutes:
SHORT POP QUIZ:
1. What is hacktivism?
2. Who are hacktivists?
Some hacktivists do not work independently, but instead with other organizations like non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (Still, 2005). Other hackers work by themselves or with other hackers.
There is some debate upon hacktivists' ways of plan. (Still, 2005).
These organizations give a way for hacktivists to talk to each other about their plans and outlooks. Here is a great example: Hacktivismo is a real hacktivist organization that works towards free information for all people. Hacktivismo has a specific location to meet at virtually (Still, 2005).
HACKTIVISMO
With a simple Hacktivismo Declaration, this hacktivist organization made their intentions clear and public to the virtual community on their website: Hacktivismo Declaration. This declaration serves rhetorically to declare its position and distinguish it apart from other hackers or dissidents who lack similar declarations or offer different ones (Still, 2005).
15-20 minutes:
What does this organization actually do to try to combat censorship of information?
In his article, "Hacking for a cause", Brian Still writes, "...a Web browser, Peekabooty, that resists monitoring and censorship from nation-states, such as China, that seek to filter or deny Internet access to its citizens..." (2005). Another thing that Hacktivismo has is the Camera/Shy tool, letting users keep secret information inside graphic documents on the Internet (Still, 2005).
However, we wonder what they are actually being used for being that with access, you can send information to someone else through a graphics file such as Graphical Interchange File (GIF).
Hacktivismo aims to avoid being used for evil and harm, such as child pornography. Hacktivismo also has their own Hacktivisto-Enhanced Source Software License (HESSLA) Agreement (Still, 2005). This is the punish those who take advantage of their ability to access the information and files and use it against the rules. This is one way that makes Hacktivismo more organized than other hacker groups (Still, 2005).
Hacktivismo is different from other hacker groups, because the people who who are organizing in this group have decided they want to have this, because this is necessary for their tools to do the most good and to do what they originally intended them to be used for.
There are other ways these hacktivists use to define themselves as a unique, electronic community separate
from the larger, loosely connected hacker community or computer underground. One of the many ways these hacktivists differentiate themselves from other hacker groups is that they have a meeting place or virtual location only for its members to interact (Still, 2005).
20-25 minutes:
SUCCESS
The success is earned after a slow, long process. It is the result of a progression with small steps.
The idea of people trading technology for money is what motivates hacktivists to do what they do (Still, 2005). A great example is Google (Still, 2005).
MORE RHETORIC
Fear includes an opposing view, challenging to identify, classify. There is the fear of controlling people.
The Patriot Act looks at what they are doing and monitors them in ways that were never allowed before (Still, 2005).
CONCLUSIONS
To this day, hacktivist tools are still out there being used. These tools are still in the process.
People in the public society are becoming influenced of the hacktivism idea and spreading it to help them become aware of this great idea.
25-30 minutes:
To this day, hacktivists continue their work for free flow of information. This is unsettled. Still writes, "...the Global Internet Freedom Act, originally proposed in the 107th U.S. Congress, would, if passed into law, support the development and deployment of technologies to stop Internet censorship" (2005).
INTERNET AND DEMOCRACY
There are pros and there are cons.
Let us begin with the pros. First, it is fast to get news from around the world through social networking such as Twitter and Facebook. Second, you can find what you need quickly, because there is a lot of information out there on the Internet. Third, if you want together with people that think like you and have a lot in common with you, you can do that easily, despite the the distance between locations.
Now, onto the cons. Some people narrow the information on the Internet to only what they want to see, meaning you can miss out on other information, possibly even important, life-threatening information. There is an "echo chamber effect" defined as when you only hear what you already agree with, because it is possible to say, "I know that. I do not want to hear what they are going to say, because I am not going to agree with it and I do not need it".
KEY TO DEMOCRACY
30-35 minutes:
There are unanticipated encounters. These are ideas that people find irritating, and therefore have not searched for. Unanticipated encounters are key, because these points will expand about how you think of an issue. Common experiences are experiences shared by everyone. Common experiences help everyone share topics, ideas, and points of view with each other. It helps certain people address problems and issues to the public. A few obvious examples are the 9/11. This had some sort of negative effect upon everyone. So people could find some common ground with this event. At the time, it helped President Bush address this event to everyone immediately. We all went through this together.
PUBLIC FORUM DOCTRINE
This is the idea of getting your voice heard, be informed, and argue with people that there is free flow of information taking place. They can say whatever they want.
What is the point?
First, it gives speakers the access to a large range of people. Second, it gives people access to specific people of their choosing, whom they think need to be aware of their issue. Third, there is a better chance that speakers can speak out to open-minded people who may have the same views as the speaker. Here is an example: the guy that often times stands in front of Walter Library. You cannot shut your ears out when you are walking by him, but just to walk on past.
35-40 minutes:
MEDIA
The media airs many different views of information, getting voices heard and ideas out there. So this is a similar idea to the public forum doctrine.
GROUP POLARIZATION
This is defined as a discussion within like-minded groups tends to move groups in one direction of what they already thought, but just a more extreme position. Group members already agree with the position. So they are likely to defend and stand for that position.
The Internet means like-minded people can debate each other because they able to form a community, where they are enabled to share their viewpoints and they do not have to go outside of it to get news, agree, and go forward, not challenge.
SOCIAL CASCADES
People join groups, because they know there are people who probably have at least similar or the exact same values. A great example is Facebook postings. The only problem is there is always false, incorrect, inaccurate and/or, outdated information on Internet.
40-45 minutes:
SHARED EXPERIENCES
Much of the time, people like experiences, because they are shared between other people. A great example is the recent visit to the U of M Twin Cities by U.S. President Barack Obama. There is people cheering, excitement, and videotaping and video recording to post on YouTube.
Shared experiences help people become friends and socialize to each other about the interesting issues.
Shared experiences help people talk to each other about things they have in common. Being that they all know about it, it gives them something to share with others and helps understanding each other.
CASS SUNSTEIN'S SOLUTIONS FROM MEDIA PRODUCERS IN "THE DAILY WE"
Disclosure. In her article, Sunstein writes, "Disclosure: Producers of communications might disclose important information on their own, about the extent to which they are promoting democratic goals" (2001). What this means is they are working for public good. They are working towards public interest activities. However, this is not highly upheld, because some are private. There are popular views. This is profit-making.
45-50 minutes:
Self-regulation. In her article, Sunstein writes, "Producers of communications might engage in voluntary self-regulation" (2001). What this means is producers of communications are saying, "If we air this, then we must air an opposing view point." This is the case where broadcast channel equaling time still has to be given candidates. This is NOT for cable media.
Subsidy. In her article, Sunstein writes, "The government might subsidize speech, as, for example, through publicly subsidized programming or publicly subsidized websites" (2001). What this means is there is public subsidy. Eight percent of NPR comes from government funding, which is underwritten.
Links. In her article, Sunstein writes, "Websites might use links and hyperlinks to ensure that viewers learn about sites containing opposing views" (2001). This makes it simple to browse one thing to another on the web.
Public Sidewalk. In her article, Sunstein writes, "If the problem consists in the failure to attend to public issues, the most popular websites in any given period might offer links and hyperlinks, designed to ensure more exposure to substantive questions" (2001). There is a list we run down on the side, trending topics on Twitter.
Works Cited
Still, Brian. Hacking for a cause. Ed. Edward J. Valauskas. N.p., Sept. 2005. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. <http://131.193.153.231/www/issues/issue10_9/still/index.html>.
Kelly, Patricia. hacktivists_studyguide.pdf (application/pdf Object). N.p., 2002. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. <http://www.abc.net.au/tv/hacktivists/hacktivists_studyguide.pdf>.
Information War-The Hactivists trailer Video. By Australian Film Finance Corporation, Hilton Cordell and Dominant 7, and mercurymediaJTD. 12 May 2008. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJDd0QSc6b8>.
http://www.hacktivismo.com/public/declarations/en.php. N.p., 4 July 2001. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. <http://www.hacktivismo.com/public/declarations/en.php>.
Sunstein, Cass. "The Daily We." Boston Review 2001. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. <http://bostonreview.net/BR26.3/sunstein.php>.
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