This past week, we were given an activity by Dr. Norman in lecture involving Alexa and SFBE. I was experiencing difficulties with opening it on campus, so I decided to try doing so at home. However, although I made sure to follow the instructions to a tee, the coding did not work. The voice kept saying “Hello World,” (which are the default words evidently seen when you first open the program) despite implementing the code correctly. I am unsure as to whether this issue is related to typing it within the incorrect setting or if there was an error with the “Clear Voice Preview Cache” feature. I also attempted to close the program and re-insert the text multiple times as well. None of these actions taken worked.
In reflecting on what we talked about in class and the ways in which distances are still very much a relevant aspect of the internet, I realize that this notion rings true. From one perspective, it does bridge the gap between people, organizations, etc. such as a simple “friend request” on Facebook for instance or a “direct message” through other platforms such as WhatsApp or WeChat, with technology and the web, to a certain extent, further allow us to determine who or what we can come into contact with online. But on the other hand, governmental bodies/large corporations also perform deals amongst one another to create a framework that projects a particular perception of reality for the public/those who utilize the internet in the online world based on what they themselves fulfill.
An article that was one of our readings this past week showcasing the concept is about Google’s intentions regarding infiltrating the market in China by generating a new search engine and Fung (2018) mentions the country’s tendencies to censor “search queries for politically sensitive material.” This statement alone serves an implication that in spite of the internet’s role of bringing nations closer together, the inherent sense of detachment consistently remains as an issue.
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