Due Date: Thursday, Feb 17th

• Assignment 1 is due at the beginning of class on Feb 17th.
• Bring two stapled copies of your assignment to class.
• Papers should be double-spaced, 12-point font (e.g., Times New Roman).
• Cite quotes and paraphrased arguments from the readings using parenthetical documentation, i.e., (Ackerman, p.24). You do not need a bibliography for articles and papers used in the course syllabus.

Part I (90%)

Choose any 2 of the following 4 essays.  Each essay response should be about 500 words, which is roughly 2 double spaced pages of text.

1. Consider the following statement: “The popularity of the cell phone was inevitable; today’s society is highly mobile and it was the next logical step from the regular telephone.”  In your essay, answer both of these questions: (1) what theoretical perspective(s) that we have discussed in class and in our readings are represented in this statement, and (2) defend or oppose this statement using support from our readings and lectures.  Note: there is no right answer for defending or opposing this statement.  A successful answer will provide a clear argument and cite evidence (author and page number) from our course materials.

2. You have just landed a job at Google, and for your first assignment, you have been tasked with developing the new “search ahead” feature that will allow Google to predict things you are going to search for in the future, based entirely on your search history. Your team lead is none other than Ackerman himself. Discuss *specific* considerations he would suggest that you should take into account, and *specific* steps you can take to make a system that is usable and helpful in the short and long term. Note: Your response should convey Ackerman’s specific views as it relates to this situation described above, but the point of this essay is not to actually propose a search solution. You should cite the article we read from him as well as any other course reading as necessary (author and page number).

3. In the course of your regular Internet surfing, you stumble across a Wired article that claims that the Kindle will be the end of the traditional publishing industry. Explain why this might be a common argument in the technology press, and discuss both the strengths and/or weaknesses of this claim. Note: As always, the best answers will use specific examples from the readings and cite course readings as necessary (author and page number).

4. Some argue, “Social media accelerated the uprising in Egypt” (see: http://www.fastcompany.com/1722492/how-social-media-accelerated-the-upri...). Contrast and compare how the arguments from (1) Heilbroner and (2) Brown and Duguid, could be used to specifically respond to this headline. Respond with relevant references to the readings from these authors (author and page number). Note that the point is to engage with the headline, and the implications of the headline, not with the substantive content of the story.

Part II (10%)

Answer the following question with one paragraph per topic.

Describe at least two or three topic areas (but no more than three) of interest to you that could become your final paper for i203. These could be topics that we have covered in class, topics that we have not yet discussed in class but are on the syllabus, or issues that relate to social issues of information that interest you but are not even on our syllabus. Tell us about your topic idea, what interests you about it, various angles you might take, etc.  You are not locking yourself into anything at this point. We simply want you to brainstorm and begin the process of finding a suitable topic for your final paper.

To stimulate your thinking, here are some sample final paper topics from previous years.

• How Twitter and Other Communication Tools Spread Spoilers and Challenge the Freedom to Time-Shift Television
• Blogging in School: Privacy Implications of Posting Student Work on the Internet
• Second-order trust as a framework for user-system relationships
• The Diffusion of Open ID
• Issues of Ethical Hacking
• Mobile Phone Usage and Its Effects on Personal Safety
• Motivation in Open-Source Software Development
• What kind of Social Networks Enable ICT Diffusion in Developing Regions?
• Social Issues in Privacy within Facebook (you could even focus in on one particular issue)
• The Effects of Anonymity in Internet Systems on the Development of Self-Esteem
• Evaluating the Privacy Effect in the Use of Computer Surveillance