Portfolio Assignment #7
The presentation on data energy and extraction was interesting and whilst I had a bit of background knowledge on some of the topics discussed the presentation still provided me with new information. One thing I found interesting was that Iceland of all places was the leading miner of digital currency, but after listening to the presentation and reading the Vanity Fair article it made perfect sense. When bitcoin first started gaining traction, I took notice and learned about the concept of mining but even at 14, I realized that to make any profit would be hard given the initial cost. Iceland literally has the perfect conditions to mine given the cheap energy costs that allow for any profit to be made, and it’s crazy to see how it has led to millions of dollars’ worth of crimes. Digital currencies have proven themselves not to be a passing fad and in fact, they may well be the way of the future and it is polarizing to see how it has slowly started to have a deep impact on society. The way giant mining facilities have prompted people to take a look at the real ecological impacts that have risen from them being used 24/7 is only one way in which cryptocurrencies have a relationship between digital media and society. One thing that I will note is that in the future maybe there will not be a need to mine at all since eventually, all the bitcoin will be in circulation which will render these farms obsolete and slowly revert the ecological harm they have produced. When these farms do become obsolete I wonder what will eventually replace the niche they created?
The lecture on “Care in a Time of Quarantine” was interesting but not all that informative since it deals with concepts that everybody is experiencing on a daily basis during this crisis. The various articles from NPR or TechCrunch just seem to reiterate the same information that has been stated on a daily basis by all news sources since weeks ago. To me the concepts of self-care during this time of quarantine should not just be boiled down to staying optimistic and finding distractions, it seems like at times society is ignoring the facts for the sake of being positive. First and foremost, this is a crisis and at least to me that boils down to staying safe even if it means dealing with some discomfort like boredom. The TechCrunch article goes on to praise how social media overall feels “more social than social networks have in a long time” (Constine 2020) which is both true and false at the same time. At least to me, it feels like society is engaging more within social media because they have the time not because they want to. This can be seen with celebrities more often than not their posts are calculated pieces of media that serve a purpose, but now they are posting photos and videos to keep their image alive and relevant. With no movie premieres or extravagant parties’ celebs are forced to post what everyday people would post and whilst the TechCrunch applaud them for it but to me, it just seems obvious that in a time of crisis no one is truly a celebrity. It will be interesting to see the role social media will play during this pandemic and see if it will find new ways to be used.
