IST 110 Quiz #10

Crowdsourced products

1) Wikipedia: Online encyclopedia. Users contribute/polish/expand articles. One of the most-visited websites in the world. 2) Yelp / Trip Advisor: Reviews of restaurants, hotels, and more. Users contribute reviews of food, hotels, prices, etc., often including photos. Yelp started mostly with restaurants, and Trip Advisor with hotels, but both have expanded. 3) Kickstarter: Crowdfunding. In crowdfunding, someone requests funding for a company, product, idea, cause, etc., and users choose to contribute. Individual contributions may be small, but a large number of contributors may add of up thousands or millions of dollars. 4) Waze: Driving application. The basic app includes maps and turn-by-turn driving instructions. Users submit traffic and accident updates that get included on the map. 5) reCAPTCHA: Verification app. Users type in two words shown in a distorted manner, one word for verifying the user is a human (to prevent automated tools from creating accounts on websites), the other word to help digitize text (the user isn't told which is which). Several years of old editions of the New York Times, for example, have been digitized in this manner. 6) Netflix Prize: Competition for best movie recommendation predictor. Netflix offered one million dollars to anyone who could improve on Netflix's movie recommendation algorithm by more than 10%. Thousands of teams submitted, and a team was awarded the prize in 2009. 7) Khan Academy: Educational videos site. Khan Academy is relying on users to provide captions in various languages for the site's videos. 8) Mechanical Turk: Human intelligence tasks. People post jobs requiring human intelligence, typically simple low-paying tasks, and users can bid to complete the tasks. Tasks might include choosing among two images for a website, recognizing the singer of a song or person in a photo, searching satellite photos for a missing ship, etc. 9) Airbnb: Private housing for short-term rentals (hotel alternative). People post availability of rooms for rent in private homes. 10) Uber / Lyft: Private transportation (taxi alternative). Drivers use their personal vehicles to provide rides. Users request a ride using a smartphone app, can see location of drivers, and can rate drivers (and drivers can rate passengers). Payment is automatically handled via the app. 11) Bleacher Report: Sports news and analysis. Users could become writers and contribute news articles. The above table is a tiny sampling of crowdsourcing examples. Creative crowdsourcing ideas continue to launch new businesses, many of which disrupt established industries. Ex: Uber began only in 2009, and quickly became an international phenomenon, detracting significant business away from taxis, while also increasing the number of people paying for rides rather than driving; the company's estimated worth in 2015 was 50 billion dollars. Governments are using crowdsourcing to help with manhunts, report code violations, find potholes, and more. Nonprofit agencies are using crowdsourcing to fight disease. Thousands of other creative disruptive crowdsourcing ideas continue to be developed. People with goals of developing a product or solving a problem today often are no longer limited by monetary or physical resources, but rather can consider whether and how "the crowd" can help achieve goals.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is a term that developed with the web, referring to getting work done via a community of web users (the "crowd"). The term is a combination of crowd and outsourcing. Crowdsourcing usually (but not always) relies on free contributions by the crowd. Perhaps the best-known crowdsourced product is Wikipedia, where users produce encyclopedia articles, in contrast to a company paying contributors of articles. Another is Yelp, where users produce reviews of restaurants and other establishments.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is the willful use of electronic technology to repeatedly threaten, abuse, or dominate others, often anonymously. Cyberbullying is another form of harassment. Examples of cyberbullying include posting inappropriate or embarrassing photographs or videos, starting rumors on social media, sending mean direct messages or emails, etc. Cyberbullying can be more harmful than face-to-face bullying because the target of the bullying cannot easily get away from the harassment. The embarrassment is compounded because the content reaches more people, and the bullying may be anonymous, and therefore tracking the instigator is more challenging. Cyberbullying has become a problem for many schools because the schools have very little control over what students do when at home or on mobile devices.

Cybercrime

Cybercrime is any crime involving a computer and network. A cybercrime may involve a computer that is a target of the crime, involve a computer used to commit the crime, or both. Ex: Hacking typically uses a computer to illegally gain access to another computer.

E-commerce trends

E-commerce continues to grow. E-commerce is also eating up an increasingly larger percentage of brick-and-mortar store sales. Many businesses are seeing significant reductions of sales due to e-commerce competitors like Amazon, such as Sears (general goods and clothing), Barnes and Noble (books), and Staples (office supplies). Some have gone out of business, such as Circuit City (consumer electronics).

The digital divide greatly affects those in developing nations, where many do not have access to technology and the available technologies are not on par with technologies in developed nations. Obstacles that people in developing nations must overcome include:

1) Physical access: No computers in the home or nearby, no access to broadband Internet in town, low Internet bandwidth 2) Financial access: Technology is too expensive to own 3) Computer literacy: Lack of training on how to use technology

Trademark protection

A trademark can be registered or unregistered. A registered trademark, denoted by an encircled R symbol, is a mark officially registered with the government. To register a trademark in the U.S., one submits an application and fee to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Once approved, the mark becomes intellectual property of the applicant. A trademark can remain unregistered, though this makes infringement cases more difficult for trademark owners because no legal record of ownership exists. Therefore, courts must decide the original creator of a trademark to determine ownership. Unregistered trademarks are denoted by the letters TM in superscript. Trademarks can be used by others for informational and editorial purposes, or when accurately comparing various products such as in an advertisement. The owner of a trademark maintains rights to the mark as long as the mark remains in use commercially. If the mark is not used after a number of years, the trademark can be legally removed under the grounds of "non-use".

Online dating services

An online dating service helps people meet romantic partners. A user can post a profile, describing background, interests, goals, desirable qualities in a partner, etc. A user can browse profiles of other users, send messages, engage in electronic or verbal communications, and eventually reveal a real name or meet in person, if desired. A popular online dating service is Match.com, which began in 1995 near the beginnings of the web and is thus one of the first and longest lasting websites. Match.com reportedly had over 23 million active users in 2015. eHarmony is another popular online dating service, which launched in 2000. eHarmony reportedly had over 16 million active users in 2015. Hundreds of other services exist, many with particular focuses such as religion, sexual orientation, type of relationship sought, etc. While many people originally viewed online dating sites with skepticism, today online dating is unquestionably playing a key role in helping people find life partners. A 2013 report states that one-third of all U.S. marriages started from online dating, and that people in such marriages were less likely to divorce and also reported higher marital satisfaction (Source: Daily News). As such, online dating services represent an example of how computers and the Internet can have profound implications on culture and society.

Reducing the digital divide

The digital divide has reduced naturally due to lower cost computing products. Some desktop and laptop computers can be purchased at a fraction of their costs from 10 years ago and items like cell phones and tablets can be purchased for even less. Wi-Fi hotspots are becoming increasingly popular at some businesses and even in some entire cities. In the U.S. and other countries, subsidized Internet services exist for low-income families. Some schools also allow students to take computers home to do homework assignments. To help overcome the divide, libraries, once primarily a location for loaning books, are transitioning into a place to access the Internet. Many libraries in the U.S. provide computers and free Internet access to the public. Organizations such as the Gate Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation have committed to opening libraries both nationally and internationally to provide digital technology and training to areas that are lacking.

Digital divide

The digital divide is the inequality of access to digital technology like computers, smartphones, and the Internet. Many people argue that convenient access to digital technology is no longer a luxury but rather a necessity. Ex: Convenient access to Internet information can strengthen one's academic education and lead to higher-paying careers, inform tenants of legal rights against landlords, or provide needed health care tips. Ex: Having a reliable laptop computer and smartphone can strengthen one's job performance, and thus lead to promotions and avoid layoff, or make one's job more convenient leading to more leisure time. Certain categories of people have lower access to digital technology. The charts below show access according to race, education, and income. While the gap between categories of people has decreased, the remaining gap is a concern due to a phenomena similar to "the rich get richer, the poor get poorer". Where one resides in the United States also impacts one's access to digital technology, as shown below. Those who live in more populated areas, such as large cities or areas on the coasts, tend to have greater access to digital technology.

Possible punishment of cybercrimes

The last 30 years have seen an emergence of cybercrime laws, but these laws are still new for most of the world, partly because cybercrimes are always evolving. In many countries, a cybercriminal may be extradited to the country where a crime was committed, then charged, convicted, and sentenced under that nation's laws. Many developing countries have yet to enact cybercrime laws and are thus less likely to extradite criminals. Therefore many cybercriminals live in developing countries. Punishments for cybercrimes may include fines, jail time, and loss of right to use computers. Authorities attempt to understand the severity, the monetary damage, and the jurisdiction of the crime to determine punishment. Crimes with small monetary damage ($1000 or less) are often met with fines while crimes with large monetary damage or injury of life can be felonies resulting in multi-year prison sentences. Many colleges and universities have taken a strong stance against cybercrimes committed using the school's network. For an offense, schools such as Berkeley and Stanford will suspend a student's Internet access on campus until the student pays a fine and multiple offenses lead to larger fines. Major crimes are calls for suspension or expulsion from school, especially if the crime results in an arrest. Ex: A University of Cumberlands student was expelled and arrested for hacking other students' accounts, extorting those students, identity theft, and possessing child pornography.

Email and text

The proliferation of small low-cost computing devices with video/graphics capability, like tablets, in the 2000's has led to tremendous increase in computer use among kids. That growth was preceded by rapid growth in TV watching by kids in the 1990's. Research shows that computer use and TV watching by kids can impact brain development, leading to later hyperactivity, attention issues, and even more likelihood for committing crimes. Research is ongoing, but parents may do well to seriously consider whether kids should be spending significant time in front of a screen, versus interacting with other people, playing with physical items, being outdoors, etc. The impact of computer use on adult brains is also an area of active research, with many concerns.

Patent protection

To apply for a patent in the United States, one must also submit an application and fee to the USPTO. Other countries have similar government organizations to grant patents. For an invention to qualify for a patent, the governing body must find the invention to be novel (new), useful, non-obvious, and undisclosed to the public prior to the application being submitted. Once granted, a patent is given a unique identification number and is disclosed to the public. The patent owner must also pay an annual fee to maintain the patent. If the annual fee is not paid, the patent will expire. Patents can be sold to a new owner at any time, thus the inventor and patent owner may not be the same. For a patent owner to profit from a patented item, the owner can manufacture and sell the invention themself or can grant a licensee the rights to manufacture and sell the invention in return for a royalty payment. With the advent of technology, the number of patent applications filed in the U.S. has tripled since the mid-1990s (629,647 applications filed in 2015).

Responses to cyberbullying

Victims of cyberbullying should speak to someone about the abuse (a parent, teacher, or friend) and attempt to block contact with the abuser. Evidence of the abuse should be maintained. Victims should never retaliate. At school, the principal should be notified if students are bullying each other. Law enforcement should be contacted if: 1) A cyberbully sends threats of violence or death to a victim. 2) Cyberbullying turns into physical stalking, confrontation, or attack. 3) A victim is harassed, especially for reasons such as race, religion, sexuality, or disability, for an extended time. 4) Explicit images of a minor are involved in the cyberbullying. Such criminal acts can lead to arrest. Parents of cyberbullied victims should not take away their child's technology, because technology is how many children feel connected to the world. Removing technology could increase a child's sense of isolation. Instead, parents should encourage children to change their behavior, for example, spending less time online.

Common cybercrimes

1) Identity theft: Identity theft is a theft of information used to identify an individual (such as a social security number), typically used for financial gain. Ex./ Criminals practice identity theft to steal tax refunds. 2) Fraud: Fraud is a form of deception, typically used for financial or personal gain. Ex./ In 2016, Navinder Sarao plead guilty to spoofing and wire fraud stemming from a 2010 incident where Sarao created fake trading accounts to acquire around $40 million. The incident, called the Flash Crash, caused U.S. stock markets to plummet in matter of minutes. 3) Data breaches: A data breach occurs when secure or classified information is accessed by someone unauthorized to do so. Ex./ Over 1 billion accounts were compromised in a 2013 Yahoo data breach. 4) Trafficking: Trafficking is conducting deals or trades in an illegal commodity, such as drugs, weapons, or people. Ex./ The creator of Silk Road, an online black market known for selling drugs, was convicted of narcotics trafficking and sentenced to life in prison. 5) Extortion: Extortion is the act of obtaining something, typically money, by making threats. Ex./ In 2016, a Hollywood, CA hospital paid hackers $17,000 to unlock the hospital network, which was attacked by ransomware. 6) Malware: Malware is malicious software used to infect users' devices with viruses, trojans, spyware, etc. Ex./ The malware Mirai turns computers running Linux into "bots" that can be remotely controlled and joined to a network ("botnet") to perform large-scale network attacks. 7) Harassment: Harassment is offensive repetitive behavior, typically used to upset or intimidate someone. Ex./ A woman was arrested for cyberstalking and threatening reality TV star Kris Jenner for 6 months.

Crowdsourcing advantages include:

1) Lower cost: Users often work for free. Reasons include desiring to contribute to society, seeking recognition, wanting social interactions, or simply enjoying the task. Any pay is typically low due to competition. 2) Scale: The more users, the more work that can be done. Wikipedia and Yelp, for example, have far more articles/reviews, updated far more frequently, than any company could possibly produce with paid employees. 3) Quality: Crowdsourced products could potentially be of higher quality, due to having many people contributing, revising, and polishing a product. Ex: A single paid reviewer of a restaurant may have a different opinion than typical people, whereas the average of 500 reviewers' ratings is more likely to match the typical. Quality can also be a disadvantage: Contributors with little knowledge or talent may produce poor products, or may have extreme bias. Ex: Some Wikipedia articles or Yelp reviews may be hard to read, or may be inaccurate, as may happen when a restaurant owner submits a negative Yelp review of a competing restaurant.

Copyright protection

A copyright is granted to the creator or originator of a work. If the creator works for a company at the time of creation, the copyright may belong to the company. Though a copyright is automatically granted to the work's creator, in the United States, one can register his or her claim for a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. Registering a work with the U.S. Copyright Office makes the work public record. The right granted by a copyright exists for a limited amount of time (usually 50 - 100 years after the creator's death). When a copyright expires, the work is in the public domain, meaning the work can be used without permission. Fair use is a legal exception to a copyright that allows limited use of copyrighted materials without receiving permission from the rights holders. Fair use is applicable to works used in news reporting, learning environments, research, search engines, parodies, and more. The courts use four factors to determine whether a fair use exception is applicable. 1) The purpose and character of the use. Likely fair use: Using an image in a classroom presentation. Likely not fair use: Copying an image for a use on a new commercial website. 2) The nature of the copyrighted work. Likely fair use: A book based on a factual newspaper article. Likely not fair use: A book based on a previously published story of fiction. 3) The amount and substantiality of the portion used. Likely fair use: A song whose lyrics containing 10% of another material's words in order. Likely not fair use: A song containing 50% or more of another material's words in order. 4) The effect of use on the potential market for the copyrighted work. Likely fair use: Performing and selling tickets to a play that is a comedy version of a serious movie. Likely not fair use: Performing and selling tickets to that play where the only difference is that all men are played by women (some people may not feel the need to rent the movie after seeing the play).

Growth and impact of cybercrimes

Cybercrime is the fastest growing type of crime, with an estimated 1.5 million cybercrimes committed annually. The financial impact of cybercrime is estimated to reach $2 trillion by 2019. Cybercrimes can be reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Founded in 2000, the IC3 has already received over 3.4 million cybercrime complaints.

Investigating cybercrimes

Cybercrimes are investigated by local, national, and international authorities. When individuals are the victims of cybercrimes, such as harassment and identity theft, the local police are often notified. Some local and state police departments have units dedicated to cybercrime, such as the New York State Computer Crime Unit. Federal organizations, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Secret Service, investigate larger scale cybercrimes such as extortion and trafficking. The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) is most likely to investigate international cybercrime with the assistance of other countries' law enforcement agencies. Organizations such as the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the G8, and the Council of Europe have all created action plans to combat international cybercrime. Methods used to investigate cybercrimes include: 1) Digital forensics: tracing and recovering data on a computer that can be used as evidence. 2) Decryption: decoding computer files. 3) Surveillance: tracking what a person does on their computer (what websites someone visits).

E-commerce

E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the conducting of business transactions on the web. E-commerce companies are often contrasted with brick-and-mortar companies that do business in physical stores. Three common categories of e-commerce are: 1) Business-to-consumer (B2C): A company (like Amazon) sells goods/services directly to people. B2C is likely the best-known e-commerce category. 2) Consumer-to-consumer (C2C): A company (like eBay) enables people to sell goods/services to each other. C2C is likely the second best-known e-commerce category. 3) Business-to-business (B2B): A business sells goods/services to another business. Amazon is one of the best-known B2C e-commerce companies, started in 1994 as an online book seller, but today selling a vast array of products to consumers. Today, Amazon also sells video-on-demand, electronic book readers, and more. 2014 revenues were nearly $100 billion. Most brick-and-mortar B2C companies have an e-commerce presence, such as target.com, walmart.com, costco.com, etc. eBay is one of the best-known C2C e-commerce companies, started in 1995 to support online auctioning mostly of used goods, but today selling new and used items in auction or non-auction format. 2014 revenue was nearly $20 billion. Craigslist is another C2C e-commerce company, started in 1995 by Craig Newmark in San Francisco as an email list for friends of items for sale, now allowing users to sell goods/services to one another, replacing what used to be known as newspaper "classified" ads. eBay products are mostly delivered via mail, while Craigslist products are mostly local in-person pick ups for hard-to-ship items like furniture or vehicles. Craigslist also has more emphasis on local services like handymen, house cleaners, etc. While widely used and well known, Craigslist seeks relatively modest revenues, obtained from small fees for certain kinds of listings like job listings, and in some regions listing for apartments or cars/trucks; most listings are free, and the site posts no advertisements. 2014 revenues were just over $300 million. Most B2B e-commerce companies are not known to most people. A B2B company may focus on providing services to a company, such as Zenefits, which provides human resource services to other companies. Alibaba is a large Chinese e-commerce company that started as B2B in 1999 to connect manufacturers with overseas buyers, then introduced C2C similar to eBay, and B2C similar to Amazon. 2014 revenue was nearly $10 billion.

Health and computer use

Ergonomics is the science of designing things for easy safe use by people. While using computers may seem safer than using other kinds of equipment, computer use has the potential for causing physical harm: 1) Wrist injuries: Repetitive typing can cause carpal tunnel syndrome, in which a nerve in the wrist becomes compressed, causing pain, numbness, and tingling in the hand, arm, or shoulder. 2) Vision problems: Straining to view items that are small or have low resolution, and viewing things close to one's eyes for long periods, can lead to various eye problems. 3) Back pain: Spending long periods in a hunched or other unnatural position while looking at a computer screen can cause problems with the back and neck, and may also cause headaches. 4) Sitting complications: Sitting for long periods at a computer can cause serious health problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. Such problems occur even if the person exercises regularly. The seated position itself is apparently the problem—a relatively new finding. Several guidelines exist for computer workstation setup to reduce problems, including having: 1) The top of the screen just below eye level 2) Head and neck balanced and in line with the torso (no hunching over) 3) Wrist and hands in-line with forearms In addition to the setup, guidelines suggest taking frequent small breaks ("micro" breaks), and changing tasks frequently, to avoid long periods of repetitive motion like typing. Furthermore, due to the sitting complications mentioned above, new guidelines recommend standing at least every half hour for 2-3 minutes, and even spending some time working at a standing desk.

IP theft and disputes by companies/governments

IP theft and disputes are commonplace among companies and governments. Intel & AMD: In 2012, an ex-Intel engineer was sentenced to 3 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $17,500 after pleading guilty to stealing and sharing $1 billion worth of Intel trade secrets with a second employer, AMD. In 2015, software company Versata accused the Ford Motor Company of IP theft alleging that Ford patented in-house software based on Versata's software. Many U.S. companies have accused the U.S. government of stealing their ideas, including FoodquestTQ, which alleged that the FDA plagiarized a patented piece of software to monitor food safety.

IP theft by individuals

IP theft is also widespread among individuals and may include: 1) Downloading/streaming movies 2) Downloading songs 3) Copying a webpage for use on one's website 4) Plagiarizing a paper 5) Forwarding copy-pasted news articles The term piracy refers to the unauthorized copy, distribution, or sale of a copyrighted work. File sharing, the practice of distributing digital media, and the Internet have made piracy easier to accomplish than ever before. Daily, companies ask sites like Google to remove search results linking to pirated content. As of January 2017, Google has removed 2.05 billion URLs in response to piracy concerns (Source: Google). According to a 2017 report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the U.S. economy loses $12.5 billion annually and 71,060 jobs have been lost because of music piracy (Source: RIAA). Subscription services like Netflix are thought to decrease Internet piracy, but as of 2015, file sharing in North America had risen by 40% since Netflix's streaming launch in 2008 (Source: Digital Music News, 2015). A common method of file sharing has been through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, where members of a network share data between themselves. The late 1990s - early 2000s, P2P file sharing services such as Napster, Kazaa, and LimeWire became popular ways to download and share music and movies online. Napster was sued by multiple groups for copyright infringement and was forced to shut down in 2001. Many other P2P have shut down as well due to copyright issues. Piracy and file sharing may also result in the loss of advertising revenue for content creators. Many content creators rely on revenue from ads on their websites. If the content is pirated, then ad revenue may decrease as users turn to alternative websites to gain access to content. Malware is another issue related to piracy. Malware is undesired software that is typically installed without a user's knowledge and is typically bad for the computer or user. Malware can be hidden in files that users download because the files are not regulated. One research study found that more than 50% of pirated files are infected with malware. Moreover, visitors of piracy sites are 28 times more likely to be infected compared to visitors of regular websites. Some individuals legitimize IP theft when acquiring content is challenging (hard to find via legal channels) or expensive, but IP theft is still illegal. Content developers have a right to be paid for their work. Some who have engaged in IP theft have been ordered to pay hefty fines or even serve jail time.

In-house and outsourcing overview

In-house refers to work performed within an company rather than work performed by an external source. In-house hiring has long been a common approach to building a business, because for years, company heads could communicate directly with company employees. As technology has increased globalization, different, and oftentimes cheaper, methods have grown in favor. Outsourcing is a common business term referring to company A using company B to do work that might otherwise have been done by the company A's employees. Improvements in telephone communications and computers have made outsourcing easier, leading to many companies outsourcing work, often to people in other countries where labor is cheaper. Commonly outsourced work includes customer support, accounting, tax preparation, software development, training material development, or manufacturing. Outsourcing has grown significantly since the 1980s, though many companies are reducing outsourcing and returning to in-house hiring due to poor quality stemming from difficulties relating to separated teams and miscommunications.

IP licensing

Many types of intellectual property licenses pertain to digital mediums. Common IP licenses include: 1) GNU general public license (GNU GPL): A free software license allowing users to run, share, and modify software as long as all software copies include the GNU GPL license terms and the copyright notice. GPL is a copyleft license. A copyleft license means any derivative works must use the same license. Three GPL versions exist, each version building on the previous license to allow free use without repercussions. Ex: Linux kernel, Ubuntu, MySQL. 2) Creative Commons license (CC): A copyright license that allows free use and distribution of a copyrighted work. Common variations of the CC license include CC0 (use without restrictions), CC BY (use with credit given to the author), CC BY-SA (use with credit given to the author and a license not more restrictive than original work's license), and CC BY-NC (use with author credit for a non-commercial purpose). Ex: Pages found on Wikipedia and YouTube; game Cards Against Humanity (CC BY-NC-SA). 3) MIT license: A free software license originating at MIT that allows users to reuse software as long as all software copies include the MIT license terms and the copyright notice. Ex: Bitcoin Core, JQuery, Ruby on Rails. 4) Public domain: A state of being where works are freely available to the public, meaning the works are not/no longer copyrighted. Any work published before 1923 is in the public domain. Ex: The Jungle Book (book), Night of the Living Dead (film), SQLite (software).

Cyberbullying effects and consequences

Many victims of cyberbullying are children, teenagers, and young adults. The effects of cyberbullying on victims can include a decrease in academic performance, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide. Cyberbullies, can be arrested for their crimes, even as juveniles.

Tips for effective email communications

Much business communication today uses electronic communication. Business communications include those between a company's coworkers, a student and university professor/administrator, a customer and a company, etc. Email is a common form of electronic communication, so writing effective emails is important. 1) Keep short: Many people don't read long emails, so the time taken writing lengthy emails is often wasted, and key points may be overlooked. 2) Put key points first: Key points buried inside an email are more likely to be overlooked. Writing like a newspaper article may help, with key points in the subject and the first sentence/paragraph. 3) Think about recipients: People are often unintentionally omitted (such as when using Reply instead of Reply All), or unnecessarily included (such as when using Reply All when the reply only relates to one person). Also, care must be taken to ensure the original sender would approve of an email being forwarded or to having a person added to the cc list. 4) Keep threads separate: Multiple points buried inside an email are more likely to be overlooked and are harder to find in one's archived email later on. A new email thread should be created for each point and include a descriptive subject. 5) Check spelling: The neatness of an email reflects on a person similarly to how the neatness of one's clothing and hair does. Spelling, grammar, and formatting all matter. 6) Don't email angry: One might wait a few hours, or overnight, to decide if the email really needs to be sent. 7) Assume public: Email may be permanently stored on a server. A disgruntled employee or a hacker might make emails public. Thus, sensitive discussions may be better done verbally. 8) Be careful with humor: Jokes can be easily misconstrued, due to lack of body/facial cues, or lack of context (as when read out of context of a series of humorous email exchanges).

Intellectual property: Copyright, trademarks, and patents

Property is an item that can belong to a someone (a person or company). Tangible property can belong to someone and can be touched, like a car, house, land, or computer. In contrast, intellectual property (IP) can belong to a someone but is a creation of the human mind, like a song, a slogan, or an invention, and is protectable by law. One way to distinguish is that intellectual property can be used simultaneously by more than one person without diminishing availability of the item by others. The three main forms of intellectual property protection under the law are a copyright, a trademark, and a patent. A copyright grants the creator or owner of an original work (song, play, book, etc.) exclusive rights to utilize and authorize use of the work. Ex: A web page created for a restaurant can be protected under copyright law. A trademark is any recognizable mark (symbol, design, or phrase) that can be used to represent an individual or business and is legally owned by the individual or business. Ex: A slogan for a restaurant like "So yummy!" can be protected under trademark law. A patent is a government license that allows the inventor of a device or process to exclude others from manufacturing, distributing, and profiting from the invention. The invention must be disclosed to the public. Ex: A machine to automatically make tacos faster than other machines can be protected under patent law.

Cyberbullying laws and policies

The U.S. has no federal laws directly dealing with bullying. Most states have bully prevention laws, which include electronic forms of bullying. Laws require schools to have policies to deal with cyberbullying. Very few states have criminal charges directly linked to cyberbullying. If a cyberbully stalks, threatens, or extorts a victim, the cyberbully can be criminally charged for those actions, though the actions may be difficult to prove in court. Ex: Two teenage girls were arrested on felony aggravated stalking charges after one publicly admitted to cyberbullying a girl who had committed suicide, but the charges were dropped because of a lack of evidence.