Viewing Radios with Tuners through the Lens of Diffusion Theory

Before I delve into the developmental process in which the initial radios with tuners underwent, I'd first like to ask a simple question. Has there ever been a product or idea in which you were an early supporter who faced backlash or criticism for your beliefs? If the answer is yes, I'm very sorry to disappoint, however, your behaviors and actions do not stray from the status quo.

Roger's Diffusion of Innovations Theory

Roger's Diffusion of Innovations theory is laid out through a power curve divided into five (or six) sections. It is a theory that helps explain the adoption of new ideas or technologies among the public. Each Section of the power curve represents a different demographic, each adapting an idea or technology at a different pace. 

The order is as follows: Pioneers, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, and Laggards. the sixth section of the chart is considered the "long tail", which consists of those who never adapt to an idea. When looking at the initial radios with tuners, we can determine each demographic of each section by looking into the history of its development. 

Erst Alexanderson

Pioneers

Pioneers are the visionaries who develop a product or idea despite others' reactions. In this case, the pioneers of radio technology would consist of both Gugliemo Marconi and Ernst Alexanderson. Guglielmo Marconi initialized the idea behind radio transmission across considerable distances and founded the first embodiment of antenna structures that allowed for wireless communication. Alexanderson then theorized his own hypothesis and streamlined the process of being able to locate specific frequencies.  

Early Adopters 

The Early Adopters of Ernst Alexanderson's ideas would include the United States military. During the development of tuned radio frequency receiving, the world was in the midst of World War 1, in which there was a need for wireless transmission. This was important for both national security and efficiency, as ground communication was slow and insecure. 

Early Majority

This demographic would consist of average US citizens adapting the technology into their homes for casual and commercial use. People realized the potential for advertising and entertainment with the ability to listen to a specific frequency. Many households were owners of radios with TRF receivers. 

Late Majority

By this point, many people have adopted and used tuning technology. It is common to see in households, restaurants, and many other common places. It became a staple for each family to have, similar to how landline phones were in more modern times. 

Laggards. 

This group of people consists of those who were not initially apt to jump onto the growing trend. One major reason behind this is the difficulty and learning curve that came along with beginning to use tuning technology. Many citizens were not aware of how to properly align each amplified signal, and because of this many members of society chose not to adopt the new technology until it was being used consistently. 

EOTO #1 Reflection - Facebook

The topic that really stuck out to me when watching the presentations regarding technological developments was Facebook.  Founded by Mark Zuckerburg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Huges during their years at Harvard University, Facebook would grow to become one of the biggest platforms used in modern media. It allowed for both networking and social communication in real time over both public and private spaces. While it started as a platform for Harvard students to connect, it would eventually grow into a multi-billion dollar company with billions of users across the globe. 

The Issue with Facebook arises with privacy concerns. There have been numerous occasions of private information being leaked through Facebook's databases. One incident includes the data leaks in 2021, where about 533 million users across 106 countries had personal information including phone numbers, emails, names, etc. leaked online. This was a result of a security vulnerability that Facebook patched in 2019. 

Overall, the story of Facebook's uprising is one with many peaks and valleys. After many incidents with privacy scandals, Facebook still maintains a strong standing among social media platforms to this day, although it is slowly being pushed out by more modern forms of media, as it is now known to have an older demographic.  

EOTO #1

The First Radios with Tuners

For my initial, Each One Teach One assignment, I will discuss the history and development of the first radios with tuners. Before diving into the development of this selective tuning technology, I'd like to take a step back and touch upon a brief history of the radio itself. 

Guglielmo Marconi

On April 25, 1874, Guglielmo Marconi was born. Marconi hypothesized that "If radiation could be increased, developed, and controlled, it would be possible to signal across space for considerable distances." He began to test his theory, and after considerable trial and error was able to transmit signals across short distances; Marconi however needed a way to amplify the signal. He constructed a receiving unit by connecting one terminal of an oscillator transmitter to the ground, and the other to a conductor on the top of a pole. This first embodiment of an antenna structure allowed for wireless communication to become a fact. 

British cable telegraphy in World War One:
The All-Red Line and Secure Communications - Innovating in Combat

We can now move on to the year 1916. Let us first set the scene - The world was in the midst of the Great War, WW1 (1914-1918). The principal method for communication between military forces was by physical cable for verbal and Morse code transmission. During the war tens of thousands of these physical cables were laid, many of them being destroyed from hostile engagement. These cables were also able to be tapped and listened to by enemy forces. 

Tuned Radio Frequency Receiver - 1916

On February 22, 1916, Ernst Alexanderson received a patent for an invention that would lay the foundation for modern communications - the Tuned Radio Frequency Receiver, or TRF receiver. His invention was nothing more than a chain of individually tuned amplifiers. The signal passes through each amplification stage, and then through a diode. This diode demodulates the signal, extracting the audio frequencies from the carrier wave.  

This technology provided the ability to reduce interference and tune into a specific signal to listen to. Radios with TRF receivers provided a high selectivity, being able to differentiate between frequencies spaced closely together. It achieved great sensitivity because the tuned circuits were able to amplify the desired signal more effectively. This also allowed the ability for weaker signals to be received. It changed the world by simplifying the design of earlier radios, allowing wireless technology to become more accessible to the general public. It also mitigated interference, unlike earlier technologies like the regenerative receiver. 

Unfortunately, like any other technology, radios with TRF receivers did not come without their faults. The tuning process was very complicated, and keeping multiple tuned circuits aligned while tuning over a wide range of frequencies was difficult. From a consumer standpoint, this created a learning curve when trying to properly tune into a specific frequency. 

In conclusion, Ernst Alexanderson's patent in 1916 would change the course of the development that global communication would follow for generations to come. Although newer technologies would eventually surpass TRF-receiving technology, the early principles that arose from the ability to wirelessly tune into a radio frequency provided a foundation on top of which modern communication systems are built. 

Citations

Archive. (n.d.). https://ia800708.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/28/items/crossref-pre-1923-scholarly-works/10.1007%252Fbf01704446.zip&file=10.1007%252Fbf01712468.pdf 

Research guides: Persistent links for library resources: JSTOR. JSTOR - Persistent Links for Library Resources - Research Guides at University of Oregon Libraries. (n.d.). https://researchguides.uoregon.edu/persistentlinks/jstor 

Age of AI

AI is quickly becoming one of the most raging topics in modern culture, and with its abilities has the potential to greatly impact our way of life. In the Age of AI, a Frontline PBS special, analyzed AI and its Pros and Cons, from revolutionizing industry to posing serious threats to society. 

Everything good about artificial intelligence is what leads to its problems. For example, in the past few years, AI has taken jobs in factories through being able to automate production. It can even increase production speed through machine learning, or when AI works within a machine and teaches it better ways to produce a product. While this is a good thing for factory owners, this put many people out of jobs and in need of work to support their families

This ability for AI automation has been a key factor in increasing the productivity and cost-effectiveness of business operations. This is not only through machinery but also through structuring business models, increasing financial productivity, analysis, and much more. 

There are also data privacy concerns when looking into AI. Since AI systems draw their conclusions from vast amounts of information to function, the concern arises when considering our personal data and how it is used. This raises questions about who has access to this data, and if it is used to exploit users for advertising. New "deep fake" technologies also pose a threat to society. With this technology, misinformation can easily be spread. 

AI comes with its benefits and its negatives, like any other technology, and it's our job to determine the proper ways to utilize its functionality ethically. As AI continues to grow and develop, it will likely become as prevalent as the internet is today, so we must continually adapt and understand new ways to use its functionality. 

Privacy, Online and Off

During class, we reviewed a series of Ted Talk videos covering various privacy issues surrounding modern technologies. These issues included but were not limited to, "electronic tattoos", mass location tracking, and wiretapping. 

The First TED talk that we watched was a lecture given by Juan Enriquez. In his lecture, he refers to the idea of "electronic tattoos," the information that we publicly share and all of the data that can be collected from it.  Just as normal tattoos stay with you forever, the information that we share online is also available forever and attached to our faces through facial recognition connected to our social profiles. To explain this concept, he used principles regarding immortality from the ancient Greeks. He refers to the story of Sysiphus, and the fact that our electronic tattoos make up our reputation. He moves on to the story of Orpheus, in which he relays that because there is so much data available, you may not want to look too far into the past of those you care about. His main point throughout his lecture is that what we put out there is available forever. Everything you post has an effect on others, and because of this, we must maintain a sense of professionalism and ethical behavior to maintain our reputations in the future. 

In the second TED talk, we hear from Catherine Crump about mass location tracking. She refers to technologies, including automatic license plate readers, cell tower dumps, stingray technology, and more. Because modern data conservation costs have plummeted with the development of new storage technology, the federal government collects mass quantities of information into databases with millions of data points. This can range from license plate scanning that tracks your location and movements to cell signal information that can ping your location from a cell tower. These privacy violations are incredibly important for citizens. While this information is available to the government, our personal lives are no longer personal. Because these technologies are used so consistently the government is steadily collecting information not only on criminals and terrorists but normal citizens trying to live their day-to-day lives. 

The third TED talk that really stood out to me was from Christopher Soghoian. He talks about the government being extremely infuriated with the encryption features incorporated into tech companies' software. He refers back to the idea that since we all use the same mediums for communication if the government can track certain demographics like criminals and national threats, they are also able to track average members of society.  He specifically talks about the surveillance systems used by Google and Microsoft, as in 2009 they were compromised by the Chinese Government. Because there was a "back door" into the surveillance technology, anyone who knows how can access it. This is inherently important because if anyone can access the information, anyone can see your personal conversations and information. This is a direct threat to our digital privacy.