Next New

With all the different kinds of new media available today, one may wonder, what's next? I think it'd be really cool if there was 3d video chatting.mthe whole reason people choose video chatting over phone calls is because it feels more like you're with that person at that moment. By making this 3d, it'll feel even more realistic! :)

Our Class Wiki - So Far

As a content auditor for our class wiki, I haven't had the chance to go through many of the posts. I plan on waiting for some of the editing to settle down and then going into the pages and looking through the information to make changes and correct any errors there might be..such as broken links, grammatical errors...etc. I have looked into the formatting of the wiki and have familiarized myself with the pages that we have thus far. It will be interesting to "audit" these pages because it will give me exposure to all topics being discussed as opposed to focusing on one main subject. 

P2P File Sharing

According to Wikipedia, file sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents, or electronic books.


P2P file sharing is short for Peer to Peer file sharing. allows users to download media files using a P2P software client that searches for other connected computers. 


Some well known examples of P2P file sharing include Napster, BitTorrent, Kazaa in which users who had the requested media files were able to share them with users who requested them.


Sources Cited: 
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.01/bittorrent.html 

Privacy & Confidentiality

After writing my term paper on privacy and confidentiality, I can safely say that I am scarily aware of the privacy concerns that new media brings. Although clearly stated in their privacy policies, how many of us actually read what we are agreeing to. Many of us do not know that our private information is being collected and distributed to third party users. Privacy has become a bigger concern now because the generation being exposed to new media is getting younger and younger. They are naive and don't realize the dangers of posting their information on social media sites. The increased rates of crimes being committed through new media forums such as Facebook and craigslist is rather alarming and we just don't realize just how dangerous new media can be. With advancing technology, we must ask ourselves...what is privacy and confidentiality and we must ponder it's existence.

Advice to Baruch College

Baruch College can be improved using new media. It can make things easier for students by allowing them to interact with their peers and faculty. By implementing new media such as social networking sites, it gives students more access to information and keeps an open line of communication between the 2. By creating a Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, students will have access to information they might otherwise not have access to. If students are already on social networking sites, it would only make sense for the college to become more active using these forms of social media! It is much easier than waiting on line or staying on the phone for hours to get answers.

Creativity and New Media

New media introduces a host of new applications for the rising market of tablets and smart phones. One application that I've recently fallen in love with is Bamboo. It is an interactive tablet interface that allows for the user to scribble and draw. IT is completely interactive and controlled by the user which is one of the benefits that new media provides. Below are some creations I quickly drew up and scribbled for reference. :) Enjoy! (The application is free in the appstore!)

You can doodle in class!

or be more productive and take notes :)

Creativity

New media fosters creativity by giving people an additional way to interact with others. It allows for people to share their art for in ways that they were never able to before as seen in the article "1+1+1=1 The New Math of Mashups" New media allows for users to reach new audiences and gives them access to other users as well. This provides for inspiration, and joint projects with users across the globe. Because new media is constantly changing and improving, this allows for creativity to have no limits or boundaries. New media allows for users to be innovative, creative, and artistic thinkers due to the endless possibilties that new media provides.
Sources Cited:
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/10/050110crmu_music

Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds

With games that simulate an online virtual world rising to prominence in today's society We often wonder what benefits these virtual worlds can have. These different virtual worlds can help us simulate real life scenarios without having to face all the consequences posed to us when facing reality. Virtual worlds allow us to try things in an open community without doing so much harm to ppl. Virtual worlds leave many things open to imagination and give users the convenience of visiting these places from their home. They allow for an open community where people from all over the world can mingle and be free without the limitations of reality.

 Some pros of virtual worlds include: The convenience of not having to leave your home to experience a new environment. Being able to build a community with users all over the world. People can do things in virtual worlds that they may not be able to do in reality due to financial or medical issues.

Cons: People can be so entranced in a virtual world that they might forget what reality is. I imagine virtual worlds can also become very addictive and might lead to some social problems. Virtuak worlds are just that...virtual. Also, they are very timely to construct and often take away from actual human interaction.

Virtual worlds foster creativity by leaving everything open to interpretation. It allows for people to escape from reality.

In my opinion virtual worlds would look like a 3d replica of the actual world with the difference that one is all graphics while the other is tangible.

Works Cited:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html?_r=1

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/01/ST2008040103032.html

Blog about Twitter

In terms of interaction, I believe that blackboard discussions are on one end of the spectrum and in class discussions are on the opposite end with twitter discussions being the middle ground. Twitter discussions are definitely more interactive than blackboard discussions. Partially because Twitter has a bigger presence in mobile media in comparison to blackboard. In order to access a blackboard discussion you have to sign into your account and go search through unread messages just to get to yours. With a twitter discussion, the accessibility is much easier and it is also a lot easier to find what & who you're talking to. 

In a technological world, I believe twitter discussions are the closest thing we can get to in class discussions. Tweets in real time are what really differentiate twitter and blackboard discussions and what makes it one step closer to in class discussions.  

Social Networking Sites

The four social networking sites I visited were Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Although these four sites are all deemed "social networking" sites, they give off very different impressions.

Facebook: Gives off the impression of what a social networking site really should be. It puts a great emphasis on building connections with friends or people that you may have things in common with. Reminds of the "Six Degrees of Separation" theory.

Myspace: Similar to Facebook but for a younger generation. The format and layout of Myspace in comparison to Facebook seems more targeted towards a younger demographic. Myspace reminds me of a online dating website for young teens where as Facebook reminds me of a site like yearbook.com used to reconnect with people.

Twitter: Twitter is the new thing. It limits what users can write to 140 characters which can somewhat be frustrating. I do believe that the layout and format of twitter allows for it to be the most interactive social networking site of the four.

LinkedIn: Something that has become my become my good friend within the last year. LinkedIn is like the grown up version of Facebook. You get to network with professionals in your field, and you get to post recommendations for your peers and vice versa. LinkedIn gives off a more professional vibe and allows for users to interact with individuals in the corporate world that they might otherwise not have a chance to. i also love how LinkedIn has a feature that shows your degree of connection to other people.

Social Networking

Social networking has played a pivotal role in today's society. Now more than ever, social networking sites have become places where you reconnect with old pals, fellow co-workers, class mates, and even future employers. With corporations now introducing Facebook fan pages, twitters, and LinkedIn profiles, it has become another way to network with professionals. This is both good and bad.
Starting with the good: it allows for more interaction between the individual and the corporation. It seems more personal. A negative thing is that it may be too personal. Often times we post pictures, status updates, tweets and we don't even think twice about it. However, recent news suggests that now, employers will most likely conduct a search essentially exposing all the social networking sites you use.
Regardless, I do think social networking sites are beneficial to society. It allows for open communication and allows for individuals to reconnect. It has made "keeping in touch" so much easier. The fact that it occurs in real time is what I believe to be one of the greatest assets social networking has introduced.

Having said that, I wonder what will happen when we become so accustomed to social networking that we forget how to network with actual people and not just people behind a computer screen. Will it create a generation of individuals who are socially awkward and reliant on technology? This is one of problems social networking presents. I can't say for sure whether or not the good outweighs the bad. I guess it all depends on how much of yourself you're willing to put out there.

Sources Cited:
Being There: The subtle art of the Facebook update
Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting

Blog v. Wiki

Blogs and wikis have many differences and similarities. Blogs are know to be more personal and act as a way for people to express their feelings and thoughts freely. As seen in the NY Times article, people can speak freely about anything. Blogs serve as a window into the personal lives of bloggers.
According to Wikipedia, wiki's are websites where multiple users can add, edit, or delete content using their web browser. With that said, blogs have a exclusivity trait to it that's a bit intriguing. With wiki's, the experience is less personal but more focused. Both are similar in the sense that they are leaning toward this idea of collaborative social networking. I personally work on a blog where I collaborate with 3 other girls. It is with this point that I think that the idea of wikis and blogs are somewhat merging. The idea that multiple users can edit one single page shows how society and social media is changing. By examining blogs and wikis, we can see that it is becoming more interactive amongst the community.

I've never used a wiki before so it's a new experience for me to log in and edit knowing that there are at least 20 other users editing the same pages as I am. I can't particularly pinpoint one way that wikis can evolve but I can definitely that wikis will change the way information is found. The information is not always reliable, but it's always there with sources to back it up.

Social Networking: A purposeful loss of privacy

With the recent surge of social networking websites in today's media, one must wonder how this affects our privacy. Recent controversies surrounding new privacy policies issued by Facebook, YouTube, & even Google bring to our attention the vulnerability that we expose ourselves to when we post up personal information on the web. In some ways, you can't undo what you post on the web because there is always someway to track it back. Phone numbers, credit card purchases, websites you visited; all those are stored somewhere in cyberspace for a technologically savvy individual to find. With the prominence of social networking sites, we are setting ourselves up for a loss of privacy. By the time we realize this, our information has already been leaked and it's too late to undo it. Sure, we can change our settings but someone out there has this information. My project will examine how social networking is an example of a purposeful loss of privacy. It will further examine the privacy policies that are put in place on popular social media sites and how they don't really protect our privacy. Once again, I stress the point that any information you give out on social media sites is fair game. There's always some way to find this information regardless if you have it "hidden." One must wonder if privacy even exists in the digital age...

This article quickly summarizes the danger the new social media outlets present us with...http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-02-15/news/the-facebook-killers/