Blog: Next New

The next new media I can think of would be a brand new world that can maybe be made through the technology of virtual reality and the internet. Sometimes, I hear people say they need an escape from life and society because they just need a break from life. What if there was a second option another world that they can live in when they need a break from the world they live in now. This might not be exactly what people want but it is an option to consider and one that can help. Imagine a world just like ours but only in the virtual world and you are also interacting with real life humans in this world. Life can be a video game where you can be whatever or whomever you want to be in this world and it is also possible through the advancements in technology in VR and the internet. I think a rough version of this is done now but maybe there is a way to be more captivating than VR and more realistic hopefully so that you can actually feel like you are in a different world.

Blog: Wiki So Far

So far in the class wiki, I decided to edit the toys page. I added a section about Funko which is an up and coming toy collectible that I personally collect and buy almost every week. I was having troubles adding pictures to the Wiki and haven't really decided which picture to add because they have so many different and unique collectibles so I put off adding the picture for now. I think I will add the logo and a high-quality photo of my favorite collectible in the near future. Other than that, I think I can add a little bit more information on the background of the company and maybe discuss their other product lines even though I am not that positive about the other lines.

Blog: P2P

File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia, documents or electronic books. P2P file sharing is peer to peer file sharing where files can be shared from the users. This allows people to not only be the one looking for files but also the one that are distributing the files that other people want. As long as people are within the shared network they are able to share files with one another creating a larger amount of resources that you can find. Examples of a P2P file sharing platform is noted in "Peers Find Less Pressure Borrowing From Each Other" by Wendy Kaufman where she discussed the Lending Club and Prosper. They work by having investors put up the money to fund loans that have a rate if return based on it. Instead of going to any large corporations like a bank they invest among each other the people.

Blog:Advice

One way I would advise Baruch to incorporate new media into the school is social media. If professors and the school made social media a way for people in the same class to interact with each other it would be a lot easier for students to communicate among each other. The social media platform used by Facebook is very familiar to students nowadays and very easy to use. If every class was made with a group and maybe make one with just students and one with the student and the professor so it would be easier to have a group discussion with the other students or with the teacher if there are any questions. This will create a much easier communication method than having 30 students email the professor the same problem. The group can become a database of notes and class information in case students missed out on it and there are just many benefits to both the student and the professor by doing this.

Blog: Privacy

Privacy and confidentiality are not part of new media. Social media companies are asking you to be more public about your life. There is nothing that you can do nowadays that isn't open to the whole world. The growing idea of being more public and open about your life has eliminated the idea of privacy. Anything you post or say on social media will always be there. That is why most institutions teach the younger generation to watch what they post because they never know what they will be doing ten years from now.

Creativity and New Media

I went on Secondlife.com to create an avatar of myself. I decided to customize my character with a suit. To figure out what kind of suit I wanted to buy next.

Creativity

Creativity is everywhere now, everything that we own is a product of creativity. The endless bounds of creativity that is obtainable now is all due to the technology that help us achieve things that only our minds can imagine. In "The new math of mashups." by Sasha Frere. Jones we discuss a new way of making music that wasn't really a thing in the past. mostly this is capable because of the technology that is readily available right now. There is a whole music genre that is sound made by technology that is only possible due to the innovations that have been made up to this point.  This is just one example of how technology inspires everyone to think creatively and that nothing is really impossible . A lot of times people imagine the most creative yet bizarre ideas, that are sometimes impossible but eventually through a lot of hard work become something possible. My mom still can't get her head around the fact that we can video call people from across the globe when that has been a technology available for over 10-20 years. Things that were unimaginable are now  part of our everyday society. So whatever idea is in your mind is also something that is possible in the near future.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Living in a Virtual World may no longer be thought of as science fiction and is starting to become an idea that has come into fruition. While many people imagine a world similar to the one in the book Ready Player One, this is not exactly becoming what the world is today but don't be surprised if this is a possibility in the near future. Virtual Reality/ Virtual Worlds are now used in a multitude of ways such as being used as a social platform to communicate and talk to people in the virtual world. A lot of people have already been using it as a platform for gaming and now we are beginning to use virtual reality in education. In Stephanie Simon's "Avatar II: The Hospital" she discusses how they began using the virtual world as a learning platform in many medical institutions and hospital. By using the technology they save money because the dummies and mannequins used in the past often cost the hospital a sizable amount of money while in the technology it lasts forever and is always available in the future. This comes with its own faults, however, with the new technology people are learning virtually which is not exactly the same as learning through real-life experiences. Even though, it is discussed that it is a more accurate depiction, using our sense of touch is an essential part of learning that is negated. In the article "The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Virtual Classroom and the Role of the Teacher". A common practice in a basic teacher and student and classroom is being assessed to be replaced by the virtual world. This opens up the possibility of a future where Virtual World is the real world. I think that is the most amusing thing about this idea is that the possibilities are endless and that is only because we are able to create a completely new world where people can have the wildest and most unimaginable ideas be in the realm of possibility.  

Blog about Twitter

I think a Twitter discussion is very similar to a BlackBoard discussion. The only thing I would say that is different is that Twitter is a lot easier to use than BlackBoard discussions and more accessible for a lot of people. However, Twitter is a lot more public to BlackBoard discussions, wherein a BlackBoard discussion it is closed to the class or a small group of people. While on Twitter anyone can view what you say or write and it is no longer a small group but a whole word. Even though it would tend to be a small group the possibility of going public is always there.
Electronic discussions such as Twitter and BlackBoard discussions are uncomparable to an in-person discussion because in person they are a lot more direct and it is a spur of the moment thought rather than something that is well thought out. Often times when you are pressured that would be your most genuine self rather than having time to think out a response at times. The thought out responses can often be more insightful and knowledgeable but there is an "oomph" factor in human discussions that makes it different than talking through any electronic device.

Social Networking Sites

After looking at Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Linkedin there is one common theme I noticed. They all seem to be very bright and user-friendly. Everything you need to know is right in front of you simply clicking into where you want to be, and easy clicks to see what you want to see. Making everything easy to use and accessible to everyone makes the site for everyone. They tend to use more bright colors than darker colors and I think this makes it more inviting and draws the attention to everyone. A platform that happens to be easy to use and attention drawing is your definition of a welcoming popular website which is what social media has become.

Looking at Reddit it is very simplistic to click into a variety of topics if you're interested in sports there are subreddits that are easily found for that. In Facebook, if you want to see dog pictures, there are groups for that, if you want to catch up with friends they even have a messenger function within the platform. In Twitter, they make it extremely easy to express your thought on something said or something that happened, and this also becomes a discussion. Everything in social media makes it extremely easy to get and stay connected with people. With simple and easy to understand platforms it is understandable why social media dominates people's lives.

Blog Social Networking

Social Networking has become a staple in society for people to communicate with one another. Social networking provides society with a way to stay connected with others no matter how far the distance is. There is also the idea of LinkedIn, where people have been able to get career opportunities just because they fit the criteria that the recruiters were looking for. Social media has made simple task such as shopping to obtaining goals like getting a job a lot easier. In "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting" it discussed how professional recruiters use social media as a platform to find candidates. There is no longer the need to constantly mail applications or walk around looking for a job. I wouldn't be surprised if online becomes the only form of applying to jobs in the future.

I think there is a dark side to social networking and it was discussed in "Antisocial networking?". I don't feel that talking on the phone or by texting comes close to how much you can understand a person by talking to someone face to face. I can spend my whole week talking to someone by text but spending a couple of hours with the person is so much more satisfying and creates a better connection in my opinion. You miss a lot when you don't have a face to talk to, and emojis just aren't enough. I think that there is no problem with having friends you only talk to electronically but I could never call someone a close friend of mine if I never seen them or ever been able to interact with the person face to face.

1. Antisocial Networking? by Hilary Stout, New York Times, May 2, 2010, p. ST1. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/fashion/02BEST.htmlSocial Networking Technology 
2. Boosts Job Recruiting by Frank Langfitt, NPR, March 16, 2008. available from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf

Blog v Wiki

Blogs are often for people to express their ideas and opinions on all sorts of topics. Many blogs are often used as a diary or journal. A way of expressing the thoughts in the mind of people whether it is true or not. "Everyone who wished to be would be a publisher; democratization of information (and, consequently, power) would follow." This quote by Kathy E. Gill gives us insight to the idea that blogs is an informal and not a credible source of information. Everyone can be a publisher whether they have the credentials or not and opinions aren't facts. In the recent light of fake news opinions have begun to be passed off as facts. Blogs are not credible sources in the world and in many offices blogs are used more as a social platform than a platform for information.

Wikis are websites which users collaboratively modify content and structure directly from the web browser. Often times they are used as databases. At my former company we had a wiki for the acronyms that everybody was allowed to join in on and correct. Most of the time the information that we needed was easily found on the database. Wiki is slowly becoming a reliable source of information. Wikipedia itself has begun to change due to the staggering amount of false information that is on our fingertips today. "The popular encyclopedia, which has drawn criticism for inaccuracies, says it will try assigning editors to some of its entries.These trusted volunteers likely would have to approve public edits before they're published to English Language stories about
living people." In my workplace my manager and director usually use wikipedia as a rough depiction of the information they need and it has become a useful tool.

Overall, blogs are more opinion based entries where people share their own opinions and ideas. While wikis have come a long way to become the online encyclopedia of information that we can rely on to a certain point. 

Social Networking: Better or Worse than the Real Thing?

Social Networking has become a staple in the world. Most of the world owns a social media account whether it is a Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or LinkedIn. Almost every person I know cannot go a day without touching social media. Does this mean it is a bad thing or a good thing? Many people argue that social media is better for communication because it makes it easier for people to stay connected with each other. Yet, there are occasions where social media has dominated human to human interactions, talking to one another whether it is in person or over the phone has started becoming a hassle or unnecessary. We begin to talk about how people no longer have basic communication skills because most communication is done electronically. Throughout the world social media addiction camps have begun to rise. So now I ask you the question is it better that we talk through social media or what the millennial's call caveman talk where we talk to one another in person and with our mouths instead of our fingers.