The Next New Thing

Suggest a new type of “new media” that doesn’t currently exist. Describe it.

A new type of “new media” that doesn’t currently exist that could exist in the near future is the possibility to vote either online or through a mobile app. With the primaries and elections currently at play, voter turn out is of utmost importance. Students like myself, among full time/part time employees, out of state students, and people who tend to have busier schedules on Tuesdays and Thursday and cannot make the time to put in their ballot would no longer have an excuse not to vote if this type of “new media” existed. This application should be made with the government, a few security firms and hackers to create the optimal product where votes cannot be rigged or hacked into. It should be created with a simple interface similar to making an in-person vote but with high security measures considering all the mishaps and misdemeanors made possible on the internet and technological devices. This form of “new media” would make voting practically inexcusable. Whether someone is study abroad, out of state, traveling or living out a packed schedule, simple logging on to a site or mobile applications would be hassle free and efficiently executed in a few minutes or less.

Our Class Wiki – So Far

What you have been doing to contribute to our class wiki. Pages you have created and/or edited. Describe in general terms content you have added. If you have not added any content yet, then at least describe the research you have done and what you are working on towards this goal.

In preparation for my contributions I have been reading various community pages to understand what should be contributed to a wiki page. Using the research from my term paper and the articles we have read for class relating to privacy. I will be contributing to the privacy page. I am also interested in doing more research to expand on the role of new media in mass media as well as mobile apps development page.

P2P File Sharing

1. What is file sharing?
2. What is P2P File sharing?
3. What are some examples of P2P file sharing?

File sharing is sharing computer data publicly or privately to others through a network. It allows a number of people to use the same file to read it, view it, modify it, copy it and print it. Popular file sharing sites would include Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, and SkyDrive. These sites typically allow users to share documents, music, ebooks, movies, and etc. P2P file sharing is sharing electronic files directly to another user using a P2P (peer-to-peer) software program that searches for other connected computers on a P2P network. BitTorrent, uTorrent, and The Pirate Bay are examples of P2P file sharing sites that help us efficiently share large files with others.

Another example of P2P sharing is exhibited in the article “Peers Find Less Pressure Borrowing From Each Other.” This article discusses peer-to-peer lending operating as a marketplace for investors to “put up money to fund loans” where they are able to make a nice profit and consumers get to borrow at lower rates than a conventional institution. These lending clubs are “a more direct funding process between the investor and the borrowers. There’s no branch network. Everything happens online and it is really powered by technology and the Internet.”

Privacy & Confidentiality

Discuss how the issues of privacy and confidentiality are related to new media.

Privacy and confidentiality on new media portals are increasingly becoming a concern for online users. As we continue to share and post location of events and restaurants, funny photos, resumes, and credit card information online, we increase our risk of having our privacy invaded. Privacy and confidentiality is not entirely guaranteed when we join new media platforms and share our lives with hopefully just family and friends. Anything on public display is vulnerable to be monitored by employers or future employers. Even personal information published online through “secure” privacy settings are vulnerable to hackers who know how to retrieve private and confidential information on the worldwide web. Social media users are not always aware of how much or even what private information could be accessed by the public. It is becoming increasingly important for users to Google themselves to make sure their search will only show data they are willing to share.

New media, privacy and confidentiality are deeply related and relevant topics in our generation. In my opinion, I think we can better protect our privacy and confidentiality through self management and regulations. Users can manage their profiles, comments, photos and most content they share on social media to reflect a more formal or professional image. It is entirely up to the user themselves to post and share whatever information whether private or publicly for other netizens to view. But users should keep in mind that if they are putting information on the web, they should responsible for its consequences. Regulations on social media platforms would protect privacy and confidentiality on the web for user by created rules and laws on the internet. The only problem with trying to regulate and implement rules on the web is agreeing on privacy policies and actually implementing them either within the United States or internationally. The best advice for privacy and confidentiality on new media is knowing that anything posted online is public knowledge and the best way to prevent giving away your private information is to not post (or regulate what you share) online.

Advice

You are hired by Baruch College to use new media to improve the College. What are some suggestions you would make using new media?

If I was hired to use new media to improve Baruch College, I would suggest for Baruch to constantly update their Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook and other social networking platforms they are on to better inform students of professional events, club events, athletic games, school performances and etc. By advertising all our school activities on social media, students can easily find interesting events to attend, increase the turnout rate for small events, and try out activities they normally would not know about. I know from my own experience that I would love to participate in professional events, training workshops, and events that provide free lunch but having to walk across each floor on the VC building to check out flyers is a hassle when Baruch could use its social platforms to advertise these activities. Recently, a new app called Tapt was advertised to our student for us to get more involved on campus activities. I quite enjoy the concept of this app to build a closer community between Baruch student and allow them to give feedback about classes, on campus activities, advice, chat with other student, etc. The only downside to this app is that as an innovative and start-up app, not many students are informed or involved enough to take off this app to serve its entire purpose as of yet.

Other suggestions of making use of new media is for professors to incorporate new media usage in their classrooms. Using blackboard discussion boards, Twitter, Facebook and etc would allow students to better communicate with their professors and peers alike. As new media is a popular form of communication nowadays, students may feel more comfortable discussing, debating, and asking question online than in class. Since students commonly frequent social media sites more than their emails and blackboard accounts, making their classwork and notifications available on another platform could increase productivity and awareness of upcoming due dates.

Creativity and New Media

Second life and the use of Virtual Worlds are prime examples of the use of New Media fostering creativity. One of the games involving virtual worlds and avatars that I use to play as a kid was gaiaonline. This site enables users to dress up characters, join forums, play mini games ad much more. Users also connect and communicate with communities all around the world. Here, I created a new account to show how this social platform engages creativity.

Customize Avatars: Users can create an account and immediately start designing their avatars with features and clothes. 

Customizing Homes: Users can choose the style, plot and design of their homes. 

Interacting with other Users: We can visit homes of friends and users all around the world. 

These are only a few examples of where gaia online allows users to personalize their accounts. Gaia online and other virtual world games alike are great ways for people to show off their creativity and explore other creative content on social platforms.

 

Creativity

New media today is a bridge for both communication and creativity. Nowadays, user-generated content has revolutionized the limits of individual creativity. Everyone can own new media by creating any content to express themselves, their talents and their personalities. In the article, “Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why?” exemplifies a creative posting of a mashup of “snippets of animated movies and TV shows” owned by Disney, parodying Crank That (Soulja Boy). Similarly, individuals have edited “versions using characters owned by other media companies” such as Nickelodeon. Unlike Disney, Nickelodeon responds by allowing use of its copyright content to create humorous videos. A representative reported “our audiences can creatively mash video from our content as much and as often as they like.” This only shows that many companies are lenient in allowing users to explore internet mash-up and parodies to foster creativity.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

What are different ways these virtual worlds can be used? What are the pros and cons? Be specific. How do virtual worlds foster creativity? What do you think the future of virtual worlds will look like?

The modeling of reality with virtual worlds would create a new stage of interaction and engagement between people and technology. Some uses for virtual worlds would include the possibilities of new gaming experiences, therapy, education, training programs, hands on experience for the military, surgeons, astronauts and for so much more.

In the article, “After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get a Reboot?” Jacki Morie discusses the connectedness  leveraged by children as fundamentally a positive aspect for “entertainment, social connection and learning.” Surprisingly it is children who are taking advantage of virtual realities before the older generations. As stated by Morie, because children are being limited to certain roaming radius’ by protective parents, children tend use virtual realities and avatars to escape parental guidance. This goes to show how far technology has advanced where children can now play in a virtual world away from dangerous realities and physical harms. The article also provides further pros of virtual realities in the business world such as creating a virtual healing space for returning soldiers and building structures to answer the what-ifs in life.

Although there are many pros to using virtual realities, Mark Tutton in “Going to the Virtual Office in Second Life” reminds us that we will be missing out on the necessary physical interactions. In the article, Tutton describes many pros to using second life in businesses such as, for meetings, team projects, and even as an element of time travel. But problems, for instance “virtual teams may not share national and organizational cultures” and missing out on the water cooler experience could hinder collaboration. As stated by Tutton, “Even in this era of emote collaboration, it seems that we still need human interaction — even if it’s completely virtual.”

Virtual worlds can foster creativity by allowing the interactions of people all around the world to combine ideas and knowledge to further advance man kind. I believe that the future of virtual worlds would look like reality while also giving users the opportunity to change any aspect of it with their minds. It is possible that we will later experience virtual worlds and reality simultaneously because these ideas (going on vacation virtually while in the comfort of one’s home) are already out there. Someone just has to invent them.

Blog About Twitter

How does a Twitter discussion compare to a BlackBoard Discussion? To an in-class discussion?

Twitter discussions are casual and more limited as compared to BlackBoard discussions. On Twitter, there is a 140 character limit that constrains out statements into short and concise sentences while BlackBoard discussions gives students the chance to explain and support their work. Twitter and in-class discussions are interactive than BlackBoard because we tend to view Blackboard as a platform where we have to be formal and explicit in our writing to communicate with both our professor and peers. On Twitter, users are less concerned about their comments because it’s short and most likely briefed over by many. Even in an in-class discussion, students are less formal and can better express themselves because professor can build on their arguments to express the class topic. Twitter and BlackBoard also differ in that, Twitter allows interactive discussions to be held and easily accessible through Twitter’s mobile app, while BlackBoard has to be enter through a computer or tablet device.

Social Networking Sites

Visit Facebook, Twitter – and TWO other social networking site of your choosing. Compare your impressions of these 4 sites. Note that you probably should register and log in to get the complete picture.

As technology advances, social networking sites are also evolving to create new ways for people to interact on the internet. Although most social networking sites have similar features, their functions and interaction levels tend differ. Here are the four social networking sites I will be comparing today: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Out of the four social networking sites, Facebook seems to be the most popular because billions of people all over the world are using this platform. Facebook is a source of daily connection and interactions between friends and family members. Features such as the new feed, messenger and status update allows users to communicate their actions and opinions to their peers efficiently. Facebook allows users to share their lives in all forms of communications such as videos, images, news articles, comments and likes. Facebook basically does it all, compared to the other social networking sites.

Taking a look at Twitter, we can see that its users are entitled to sharing their thoughts, feelings, actions and opinions within a 140 character limit. Twitter is usually used on a more personal level, where users post their daily, hourly, or minutely comments. I notice that most of these comments include the use of hashtags which lets users search up certain hashtags and view all tweets related to the subject. Twitter also has a trending feed to show users what tags are most popular on its site in that moment in time.

Instagram users usually post photos or videos to capture that specific moment they would like to share with their followers. It is easy to use and even include filters to change the lighting and dimension of a picture. Similar to Twitter, people on Instagram also use tons of hashtags in their comments for easy reference to a topic, subject, or opinion. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook lean towards a more personal side that allows personality to shine through.

Lastly, I would describe Pinterest as a social bookmarking network. Users can follow other user’s pinterest boards relating to any subject. Within the pinterest board, users pin blogs, articles and images pertaining to one general category. Similar to Twitter and Instagram, Pinterest has the following and comment features for social interaction. Rather than interacting with mostly friends and family, Pinterest is a social one networking site you can use to bookmark anything of interest for yourself or sharing with just strangers.