The Next New Thing

A new type of new media that I am thinking of will replace the need for cell phones and tablets. This technology will allow us to project a virtual screen right in front of our eyes and be able to access the internet as well as other applications. For example, we could see and add friends to Facebook by just looking at them. We could also get directions to places while we were en route to the target without having to lift a finger. This new media will allow people to connect with each other in a unique way that has never been done before. The sharing of information will become almost instantaneous, and we will have access to the entire world right before our eyes. This new media will allow for people to be linked together and for a quicker and easier experience as an alternative to physical input, that is on phones and tablets.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

One of the pages I have started researching and am planning on editing is the the "New Media and Video Game Consoles" section within the wiki. More specifically, I am going to be adding to the Future of New Media and Video Game Consoles section, when I will be talking about the recent news that Apple CEO Tim Cook has met up with founded of Valve Games in order to discuss working together to create a video game system to fit in with the upcoming Apple TV. According to speculation the device will be similar to Xbox Kinect and be a fully motion sensor input device. Although this is just a rumor there is some solid evidence and facts  that Tim Cook has interest in working with software company Valve in creating a hardware device.

I will also be adding another console to the list of devices already shown. The PS Vita. The PS Vita is another hand held gaming system added to the play station line up that was just released this year. It is the successor to the PSP or Play station portable.

P2P File Sharing

File sharing is the basic idea of sharing a certain file, whether it be a song, image, video, or any other document with another person. There are many ways that file sharing can take place,  both including and excluding the use of the internet. The use of external storage such as flash drives can help to allow others to access information, as well as sending files via the internet by email or other messaging services.

P2P File sharing, or Peer to Peer file sharing requires the use of a special software to share information with other users, usually random people.While using P2P file sharing it is usually hard to tell who is providing the information from a legal standpoint since the download is coming in bits and pieces from everyone's computer that has it. For example when using BitTorrent,  the more popular the file is the faster it downloads - because more people are pitching in"

Some popular exampels of P2P file sharing  as previously mentioned is BitTorrent, which allows users to seamlessly download and upload data. Another popular site that also allows users to do this is ThePirateBay. There has been many questions about the legality of these sites as of lately, since they are often providing users with illegal content. Some older P2P file sharing programs include Kazan and Bearshare, which let users download mainly music, but also other files.

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

Privacy and Confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality are both extremely important in regard to new media, and become even more important as time passes. Since we are in an information era, anything we do or say online is stored in what is called a digital fingerprint, available for our future employers, friends, and others to find withe the click of a button. In order to keep our information and personal life safe, one must be very careful about what information they choose to put on the web.


Another very important issue is the issue of identity theft. Since the use of devices like smartphones and tablets, we are storing information like credit card numbers, ban accounts, and social security numbers in these online devices. If these devices are lost or stole, they pose a threat to being stolen and hacked. Also if a user connects to an open network, one can easily swoop in and steal their personal information. 


With the ever growing use of these devices and websites, we need to be careful to always have strong privacy settings if we want to stay safe in the future, since it is almost impossible to get rid of what we post on the web once it is already posted.

Advice to Baruch College

I think there could be many things done to benefit Baruch College in the realm of New Media. Firstly, I think the school should better try to integrate the use of Facebook with all classes.  Perhaps a teacher could create a class group via Facebook, so all the class mates could get to know each other before and during the class. Also it would be much easier to speak and communicate in regards to projects and homework. Another way that classes could benefit from new media is if professors were to record each lecture on provide them on youtube. I think this would allow for students to better study for exams, since they could go back and replay what had happened in class that particular day.
Lastly, I think Baruch could use a combination of Twitter and Facebook to inform students of certain things, such as whether your class is cancelled that day or for a discussion board for more general questions, like a large forum where current students could seek advice from others.

Creativity and New Media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB23TSo69hQ

This is a video that I made which originally started as a joke between my brother and I. It was posted on reddit and has gotten over 35,000 views since then. The video is pretty odd, but I think that says a lot about what new media allows us to share and what people like to watch on the internet. Enjoy.

Creativity

New media has played a vital role in fostering creativity all across the internet. It allows for users to create any video or idea imaginable and share it with the rest of the world. Sites like YouTube allow for this content to be spread, and that is directly seen when one views viral videos. Viral videos can range from ideas that were planned to complete accidents caught on tape, but the concept gives anything a chance to become "viral". Many users creatively make a web series, episodes of certain videos, blogs, and perform other unique stunts. New media has also allowed other websites to generate content and ideas, such as twitter. The concept of mentioning someone using an @ symbol was put into place because users just started doing it.  Twitters CEO Evan Williams even said “That one really took us by surprise” but since that moment the @ sign has been a vital feature of twitter. The same goes with the hashtag symbol # and how it is used, and now that is a wide spread phenomenon. New media has allowed for both users to create viral videos for themselves but also for users to shape the product they are using, and that wouldn't be possible without the use of the internet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

There are many ways in which virtual worlds can be use to benefit us. First it has been growing in use in the corporate world, as a place to "meet" people."large companies, educational institutions, government agencies and even the U.S. military -- use Second Life to hold meetings, conduct training and prototype new technologies more efficiently."This fact shows the ever growing importance and usefulness that virtual worlds are providing us. They allow us to be there without really being there.  It also allows us to keep things preserved, which is another pro regarding these worlds. The case of Hotel Chelsea, a popular hotel that was taken over by new management and completely remodelled not exists, in its original state, on a virtual level thanks to Second Life. Second life also allows users to purchase goods within the world, using real money that is trading for virtual money.

It has also been practical in the medical world, with the use an online simulation designed to help nurses make quick, sure decisions in emergencies. These virtual worlds are sweeping the real world and drawing users in, whether it be for work or leisure purposes. Some negative effects of living in these worlds is that one can become "absorbed", spending more time in the virtual world than in actual reality. Sometimes players can become so obsessed they wind up spending every moment living out a virtual life, and spending a lot of money on these virtual items with no physical value.

Virtual worlds do a lot to foster creativity. It gives the opportunity to explore the world without leaving your computer chair. One could visit world landmarks, virtually, or even recreate them. It allows people to express themselves in a way that they cannot in real life, due to many reasons. The future of virtual worlds is definitely growing as people spend more time on computers. I think it will continue to be a great method in the professional world, with meetings, demos, and simlations to help workers in everday scenarios. In the future, the entire Earth will be virtual, down to every last inch and we will be able to explore where ever we want to visit while sitting at our desk.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703909804575124470868041204.html?KEYWORDS=avatar+ii+the+hospital
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/nyregion/thecity/03virt.html?_r=1
http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html

Blog about Twitter

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

A Twitter discussion has its positives and negatives when compared to a BlackBoard discussion. Since Blackboard is essentially an online forum, it is very easy to separate and group each topic and read each reply. Using Twitter the only way to do this is to separate by hashtags, and then scroll through a list of tweets and replies that you may not know what they pertain to. In this case Blackboard is more effective. Also the fact that Twitter limits you to 140 characters could be a positive or negative. For one it could help users get there point across in a more concise way but most times it forces tweets to be shortened and less detailed. Twitter however is a better way of communicating with people, since you can directly message and tweet at each person.

Twitter compared to an in class discussion is a completely different experience. In an in-class discussion, you can engage with other classmates and the teacher, and be able to get your point across in a better fashion. Using 140 characters is sometimes hard to tell people how you really feel on a certain subject. Also, an in-class discussion is more personal and you can get a sense of how people think and feel on the subject matter. The only upside of using Twitter is that everything is stored online, if you would like to go back and review what others have said.

Overall while Twitter is very effective in communicating it does not compare to a real in class discussion, and may be slightly less organized than using a regular forum page /email like Blackboard.

Social Networking Sites

I am going to be comparing Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and Linked In as social networking sites. Since I have used all of these sites in the past or present I already have a good impression of how they work. Facebook immediately comes off as very personal, since most users have there full names, cities, phone numbers, and other various information you could find of someone. If you are looking for someone specific, Facebook is most likely the place to go. Since I have all of my friends and most of my family on there, it is definitely what I check most in order to keep in touch with alot of people. The fact that Facebook allows you to basically make a photo album of your whole life is definitely a reason that so many people use it.

Twitter on the other hand is a lot more impersonal in my opinion. I use Twitter as a way to keep up with my favorite artists, celebrities, sports teams, and close friends. The interface is confusing at times however it is very efficient, even more then Facebook at spreading news. I think Facebook is more suitable for keeping in contact with a large amount of people that you won't talk to everyday, while Twitter will help keep you updated with a smaller group of people that you may not even personally know. I definitely think Twitter is the least like all of these sites in that it is not trying to  make a profile of information about you.

Next is Myspace, which almost seems ancient at this point. Having not logged into Myspace in many years I was greeted with nostalgia but quickly realized the reason many people left it. It is very cluttered, but mostly similar to Facebook in most senses. However Myspace always had a more teen user base in my opinion. Myspace is very messy at this point, many peoples pages are different colors with animated gifs and songs blaring each time you open a new page. It is also less personal since a lot of people never used there real name, unlike Facebook.

Lastly is Linked In which I admittedly have spent the least time on. Linked In is a great tool for networking, and keeping up with contacts that you may not speak to otherwise. Also I noticed there are many job postings on the site now, which is definitely a plus. Linked In is definitely the most important social networking site in the business world, and you should try your hardest to keep your profile "clean" there.

Overall all of these sites serve a different purpose but most of them accomplish the same things. My impression of all of these sites is that they are or were useful in at least one aspect as they continue to grow.

Social Networking

There are many ways that Social Networking could and has been used in both corporate and everyday life that benefit society.  A very important option is the use of LinkedIn. Instead of the traditional method of the candidate coming to the employer, LinkedIn has allowed the employer to come to the candidate. Users of LinkedIn can create their profiles, and enter certain keywords so that they may be found by recruiters. For example,recruited Maureen Crawford-Hentz has offered many jobs based on LinkedIn profiles.

She stated, "I ended up looking for consumer product marketing," Crawford-Hentz says. "And I hit upon his profile, and I sent him this e-mail saying: 'Hi, Alfred, I found your profile on line. And we have a position that I think may be of interest to you.'"

This is a clear indication that the use of social networking is very powerful in all aspects of life. However there is a dark side that many people are unaware of that pertains to the privacy portion of using these websites. When people use social networking sites frequently, such as Facebook and Twitter, they are creating a digital fingerprint in their name, and many hardly take this into account. Lance Hoffman, a computer science professor stated that " by giving up such information as their name, birth date, and a list of their network of friends, users are revealing far more than they know" What Hoffman is alluding to is that many applications "steal" that information everytime we use the site and piece it together like a puzzle, until they have enough information to steal someone's identity. This is the reason that social netoworking sites have recently increased the level of privacy to offer users, although some argue there is never enough.

Facebook can also be detrimental to the job search. Employers are more and more everyday using Facebook to screen potential employees. They are able to access a potential candidates whole life in certain scenarios if specific settings are not in place, and this can thwart them from getting a job. In the future, I strongly believe privacy will play even a bigger role in how these social networking sites are used. I know the goal for some social networking sites, specifically Facebook is to encompass a persons online experience.  Facebook will definitely continue to grow, but there will be many issues regarding how they store and use the users data. The very useful professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn will continue to have a growing impact on how employers are recruited, as time passes and computer interaction becomes more prominent.

Overall while social networking is becoming a key tool in getting jobs, on LinkedIn, it may be detrimental to one if they do not update there privacy settings. Outside of the corporate world, I think users should be careful about how much and what information is hosted online as puzzle pieces are added to our digital fingerprint.



http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2262

Blogs vs Wikis

      Blogs and wikis are two very different things, and while they may both accomplish the same task at times there are many different uses for them. Both of these types of websites allow the whole networked internet to read them, however wiki's allow all users to edit, change, and add material. A blog on the other hand is generally used as a journal, with only one user adding and creating material. For example, user "Mud Puppy" created a blog that gave readers a day by day update on being over in Iraq on the front lines and included stories of bombings and other situations. In this sense, blogs are more helpful in capturing a usually specific audience and providing them with stories, feelings, emotions, as well as information. Wiki's on the other hand are generally about cold hard facts to help educate its users. However since wiki's may be edited by almost anyone, there must be a constant policing of information to make sure it is correct. Wikipedia has limited the amount of data that can be edited by regular users to an extent because of this.

     Blogs can be used for collaboration by allowing blog users, who both write on the same topic whether it be sports, technology, or politics, to pool their experiences, thoughts, and feelings and create a larger audience. Bloggers may also follow other blogs with similar topics, just as we did with adding a blog roll,  to create a never ending list of blogs regarding certain areas. An interesting use for wiki's that I have never seen done is to use it for a group project, whether it be for work or school. Group members, can range from as little as 5 to  hundreds in certain cases, and  the project may be branched out into different categories. A wiki could be an easy way to organize the information that encompasses the project and make it available for others to view and add too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/us/09milblogs.html?ref=politics

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/technology/internet/25wikipedia.html?_r=1

The Impact of Smartphones on Everyday Society

My research topic is going to focus on the influence of smart phones, both positive and negative, on our everyday society. Smart phones have become almost a neccesity for many people, specifically since the inception of the iPhone in 2007. Since then there have been thousands of phones created with extraordinary capabilities. These devices have helped shape the world we live in today and has affected people in many ways. For example, they can be extremely useful in regard to saving time and being more efficient, however there have been many social, physical, and mental problems regarding our use of these devices. I hope to discuss both sides of the argument, and see if one side outweighs the other, or if there is a balance between the two.