Next New

There are lots of platforms such as Trip Advisor that helps tourist navigate and explore a new city, there could be a platform that matches tourists with locals who would like bring people around. These locals could earn money and who ever is available will be doing the tour. Sometimes tourists will need someone to bring them around for one day or even just a couple of hours. They can search by location and time to find the next available local to bring them on a tour. This is actually similar to how Uber works, where people around your location can pick you up and drive you to your destination. With this new media, whoever is nearby and knows the area and is available can bring tourists around.

P2P

File sharing gives access to digital media content such as music, videos, pictures, and so on. P2P refers to networks that allow two parties to communicate to one another. Thus, P2P file sharing refers to the sharing of digital content between users. Users are connected via the internet and digital content is shared between users across this network. 

Examples of P2P file sharing includes illegal downloads of movies and music. As mentioned in "Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios", in 2008, when the "Dark Knight" was released, more than 7 million copies of the movie was illegally downloaded across the world. Unknown users put the movie on the Internet which is accessible by other internet users who access and download it. A simple google search can bring up a movie available for download (Stelter and Stone 2009). 

This is a combination of technology and the internet at play. Because the internet is so open and users are connected via networks, illegal downloads are very common. Not downloading something illegally would actually be strange because no one wants to pay for content when they can have it for free. 

References: 
Stelter, Brian, and Brad Stone. "Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios." 
             The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Feb. 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.

      

Wiki so far

I am currently researching for the technology page to add content. I saw that someone mentioned about 3D printers and that immediately reminded me of "Prynt", a photo printing case. This looks like a phone case and once it was connected to a phone, it can immediately print pictures from the phone's album. This is a great example of how technology has allowed for things that were not possible in the past. I am planning to research about this product on its website as well as watch videos to understand about it functions. I will also go on kickstarter.com to learn more about how it started as a project and slowly became what it is today. Along with this content, I will add pictures of how the photo printing case looks like. 

I want to add an edit to the iphone 6 paragraph because I do want to research more about the iphone 6 and learn more about it. The best way to do this would be to read reviews on the iphone 6 and explore the apple website. 

Privacy

Privacy and confidentiality are often issues that come hand in hand with new media. New media allows information to freely move across the internet and its networks. This is available to all internet users and is accessible anywhere and anytime. This extremely important in today's society because new media technologies are used by many people for its efficiency and convenience. However, this also leads to a loss of privacy for its users. As much as we want information to be confidential, it is very hard to control the direction of it. For example, users post pictures on Facebook to share with their friends, but strangers may able to access these pictures. After all, this is the internet, everything is out in the open. 

However, most new media technologies do offer privacy settings to protect its user's confidentiality. We can customize our privacy settings so that we have control over who sees what and has access to what. With such privacy controls, sometimes it may be hard to keep track of making certain things private. This is when the loss of privacy really occurs. Privacy settings may be too complex, confusing and time consuming. Users are not always aware that their information is published to the public. 

Therefore, the ability for information to move across networks is both beneficial and harmful to its users. 

Advice

Baruch definitely uses new media tools for announcements, updates, and so on. New media can actually be incorporated into the class curriculum of many classes. Students often line up after class or have to wait for office hours to speak to a professor. To minimize the need to wait and meet face to face, Baruch should have a system for virtual meetings like Skype for professors and students. This will only occur during office hours so it can act as a substitute for in person meetings in office hours.

Aside from this, professors and their students can also chat online during this time. This eliminates the need for emails because emails take a while to go back and forth. Online chatting allows for instant exchanges between a professor and student. I think that this will be helpful to alot of students who would prefer to do this virtually instead of going in person during office hours.
 

Creativity

The digitization of media has increased the accessibility of media, fostering creativity in our society. It represents the progression of media from the past to the present. In the old times, creativity was limited because people did not have tools to build their creativity. Because of this, things were not "creative" back then. A society with limited creativity is also a factor that limits creativity from individuals. If people are not exposed to the creativity of others, they will not really understand what creativity is. As stated in the article, "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Users", technology companies rely on the ideas of others to create newer ideas. The internet allows people to exchange ideas easily and efficiently. For example, Twitter monitors the actions of their customers to see how they implement improvements. A customer used a "@" in a tweet and this sparked an idea in twitter, "@" can be used to tag people. This creates the creativity in businesses ( Miller 2009).

All media tools and outlets allow for the exchange of information and we all learn from this information. With information readily available, businesses can easily monitor the actions of their customers, and create innovative ways to cater to their needs. Without the media, none of this can happen. There will be no creativity because information will not be shared as easily across people. 

References:

Miller, Claire Cain. "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers." 

          The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.

Creativity and New Media

New Media fosters creativity and virtual worlds is a perfect example of this. After reading articles about Second Life, I decided to give it a try. I was surprised to see that it was a downloadable game. I actually thought it was something was played on a website. There were lots of avatars to choose from so I randomly choose one, knowing that we can customize our avatar later on. In the game, I noticed that there were different destinations and there was a destination just for new users. This is very helpful as it creates a community for new users. Also, I think that the flying ability is pretty cool since we cant do that in the real world.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual Worlds are communities that represent the real world, but in a simpler way. Users create avatars or characters where they move around in the game, carrying out everyday activities. Users become the person they are online and not the person they are in real life. Because of this virtual worlds bring both pros and cons to its users.

For pros, virtual worlds create opportunists and possibilities that are not present in the real world for certain people. As mentioned in the " 'Naughty Auties' battle Autism with virtual interaction",, virtual worlds allow for people with Autism to foster their social skills by interacting with others in chat rooms. They are able to express themselves and meet people. In real life, it is not easy to do this, but with virtual worlds social communication becomes easier ( cnn.com).

The ability to create and immerse yourself in a avatar also brings negative effects to the user. According to the article, "Virtual World may impact real-world behavior", the way we represent ourselves in the virtual world can affect how we behave towards other in the real world. Users who played villain roles in the video game would appear to be more violent in real life (health24.com). Virtual worlds acts as a model for a lot of people and because they are so immersed into a game, they can bring their character into real life. At the end, the virtual world and real world are two different things, so bringing the virtual world into reality can cause problems.

This is also why virtual worlds foster creativity. Inside a game, we are able to observe and explore the countless opportunities in a game. You use your creativity to decide what to do inside a game. You can choose to walk left, run or fly. It is up to our creativity. Creators of the virtual world are also using their creativity in creating this environment.

I believe that virtual worlds will continue to be popular among people of all ages. It allows us to do so much and without virtual world's we will lose a source of entertainment and creativity. I think it will continue to grow and we will be able to do much more in the virtual world.

References:
Itzkoff, Dave. "I’ve Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life." 
                  The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Jan. 2008. 
                  Web. 19 Mar. 2015. 
                 <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html>.                                    

"Virtual World May Impact Real World Behaviour." Health24. N.p., 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://www.health24.com/Mental-Health/News/Virtual-world-may-impact-real-world-behaviour-20140210>.

Social Networking Sites

There are numerous social networking sites out there available for us and each site caters to different types of people. Below is a comparison of 4 social networking sites that most people use

Facebook
The first thing on Facebook, that catches one's attention is the news feed. As you scroll down the page, users are able to view all status updates, videos, and photos posted by their friends. Each Facebook User has their own profile page which displays their interest, education and pictures. In the upper middle section of the Facebook web page, is the section of us to update status, add photos, and even check in to certain locations. On the home page, there is also a list of recent applications that was used. To the side is a list of online contacts and we can Facebook message them through the chat boxes. All videos, photos, and status updates have a comment box underneath. Friends can comment on these updates and communicate with each other.

Twitter
Similar to Facebook, Twitter is all about updates. We can upload photos and status updates on Twitter, but it is limited to 140 characters. This makes Twitter unique because status are now shorter and straight to the point. This also means that we can tweet a lot more than we can post statuses. It seems more normal to tweet frequently on twitter than to frequently update our friends on Facebook. There is also a option to add a hash tag (#) to our tweets, which categorizes tweet. If we search #newyorkcity, we will see all tweets that are tagged with that hash tag or mentions it. Hash tags that are popular will be listed under trending topics, so users can see what people are talking about. Facebook actually has this trending topics function as well, but it is more frequently used on twitter.

Tumblr
Tumblr is a microblogging platform for users. Like Twitter, users also follow blogs and users will update with blog posts. Blog posts are usually photos with a caption underneath or just a photo. Users can then reblog a post that find interesting. This function is the same as twitter's retweeting function. If we don't want to post a photo or reblog something, we can write a blog post. Something interesting is that, we can add hash tags to our blog entries. I think that it is just like Twitter, but instead of short updates, we can write long blog entries.

Instagram
Instagram is a photo/ video sharing networking site that allows to upload pictures and videos and share it with our followers. Everyone has their own Instagram page, which consists of a profile picture, a short description about yourself, and a news feed of all their photos. After following people, the home page acts as the news feed for all the photos of the people that you follow. We can like and comment on pictures, as well as respond to comments. The simplicity of Instagram makes it easy to use and is attractive to photographers who wants to share beautiful moments and pictures with the world. Instagram seems to be a simplified verison of Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr because updates are simple and short. Also, the comments are equivalent to Facebook comments. Users also repost Instagram pictures just like how Twitter has retweet and Tumblr has reblog.

Blog about Twitter

Twitter is a social platform that works similar to posting Facebook updates. With a 140 character limit, users can post statues or updates and share this with their followers. Followers can then reply to these tweets and conversations will occur. These twitter discussions that occur between a user and their followers resembles discussions on blackboard and in classrooms.

Blackboard discussions involve the creation of a thread in a discussion forum. Students can then reply to a post in that thread. A thread is like the trending topics in twitter, comments and related information is all grouped together. Replying to a tweet would be the same as replying to a thread. In blackboard, students are allowed to view all the replies to a single post all in that thread. However, on twitter, it is hard to see other people's replies to someone's tweet. We would just see our reply and the person posting would receive notifications for all the replies. On blackboard, we can even reply to a reply of a post. On twitter, we can actually do the same if we are able to read the other replies to a post.

As for classroom discussions, students take turns voicing their opinions and either add comments or reply one another's responses. Twitter also works the same way. However, twitter replies are much shorter and brief. In the classroom, discussions will eventually die down and come to an end. However, twitter discussions can last much longer and is more ongoing.

Social Networking

In today's society, almost everything can be done online, including networking. Social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are sources of information and connections for a larger population. Many news sources are on Twitter and by following them, we are able to get up to date information. As for Facebook, users are able to post pictures and can update their status. This allows them to share bits and pieces of their lives. A friend across the country can access this information and Facebook is the source that connects people together. Businesses also have Facebook pages and they can post updates and interact with their customers through feedback. Based on the article, " Social Networking boosts Job Recruiting", Linkedin is a popular platform used by many professionals to connect with more professionals around the world. With your experience and information uploaded on the website, recruiters are able to search for individuals with potential to join their companies. In the article, Maureen Crawford-Hentz was able to recruit Alfred LaSpina into Osram Sylvania after she found his Linkedin account (2006 Langfitt). 

Although, such technology has lots of positive affects on society, there is also a negative side to it. According to the article, "Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private", Facebook may not entirely be private. Randi Zuckerberg, the sister of facebook's founder, found that her pictures were in the hands of someone else. Facebook's privacy settings are very confusing and it is hard to fully understand and keep our accounts private (2012 Greenfield) This is the "dark side" of technology, information is open to the public that anyone is able to access it. This can also lead to incidents with celebrities. If their information is leaked out, everyone will know. 

As technology continues to grow and advance, the future of social networking are endless. I think that one day, there will be another Facebook. Today's social networking sites are already very good and I don't really think they can really grow anymore. They seem to have reached the peak of their success. But I do think that there will be new methods of networking that will allow us to do things that we can't today. 

References:

Greenfield, Rebecca. "Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family 

                        Photo Isn't Private." The Wire. N.p., 26 Dec. 2012. Web. 06 Mar. 2015.Langfitt, Frank. "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting." NPR. 

               NPR, 22 Nov. 2006. Web. 06 Mar. 2015.

Blogs vs. Wikis

Today's generation rely heavily on the media and news. Both blogs and wikis are platforms that allows for opportunities to communicate information and news to people. Blogs are a collection of blog posts. Readers of a blog can voice their opinions by commenting on the blog post. Therefore blogs, are a more personal method of sharing news, while interacting with your readers through their comments. Blogs have better control over what they share and has better internet controls. Here the audience is not allowed to directly edit material on a blog post, but for Wikis, this is possible. A Wiki page simply revolves around the idea of Edit, Write, and Save. Readers can go on to the page anytime to edit the document. As stated in " More on How to Build Your Own Wikipedia", teams who work on projects together will benefit. Every team member can update the information periodically ( Locher 2008). Another way to use Wiki would be to use it for petitioning purposes. People can simply add electronic signatures by "editing" the page and voicing their opinions on a specific wiki. This would be convenient and everyone will have access to this page.

Convergence in today's networked is important because a lot of information is stored on these networks. People rely on it as a platform to have their information reach other users. Everyone is connected around the world through social networks. This allows for social relationships to be formed which is important because this is a way for users to be up to date with what is happening in society. In the article, "Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid", a neighborhood blog was able to help lead to a drug raid ( Wilson 2008). This means that blogs are a powerful source of information and it is capable of impacting society.

References:
 Locher, Magaret. "More on How to Build Your Own Wikipedia."  

                CIO. N.p., 17 Apr. 2008. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.                

    

Wilson, Michael. "Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid." The New York Times. 

                The New York Times, 25 June 2008. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

Research Paper Description

Social media can impact people across industries in both negative and positive ways. In my research paper, I will  explore these impacts across four sectors: celebrities, government, upper class people, and regular citizens. Nowadays, people either pay lots of attention to social media or they become extremely involved in it. Social media is starting to take over the way we think as we rely heavily on it for latest gossip and news. It is actually a double edged sword that can work both ways, it can offer us lots of benefits, but also it can harm us negatively. To support this, I will research examples and possibly mention from some well known people to show how they are impacted by social media.