Next New Media

New media is defined as “means of mass communication using digital technologies such as the Internet.” (Dictionary.com). I think the next form of new media will be related to virtual reality (vr). I think this new media will be similar to face time, but people can be with each other while not being in the same place. For example, instead of seeing each other in the same video chat, the vr will bring u to the same place. This will enable people far away to spend time together. Features like this can be seen in futuristic movies, but I think we are getting closer to make it a reality.

Wiki so far

While I have not added anything to the class wiki yet, I am planning on creating a section for the NBA playoffs. I have watched almost every playoff game so far this year and will be referencing nba.com to get stats for each round 1 matchup in the playoffs. I will summarize each series and include the stats and my opinions about who will advance further in the playoffs.

P2P

File sharing is defined as “the practice of sharing computer data or space on a network.” (Dictionary.com). Person to person or p2p file sharing is duplicating files from your computer and copying them to someone else’s computer using the internet. There are many examples of file sharing including entertainment. The article “The BitTorrent Effect” by Clive Thompson shares one way people file share with each other. In the article it states “BitTorrent lets users quickly upload and download enormous amounts of data, files that are hundreds or thousands of times bigger than a single MP3. ... Cohen showed his code to the world at a hacker conference in 2002, as a free, open source project aimed at geeks who need a cheap way to swap Linux software online. But the real audience turns out to be TV and movie fanatics.” (Thompson). In other words, while BitTorrent started as a way for users to swap computer software, it has become a means of piracy for movies and tv shows. This piracy of these shows are a form of person to person sharing because a user or many users upload it, allowing other users to download it. In other words, using the internet a user shares a file with others by putting movies on this application.

Advice

Some suggestions I would offer is to use new media as a platform to bring the student body together. For example, right now Baruch mainly uses new media to post the events that student government provide through the year. However, I think i think this isn’t the best use of new media considering they can do more. I would suggest they can use new media to post ideas for events and see the feedback. This would create higher turnouts if the events are well received and posted in advance. Another idea could be to post a version of narrowed down potential events and let the students vote on it using a poll on Facebook. This would also increase the participation in events and provide the students with activities they want to do.

Privacy

Privacy is a very tricky subject, because who determines what things should be hidden or not. For example, if someone was doing something suspicious in their own home do they deserve privacy? Privacy and confidentiality are related to new media because many sources of new media gather information about you. For example, on Facebook they gather data about you to try and find ads you will click on, providing them with more revenue. With new media, we must ask ourselves what do we give up in terms of privacy while using these free site as Facebook. Besides ads, privacy and confidentiality can also be tricky or confusing with new media. For example, with Facebook there are many settings and terms that you have to know how to operate to provide greater privacy. For example, on Facebook you can allow only friends to see your post or allow only friends of friends to send you a friend request. There are many issues with privacy relating to new media, and the best way to combat these issues is to educate yourself on the ways sites allow you to protect your privacy the most you can.

Creativity and new media

For this assignment I chose to create some memes. I created these memes by using the app meme generator by zombodroid. To create the meme I did the following steps.
1. Found the picture I thought was funny 2. Added a funny and relatable caption

Creativity

New media fosters creativity by giving people the ability to create something new. New media allows Dj’s to create something called mashups. A mashup is “a recording created by digitally combining and synchronizing instrumental tracks with vocal tracks from two or more different songs.”. New media has given people the technology to easily creat these mashups with just their own computer. The article Pop Music by Sasha Frere-Jones explains how people can use new media to create mashups. The article states “If there is an electric guitar of mashup, it is a software package called Acid Pro, which enables one to put loops of different songs both in time and in tune with each other. Mark Vidler, known professionally as Go Home Productions, explained some other benefits of digital technology to me in London not long ago: ‘You don’t need a distributor, because your distribution is the Internet. You don’t need a record label, because it’s your bedroom, and you don’t need a recording studio, because that’s your computer. You do it all yourself.’”. This proves how thanks to new media all people need are a computer and a software and they can create any mashup they want. This fosters creativity by giving the ability to many users to create something new and innovative, even though it’s using a previous invention.

Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds have grown to new heights with all the new technology. Some virtual worlds include virtual classrooms, VR headsets, and the online gaming world.The common theme with many of these worlds is the ability to meet, chat and interact with other people. The pros of virtual worlds are that it allows people to create and collaborate with others. "The ability to collaborate effectively using virtual tools may now become an increasingly important skill as technology offers more options than, say, video conferencing.". Another pro is that you are don't have to leave home to be able to go on these virtual worlds. All you really need is a computer to access virtual worlds. The last pro is that people can learn about important issues that they may have never heard about in life. "Savill has Asperger's syndrome and said he wanted Naughty Auties to serve those with autism spectrum disorders and their friends and family. Savill, who represents himself in the virtual world using an avatar named Dave Sparrow, said one benefit is that visitors can practice social interaction and find information about the condition. The graphical representations of real people create a "comfort zone" that can coax users out of their shells and get them communicating with others, he said."(Saidi). Some cons about these virtual worlds is that everyone is basically anonymous. You don't really know who you are interacting with and that could potentially be very dangerous. Virtual worlds allow people to express their creativity because it is not real. With virtual worlds, you are able to create and make things that you could not be able to in the real world. In the future I believe that virtual worlds will expand and become more popular because of the accessibility and creativity aspect of it. 

Social networking sites

The four sites I chose to visit include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. When I logged into Facebook it is a site where people post their thoughts, feelings, pictures, videos  and, open discussions. My impression of Facebook is that Facebook is a place where people go to be themselves. They share videos they find amusing, post links to articles they find interesting and even post about how they are doing. In comparasison, my impression of Twitter is that it’s a more serious platform where people ask voice their opinion and retweet views similar to theirs. I also feel like twitter is a place where people try to get a response from people they can’t talk to. To elaborate. On Twitter people tweet to athletes, politicians, actors and many more, trying to gain a response. My impression of Instagram is that this is the site where people want to show their best side to the world. On Instagram, people post countless pictures of themselves and things they like to obtain likes from others. Instagram also is a platform where people speak through pictures with snake captions. Lastly, Snapchat is the newest of the 4 and the age gap is obvious. Snapchat includes millennials and others who record videos or post pictures with clever captions  similar to Instagram. With the Snapchat stories disappearing in 24 hours people are more likely to post this there than other sites. While all of these sites mimic each other like with the inclusion of 24 hour stories in both Facebook and Snapchat, all of these platforms have qualities that make them unique.

Blog about twitter

Twitter discussions compare to blackboard discussions in the sense that your classmates can view and respond to your discussion. To elaborate, you can post to Twitter and your classmates can respond just like on blackboard. However it is easier to see what you classmates post on Twitter because as soon as you open it, their posts are on your feed. On blackboard you have to open the discussions tab to find their topics. Another difference between the two is the word limit. Twitter has a word limit of 280 characters which limits your discussion in comparison to the unlimited count on blackboard. When it comes to in class discussions, Twitter is different because your discussion is always there while after that class the discussion may be closed. The word count is also a different while in person you can say as much as you want to. Another way Twitter differs from both in class and blackboard discussions are that if your account is not private anyone can see your post. This makes Twitter a more suitable platform for trying to get your voice heard.

Blog Social Networking

Social networking has grown over the years to include thousands of daily users. Facebook is one of the most popular social networking websites that's used for both corporate and social reasons. "Facebook was more than a fast-growing social network. It was, potentially, an enormous source of personal data. Internet users behaved differently on Facebook than anywhere else online: They used their real names, connected with their real friends, linked to their real email addresses, and shared their real thoughts, tastes, and news." (Vogelstein). Facebook is used to connect with companies and employers. Facebook is also used by companies and colleges to get to know more about potential applicants.  The dark side of Facebook is the amount of data and personal information they have from the million of users that use Facebook. However, "The researchers, Danah Boyd and Eszter Hargittai, report that most Facebook users modified their privacy settings at least once in 2009 and that “engagement with privacy settings increased significantly” between 2009 and 2010.“Over all, our data show that far from being nonchalant and unconcerned about privacy matters, the majority of young adult users of Facebook are engaged with managing their privacy settings on the site at least to some extent,” the researchers write." (Parry). More and more social network users are being wary when posting personal information but I believe Facebook will continue to grow in users; despite people being aware of their privacy being exposed. I don't think people fully understand or care about the amount of data or information they are revealing when using social networking sites like Facebook. There are many other social networking websites such as Instagram, LinkedIn and Snapchat. These social networking apps and websites are becoming just as popular as Facebook is. The amount of data all these social networking sites have altogether is potentially very dangerous, if accessed by the wrong people. 

Blogs and Wikis

In the social media era, blogs have grown in popularity. Blogs are known for their ability to personalize and individualize each unique blog. Blogs are a great form of collaboration because others are able to view various blogs and comment or share posts that relate to their own lives. I think that blogs are different than Wikis because of how one individual person is able to create their own blog to their liking. While Wikis are a collaboration between many people on a blog. 

Wikis consist of heavy collaboration between people who submit various information on a single topic. These topics may or may not make it on the Wiki post depending if it is approved or not. "Wikipedia is a prominent example of a collaborative user-generated content outlet based on the open source model, and a promising model for knowledge sharing.” (Nov). Since the inception of Wiki, many people use Wikipedia posts as a source for information and research. Wikipedia is widely used and popular because of the abundance of information on a specific topic all at one place. Although collaboration is great on things such as making a reliable Wikipedia post, some revisions may need to be approved. "The change is part of a growing realization on the part of Wikipedia’s leaders that as the site grows more influential, they must transform its embrace-the-chaos culture into something more mature and dependable." (Cohen). As Wikipedia is growing, their content must be reliable and as close to accurate as possible, so users will keep coming back when they need information or to do research.

eBay: Community or Bazaar

My topic is eBay: Community or Bazaar. I will be researching how eBay is viewed in the online market. A community is defined as “a  feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitude’s, interests, and goals.”. However a Bazaar is defined as “a large shop selling miscellaneous goods”. EBay has been an online marketplace for many years and through my research I will try to determine how it’s viewed.