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.