Because new media has greatly effected every one worldwide, it has become so advanced that sooner or later, technology is going to be taking over. A new type of new media that doesn’t currently exist would be something the government agency can actually look forward to. In the future, there will be no where to hide or run because where ever people go, the government will be able to catch you. It’s called “identity” and the way this works is that the whole city of New York will be under surveillance 24/7 by cameras and what ever people touch or have any physical contact with anything, the government agency will be able to get your DNA. For example, if someone touches the railings of any staircases, the agency will be able to get your finger prints. Those finger prints will let them know where you are, what time you were there, etc. Yes, this new media invades privacy to a huge extent, but it can also decrease the amount of crimes and identity theft.
Wiki So Far
I started posting on the wiki site on October 14 and I started with the topic of technology and how new media has affected it and one of them would be Apple’s tablet, the Ipad. This tablet has changed the way people do things such as reading, watching videos, etc. Because it allows people to read different types of materials such as magazines, books, newspapers, articles, and so forth, they have become less tangible and to turn the page, it’s just a click of a button. The Ipad can be used for many reasons which connects me to my another wiki contribution which is education.
New media has effected education because it is actually effecting the teacher’s teaching style. Some schools already has replaced old dusty textbooks with more advanced technology in their teachings. Some of them use youtube to replace lectures and some teachers allow students to use Ipads as well for notes and for good learning experiences due to the applications that tablet has. I actually believe digital learning should be more popular because it can bring more interactions between students and teachers.
P2P
File sharing is when there’s distributions or access providing of digitally stored information such as computer programs, multimedia, etc. Common methods of doing it would be going on the internet, hyperlinked documents, or peer to peer file sharing. Peer to peer file sharing allows many users to download media files using a P2P software such as Napster, Kazaa, BitTorrent, etc. Majority of the people here uses this illegal method to download music, videos, movies, and other media. BitTorrent is actually one of the famous softwares and according to Clive Tompson in the article The BitTorrent Effect, “BitTorrent lets users quickly upload and download files that are hundreds or thousands of times bigger than a single MP3”. Because of its speed, there are over 20 million users that downloaded the application. Now when people miss their favorite TV shows, movies, documentary, or any type of media, they can now easily download it off BitTorrent.
Privacy
When it comes to new media, privacy is a big issue because some people like to keep their information private. A lot of technology now a days require a password but even a password can never stop others such as hackers. A professional hacker is able to bypass passwords so easily to get to your personal information. That is why when people usually create new accounts on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc, they want users to create a “strong” password that should include numbers, capitalization, and others.
Facebook is a social media site where people all over the world can see your profile. Privacy plays a role on this because certain users do not want strangers to look at their profile so they are able to make their accounts private. Once that happens, strangers can’t view anything besides a picture and that’s it. It can even go further than that because some users don’t want to be found on Facebook so they can set their settings to a point where if others look up their names, they won’t be found.
Privacy is something that needs to be respected and I believe everything that people do on the computers should be private.
Advice
New media has effected the world in many different ways and technology has had the greatest impact on every one. Since I am hired by Baruch College to improve it, I would use a form of technology which would be a computer. Because Baruch College has so many students, it is almost impossible to reach out to every one in person so what I would do is create a survey through the computer. I would ask for everyone’s opinion to see what needs to be changed or added to make the school better.
Another way to use computers would be to create more online courses. People always end up falling asleep in class but if the class was virtual, people would be more active and more focused on the course work. Even the shy and quiet students would start participating and do online discussions. Just like this course, students can start creating blogs and other accounts such as Twitter and Facebook to get to know your classmates a little better. I believe technology is the best form of new media out today.
Creativity and New Media
I created an avatar in Second Life and created my own appearance. I used the camera view to change the rotation in order to take the snapshots. I actually like the way it is because it actually looks real due to the 3D graphics.
New Media has given people a chance to bring out their creativity and post it on the internet. An example would be youtube users creating “mash-ups” and posting it so other people around the world can watch it. Mash-ups are made by editing cartoon shows to make it seem like the cartoon characters are the ones singing and dancing. An example would be in the article Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of its Critters. But Why? by Brooks Barnes and it says that users created a Winnie the Pooh mash-up of “Crank That” by Soulja Boy. A lot of these videos are meant to be funny because it’s supposed to be a parody. However, some companies view it as humor and some companies view it as copyright. Nickelodeon is one company that doesn’t mind users doing mash-ups using their characters but Disney does. They believe that “any unauthorized use of Disney property is stealing”. Even though they think that, many users still use their characters so they can entertain others.
Creativity
Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds
A virtual world is an online community that’s formed by a simulated environment through a computer where users can interact with others. Virtual worlds allow multiple users where each person sees others as avatars which are either 2D or 3D figures of actual people. Virtual worlds can we used by companies to have conference meetings and talk about work related things. It can also help out doctors or nurses so they can practice on their profession without actually doing it in person. One virtual world that is out there today is known as Second Life and people have already started using it for different purposes by using their own creativity.
London have already started “seeking innovative ways to bring employees together for conferences and meeting remotely”, as said by Mark Tutton in his article Going to the virtual office in Second Life. Their virtual world will allow businesses to have virtual meetings through their computer networks. Another example would be how different universities start using Second Life to help nurses make quick and sure decisions in times of emergencies. Participants are able to build their own virtual clinics and start any type of training drill. These are the pros of this virtual world and another one would be how it can help patients with autism start “fighting” their disorder by creating an avatar and start “practicing social interactions and find information about the condition”, as said by Nicole Saidi in the article ‘Naughty Auties’ battle autism with virtual interaction. Virtual worlds can have so many benefits and pros but there are also be cons.
Virtual worlds aren’t always perfect and there can always be some glitches in the program. Once those glitches occur, anything can happen. Another thing is that a lot of people still have older computers that can’t support it and it will take them years to move around in the virtual world. I believe that in the future, our virtual world will be similar to those that are out now and there will be some people who are unable to use it due to their computers.
Social Networking Sites
As years passed, social networking sites became more popular from Xanga to Myspace to Twitter and now Facebook. Out of the 4, I believe Facebook is the most popular. Xanga was around during the years of my elementary school days and it didn’t have a lot of features that Facebook has now. The only thing Facebook doesn’t have that Xanga did was that you were able to have your own personal background on your page as well as upload a song so when others go on your page, that specific song would be played. After I got into middle school, I realized more people started using Myspace than Xanga. I wasn’t into the whole Myspace thing because it didn’t really interest me but then when Facebook started, I automatically created an account and I’m on that site almost every day. I believe Facebook is the most interactive social networking site out there today because people from all over the world are on this site. Now a day, even little kids start using Facebook and all they do is lie about their age and school they go to. Twitter is another popular one today because even celebrities have an account on this and you’re able to follow those celebrities to see what they are up to or see what they are tweeting about. Like I said, as the years go by, the older social networking sites start to die out while others such as Facebook and Twitter rise to the top.
Blog About Twitter
I believe that a twitter discussion is more effective than a blackboard discussion and an in-class discussion because of the fact that it is a socializing website and now a day, more people are into technology. By using twitter discussions, students that are usually quiet in class can even have their voices heard. It makes participating in class discussions less intimidating. I believe twitter can enhance discussions and can bring more student interaction than in-class discussions. Even in small or medium size classes, only a small number of students actively participate in class discussions. If people started using twitter instead, more will be heard and everyone would be participating since people can go on twitter using their tablets, cell phones, or any type of technology.
A blackboard discussion may not be as effective as a twitter discussion but is definitely way more effective than in-class discussion. Just like twitter discussions, more people participate and respond to others than in the classroom. The differences between this and twitter is that only colleagues that belong in the specific class can respond to your responses or comments. You can think of it as a virtual version of the classroom. It is also more of an educational environment because in twitter, other strangers are able to respond to your comments.
An in-class discussion is the least effective because students don’t participate as much as they are supposed to do. Let’s be honest, there are only those certain people who always raise their hands while the others are either sleeping, not in class, or just doing something else. Overall, discussions using technology is way more effective.
Brian Li 