The Next New Thing

A new type of media I would like to see in the future would be an upgraded version of video chat. Like a holographic picture of the person you’re talking to would come-out/ be projected through the phone. So it would literally feel like the person you are talking to is in your presence. Skype and other video chatting continues to be very successful and I think this type of service would be just as successful, if not better. It would transform business meetings, and it would make the phrase “what a small world” even more relevant. 

 

P2P File Sharing

File sharing is when someone uploads a file such as a picture, video, or document and shares it to others online. Anyone you allow can view these digital files. Some examples are sending files through email or DropBox. P2P (short for peer to peer) is a type of file sharing for people who use a specific file sharing software program like BitTorrent. Sharing through BitTorrent has always stirred up controversy. The Article Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios speaks about how software like BitTorrent creates a major piracy problem in the film industry. Illegal copies of movies are much more easily accessible than going to the theaters. Also, some movies that are in theaters already are sometimes already streamed online. This is also the case for music, television shows, and even books. The people who upload the videos and other content are from countries “with lackluster piracy enforcement efforts, like China, and are hard to monitor, so media companies do not have a clear sense of how much content is being stolen.” Streaming this illegal content is so easily accessible that people wonder if it really is unethical.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/business/media/05piracy.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0

Wiki So Far

So far I’ve contributed some information to the food page on the class wiki. I added a section called Online Grocery Shopping and Delivery Services, and spoke about one of these services, FreshDirect. It took quite a while to figure out how to add photos, but I managed to navigate around the page and upload one.  I plan to add more to this food page, and also maybe the YouTube page. I want to add information about how people make money by posting videos on YouTube. 

 

Advice

I think Baruch should have it’s own mobile app. Almost all students here have smartphones and are on it all the time anyway. I know there’s already a Blackboard app, but the functions are very limited. I tried it for a day and couldn’t open alot of things. With a Baruch app students could be given automatic alerts for school closings or a changed schedule day (i.e. next Tuesday will follow a Monday schedule). The app should alert us when a teacher updates any of our grades, or has any announcements (i.e. cancelled class). I feel it would be way more convenient than having to sign on to Cuny Portal then our BlackBoard through our mobile browser. 

Privacy & Confidentiality

Because of new media, information about you is easy to access by anyone from anywhere at anytime. When you sign up to anything there’s always a privacy policy page that pops up that you should read, and most people (like me) just skip straight to the bottom and press Accept or I Agree. It’s overwhelming for someone to sit down and read, and it is quite confusing. Even just going through the privacy settings most social media networks is confusing. You’re not sure who can see you’re things, even though you set it to be seen by only friends. New Media and Social Media are good tools for communication and getting out there, but we must be careful before we post anything. I’ve learned if you only want a specific group of people to know something about you, just tell them in person. You don’t have to post it on social media. Think before you post, because when it’s out, it’s there forever. 

Creativity and New Media

For this project I made a tumblr dedicated to my favorite dance videos and music.

I uploaded a playlist of some of my favorite songs. I also have a bunch of my favorite dance videos posted there. With each dance video is a quote of my favorite lyric of the song and my feelings toward the pieces done by the dancers.This tumblr made me feel like a dj/vj on MTV haha. Hope you guys enjoy. 🙂

http://moosickkk.tumblr.com/

Creativity

New Media has opened many doors of opportunity for people to express themselves. Not all of us can draw, sing, or dance. But, with New Media we can all be creative. For those of us who can’t sing well, with new media we can still make beautiful music. Artists like Jeremy Brown aka DJ Reset, make mashup songs all the time of music most people wouldn’t think go good together. For example mashing the Beatles with Jay-Z. For those of us who can’t draw we can still make artistic videos by mashing up well known characters (like Spongebob or Mickey Mouse) to popular songs (like Crank That Soulja Boy). We can also make ourselves a virtual character and give them the talent of dance by clicking a button. With New Media anyone can be an artist.

Sites Used

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/10/050110crmu_music

&I just want to share one of my favorite mashups that I heard recently. Hope you like it too 🙂

 

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

What are different ways these virtual worlds can be used? What are the pros and cons? Be specific. How do virtual worlds foster creativity? What do you think the future of virtual worlds will look like?

Virtual Worlds allow for people to be in places without physically being there. For example, instead of leaving the house to go to work, they work at the virtual office on computers. Just like at a regular office, people walk around with coffee, have random conversations, go to their desk, and do some work. However, you’re in avatar form and so are your coworkers. Not only are there virtual worlds for work, there are also social virtual worlds. Instead of having to hop on the train and go to the club, you can get a similar experience through your avatar going to the club online with VLES. 

These virtual worlds are said to foster creativity. It allows for people to have “alter-egos.” Some who may be shy in real life can be a bit more relaxed behind a computer screen. According to the article, “Going to the virtual office in Second Life,” not only did employees save travel time, but because the environment was so engaging, a lot more ideas came through. VLES on the other hand “encourages musical artists to establish profiles, upload their songs and videos and compete in a kind of online battle of the bands, ascending a ladder of virtual clubs from Arlene’s Grocery to the Bowery Ballroom as their group’s popularity increases. “

However, like all things Virtual Worlds come with a few setbacks. Although you’re at the club on VLES you can’t get the real feel of actually dancing with someone, or drinking the beer, or get the taste of the food. Virtual worlds allow us to branch out but we still need to leave the house and feel the fresh air. I think virtual worlds are great, but people shouldn’t get so addicted to the point they don’t go out and experience the real world. 

Sites Used
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html

Social Networking Sites

The one thing almost everybody can’t live without, Social Networking Sites. When someone’s on their laptop or smartphone they’re probably logged into either Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, or Tumblr, or all of the above. Facebook has a pretty basic layout, white background, you see your family and friends’ photos, status updates, or interesting shared articles/videos on your newsfeed. Myspace is a bit more customizable where you can change your background, and have music on your page. Twitter on the other hand are just status updates, and public conversations between users. The only thing you can customize on Twitter is your avatar, and your Twitter background. One of my personal favorite social networking sites is Tumblr. With Tumblr all the posts of the people you follow are condensed and updated on your feed. The feed is constantly updated and not filtered like Facebook’s feed. Also with Tumblr each user can choose their own backgrounds and add music to their page, like WordPress or Blogger. Tumblr is also a nice way to vent, or just share your thoughts without being limited to a certain amount of characters.

Blog About Twitter

So many people with smartphones use Twitter on a daily basis. They use it to vent, tell people where there at, share their ideas, and have conversations with their followers. A twitter conversation is different from your regular blackboard discussion or classroom discussion because it’s more casual. You don’t physical see the person you’re talking to, just his/her avatar, if that person even has an avatar posted. You are also limited a certain amount of characters, so you’re conversation could be short and sweet. Usually, it’s better to respond to a tweet right away, but no one is pressuring for you to reply. You don’t even have to tell someone that you agree with them, you could just favorite their tweet. Also, anyone can see your tweet (if you’re a public account), not just the person you @. So anyone can jump in the conversation. I think Twitter conversations are more comfortable conversations than those on Blackboard and in-class discussions because they’re not as formal.