BLOG: Next New

A New Media that doesn’t exist that I think should, is a projector from a phone. I know there were rumors and concepts about it from the upcoming smartphones, but I don‘t think one has officially came out yet. This is really useful because, lets say I want to show a group of a video and its nearly impossible for everyone to have a good view of the video. With a projector coming from my phone, everyone in the room can see it and it will make life that much easier. I hope smartphones come out with this feature soon because this will help me out a lot in the future because I constantly show my friends new funny videos from YouTube.

Wiki So Far

I have created a new page for the Baruch New Media website. The new page is New Media and Religion. It is meant to be a wiki that discusses the impact new media has had on religion. When I was first looking through the new media sections, I noticed that the purpose of each section was to discuss the various impacts new media has had on the different aspects of the world. Since religion in my opinion fits under this category, I felt that new media has more than likely made an impact on religion and so I created a page for it. I am currently its sole editor and contributor. I have provided background information of new media and its impact on religion.
I then gave examples of different new media formats and how religion is the center of attention in these formats, that is I gave examples of websites, social networking sites, and virtual communities.

BLOG: P2P

 File sharing is exactly what its words suggest, the sharing of computer files. File sharing occurs between people by one person create a file of some sort and then sharing it with his/her friend or family by either attaching it as an email, posting the files on a website that has a download link, sharing the file visibly as in a picture through a website, and so on so forth. This is the less controversial way of sharing files because you are sharing with someone you know and more than likely you are not sharing it to many different users. You could be sharing legal or illegal material, but on the other hand it is to a very limited amount of users. 

 P2P file sharing is the technological innovation of sharing files of any type (.mp3,.avi,.docx...etc) amongst users on the internet. Anyone can share their files by using a torrent software and a website that supports it such as btjunkie.org. Then anyone who accesses the website and comes upon the link to the file can download it and during the download this person will be uploading it to other users, which allows for a faster download time. This in contrast to the old days file sharing is the sharing of legal or illegal material to a wide range of practically limitless amount of users.

Some examples of P2P file sharing are dvd movies, music, textbooks, software, and the list is only limited to all the types of files out there. This leads to the legal aspect of P2P filesharing, which according to $1.5 Million Fine for Downloading 24 Songs http://baruchnewmedia.com/w/images/3/35/IllegalMusic.pdf may lead to an exorbitant amount of fine. However in the case aforementioned, the defendant was given three opportunities to have a significantly reduced fine in comparison to the $1.5 million fine. The point of the case though is that there are severe penalties associated with illegal P2P file sharing.

BLOG: Privac

As the internet and all its tools and platforms expand, so to does the realm of what can no longer remain private and confidential. Social networking websites by their very nature are meant for you to reveal information about yourself. The moment you create it, you understand that some of your personal information will be exposed online and even strict privacy settings can still expose your information to the internet. However, there have been new innovations to privacy settings on social networking websites like Facebook where they allow the user to prevent anyone from finding them and the only way they can have friends is by initiating the invitation themselves. There are settings that also allow you to choose what information is displayed to which users that are in your network. These innovations have given users a lot of leeway in what they can keep private, however some users still complain that there is not enough privacy settings and more need to be created. One privacy problem that exists is that if you have added a friend accidentally or on purpose into your network, that user can copy and save all your pictures and videos into their computer and then upload it back on to the internet when and where ever they choose to. This naturally would be something users would want to avoid happening to their profiles.

BLOG: Advice

This is the best advice I and anyone should give to Baruch College. Online classes are a good platform to learn and study. Students can conveniently and more efficiently learn their subjects this way. Also in the case where students may struggle with material, they can use social networking websites and forums to discuss these issues and educate each other. Also the professor can post material via websites, and give solutions to home works in forums. If we have substantial funding we can really get creative and create a virtual class using programs like Second Life and students can attend lectures there. The main suggestion to come across though is to create more online classes.

Blog: Creativity and New Media

For this homework assignment I decided to create an avatar thinking it would be the simpler and less time consuming option to making a YouTube video. Boy was I wrong. Creating an account on Second Life in itself is very time consuming (plus their site runs really slow). After entering some personal info like email address, DOB, and picking an avatar I was asked to download the program in order to customize my avatar. This right away annoyed me. I hate downloading unnecessary programs on my laptop especially when I am never going to use it again. Then, after finally seeing there was no way around this download business, I had to run the program to customize. That took FOREVER. Not sure if its that wifi’s fault or the program (although I did try running other sites which worked just fine) but that got me even more annoyed. Anyway, when I finally got on the program and was trying to change my avatar’s clothing, I also kept getting pop ups about upgrading to the paid version of Second Life. Um definitely not. … 

So all in all, what you see above is product of frustration and maybe 10% reflective of me. 

BLOG: CREATIVTY

Creativity is so versatile that it is no wonder people have been using Web 2.0 features to make original works or mix and mash works already in existence with their creative take. Enter Brooks Barnes' New York Times article titled "Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But why?" where he writes about the popular phenomenon of mash-ups featuring Disney and Nickelodeon characters who are manipulated to look like they are singing or saying whatever the mash-up artist thinks they should. Although Disney is notoriously protective over their trademarked characters they seem to turn a blind eye towards a mash-up on YouTube featuring Winny the Pooh characters rapping to a Soulja Boy song. The author posits the question of why Disney does not request that YouTube administrators take it down. 

I think that Disney sees the power of YouTube and understands that things are changing due to Web 2.0 and that they need to relent, in some ways, on the tactics of old. After all, Nickelodeon who is owned by Viacom openly encourages mash-ups featuring their characters and one SpongeBob SquarePants mash-up has "been viewed more than seven million times!" That's potentially free advertising revenue coming into Nickelodeon and when it comes to business the bottom line is always the deciding factor. 

Here's one of my favorite SpongeBob mash-ups, SpongeBob and friends perform Slayer's "Raining Blood" (disclaimer: the views reflected at the very end of the video are not shared by me, that thing with the baby, but it's the best version I could find).

BLOG: Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds

I believe in virtual reality and I think it's what all of us are going to be using in the future. Like the iPhone app that helps you walk and text which it generates a small virtual screen in front of you or the remote control that lights up on your arm that I once saw like all the great mash ups we had in the past. One of the best virtual performances we had I think was this past summer with Tupac Shakur at the Hot 97 summer concert. It was a full representation of him rapping his greatest hits with some other singers. People thought it was so real and went bonkers for it.

One of the articles that, " Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers" by Claire Cain miller says that the photo-sharing site Flickr started as a small part of a big online game. When the founders realized that the photo-sharing feature was more popular than the game, they scrapped the game and built Flickr. Open-source software companies leave innovation up to users, and companies like Bug Labs let people build their own hardware. Start-ups are more likely to take this approach because they are still defining their products and have the flexibility to change direction. It can be much harder for older companies to make the shift, both culturally and logistically.  And some big, non technology companies are embracing user-generated innovation. Ford Motor noticed that people were modifying Sync, its voice-activated system for playing music and getting directions. Ford has invited university students to come up with new features for the in-car system. It's super that start ups and big companies like Ford are using virtual reality to intrigue new customers.

I believe there is a dark side and bright side to everything especially in participating in games like second life. In the article, " I’ve Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life " by Dave Itzkoff. He states that I walked a few blocks to my apartment on Avenue A, turned on my computer, directed a small, pixelated representation of myself to enter a small, pixelated representation of Cake Shop, and rejoined the show. This to me is kind of creepy because than people will stay home and not go out and be social with others anymore. Also, in the fall of 2006 MTV started Virtual Laguna Beach, a 3-D world meant to simulate the Southern Californian beach community of its semi-reality show “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County”; in short order it added virtual worlds based on its shows “The Hills,” “Pimp My Ride,” “The Real World: Sydney” and “Kaya.” This is fine if you want to play games and be part of reality show but not if clubs or bars or whatever are close to you.

I know in my business, we have the virtual ring composer where clients can build there unique rings on the computer before they purchase it. This is smart because they get a look at it first before it arrives from Denmark where it is made. I think this is a smart idea. The future is going to be like this where you see it before you buy it and lots of companies are doing this like car companies and also Nike where you build your own sneaker

TWITR: Blog About Twitter

Discussions on twitter, blackboard, and in class are all similar in a way. Online many people can be more interactive and that differs from a discussion in class.  are more open compared to one in class. In a class discussion some people may not be interested on what is being discussed so all participants may not feel the need to discuss.

On twitter what you have to say can be retweeted for more than the people who follow you can see. It can be retweeted for a long period of time also. Often when something are funny people tend to retweet them over and over again. Some people may also mark your tweet as their favorite so they can refer to it over and over again. Now with class discussions what you have to say may not be remembered so the discussions on twitter feels like more of a meaningful discussion.

BLOG: Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites. I use twitter, Facebook everyday. I love twitter because I can read up on my friends and family really fast in short paragraphs of less than 40 words or if they post pictures or attach other reading materials. I also love Facebook because you can see your friend's entire profiles and where they are when they check in and what they are doing. Myspace I used to have but it go boring once I started using facebook more often because Facebook in my opinion is a faster and more update to see what your friends or companies that you are following are doing. The last but not least is instagram, I love it because all I can see is pics of people that I follow, my friends and sports teams. I also can see who they are with or if they write dialogue using one of the apps where you can write and post on instagram.

BLOG: Social Net'g

Social networking can be used in many ways. Social networking has had an impact on society in a lot of ways in the past five years. In an article named, "How Obama Tapped Into Social Networks' Power", the writer talks about the use of social networking in politics. One of these uses is the encouragement of voters nationwide to vote for President Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 elections. With the use of social networking, his team was able to attract new, young and old voters as well as to understand his goals as president if he were to be elected and how those changes would benefit them. Social networking has also attracted others to share news as well as music much quicker.

The benefits of these technologies to society depends. One of them would be to reconnect with long lost friends and family. Social networking is also largely used for matchmaking when it comes to online romance. In article named, "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting" written by Frank Langfitt, he discusses how social networking has had an impact on job recruiting and the way the process is being used to hire applicants. A social networking site known as Linkedin has had a big impact on the way recruiters hire applicants based on their profile on these social networking sites as well as their abilities that can be useful in a workplace. 

There is indeed a dark side when it comes to social networking. Over recent years there has been an increase in the number of suicides because of bullying online on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. Also, in the world of politics, a simple rumor of a politician can quickly spread and damage the reputation of that politician if there is not a quick reaction to address that rumor. There are a lot positives to social networking but there are some negatives as well. In the future, social networking may determine the way we work and think about a majority of things we depend on because within social networking sites many individuals share their opinions on certain things which people can agree on. So, far I cannot possibly think of any other ways that these  technologies might evolve in the future since social networking is always rapidly changing especially with Facebook.

BLOG: Blog v Wiki

To compare and contrast blogs and wikis, a blog is a sort of online journal. It is updated daily or weekly or whenever the author desires. A wiki is a platform that is meant for anyone to update in real time. Moreover, a blog is owned by an individual whereas wiki is being updated by many people around the world. For blogs, the timeline is more important. For wikis, when an article was published matter less, because articles are supposed to be updated as new information becomes available. In addition, blog posts are usually one persons’ opinion, followed optionally by comments. Wiki articles represent consensus, but can have an associated discussion page. A wiki is superset of a blog. A wiki can host a blog but not viceversa. Too emulate a blog in a wiki, the wiki page needs to be protected against editing by other users than the author, and a comment widget needs to be added to the page. The most difference between them is A wiki allows multiple users to create, modify and organize web page content in a collaborative manner. A blog is a web site that maintains ongoing posts. A blog is frequently updated, a personal web site featuring diary-type commentary and links to articles or other websites.

Today’s networked world allows more people to share individual’s information such as thoughts, opinions and ideas. Basically people can learn from each other on thing they don’t know. Everyone can obtain useful information without actually going through books. For instance, the article “A Rorschach Cheat Sheet on Wikipedia” talks about how answers can be found through wiki. The power of sharing information is our today’s networked world.

Nowadays, blogs can be used for collaboration. Pulling together a new project team can be done quickly, even if your team members are spread across the entire world. But putting effective collaboration tools in place tends to take a little more time. However, there is a way to do so quickly using simple blogging tools that lets you get to work with your team, without having to wait on organizational bureaucracy or corporate IT to set up something on the internal network. One of the key benefits of this approach is that you can literally establish a new collaboration site that’s very easy-to-use in a matter of minutes. You can choose your team members and be communicating on a private site without waiting on anyone else. In the article “Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid” by Michael Wilson, it discusses about how blogger be shared, the review and feedback posted in bloggers be peered and forwarded rapidly. 

In conclusion, some of the social networking tool may seem very similar in the way they appear or might be used. Be able to distinguish the differences between these two tools: Wikis and Blogs helps you be able to select the best tool for your activity or assignment.

PROJECT: Social Networking: Better or worse than the real thing?

Fast-forward to 2014, and social media has become not only a key part of the modern lifestyle, but a useful marketing channel for businesses of all sizes. There is a generation of kids coming up who can’t even conceive of a world without smart phones and social networking. It has officially embedded itself in our culture.

               Here are some cons about the relationship between our life and social media. For example, nowadays, we have everything from outright trolls to habitual pranksters. This is the kind of behavior that makes the whole Internet, and particularly social media, less productive and enjoyable for all. If you want to say something and are afraid to have anyone know you said it, perhaps you should buck up and use common sense before putting it out there. Being offensive anonymously is not only cowardly; it shows a lack of character. We should all be better than that.

               There are cons also there are pros too. People were extremely difficult to access a globally reaching platform where one could share their opinions or findings back a mere 25 years ago. I recall in the early 1990s where it was a huge deal to send in a letter to the editor to a local newspaper, and have them actually decide to include the letter in the paper. Today, all we have to do is login to our platform of choice. We can rant, rave, tell jokes, share images, and generally mix and mingle to our heart’s content. For those of us who can write, it takes only a couple of minutes to create a new blog and start putting our thoughts into words. And those thoughts could grow legs of their own once the social sphere grabs hold of them. It is far easier to do something remarkable and noticeable, and have it reach people across the planet, than it has been at any time in our history. We now have truly globalized voices. What a privilege!

               I love social media. As with any communication medium, it comes with its ups and downs, pros and cons. Overall, I truly believe it makes the world a better place in many ways.