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.