The Next New Thing

I think that the next new thing in "new media" is a platform that will physically connect people based on localized recommendations. Facebook and other social media platforms currently connect you to people you already know and more and more teens and young adults are beginning to move away from these platforms as they are becoming more popular with parents and older family members. Many people want to break out of the confines of what they already know and experience something new--they want to meet new people, learn new skills, explore new restaurants, etc. While platforms do exist that connect people with similar interests or that recommend places to go to nearby, they are not nearly specific enough. The future of such platforms will be an app that can recommend events that are happening at that moment based on your location, time constraint, personal interests and even budget. This will ultimately solve the problem many people have "killing time" and can lead to a more active and fulfilling lifestyle, as opposed to traditional new media.

Wiki So Far

For the class Wiki page, my contribution thus far has been the creation of the "Education" page. So far I have given a brief overview of the role of New Media in Education and I hope to continue my research and create more pages, especially focusing on online tutoring and social media's role in education. I also want to look at the developments in classroom and learning culture as a result of new media. You can view and edit the page here: http://newmedia.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Education.

P2P

File sharing is the distribution of digitally stored information ranging from computer programs to electronic books. Peer to peer file sharing occurs when users connect to a network where they can search for files on the computers of other users. This practice, however, has led to the disruption of various industries--including publishing and music-- and has inadvertently promoted the illegal distribution of copyrighted materials. There are, however, applications of P2P sharing that can prove to be quite efficient. Tech giant Google invested $125 million in Lending Club, which "gets borrowers and lenders together outside the conventional banking system." It turns out that peers feel less pressure borrowing from other peers as opposed to big banks. Services such as Lending Club also have more to offer in tough situations.

Privacy & Confidentiality

While new media has undoubtedly revolutionized the way we communicate, it does come with severe consequences. One such consequence is the lack of privacy that comes with a technology that allows us to see what anyone is doing at any time. Take Facebook, for example. While you may want to share your profile with close family and friends, you may not want their friends or just random users looking at this information. While there are options to make your profile private, you have to go to great lengths to preventing specific people from viewing your information. Furthermore, while you may want to share a picture with your friends one day, you may several years later want no one to know this picture existed. This is especially true for younger kids and teens, who are not aware of the consequences they post and furthermore, it's irrational to say that they should be aware of everything. No one is perfect and in such cases new media is incredibly unforgiving. Furthermore, new media makes it way too easy for people to find you online. All social networking sites aside, people can find you through blogs that you have to write for school, through your friends accounts, etc. Not only does this make the internet an extremely dangerous place, but it could also be detrimental in other ways. One issue that has come up repeatedly in previous years is the fact that employers are looking at social media profiles of potential employees. This essentially removes the border between personal and professional life. Essentially, people in the new media age are forced to give up a huge part of themselves in order to avoid the problems that come with new media.

Advice

There are numerous ways new media can be used to improve Baruch College. One major problem with Baruch is that because it's a commuter school, there is a lack of school culture and community. Despite it's progress in using new media, I still think there is a huge gap between student organizations/students who are active on campus and regular students. One thing the college can do is create a more unified platform where students can talk about campus life in an organized and appropriate way. This can help those looking for help or looking to reach out to other on campus can do so quickly and efficiently. Another thing the college can do is create a private YouTube account where professors can post lectures for students unable to attend the class or to give future students an idea of which professors they like or don't like based on their teaching style. Finally, professors should create class wiki pages where students can compile their notes for the class and more efficiently prepare for quizes/exams.

Creativity and New Media

After spending so much time reading and talking about new media, it's finally time to put everything I've learned to good use. Considering one of the final assignments for this class, I decided to work on a wiki page, specifically a Wiki-How article. Check out my page here: http://www.wikihow.com/Throw-an-Easy-Halloween-Party and feel free to add on to it. In this page, I give a few cool tips on how to decorate this Halloween.

Creativity

Forms of new media foster creativity among its users. Starting from 2003, digital software has allowed people to create mashups of songs. One can add a range of sounds to the song, such as beat boxing or extra vocals, to create a revitalized version. These programs help stimulate creativity and inventiveness among those with interest in musical arts. People can create remixes to their favorite songs even without the ability to read notes or play instruments.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Although the concept of virtual reality can be traced all the way back to 1860, it's one that really took off in the beginning of the 21st century. In 2003, Linden Lab launched a virtual reality software called Second Life, where users could interact through avatars with other users and the virtual world around them. Second Life was on the way to becoming a revolution in the way we communicate. Like many other virtual reality programs, it served a wide range of interests--arts, science, work solutions, religion, entertainment, relationships, and role-playing. Going to the virtual office in Second Life discusses Second Life's 2009 initiative to bring together remote workers in a virtual office setting. IBM's software Sametime 3D and Google's Wave also enable virtual collaboration. The issue with this type of technology is that what works in a traditional workplace setting isn't always best in a virtual reality.

There are many faces to virtual reality technology. Diana Mehta and Jacki Morie, from Forbes and USC ICT respectively discuss the pros and cons of virtual reality. One interesting aspect of this is isolation. Virtual reality tries to turn the problem of "being alone together" into truly being together on "the grid." With the recent boom in the popularity of Minecraft, a virtual Leggo world where users can interact with one another and work together to build things, 2 billion accounts have been registered (1 billion of which belong to children ages 5-15). According to Morie, children benefit from this space where they can connect socially, learn, and be entertained because the physical radius to which children are confined is continuously shrinking. This software is also an important part of more serious endeavors, namely military training. Virtual reality creates an environment in which soldiers feel unease and fear, making training more realistic. Also, the use of avatars is something fundamentally revolutionary in the world of social interaction. Creating an alternate image of yourself fosters some sense of responsibility for the actions of that character. Most importantly, virtual worlds foster creativity. Because they so heavily rely on user input, its practically impossible to possibly intake information in a virtual world.  Furthermore, virtual reality surpasses the physical limits of real life. In Minecraft for example, anyone can build anything from a castle to an entire town--something most people would never be able to do in reality.

However, this kind of technology does not come without consequences. One big issue is regulation. With so many users interacting in a free-for-all environment its difficult to regulate illegal and immoral activities, such as gambling. Rapid growth rates also lead to technical instability, server crashes and even inventory loss. This means that virtual items that users actually pay for can disappear without warning. Even more disturbing is the number of moral issues that arise with virtual reality technology. When lack of regulation and accountability is combined with anonymity, users begin to engage in highly immoral activities including bullying, threatening other users, stealing inventory, and in extreme cases virtual pornography.

Virtual reality is a technology that is constantly developing and growing. Our fascination with an alternate world will likely never end. However, it is my opinion that in the future, this kind of technology will be better suited to games (i.e. Oculus Rift) and to training programs, not to create grids where users could do whatever they want. There really has to be stricter regulation and very elaborate software development for such a system to work. Even so, I think a virtual world that is too immersive can be detrimental to social interaction in the physical world.

Social Networking Sites

Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and Tumblr are four very different blogging platforms/social networking sites. Myspace was the first to become popular in 2005 and was well know for its customizability. With simple html coding or readily available myspace themes, users could customize their pages to reflect their interests and personalities. Although it was initially popular as a social networking site, now Myspace is heavily focused on music and has changed anything and everything about it's design.  I was very impressed with the new Myspace, as it has been years since I opened the site.  The updated interface is a lot cleaner and more intuitive than before. It is designed around musicians and features not only music pages but photo streaming, video, and an events page where users can update their fans about upcoming tours and shows.

Facebook is probably the site I am most familiar with. Earlier versions of Facebook featured widgets that allowed users to customize their profile but over the years, the site has taken a more simplistic approach. Of the features that weren't taken away, many of those that used to be popular are now quite outdated (i.e. notes and likes). I would have to agree with the growingly popular opinion that Facebook itself is becoming outdated as a social networking site and has simply become too boring. Where it used to be the hub of all social life, in the past few years, it has become a place filled with drama and adults (specifically employers and parents) who you don't want monitoring your online activities. The main uses of Facebook today, at least from my observations, are to instant message friends, organize groups of people, and also some advertising.

My experiences with Twitter have been very limited. However, over the course of this class thus far, I have begun to see it in all its glory. For one, it's extremely simple to use. It's like Facebook stripped of everything but the status update, and even then with a lot less drama. There's also this mutual understanding that you have to say what you need to say in only 140 characters so you better make it count. Another great thing about Twitter is that you can follow people you would never be able to access otherwise, especially your favorite celebrities. It's also arguably the fastest and most efficient way to receive and disperse news. Finally, I think that Twitter has the perfect balance of customization--between the overwhelming amount of Myspace and the bare minimum of Facebook.

Finally, I chose to visit Tumblr. Tumblr is probably the most multifaceted platform of the four. While one page can be heavily text based another may have no words at all--only pictures. Still others may have only videos or quotes. Many pages are a mix of the four and with the vast quantity of themes, backgrounds and layouts, almost no two pages are alike. Of all the various types of Tumblr pages, i would have to say my favorite would have to be the ones that focus on pictures. I think that Tumblr is a wonderful tool to visually compile all of your favorite images and gifs (moving images). Also, much like Twitter allows you to "retweet" posts, Tumblr allows you to repost images and other content so you don't have to post original content to have a Tumblr page.

Blog About Twitter

Twitter--a blogging service that allows users to post tweets limited to 140 characters--has undoubtedly revolutionized the way people converse both online and in person. The whole premise of using only 140 characters to relay your thoughts and opinions already sets Twitter apart from other interactive blogging sites. On Blackboard, for example, users are able to respond to posts made by others by commenting on the original content. These comments are not limited to any amount of words or characters. On one hand, this allows users to express their opinion thoroughly, possibly referencing outside sources or providing supplementary links. However, those who would not naturally be inclined to write a paragraph or two often see the freedom to write as much as you want as a requirement to write as much as you can. This results in comments that either repeat themselves or are neither relevant to the original post nor to the initial thoughts of the person commenting. Sites like Blackboard are ultimately suited towards people with a lot to say. Such blogs are used for in-depth discussion, where the content creator's purpose is to explore a specific topic, to provide instructions, or to keep an online diary. Twitter is more suited to those people who want to quickly note something that made an impression on them or briefly update their followers on a new occurrence in their lives or in the world around them.

As for in-class discussion, I actually think that the fast-paced back and forth quality of Twitter successfully mimics this type of discussion. In class, the teacher or a student will begin the discussion with a statement or question. Others then reply to what was said, often directing their reply at a specific person. Of course, both tweeting and in-class discussion have their respective advantages. While Twitter allows multiple people to reply to a tweet instantly, in-class discussion allows students to give a more meaningful and thorough response where needed.

Social Net'g

Over the past decade or so, we as a society have come to develop quite the love-hate relationship with social networking. In an online forum, Freakonomics asked: Is MySpace Good for Society? One research team at Michigan University has tried to understand why we are so attracted to sites like Facebook and MySpace. The study found that engagement in such sites actually boosted students' social capital, or the benefits they received from their relationships with others. Students with higher social capital were also found to have made better use of "weak ties," or people who they may not be close with personally but who could provide them with useful information. Social networking has also revolutionized the way we approach the job market. In Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting Maureen Crawford-Hentz, a recruiter for a global lighting company said, "Social networking technology is the best thing to happen to recruiting--ever." Sites like LinkedIn connect over 8 million professionals, including executives of Fortune 500 companies and big recruiters. Not only is this a way for students and potential job seekers to put themselves out there, but it's a way for those hiring them to filter out potential candidates with the click of a button.

As for social networking's overall benefit to society, it's difficult to genuinely say there is an overall benefit. Sure, it's easier to contact friends, strike up conversations with new people, organize groups and quickly disperse information. However, there is a "dark side" to this growing attraction, which makes one question whether the benefits truly outweigh the costs.  For one, we begin to forego the true meaning of friendship. The word friend has come to be someone whose status appears on your newsfeed, rather than someone you share a meaningful bond with. Social networking can also be detrimental to social development, especially for teens and young adults. It becomes so easy to take on an alternate persona online that people begin to lose track of who they really are and get lost in a web of pretentious lies. In addition to causing people to withdraw from the real world, the ease of communicating online can also lead to the abuse of technology. There have been too many cases linked to teen suicides resulting from bullying and gossip spread through social networking sites. Social networking is a tool that is simply too easy to misuse. Many teens and young adults fail to understand the repercussions of what they post online and social networking is unforgiving. It makes it way too easy for people to know the very intimate details of each others lives. 

Now for the future. While I do believe that LinkedIn is a wonderful tool that will continue to grow and expand for at least a few more years, I'd have to agree with Rachel Karl--Facebook has reached it's peak and will only continue to decline. The future of social networking is "visual and mobile" (aka Instagram and Snapchat). Facebook is primarily text based and I don't believe it will be able to keep up with the way we are consuming information.

Blog v Wiki

Wikipedia  defines a wiki as a platform in which users can add, modify, or delete content in a collaborative effort with no defined owner or structure. Wikis also rely heavily on topic associations through the creation of links and new pages. A blog, or web log, consists of discrete posts made by an individual or small group of individuals. In most cases, a blog will focus on one central topic and page links are used to organize content on the site. Whereas content updates on wikis are meant to enhance information present on the page, content updates on a blog are usually meant to follow up on content previously posted or to discuss something new. One can argue that wikis are the more universal of the two. While wikis have a standard format that everyone is familiar with, blogs reflect the personal tastes of the author and are more open to customization.

The development of both of these platforms is a natural progression in today's networked world. As people become more connected to one another and as information becomes readily available to us in real-time, it makes sense for us to work on a platform that allows us to collaborate quickly and efficiently. In Harvard Business Review, wiki founder Jimmy Wales says that thousands of organizations have turned to wikis to aggregate the knowledge of their employees and to provide a place for them to collaborate on anything from meetings to new project proposals. Wikis are especially important for companies that work internationally or who have many employees working remotely. E-mails and telephones are becoming too dated for a society with so many due dates and deadlines, making online platforms the best option in a corporate environment. Furthermore, with the growing popularity of professional networking sites such as Linkedin, wikis may one day become a way for users to create an online resume where they can update information about where they work and what projects they are working on. This way, they are not limited to a one page resume that only skims the surface of their entire career.  

How Can We Measure the Influence of the Blogosphere? talks about the importance of blogs in collaboration, specifically regarding mass media. Newspapers and television, or "The Press" have always been the go to mediums for news. But with the continuing growth of the internet and thereby connectivity amongst individuals, blogs are becoming an important source of growth for journalism. According to Gill, journalism can occur anywhere and under almost any circumstances. Participatory journalism in particular, encourages a two-way interaction between the journalist and his readers. Blogs are a perfect way to organize "our collective history." They allow you to freely post content in chronological order and archive it to make it easy for readers to follow what happened when. 

Significance of Mobile Apps

        With the continuous developments in technology taking place in our world today, we have seen a fundamental shift in the way we experience and obtain information. According to studies published in June by the Pew Research Center, 56% of adults in the U.S. own a smartphone. This doesn't account for the 80% of young adults and 18% of senior citizens using smartphones as well. Considering these statistics, it would only make sense that more and more of our daily interactions occur through mobile devices. Retail giants like Amazon and eBay are even turning their attention to their mobile sites, where an increasingly large portion of shopping occurs. Even Facebook has made changes to profit off of mobile users with advertising.  

          But 4G data plans haven't been enough for us. In today's fast paced society we want things where we want them and when we want them, which means waiting to get internet connection is not a go. This is where mobile apps come in. While many mobile apps do still require internet access, most of the data is stored within the app and the updates automatically take place in the background, allowing users to access information already stored on the app. With our increasing obsessions with ease and convenience, the mobile app allows us to access tools previously only available on desktop or laptop computers. In this blog, I want to explore the development and significance of mobile apps and their various effects on our constantly evolving society.