The Next New Thing

A type of New Media that currently does not exist is a type of New Media that allows users to collaborate on video projects together. There would be an online platform that all of the team members can utilize and they would all be able to work on the exact same file at the same time. There is already a similar platform for word documents utilizing Google Doc or Google Spreadsheets. For coders, they have GitHub which similarly allows them to all work on the same piece together. In terms of video editing, it may be that each member in the group has a particular skill in video editing that they are more proficient in. In that sense, being able to work together would allow them to save a lot of time. There is always the possibility that they could piece together each of their individual works at the end. However, perhaps one scene requires a few of them to work on together. They may need someone to add in a special effect, one person to fix the lighting, one person to work on cropping and transitions. In that way, working separately just would not do. I do not know how feasible this is, but given the large scale projects that video editors work on, I think this can be highly beneficial to the field of video editing and the communities that practice the craft.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

Currently, for the class Wiki, I have been looking more into the MMORPG wiki page. I saw that Supercell was mentioned as a developer, however the information was not updated. I decided to update the information shown. Since Supercell recently released a new hit game which I currently play, I added a new Wiki Page that goes indepth into the world of Clash Royale. I currently have the basic structure of the page already done and hope that more people will contribute to it in the future. I noticed that the more I added to the page, the more things I noticed were missing. I understand that it is a long term project and I hope to make it as comprehensive as I can. I wonder if there are any other people who play the game who might be able to contribute to the page. I understand that there are many perspectives that one can have and hope to learn more from others too as we all work on our Class Wiki. I play the game everyday and will continue to do research to add on even more to the page.

P2P File Sharing

File sharing is a very controversial topic. It would make sense for there to be the option to share what you have with others. In terms of physical copies of books, I can always lend it to my friend. However, things are different when it comes to intellectual property and digital copies. By sharing files, I can essentially make a copy of it and make it so both my friend and I would have a copy each. This leads to the idea of piracy. File sharing is the act of sharing files over a network. Meanwhile P2P file sharing is using peer to peer options which have end users acting as the network in order to share content such as media files, books, ect. Some examples of P2P file sharing would include all forms of torrent and even certain software such as Pando Media Booster. Torrents allow users to share files with one another directly, and many things can be uploaded onto the platform including intellectual property and copyrighted material. Meanwhile Pando Media Booster which is used in multiple applications is used to allow for a P2P download aspect for specific software. It can be beneficial when there are many people uploading the content however, it may operate slowly when there are not much people uploading the content. To really gain a perspective on how popular P2P file sharing has become, The Bittorrent Effect explains, Bittorrent traffic makes up for about 1/3 of all data sent across the internet. It can be much more efficient than other download methods and I feel that the battle against it will always be something that is mentioned. It will be hard finding a right balance between the freedoms and rights that internet users have against illegal usage of torrents.

Creativity and New Media

     New Media can be a great way to express one's self and really does allows for many forms of creative expression. Within certain games and simulations, users can feel free to create avatars which can be tweaked to however the user wants. One way that I have been able to show my creativity using New Media would be within MapleStory. I was able to create a character and altar everything about my avatar. The variable portions that I had control over would include stats and attributes. I was also able to name my character, decide what type of role or job he would have. Aside from the more innate attributes, I was also able to change the way my character looked.

In the above picture, I have highlighted the current equipment and customization that I have on my character.

In this picture, I highlight the stats and attributes that I have decided to focus on for my character. 

The game really does allow a high level of editing and expression and there are much more ways for New Media to show creativity as more technology is introduced to the common market in the future.

Privacy & Confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality are very important to us as social creatures. Despite the fact that we enjoy coming together and sharing, there are times that we want to be alone with ourselves and our thoughts. Not only that, it is more than just what we feel, the laws also protect our privacy and confidentiality to a certain extent. It is obvious that we value having it but yet at the same time we are risking and potentially jeopardizing it when we use new media. Edward Snowden has shown how our information is kept and being used with us not knowing. The information can be gathered from new media so it is important to be aware of what we put on it.

For Facebook, some of the information placed on it may be accessible by the public. New media allows open sharing and this can be a bad thing at times. There is the problem of putting up too much information. Perhaps we may even put up information that we only meant to share with a few people but others could share the information too. Some examples of various new media platforms keeping track of our information such as locations would include Google which may track us if we use location services. Facebook may also utilize location services to see if you are nearby certain locations. Another thing to keep in mind would be that as we make more and more accounts on new media platforms, others can gather a better idea of who the person is and piece together all of the information. I would definitely not enjoy knowing that there is a stranger out there who knows everything about me.

Advice to Baruch College

If I were to give advice to Baruch College for bettering it in terms of New Media. I would highly recommend it to increase its presence all over whether it be through Facebook, Reddit, it's own website, or even Twitter. I think that Twitter can be a good way for students to keep connected with the school. The most important part would be to make it appealing to the student body. Ideally all of these platforms would be student run as they know best what they want. One example of a really popular Facebook page that Baruch could make would be Baruch Confessions. Of course, it may have to be moderated to an extent.

Baruch can also better itself by having a stronger presence on YouTube. For example, there can be videos of big events and also sport games. I understand that the VC building has TV which shows events and footage of events, I feel that those are pretty useful and help keep students up to date with the school. In terms of Reddit, there can be a Baruch subreddit for people to complain or just shoot out questions. This will create a better relationship between the school community and administration. Communication is one of the most important part of any relationship and New Media is a great instrument for doing so.

Creativity

New Media has made many great impacts to the way we live today. One of it's greatest contributions would be to the creativity of our society. One example that makes good use of the collaboration aspect of New Media would be explained in The New Math of Mashups. In the article, it explains how Jeremy part was able to create a great piece through breaking off a part of "Debra" and mixing it with "Frontin'." It hit the top of the charts on iTunes quickly and was a great success.

Other forms of collaboration leading to creativity would be on Minecraft, Reddit, Skyrim, and other game mods. In the games mentioned, players are able to create their own pieces and share it with others. Reddit allows the dispersal of information and allow people to learn new things to further the advancement of the field. The games have built in creative tools for players to show their own style and flair.

There are also other platforms which have more of a community aspect leading to creativity such as Youtube and Facebook. They are great ways to get feedback and get interaction with the audience of the work. In addition Tinder makes people try to be more creative as well in order to stand out. I feel that New Media has made access to all types of information and arts extremely convenient and I hope to continue using the aforementioned platforms.

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 are all around us today and through the constant evolution of technology they are becoming more and more immersive. Perhaps one day the border between reality and virtual reality will become just a blur. One way that virtual reality can be used is for educational purposes. A good example of it is Minecraft. After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get a Reboot? explains, "It’s digital LEGOs if you will, but it’s a space for kids to exercise their imagination and to connect with others to also want to build and create things". Students can explore different environments that are built for them. These can be places that they've never been to before or even from time periods that they are currently learning about. It will feel as if the students are actually there. Another way that these virtual worlds can be used is for exploration. In I’ve Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life, it explains how VLES is basically the virtual version of the lower east side and that people can explore it however they please.

     Some pros of virtual world technology would be for exploring new areas, planning out a city, simulating different situations, and having a virtual life. Some cons to it could be addiction to it. A person may rather live in a virtual world to escape reality. These virtual worlds can foster creativity in that there are no boundaries nor rules except the ones set in code and even so, the codes can be altered or rewritten so in that way there are almost infinite possibilities and is limited only by one's imagination. I think that the future of virtual worlds will be an imitation of the real world. By utilizing artificial reality technology, one can truly block out everything and feel as if the virtual reality is their only reality.

Blog about Twitter

     Twitter discussions seem to be closer to an in-class discussion than a BlackBoard Discussion. In a sense it is almost a mixture of both. However, the 140 character limit makes it seem as if each post is a reply in a real conversation. Whereas in a BlackBoard Discussion people can type as much as they want and even form a short essay. I feel that in regards to communicating online, it may make sense to have a huge block of information as opposed to short chunks. It is easier to read large amounts and allows ideas to be well explained and formulated. Sometimes the 140 character isn't enough to explain complex topics.

     It is similar to in-class discussions in that it seems more conversation like. I feel that in class discussions allow people to portray more than just what words allow. The idea of tone and and body gestures are something that Twitter cannot imitate. There is something about the face to face discussions that cannot be emulated by technology. In- class discussions do have a negative aspect when compared with Twitter discussions in that Twitter discussions have a record of what was contributed to it. However, for in-class discussions, a person cannot just jump into it and fully grasp all of the ideas that have been shared.

Social Networking Sites

There are various forms of social networking sites on the internet. Some of the more popular ones would include Facebook and Twitter. However there are many others out there which help people to stay connected such as SocialBrew and LinkedIn. I have tried all of them and would like to share my views and experiences on each of them.

Facebook is highly popular and is simple to use. I feel that the live feed may be a bit of a nuisance at times in that it adds on to the concept of information overload. Sometimes people post inappropriate things which I might not want to see or know about. Blocking off the post or group page does not filter out everything relevant to the inappropriate topics.

Twitter is something that I am still new to. I appreciate the organization in filtering through hashtags. Brevity is highly promoted especially through the 140 characters. I feel that Twitter can be quite nice to use but there again is the concept of information overload. People might not necessarily have to Tweet about everything.

SocialBrew has a very nice sleek modern interface. I really enjoy how simplistic it is to join groups and collaborate. It really accentuates the idea of social groups but yet allows for meeting of new people. I feel that the idea of connecting real life networking with it is extremely valuable in that it is very easy to bring connections into the real world.

LinkedIn seems to be more known for the professional side of social networking. It is good for showing yourself and professional side. People have access to what is essentially your resume and perhaps this can lead to future professional opportunities.

Overall I feel that all of the social networks have their pros and cons, at this rate it really hard to use only just one as they all have different goals and values different aspects of social networking.

Social Networking

     When thinking about the world of technology, the possibilities are quite limitless and seems to be constantly expanding through human ingenuity. One form of technology in particular that has seen a great spurt of usage this recent decade would be social technology. It can be used by almost anyone and has greatly helped in keeping people connected in at least a virtual form. Some prime examples would include Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, and even Tinder. LinkedIn can be considered by some as a social network that focuses more on the professional side of keeping in contact. Corporations can scout out potential talent through the use of such technology. Meanwhile Reddit can be used as a method of sharing information and staying involved within the latest happenings of specific interest groups. 

     Some of the benefits of these technologies to our modern society would include ease of access to contacts, whether it is for personal or professional purposes. These social networks also allow people to bring a more humane presence to the concept of the internet allowing for personalized profiles. Keeping in touch with others may be quite difficult at times. but social networking has bridged distance gaps between people all over. Some aspects that can be considered the "dark side" would be that there is a lot of information being stored in the databases that cannot be removed and is owned by the respective social media. The idea of "Big Brother" as mentioned in How Obama Tapped Into Social Networks’ Power is something that we have to be aware of. Seeing as how most of our interactions on social media can be viewed by others, the government can have access to it. Another aspect of the "dark side" also relating to Social Networking would involve the concept of privacy. In Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private, it describes how information thought to be private on Social Networks might not truly be private. Due to certain nuances in settings, it may be difficult to be completely sure that information meant for a select few won't accidentally be spread online. The issue of not having complete control over what one puts online is definitely part of the "dark side". Within the future, I feel that technology will continue closing the gap between the vitual and the real world. Connecting with others through Social Networks may still feel distant, however it will try to imitate real life face to face interactions as much as possible. This may be one of the future projects that Facebook might be working on. It seems to make complete sense with their acquisition of the Oculus Rift which is meant to formulate artificial/virtual reality.

Blogs vs. Wikis

Compare and contrast blogs and wikis. Comment on the importance of convergence in today's networked world. How can blogs be used for collaboration? Can you think of a new use for a wiki that has not been done yet? Cite at least 2 of the assigned readings.

Blogs are a great platform for people to share information and thoughts. Some people may use blogs almost as a diary, documenting their lives. Meanwhile, others may focus on a certain topic such as food. Blogs can be used for collaboration as it is a platform that does contain others to comment and make posts to share ideas. Wikis are similar to blogs in that they also are a method of sharing information however it is different in that it is more of a communally shared posting which multiple people may edit and contribute to. The convergence of today's networked world is apparent and is shown through out the various articles. Pentagon Keeps Wary Watch as Troops Blog shows how inside information can be leaked out through the troops as they blog or post messages online. It is hard to monitor everything that goes on and sometimes it may be censored. In addition, Wiki's article concerning Wikis explains that Wiki allows collaborative collaboration and modification of it's content. This allows various people to update the information on it. A new use of a Wiki could be using it to form a manual/guide for doing certain things. It can be extremely comprehensive and have a specific page for specific situations.

"An Analysis of Video Games in Multiple Dimensions"
In my paper, I plan to discuss video games as a form of new media. I will go in depth into the sociological, educational, technological and moral perspectives of video games. There is certainly great controversy regarding this form of new media which appeals highly to the younger generations but is slowly but surely catching up with the rest of the population. It has uses in assisting in education yet may be a distraction to others. It utilizes the newest forms of technology to constantly evolve. But yet given how open and endless video games can be, what limits should be imposed on them if any?

This is my blog for my Spring Principles of New Media Class. I have little to no prior experience with the world of blogging so I am looking forward to learning something new with the rest of my class.