The Next New Thing

A new and innovative type of new media that does not currently exist could perhaps be some kind of virtual guide or avatar that can be displayed and viewed on the newer smart televisions. The newer models of televisions are not only just sleeker, thinner, and wider but they also include a variety of different applications such as the internet, YouTube, Twitter, Skype, Facebook, games, and other App Store services and facilities. If these TVs had a virtual avatar designed to walk and assist one through the TV and its large amount of services, I think this would perhaps make things easier and fun. One could speak to the avatar that would show up on the TV screen and explain what he or she wanted to do, whether to watch TV, go surfing on the internet, log in to Facebook or another social media website, or perhaps check out other apps on the App store of the TV, all of this can be described to the TV avatar which can ingeniously take us there in record breaking speed. Imagine this, as you turn on your TV, the virtual TV avatar could ask you “what you would like to do?”, in turn, you can communicate instructions to it, which the avatar can carry out. A show you want to watch can immediately show up without having to channel surf. Is there a particular video you would like to watch on YouTube? One may simply just say the instructions to the avatar – “I would like to watch _____ on YouTube” and basically wait for the screen to switch to the YouTube application and then the desired video. Perhaps we can ask the avatar what’s currently on TV that is mysterious or action filled and a list of suggestions could be relayed to us. I think if such a new media invention were ever created it would probably make remote controls obsolete because we would not need them anymore to watch TV. I think a TV avatar coupled with the new types of modern Televisions that are coming out are suitable for the virtual trend that is impacting our society, we see more and more people intertwined with the internet, social media, blogs, emails, and other new media technologies such as tablets, iPods, iPads, Kindles, etc... People are looking for an experience that can enhance and capture their senses, perhaps this type of new media technology can exactly do just that. Our vision and auditory senses would be captured and focused on this TV virtual guide who can then help and assist us in the growing complexities of the smart TV and its innumerable services. Lastly, if such a new media invention were ever created, it would require a collaboration or partnership between TV manufactures and TV service/channel providers. 

Our Class Wiki – So Far

After using the class wiki for the first time, I realized that there was quite a bit to learn in order to create an interesting wiki page or to add more content to other areas of the class wiki, but it was sort of fun trying to learn more about the wiki system and how to use it, as well as, creating a new wiki page from scratch. I chose to create a wiki page on education. I thought it would be a great idea discuss on how new media has affected education. Throughout this semester, there were many articles from the course weekly readings that came to mind such as an article written by Bridget McCrea called “Taking Students Where No School Bus Can Go” or the article from www.onlinecolleges.net called “50 Ways to Use Twitter in the College Classroom” that reinforced the co-mingling of new media and education.  I learned quite a bit from these articles, the information within these pieces were quite fascinating because each of these articles depicted where new media technology was taking education or how it was morphing the traditional education system. I intertwined these articles into the wiki page, I also added a structure to this wiki page by starting off with a sort of broad introduction of how new media and education are connected, then I further broke it down into different and smaller sections or portions which included: social media, webcam and video chatting applications, file storage websites, virtual worlds, and lastly, references. Some of the information I include for social media is how Twitter can be used within the class room setting, for video chatting, I include the article written by McCrea, and for virtual worlds, I include the article from the course weekly readings called “Avatar II: The Hospital” written by Stephanie Simon. All these different forms of new media technology provide great benefits to education, I wanted to be able to display this through these articles. The piece on Twitter explained how social networking can be used as a tool for further educational benefits, growth, and contribution whilst McCrea’s article discussed the benefits of skyping folks all over the world for the student audience and Simon’s article discussed the benefits of a virtual hospitals to soon to be nurses. These examples depict the how education is changing and bending to the will of the new era of new media technology. I want to include some more information on new media and education but this will require a bit more of additional research, I would love to expand more on social media and how it caters to the needs of both teachers and students. At the same time, I would like to include some pictures into the wiki page for a fresher and professional look, but as of yet, I have not quite figured out how to do it, I am still learning on how to properly do this. I would probably want to contribute more by creating another wiki page that may interest me such as “Recruitment”, “News”, “Politics”, or “Privacy” page. To include more information on education and new media, I am currently looking at other resources and articles that may be of interest. At the same time, I am looking for insightful images to include in the wiki page. 

P2P File Sharing

1.      What is file sharing?

File sharing may take place through the internet, in which an assortment of different websites is used as a sort of “middle man” to share files containing diverse items such as music, movies, TV episodes, documentaries, images, and e-books.  File sharing can also be considered a two-way road in which one is able to access shared file content from other users. In one way, you are dispersing files into the internet for other likeminded individuals to view and use whilst at the same time gathering files from other users that may be of interest to you, whether it’s a book or image or an audio file.

2.       What is P2P file sharing?

Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing is a type of file sharing. P2P file sharing can be defined as a new media technology or medium, P2P file sharing can come in the form of a website (4shared) or software (LimeWire) that allows its users to share books, music, movies, TV show episodes, documentaries, images, and games to others within the same P2P file sharing network or platform while simultaneously having access to others’ files which can be downloaded for one’s own perusal.

3.       What are some examples of P2P file sharing?

Some examples of P2P file sharing are:

a.       From the scholarly article called “Online Piracy and the Emergence of New Business Models” written by David Choi, discussed how Shawn Fanning had created a P2P file sharing medium called Napster which allowed users to store and contribute music to the site which could then be dispersed to other users who were interested in the songs (par. 22-23).

b.       From the same article written by David Choi, I learned about BitTorrent which is another P2P file sharing technology that was created by Bram Cohen, which allows users to download and share content through a unique method that resolves the issue of slow downloading time through a bit by bit method (par. 29-30).

c.       An article called “Peers Find Less Pressure Borrowing From Each Other” by Wendy Kaufman discussed another P2P example called the Lending Club which provides a new trending and novel way to borrow money or loans that is somewhat different from the traditional bank method. 

Privacy and Confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality play an integral role within the confines of new media. As new media continues to grow, develop, and become a larger piece of our lives, it becomes crucial for privacy and confidentiality to have a strong and formidable presence within all aspects and activities that make up new media. For example, the way we shop for items has changed considerably over the years; we go to online venues and websites to shop for clothing as well as other items such as jewelry, makeup, and electronics. Privacy and confidentiality are crucial to this new habit, I think when credit/debit card information is given to these different websites we need to be absolutely sure that the website has a good level of security so that our information is not hacked and used against us. New media makes things more transparent, such as the article called “University of Maryland Computer Security Breach Exposes 300,000 Records” written by Patrick Svitek and Nick Anderson suggested. This article discussed how 300,000 records of people within the University of Maryland were jeopardized through a hack job that had access to the social security numbers of these people. New media adds a dangerous factor of transparency so that these types of information become available to the wrong group of people who have the right skill set to pry through databases and steal the information. I think this article depicted the need for constant growth in terms of security and perversion of private information leakage. Another interesting article, called “The Wild West of Privacy” written by Joe Nocera discussed how Google or Facebook compile and amass information on its users which are then sold to marketing firms. I think this is important for the public to understand and know of, I believe that we should be aware of what kind of information is being sent off to such firms. As we rely more and more on new media for our day to day activities, it is important to stay ahead of the game by continually upping the growth of security that can safeguard the public’s right to privacy and confidentiality, in the long run, I think this can create a more trusting connection between all parties involved.

Advice to Baruch College

Some of the suggestions that I would make are: social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can be utilized by the college to relay important information to students such as deadlines to register for fall, spring, and summer courses, to disperse information regarding emergency situations such as severe weather (snow), to include or post videos of positive experiences from other fellow students, faculty, and  staff,  to advertise free workshops related to writing improvement, study habits, and resume and cover letter assistance, I would advertise the career and internship opportunities on these  different social networking platforms as well. Also, perhaps online classes can use virtual worlds such as Second World, to meet and discuss course related items such as group projects. This suggestion can add some definition to online classes. Social media can also be a great platform to voice the counseling options that the college provides to its students, this can be a great way to pass out word of an important tool that the college delivers to its scholars. Professors can use new media tools such as voice memos to share important notes regarding the coursework topics with students, taking down notes can be hard for many students as it can be quite difficult to keep up with professors, so adding voice memos as a supplement material can help aid students with excelling in their classes as well as providing another helpful tool for studying with. 

Creativity and New Media

For this assignment, I used the internet to visit the Second Life website page, from there I was able to view many different avatars from which I could choose from, for example, “classic avatars”, “vampire avatars”, and “people avatars” were choices that were available. Once I choose an avatar that was to my liking, I was able to create an account with Second Life. The software was downloaded on to my computer. Through the Second Life’s software, I was able to log-in and start enjoying the virtual environment. Second Life assisted me in learning how to use the keyboard to maneuver to the left or to the right, I was taught how to walk, jump and fly in the virtual world. I thought this was definitely a great way to show the creativeness of new media, being a part of the virtual world was very interesting, the visuals were realistic, and the noises of the birds and crickets were both creative and lifelike. I found Second Life to be creative; it’s a great way to meet new people, especially for people who may be slightly shy or introverted. It can be a great place for people with phobias and disabilities where communities and societies can be created for support; geography does not have to play a barrier in virtual reality as it could restrict people in real life to look for such communities. Multinational organizations and even professional associations can meet in a virtual reality. On the surface, virtual realities may look like a game of sorts, but when further considered it can be a great life line for many people. 

Creativity

New Media has great potential to provide or spark an avenue towards creativity, this can be depicted through some of this week’s assigned readings on creativity, such as an article called “1+1+1=1 The New Math of Mashups”, written by Sasha Frere-Jones. Through this article, I was able to learn that original songs are being recreated or rather renewed through new media technology; two different artists from two completely different songs are joined together creating an end result of a “mashup”. In other words, mashups are created by using different features and components from two different songs (more than two may be used) which are then interwoven into a single piece of work.  This can only truly be created through the assistance of new media technology. In fact, within the article it is stated by Mark Vidler that “you don’t need a distributor, because your distribution is the Internet. You don’t need a record label, because it’s your bedroom, and you don’t need a recording studio, because that’s your computer. You do it all yourself” (par.6). Mashups are possible through the pairing of the right technology which could include software packages, laptops, and an internet service. Technology makes mashup easier, creative folks with interests and hobbies in the area of music can have a simple and fun time with creating mashups, in fact, new media technology provides the opportunity for creativity to work at its best because it breaks down barriers such as costs. Through this article, I was able to learn that some mashup songs were even more popular than the original songs. New media technology helps one visualize the true potentials of songs by evolving them into mashup or remixed songs, something that probably was really impossible before. Furthermore, for those folks that created some of the most popular mashup songs, they were able to land professional jobs and opportunities. In this way, new media technology has fostered creativity in people who are able to utilize the technology in a way to provide audiences with mashup songs that some of time tend to be much more popular than its original.