The Next New Thing

This may be a little while off but I have envisioned glasses or contact lenses that are connect to the internet and that pull data from social networking sites. So when you are walking down the street you will be above everyone's head there facebook or tweeter name and maybe even some of there recent posts. You will be able to stand in the middle of Google street view on Google maps and see the pics that had been posted. This would be very interesting and I hope something of the sort comes out in the future. 

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Our Class Wiki - So Far

I have not done any wiki work yet. I have been reading on politically related media effects and plan to write about how new media is affecting politics. I plan to do this over the next few weeks. That is really all there is too that so far, wish there was more, but there isn't.

ArcPolitic

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P2P File Sharing

File sharing is the exchange of digital file via the internet. This is something that is innate to the infrastructure of the internet. You cannot have the internet without the sharing of digital data. Data is bits and the internet is simply moving bits of ones and zeros.

PSP File Sharing is the latest evolution in this digital exchange. According to the article "The Bittorent Effect", one third of all internet traffic is exchanged through one PSP application called Bittorrent, and this was back in 2005. This really is crazy if you think about it. There is so much collaboration and exchange of data via the internet through PSP software that any traditional hard forms of media will soon be all but extinct. These programs allow you to pull bits from not only one person, but from hundred or thousands at a time. That way, the file downloads at a much faster rate.

Some examples of PSP software are Bittorrent, Utorrent, and kazaam. They are all widely used and very useful. They are in fact, too useful. This new software threatens whole industries like the movie and music industries. This will soon cause a change in traditional thinking and everything will be online. Then, the government will step in and place new laws and restrictions to the exchange of data on the internet. It may not happen in the next 5 years, but it will happen.

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Privacy & Confidentiality

This is a very interesting topic and can be argued in many ways. I personally believe that many New Media platforms are destroying our privacy on the internet. If you think about traditional social relationships they are actually based on very defined rules. Lets take this class for instance. The class consists of a teacher and students. We speak to each other in a certain way. This is not the way we speak with our parents or friends, but our teacher. Such a relationship is very important and cannot be used within the bounds of another relationship. I could not talk like a teacher to my brother because he would find it odd. With new media, these defined roles can become illegitimate because someone you know will see you in a different role. Then their view of you will be undermined.  

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Advice to Baruch College

If I was hired by Baruch college there would be many New Media technologies I would strive to have Baruch adopt. The foremost of these would be mobile device communication software. This would link all mobile devices together and allow for networking and collaboration. I would also upgrade the wireless signals and speed because these are extreamly slow.


A Baruch networking site would also be fun and entertaining. Clubs could record their meetings and post them or so live streaming meetings which students could view from anywhere. These are a few of the technologies I think would be beneficial.

ArcPolitic

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About My Term Research Paper

I am really happy to have this paper done. It it my last paper of midterms and was the longest in size. I researched "How Video Conferencing is Affecting Communication". I spent a lot of time on Baruch's library looking for references. I found about 6 on there but ended up only using about 4 of them. The rest were from websites I found on google. I wrote the paper of the course of three days. I covered the history of VC technology, the elements of communication, how VC technology is good for the environment and cost effective, how it allows you to communicate anywhere at anytime, and how this technology will allow the expansion of educational opportunities to those who currently do not have them. It has changed how we speak with family members and work associates. It is also going to continue to develop and  expand over time. This was basically the jest of my paper.

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Creativity and New Media

I installed a program called Ventrillo. This is an open source high definition voice communication software for any operating system and 32 or 64 bit. One person can host a conversation through the software and the others just join to it. Then they can talk, laugh, and anything else they can think of. This can be used to talk with friends while playing games or to generally converse with a group of friends at the same time.


You can install it from http://www.ventrilo.com/dlprod.php?id=4 and it is very easy to use.    



This is the client. It is very easy and fun to use. I would recommend this program to everyone.

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Creativity

Ask yourself where mankind would be today without the internet. How would our business transactions happen? What about the music or advertising industries? It is hard to imagine these entities existing without the internet and social networking sites. The greatest thing about these sites is that they give the tools of creation to the people. There is no need to pay professionals big bucks to make a video website or slideshow. All the tools of video editing and creation are free and open to the public. In the article "Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why", Brooks Barnes explains how average people are making small video mash-ups of Disney cartoons and turning heads, lots of them. This is the door of creation. Anyone and have an unlimited audience and perform until they are discovered. I think that this pushes people to try new things and learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others. It is also a way for things to be created not by an individual but by a group of strangers from all over the world.
 

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Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

There are virtual worlds at almost every corner of the internet, yet many people do not know much about them. They are, however, catching on with astonishing speed. We often hear about Second Life, which is a virtual world where people try to recreate real life, make friends, and build communities. This is only one way these worlds can be used. There is another side to these virtual worlds called MMOs or Massive Multiplayer Online Games. In these games there is a huge world, custome avatares, and tons and things to do, from minning for ore to battling dragons. These are almost all based in fatasy and offer an extra-realaity exerience for the user. Other virtual worlds exist but in almost every case the main focus is virtual colaboration. These people are still communicating with other humans, just virually.

The benefits of these world are almost endless. People can make friends, have fun, learn, and even find a mate or spouse. They help those with disablities fitin and feel accepted. In the article "Naughty Auties battle autism with virtual interactions", Nicole Saidi explains how people with autism use Second Life (a virutal world) to overcome communication problems and make friends. Also, in the article "I've Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life", Dave Itzkoff relates the story of young people hanging out in virtual representation of real bars in the lower east side of New York City because the real club was crowded. This is just two examples of how these worlds can be beneficial. There is however a good and bad in all things and virutal worlds are no different. People get addicted to these online worlds and slowly loose touch with reality. They replace good human friendships with virtual ones and become hermits, living in there rooms while ording in food all the time. It is also a huge waste of time if you weight that time and realize what you coul dhave accomplished if you have used that time more effectivly.

These worlds help us analyize our world and find what is bad and good about it. It also helps people think outside the box and find new ways to collaberate. In the future I think that these virtual worlds will be used for everything from sex, to military training, to cooking classes. There really is not limit to wat they can be used for.

ArcPolitic

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Blog about Twitter

Twitter is pretty interesting. I just started to use it and it is fun following people who interest me. The thing is it is more like a little word or sentence here or there. You can go back and forth but the letter limit is 140 characters. This can make for some dry conversation. I think that a blackboard discussion is more in depth and diverse for these reasons. But the twitter conversation is more quick and to the point. Thus, i believe that twitter is better for updating and following updates and not for speaking the mind.

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Social Networking Sites

I have had the experience of testing out or using most of the main social networking sites via this class or of my own personal choice prior. They cross paths at points but are unique in their own ways.

Facebook is the one I have probably used the most. It seems like it has the most activity and the most users. I can stay up to date with friends and family and communicate with others that I do not always have the time to call. There is a chat feature that makes quick back and forth communication easy. The layout is smooth and user friendly and I think that it is the easiest to navigate.

MySpace seems to be a sleazy version of Facebook. it has most of the same elements like messaging, posts, and profiles. However, it has much more options available to the user to customize. You can add you own music, background, themes, pictures, and whatever else you want. The thing is, you will get a hundred messages a day from porn sites or other inappropriate places trying to get you to buy their products. This was my main frustration with MySpace. It also does not have a user base as large as Facebook, and lets face it, no one wants to have to manage two sites.   

Twitter is a networking site that lets you follow the daily updates of people whom you interested in. You can also post your own tweets or updates. I just started to use this and it is exciting to think that I can follow the tweets of politicians and other people who merit my interest. The interface is very easy to use.

LinkedIn is a great networking, if not the most note worthy networking site. This site is basically to network with others in the search of new career opportunities. You can post your whole job history, display contacts, look for people, review resumes, and many other job related functions. You can send messages and make friends. I think it is a great site and that its popularity will continue to grow. 

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Social Networking

Social Networking, a whole new form of social interaction...... virtually. This is in stark contrast to traditional communication which has been done via personal meetings, traditional mail, and even phone calls. This is a tweet here, a post there, and even the occasional tag.

If these words seem foreign it is because they are not wholly acculturated at this point, but they are getting there. Social networking is taking over communication is all variants like a well honed virus over the human immune system, there is just no stopping them. Nor is there really any effort to stop them because lets face it.... they are fun AND convenient. Today, they are used to keep track of high school friends, find jobs, and even grow businesses. No one is limited nor judged in this because it is open to one and all for the enjoyment of all. Think of it like an electronic revolution in freedom.

This is not it, the uses and potential in social networking is endless.  In an article titled "How Obama Tapped Into Social Network's Power", David Carr explains how the Obama administration took advantage of the social networking sites to raise money, awareness, and support. Look at Mr. Obama now, or should I say Mr. President. This helped fast track him into the white house and set a new standard for future political campaigns. We already see most of the political contenders this time around doing the same thing, but big shots are not the only ones getting involved. Students all over the country are sharing in real time what is going on with them at that exact moment. In the article "Brave New World of Digital Intimacy", Clive Thompson explains how people horrified by the potential for their information and status being instantly known soon got over their fear and embraced news feeds and other tools that increased the speed with which users could update each other.

So if they are so great why is there concerns that pop up now and then. Well, having all of your information on one of these sites is kinda like having your undies hanging out your window. Everyone not only sees the undies but the brown streak also. Once posted it is hard to do any sort of damage control. A classic example is Mr. Wiener, a New York Politician who's life and career were destroyed after crude photos of Mr. Wiener's.... well... wiener got out and made the rounds. The sad thing is he posted them himself. This is a testament to the "newness" of social networking. Many people do not quite understand the consequences that would come from an unconscious post or tweet. This is thus the "dark side" of social networking which is not likely to disappear anytime soon.

In the future we will see these technologies take over industry and societies. However, they will also create new industries and societies in return. A double edged sword at the fingertips of every living human...... who know what could happen.

ArcPolitic         

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Blogs vs. Wikis

Blogs and Wikis. If you asked someone ten years ago what they thought about this debate they would think you were a weirdo. That is how new these things are and I think that their true impact is only starting to come forth.

Blogs are very much the conduit through with individuals can share their ideas and thoughts on certain aspects of whatever it is they are interested in (i.e. what I am doing right now). They have many options of customization and alteration which gives the end user many options in being able to let their blog represent them. A wiki is somewhat different. There are many things you can alter but aside from the information presented there is not much option to allow for the user to customize the look. However, the wiki is much more in depth than a blog. It is basically your own intranet. One can create many pages and link and build up a whole online database, which is what Wikipedia is.

In the article "Pentagon Keeps Wary Watch as Troops Blog", James Dao explains that soldiers use the blogs to relay their experiences of war, uncensored. This is their personal website and only they can alter it behind the firewalls. Thus we see that blogs are very much more of an individualistic nature. Conversely, in the article "How To Use Wikis For Business", Ezra Goodnoe explains how a business can use a wiki to increase productivity or revenue. The tern "database" is once again brought up and it is mentioned that all the employees can access and alter the information. Thus, we see that wikis are much more group oriented. 

As to which one is better, well that is like comparing apples to oranges. I like apples with my salad and oranges on hot summer days. Like wise, blogs and wikis can, and I think should, be used according to the situation and ones needs. Like all new media, these are tools to help us develop and a tool is only useful when used for what it was designed to be used for. 

ArcPolitic,

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