Our Class Wiki - So Far

As editor of the Marketing and Advertising using New Media section our class wiki, I go through the material that has been posted and edit its formatting taking away unnecessary things and adding things that will make the section easier to read and more informative with pictures and better formatting. While the past contributions have been great, they were just put on with no formatting. Going through the material was hard to follow and new topics and sections were unclear. A lot of the topics could also use pictures to make them more eye catching. Those with pictures and formatting already done needed a little tweaking as well. I believe that when I'm done with editing at the end of this semester, the whole second will read more smoothly and be much more appealing to the reader.

The Next New Thing

I think the next new thing in terms of new media is further portability and incorporation of the technology we already have. While we already have all in one devices, I see a future where these devices are better integrated. They will get smaller and smaller and perhaps one day we'll have ear buds implanted into our ears and a transparent screen in our eyes like contacts. That way we can have tv and computer anywhere with us at all times. We'll all be able to communicate through these integrated devices no matter where we are. I think we will have technology that will better cater to each persons needs, remembering their preferences and settings and always working for them where ever they go.

About My Term Project

In my term project I will discuss the issue of Peer to Peer file sharing and its being moral or immoral. I will first explain the technology to the class as well as what material is being transferred so they will have a complete understanding of the issue. It is also important to understand the motivations behind the use of P2P. I will then describe the cases of both sides to the dilemma and share my personal view on the subject matter. I will also discuss how it ties in with our New Media class.

Privacy & Confidentiality

New Media, and the internet more specifically, has brought people together into a virtual public world. It is important to understand that the internet is a public forum. Almost anything can be put on the internet. Just like in the real world, some people do not realize the importance of privacy and confidentiality online. Its actually more important on the internet, yet negligence to such things seems to be increased. Because the internet is easy to access and is so easily searchable, one must use discretion when posting information online. One must also remember that since everyone can see what you post, including people of all ages, races, genders, nationalities, etc, you have to be careful what you put on. Children especially are very easily influenced by what they see online. And with parents' ignorance when it comes to their children accessing whatever they want, it is up to the rest of society to make sure nothing damaging is accessed easily. I think more measures should be put in to prevent children from accessing websites that aren't appropriate. What they see online can be harmful to their minds. Social networking sites are only further pushing such material to them as people promote some very inappropriate content. This is a problem within our society as a whole, and it will only progress to get worse as we venture into the future. The internet is becoming a bigger part of life and children younger and younger and getting on it and accessing all of it.

Advice to Baruch College

New Media can improve the college infrastructure and classes in so many ways. Although an initial investment might have to be made to implement the technology, it will pay off in the long run for both the college and more importantly its students and staff. One way in which New Media can be used for classes is to create classes that are done within a "Virtual World" online, such as second life. This way teachers and students can partake from anywhere, and can also record the classes for later reviewing. This is can cut down on costs for the school in needing classrooms and all that goes in to keeping a building running. This is also easier for the students of Baruch that commute long ways to get to school. Professors should also start having all class material on Wikis so that everybody can easily get to it and work on it. Just like our New Media course, it would really make things easier for both professor and student. Text books that are expensive and cumbersome can be replaced by ebooks. Instead of printing assignments out and wasting paper, everything can be electronic. Classes can be recorded as podcasts so that anybody that missed class or didn't get all the notes down can listen later. Class projects can move from powerpoints in front of the class to youtube videos or presentations over VOIP. Updates from teachers about them coming to class and assignments can be made through Twitter or Facebook status updates so everyone will easily get the message. Students should be able to contact their professors over IM so that they can get instant answers to their questions. Much of registering for classes and paying is already online but the systems aren't very refinded. With a move to Web 2.0, the college infrastructure could be more streamlined. Moving everything from registering to advisement online can make things easier, faster, and less costly. It will benefit everyone in the equation.

My New Media Class - So Far

New Media is comprised of many different technologies and mediums. These include blogs, wikis, social networking, mash ups, web 2.0, flickr, twitter, facebook, myspace, email, instant messaging, virtual worlds, p2p, podcasts, ezines, VOIP, youtube, and more. The internet is an essential part of new media because it allows for the collaboration and interaction between people as well as the access to the new media for everyone no matter where they are. A big part of new media is communication and sharing which is able to happen through the internet. Many of the mediums of new media would be almost impossible without the internet. Flickr for example allows for sharing of tons of photos, no other medium could do this as well and as efficiently as the internet. Blogs also work on the net because anybody can contribute from anywhere and an accumulation of posts can be made easily. In the article "Publisher Rethinks the Daily: It’s Free and Printed and Has Blogs All Over" one man tried to take the blog technology and put it in the old media form of paper. But this didn't work out due to the costs and it was nowhere near as efficient as posting online. Online blogs can be updated real time, so news is out there almost instantly, or as fast as someone gets on their computer or cell phone and types it up. That article is also a great example of how new media is replacing old media. Newpapers and magazines are being replaced with blogs. Now anybody can be a writer and everybody has access to more creativity online. Networking in person is replaced by facebook and other social networking sites that can bring people of similar interests together. Television is being replaced by youtube where anybody can be the star and even the normal tv shows are going online with websites like hulu. Even something as simple as talking on the phone is enhanced with VOIP and video conferancing with skype. New media allows for the world to be a smaller place because anybody can interact with anybody else anywhere in the world. New media is for everyone and has limitless uses that are great for our society.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

The "Virtual Worlds" that have emerged online have many different uses. They are used for fun and games as well as practical things in business. First and foremost, these "Virtual Worlds" emerged as a fun escape from reality. Sites like Second Life allow a user to create a virtual self within this online world in any form they wish. They can be who they want and do what they want in this world, including things that would otherwise be limited within our reality. There is no space, time, or physical limits as there are within reality. One can look like a superhero and fly and interact with other users all from behind ones computer. Because there is no space in the "Virtual Worlds" can also be used for meetings by people on opposite sides of the world. This is where they are useful for businesses. A whole group of people can meet no matter where they are. People can be trained from home, as IBM does, read in the article "IBM Learning Programs Get a ‘Second Life’". This allows IBMs trainees to interact in the online environment and learn, while cutting costs for everyone as they don't need to physically go into a class. It makes it much easier for both parties.
While the "Virtual Worlds" allow for interactivity from anywhere and make communication easier, there are some cons to them as well. Most importantly, when one spends all his/her time behind a computer in a "Virtual World", one might lose sight of reality and the real world which is important. Also, one no longer has real human interaction and may not develop the social skills needed to live and work in the real world. Some may take these worlds seriously, but in the end they are fake, and the only world worth focusing on is the real one, because that is the one with real prosperity as well as consequences.
The "Virtual Worlds" do foster creativity as they are limitless. The human imagination is only hindered in reality due to physical limitations, but the "Virtual Worlds" have no such limitations, which would allow ones imagination to flourish.
With both pros and cons to "Virtual Worlds", I am certain that they will only further develop and integrate into our technological society. The future will hold greater uses for these worlds online, and as the "Virtual Worlds" are limitless, so is its potential in the future. I think in the future the worlds will be a better copy of our reality and maybe integrate more with the real world so they become less of a fake game, and more of a real tool in our lives. I think they will become more useful in education and training for people, so such things will be more accessible by everyone all over the world, no matter their status.