The Next New Thing

For this post I was asked to suggest a new type of "new media" that doesn't currently exist.

Something that I would like to see be the next "new thing" in media would be a convergence of all social networking websites. I am at times overwhelmed when I must balance my twitter, facebook, google+, msn messenger, etc. I would like to see a seamless platform where I can have a dashboard view of all of my social networking websites and tools in one location. Better yet someone should just buy out each company and make it one. I know each social networking platform is unique, but I just want a dashboard that has all of them on one screen, seamlessly. I hate changing tabs, or minimizing pages when I am on my social networking flow.

That is all I really can think of. I believe "new media" is at such an advanced level that not many things can change for the better, but I guess that is why I am not like Mark Zuckerberg. I do not have the next great idea. I shall take my leave now, so Blog to you later.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

For this post I was asked to comment on my contributions for our class Wiki.

I have not really contributed to our class Wiki so far, but I have been doing some research on sports and athletes utilize New Media to reach their fans. New Media has allowed fans to have access to their favorite players and teams in a manner which was not thought of 10 (ten) tears ago. Hopefully by next week I will have posted some information about how New Media is used in sports. I am an avid sports fan and have been following sports for 2 (two) decades now. I have witnessed sports being changed through New Media with my own eyes.

I guess this is it until I contribute to our blog, so Blog to you later.

P2P File Sharing

So for this post I was asked to comment on P2P file sharing. 

File sharing is basically granting access to others to certain content, be it software, movies, music, etc, to other's over a given medium. File sharing is the preferred method of transferring files from one person to another because of it's ease. File sharing can occur through the use of removable storage media (eg. flash drives), CD's, over networks, servers, and through peer to peer networks.

Peer to peer, or P2P, file sharing is a specific form of file sharing that usually utilizes software such as, Lime-wire, Kazaa, and u Torrent. Through the software a vast variety of files are shared with other users of the software. P2P file sharing has grown with the increase in New Media. Most users use P2P as their primary file sharing needs because it is a convenient method of files sharing. However with the inception of P2P came the new age of piracy. People usually share movies, music, and software with other users that is not meant for distribution through this medium. In most cases it is illegal to share bought content. The music industry particularly is being affected by P2P file sharing because of the ease of which people are able to transfer music. As we were able to see in the article in Amplifier by Daniel Kreps, titled "Minnesota Mom Hit With $1.5 Million Fine for Downloading 24 Songs", which discusses the three different trials in which a jury has found the mom guilty of copyright infringement. In the article we see how the mother has unsuccessfully appealed the guilty decision against her two times already, and the reason she is guilty is because she illegally downloaded songs without purchasing them. Technically she has broken the law.

I will not comment on whether I use P2P file sharing (do not want to implicate myself :)), but file sharing in general is something I use. I believe it is apart of New Media and it has made our lives much easier. I haven't seen a Data CD in over a year. Think about that sentence. I guess that is all, so Blog to you later. 

Privacy and Confidentiality

So for this post i was asked to comment on the issues of privacy and confidentially and how they are related to New Media.

New Media pushes the boundaries of how we share information about ourselves and with whom we share this information. Social networking websites, which are examples of new media, continue to grow and innovate new ways for members of sites to share information about themselves. Because of this and because of the importance social networking has in our lives our privacy is limited. Anytime anyone publishes something on a social networking website that information is stored in a server and can be looked up anytime by anyone with the proper access, regardless of the privacy limits we have set on each individual website. People can not control urges to post things online and because of these urges tend to post sensitive information that they really should not be posting online. This causes invasions of privacy and when these information is leaked or shared it causes breaches of confidentiality.

New Media makes it easier for people to look into each other and it must be used responsibly or else we will all be open books for anyone to read. That is it for now, so Blog to you later.

Advice to Baruch College

So for this post I was asked to give Baruch College some advice on how to use New Media to improve the college.

I think that New Media can be utilized by Baruch College to increase the efficiency of many of it's day to day activities. I believe that Baruch College can use New Media software such as Skype and ooVoo to implement virtual classrooms to enhance "Online" classes. I also believe social media can be better used by Baruch College to get information out to student about important events taking place in and around school. New Media can provide Baruch college with mediums to do certain activities that they already are doing in a much more effective and efficient way. Students these days can be considered quite technological advanced and Baruch College can use students advanced technological skills to both the colleges and the students advantages.

That is all for now, so Blog to you later.

About My Term Research Paper

so for this post I was asked to comment on my term research paper.

For my term research paper I chose the topic the "digital divide". In my paper I wrote about the digital divide in different contexts such as gender, race, and education. I also commented on the global digital divide. I chose this topic because it always intrigued me to see how many people on this earth live without the technologies that I can not go a second without. Some of the statistical figures to me were simply mind blowing when it came to Internet access and computer ownership around the globe. My major findings were that their is a digital divide because of a lack of a technological infrastructure and because initial costs are too high for the masses to truly embrace technology at a level that they should.

For this research paper I used many different sources. I was able to find a variety of scholarly journal articles through different databases through the Newman Library. I also was able to find many articles online about this topic.

My paper contributes to the field of New Media because the digital divide slows the progress of New Media's growth. With a prominent digital divide New Media can only cater to a technology savvy audience. If the digital divide diminishes and more people embrace technology then New Media technologies can innovate products that cater to a wider variety of people.

The term research paper was tedious, but informative to write. I am tired after writing such a long paper, so for now Blog to you later.

Creativity and New Media

So for this assignment I was asked to use New Media and foster my inner creativity.

I decided to check out Second Life 2. Second Life 2 is a program that allows users to create characters and basically live another life vicariously through them on the internet.  I made a character on Second Life 2 and basically just explored the environment. I thought it would be something drastically different, but it was just like some of the video games I have played before, such as the Sims or Call of Duty.

Below is a screenshot of my avatar in Second Life 2. I guess this was it, so for now Blog to you later.

Creativity

So for this assignment I was asked to comment on how new media fosters creativity.

New media fosters creativity because it gives people access to a broader array of media. A person can find almost any sort of song, movie, animation, etc on the Internet. If I wanted to find a piece of music or even a music video I can easily go to YouTube and most likely would find it easily. If I wanted to download a song I could go to iTunes, or most likely find it illegally on many file sharing websites. Aside from finding media online, their are many software programs available online that give anyone the ability to tweak songs or videos and make them their "OWN" per se.

An Example of this was given in an article by Sasha Frere-Jones titled "1+1+1=1". In this article she comments on a DJ, named DJ Reset, who took two different songs, broke them down using software, and effectively combined the beat from one song with the vocals from another song to effectively create a "mashed-up" song. This wasn't the first time this sort of thing has been done either. Many other people have taken many songs and created mash ups as well.

Aside from mash ups new media encourages people to show off their talents. Many new artists have been found through the Internet. This sort of thing was unheard of two decades ago. New media is so vast and so innovative that everyday we hear about a new star or the next big thing. It is truly an inspiring feeling to think that the next big star could be the same person singing into his iPhone.

I guess that is all I have to say, so for now Blog to you later.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

So for this assignment I was asked to comment on Virtual Worlds.

Virtual worlds are basically online communities in which one is able to interact and live another life through the internet. Virtual worlds can include a variety of different things. They can be either the video games that we play online, or they can be an environment in which we are able to live in a world similar to ours, but one that we live from behind a screen. An example of this type of world is Second Life. Saki Knafo discusses in his article, "In Room 100, It's Sid and Nancy All Over Again", the concept of Second Life. He states that, "Second Life is a multiuser virtual environment, a computer program that lets online users construct settings and hang out in them, using video-game-like characters called avatars.  Another popular example of a virtual world is the popular and acclaimed video game, The Sims, which is basically the same thing as Second Life, but available on my more platforms such as PlayStation, Xbox, etc.

The advantages that virtual worlds have is that they allow people to do things that they normally would not be able to do in their daily everyday lives. People with illness' are also able to benefit from virtual worlds and do thing that they normally would have a hard time doing, or feel uncomfortable doing. Nicole Saidi talks about a virtual world called Naughty Aunties in her article, "iReport: 'Naughty Aunties' battle autism with virtual interaction." Autism can cause behavioral and social problems. In Naughty Aunties people with autism are able to interact with other people through this online portal and do so comfortably. Psychologists and researchers are also able to use Naughty Aunties to help acclimatize autistic people to situations that may arise in their day to day lives. Other users of virtual worlds are also able to push the boundaries of their existence. Virtual worlds foster creativity. A person is able to be as creative as they want, and do things that they usually would not do in their real lives because of the fear of being judged. Virtual worlds are fun and allow a person to do things that they only dreamed of doing.

I know I made virtual worlds sound perfect, but they do have cons. Virtual worlds can be addictive. A person's vision of what is real and what is fake may get blurred. They may start to believe that what they do in their virtual worlds is alright and that they can do the same in their real lives. This may not be accepted at times because of our law and societal norms. The lines between real and fake may become twisted causing problems for people psychologically and physically. Their have been a number of cases where people have become addicted to their virtual lives and started to neglect themselves in their real lives causing problems to their health.

Even though virtual worlds do have cons, I believe that they are here to stay. With the amount of revenue companies are generating through virtual worlds and the increasing amounts of time people are spending on the internet, virtual worlds can only grow. Virtual worlds can only become more innovative and unique in the future. As technology advances so will the virtual world experience.

I personally play online video games, but aside from that my virtual world experiences are limited. I guess that is all I can say, so for now Blog to you later.

Blog About Twitter

So for this assignment I was asked to blog about how twitter compares to having blackboard discussions and classroom discussions.

I will Make this easy.

Twitter	Blackboard	In class discussion
140 words per tweet	As long as you want	As long as you want
Information can be up to date	Information can be up to date	Information can be anything one wants.
Page can be customized	Can not be customized	Can be customized
Uses internet as a medium	Uses internet as a medium	In person conversation
Interact with a variety of people	Interact only within your classmates	Interact only with your classmates

Social Networking Sites

So for this assignment I was asked to compare my impressions on four social networking sites.

The four social networking sites that I will be forming an impression on will be Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Tumblr. I will start on the one that I use the most, Facebook. Facebook, I believe, is the perfect social networking site. Although it may have its flaws and people tend to hate the upgrades at the site, I believe that it serves its purpose best. As a platform it has evolved and came along way since its inception.MySpace on the other hand has become a pit. It was one of the best social networking websites, but then virus' crippled the website. At its current form it is seriously outdated. The website has fizzled in popularity recently. Twitter is totally different to Facebook and MySpace. Twitter is more like Facebook, but only the status update portion. On Twitter their is a much smaller amount of personal data transferred. Coming to the latest social networking site, Tumblr, we get a platform that has no personal information transfer. Tumblr is website where one is able to share their favorite things that can be easily found on the world wide web. People often post funny pictures, music, videos, or anything else that pertains to their interests. Other users then can randomly browse through the others posts.

Just to derive a conclusion to this. I like Facebook and nothing else. HAHA...So for now Blog to you later.

Social Networking

So for this assignment I was asked to write about Social Networking.

In today's day and age social networking has been brought to the forefront of societal interaction. Today's generation does the majority of its communication and "mingling" through social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Orkut, etc. As our society grows and becomes more diverse social networking can help develop our interactions with one another. Social networks provide platforms for us to communicate with people from across the globe. My sentiments about social networking are reiterated by Nicole Ellison, assistant professor of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media at Michigan State University, in Stephen J. Dubner's article, for Freakonomics.com, titled "Is MySpace Good for Society? A Freakonomics Quorum", in which she says "I believe the benefits provided by social network sites such as Facebook have made us better off as a society and as individuals, and that, as they continue to be adopted by more diverse populations, we will see an increase in their utility. Anecdotal evidence of positive outcomes from these technologies — such as political activities organized via Facebook or jobs found through LinkedIn — is well-known, but now a growing corpus of academic research on social networks sites supports this view as well." As we can see from Nicole Ellison's commentary on social networking their uses can be quite varied. 

Aside from providing a peer to peer interface for communication, social networks also provide company's great platforms to either recruit, market, or enhance their business productivity's and growth. Company's use social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter to market their products actively. Many companies have dedicated company pages on Facebook that create a buzz when a new product is about to come out, or when they want specific information to reach the consumers. Social networking websites such as LinkedIn are used extensively for recruitment. LinkedIn is usually billed as the professional's Facebook, where most top level executives and recruiters are able to fish through the website in search of their companies next great recruit. If we look at the example given in Frank Langfitt's article, for NPR.org, titled "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting", where a recruitment manager for Osram Sylvania was able to find a new product marketing manager using LinkedIn. Aside from that example, the article has input from other company recruiters who attest that LinkedIn gives them the opportunity to search for employees from a much vaster talent pool. 

Although I am an avid social networker myself I do realize that these technologies do have a negative aspect to them. When I look at my younger cousin's who are growing up just as social networking is being adopted as the new way to communicate I can see how they lack in communications skills. Being reliant on just communicating behind a screen can be harmful for ones personal growth. I enjoy social networking but I still believe one does not have the same conversation online as they do face to face. Aside from that I also believe that we are at a risk if we do not use social networks responsibly. Not just our youth, but adults as well can be stalked using social networks if they do not use the proper privacy settings. Just the other day I was having a conversation with a women at work who was telling me about why she does not use Facebook. She was telling me a story about how one of her relatives posted online that their family was going on vacation for two days. Somehow someone was able to view that status update and ended up robbing their home. The robbery was never solved. Aside from that example their are countless stories about people being stalked and harmed because people were able to follow them through there online activities. Hence, people must use these technologies intelligently, or else as with anything there are negative aspects to them. 

We must be aware that social networking is in it's prime. These technologies will continue to evolve. I believe that in the future more and more of our lives will be immersed in a constant stream of communication with our family, friends, and peers. I think that as technology improves everyone will have access to social networks through their cellular devices. Slowly and slowly televisions, even refrigerators, are coming with built in apps for Facebook and Twitter. I know of some cars out at the moment that have social networking in their display units, and I believe that will become the norm sooner or later. I also believe that in the future social networking will have a greater role to play in our day to day communications. Regardless of whether we think this is a good or bad thing, I believe it is a change that will occur. Social networks are here to stay. 

For now I believe this is enough of my commentary on social networking. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to comment. So for now Blog to you later.  

Blogs Vs. Wikis

So for this assignment we have been asked to do a comparison between blogs and wikis.

A blog is a website that is structured like a journal. It can be utilized by anyone be it an individual or company. A blog is kept in chronological order and is less formal than a website. It allows for people, or organizations, to post their view on topics, and it also allows followers or readers to interact within the blog itself and post comments about the blog posts themselves. Because of this feature blogs can be used effectively for collaborations. A group of people can work together on solving an issue, or problem by posting their views via comments on blog posts. It would be just as if everyone was sitting around a table voicing their opinions concerning certain topics. We can look at the example of a Brooklyn neighborhood in the article by Michael Wilson titled "Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid". In this article, basically, neighbors would post comments on a blog called BayRidgeTalk.com. In their posts they would talk about suspicious drug deals and violence going on in their neighborhood. In the end their posts helped lead to a drug raid. It was a prime example of blogosphere collaboration.

A wiki is a website that emphasizes collaboration. It can be edited by anyone who has access to it. Anything can be put on a wiki and it can be edited at anytime. Information on a wiki is usually kept up to date, and is at most times reliable. A wiki emphasizes collaboration because of its structure. It provides a centralized platform for information to be shared and edited. Wikis are used widely in many manners that I did not think possible if I had not read up on them, but one use that I could not find was online homework submission and grading. I think that a teacher can utilize a wiki by having their students post their work, and from there they can grade the works on a wiki for everyone to see. Works graded using this wiki approach would be able to be seen by everyone, and allow them to see frequent mistakes that can be made while doing class work. Wikis can also be utilized for classes as well, creating interactive classrooms through wikis can be effective. A great article to read describing how to set up a wiki is titled "More on How to Build Your Own Wikipedia" by Margaret Locher. It gives you a step by step guide on building the almost perfect wiki page.

Although wikis and blogs may sound almost similar to you by reading the above information. They do have some dissimilarity's. A blog post is their for good. It can not be edited by anyone else aside from the original poster. A wiki however can be edited by anyone who has access to the page itself. A blog is a more opinion based source, while a wiki is usually factual based. A blog is only updated once the original poster creates a new post, while a wiki can be updated by anyone with access at anytime. Wikis are usually updated more frequently.

Be it a blog or wiki most company's and people look for a convergence of there informational resources. Having the power to have all the information that ones need in one centralized location not only increases efficiency but also can increase productivity in a business environment. A wiki or blog provide this platform for a semblance of convergence concerning information. Depending on the business, person, or situation both of these tools can be effectively utilized for swifter information sharing.

If you have any questions regarding this post, feel free to comment. So for now Blog to you later.

The Digital Divide :: Term Research Project

SOOOOOOO!!! for this class we had to chose a research topic that pertains to "New" or "Old" Media. The project that I chose to do was the Digital Divide. Below I'll have my formal spiel about what the digital divide is and why I chose to do the project. and here i go......

The term 'digital divide' is defined as he gap between those people who have Internet access and those who do not have access to the Internet by dictionary.com. It can be further elaborated as a gap between people on different socio-economic levels with regard to the opportunities that they have to access information that we may consider to be widely available. The reason that I chose this as my research topic was because I have lived in a country, Pakistan to be specific, and I have seen this divide in technology on a first hand basis. I could not be able to function without technology if I were to be honest, and for me it is mind blowing that there are people on this earth who do not even know what a computer or cell phone are. Also when we talk about a "digital divide" we can also look at this cross generationally. My mother still can not use the computer or text message, and do all of the things that are second nature to us. 

This was just an introduction to my project, but stay tuned and you will not be disappointed. So for now Blog to you later.

Hello BLOGOSPHERE!

Just a quick introduction to my non CUNY Baruch College CIS-3810 followers. My name is Nasir Khalid and I am a senior at Baruch College, which is located in New York City. I am a finance major. This is a blog page that I created for one of my minor related courses, and in this blog I will be discussing "New" Media. Most of my rants and comments will be related to course related materials, but I will try to make this page as interesting and informative as possible for the masses. So for now Blog to you later.