Someone Else's Project

The project that was of interest to me was Paul's iPhone and Apple project. It really dealt with how cellphone technology has evolved, and how technologies have converged to create a valuable piece hardware and software. The iPhone became so popular because of the 3g network and the touchscreen, but it can play music, act as a camera, go online, play games, and call people. This idea of combining technologies for entertainment and communications might be later applied to many things, perhaps wrist watches with iPhone capabilities, Tv sets that can surf webs and have phone calls. The iPhone is innovative in this i believe, and although I don't have one, Paul's presentation really open up my eyes to why it has been so popular.

Our Class Wiki so Far

I been editing and writing up the wiki for MMORPGS. This allowed me to research an area I was interested in aswell as my project topic. I have edited the introduction and definition of mmorpg a few times, it's been changed due to the editor. I disagree with his definition, and placed a more clear answer. I have put in more names in the mmorpg as well as added Pictures pertaining to a few of those titles. I added a directory or link to a mmo site that rates games and gives reviews about games. This overall what I have done for the wiki

Next New New Thing

The Next New Thing that should come out should be an online review of what people think of you. This is more towards social netoworking, instead of rate my professors theres a rating systems for your overall performance in life.
People will get to judge you on how well you have done for yourself, whether you have a good job, a good education, good family life, social skills etc. The profile online will have a few facts about you , like say high school education, current pay, and whether or not you can dance. These facts may seem random, but people( the people you let judge you) will rate you . The rating systems is not clear, btu high rating means under the current circumstances your "friends" and family think you are doing well for yourself. This internet judging can or cannot be taken seriously depending on how the person feels about being judged. This rating site is meant to show the person what people think about you, perhaps it will make you reflect on how you are handling life, and push you to make your life better. Name for the site should be RateMyLyfe.com

Privacy and Confidentiality

The Advent of web 2.0 and New Media meant more sharing of information online. Whether it be music, photos, videos, writing, or ideas; people are leaving thier information online open to the public. Although websites have security measure to keep these information realtively safe from tampering or theft, issues of security and confidentiality surface.
Are the photos and videos we put up on facebook, for example, safe? When we go to online banks, is the financial information locked from hackers and criminals? These are questions I'm sure are going through a lot of people's heads. With so many things being put on the cloud, our private lifes becomes more open to attack and exposure. Our own lives can endanger our profeesional life, i.e. a bad photo of you ruining your chance of landing a job. There needs to be internet features and stronger security codes by the websites. There also has to be a new set of mind, one must know the pitfalls of exposing your private life online. Whether through firewalls, or web keys and other measures, privacy online can be in less danger than it already is.

My presentation

Ok my presentation was not the best. I felt I had to much information, but wasn't preapred to cut it down into ten minutes. This led to inconsistent parts in my presentaion were I rushed some subjects, and went into more details in others. I knew the subject well, but my notes ended up being more props then useful, as the time contraint really just had me spewing the information I already knew by heart.
The two videos i showed were personal favorites and had mroe to do with social deviance within the game aswell as demonstraion of mashups in relation to MMORPGS. The second video was more a demo for the graphics and gameplay of the video. Again, time contraints really didn't do the video or my presentation justice. But i hung with it, and hopefully got a good grade
here are links or url to the second video at the request of rob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0jV2ZBJMAI&feature=channel
If you're interested in the game or want to watch more related vids, look up flores pvp on youtube, search also sword of the new world, or granado espada.

Advice For Baruch

Our goal is to make Baruch as technologically advance as possible. It needs to implement New Media as much as possible to keep up. I say use a mix of New media all ready available to the general public,ands its own brand.

To alert students of important events, Baruch should use Twitter. It can reach many students, and since twitter is available on phones, makes it an emergency tool too. Now Baruch has two options with Twitter, have its own version of Twitter, or let it host the service. Much easier just to let them host.

Another tool, would be a Wiki for Baruch. This Wiki would make accessing important information easier. The baruch main website is ok, but a wiki can add an element of change. Only faculty have access, and information can be updated very easily.

How about using virtual worlds to teach students? Baruch has online classes, but a virtual class will be a great attraction to students and create a realistic environment. Learn Japanese in a virtual Tokyo from a Baruch professor. How about avoiding Big Class rooms by having it all on a virtual space. Saves time, is convenient, and might get students who don't participate to participate.

My New Media Class - So far

Theres a myriad of technologies used for new media. Mainly pertaining to the use of the internet, these technologies use new software to produce applications and websites that can be called New Media. Youtube for example, is a site where people can view vidoes uploaded by anyone. This creates a comuunity of video watchers and makers, who communicate through video medium. Another site like Twitter, uses applications for micro-blogging. Twitter allows for dispertion of information, a lot of it useless, about one's life. It can be used for news too. Here we see how Old Media like Television news broadcasters can use Twitter(New Media) to deliver news to everyone with access to the internet,as well as land you a job.(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/fashion/21whiz.html)
New Media is improving on Old media, making it possible for social networking, efficient sharing of information, and communication. Blogs allow for anyone to be a journalist sort to speak. Wikis allow people to work on projects easier, by allowing access to editing and formating to users.

Virtual Worlds

Since I'm a gamer, and have played mmorpgs I found the topic of virtual worlds interesting. However I have never made a Second Life account, and will most likely never make one

So theres softwares out there that create a world where one has the freedom to be anyone, do anything, and just have fun. Most prominent is Second Life. It's a huge virtual world and it provides a space for "living" out your desires. Since its software that can be updated and changed, it therefore allows for changes in use for these virtual worlds. While you can dance, be a DJ, play sports , and fly in Second Life, you can also use The virtual world to treat various social issues of the user. Since its not real physical interaction between humans, a person with antisocial behaviors or fear of interaction can learn and adapt to it easier. Also people who aren't able to live life to its max because of illness or physical handicaps can live in the virtual world without problems(http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/28/sl.autism.irpt/index.html#cnnSTCText)

Companies can also use virtual world to train workers. It might be able to reduce cost, and produce better learning results. There's plenty of potential for virtual worlds in businesses and education.(http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/24/61/08.html)

Twitter

OK so I started a Twitter account. Not impressed with it, but it serves its function well. It lets you chronicle you life in little bits, and allows news to spread instantly and to everyone. Using Twitter to have an in-class discussion, I found it easy to respond to others tweets and my only issues is perhaps the limit on characters. However I can't blame the creators as no one likes to read a wall of text, would make twitter no a micro blogging kind of site,but a regular old Blogging site.

If you are really interested in keeping up with certain people, without really wanting to spend time looking deep into their lives, Twitter is good for you. I felt its better than BB discussion board, although I don't honestly remember using BB discussion board. BB is not reliable anyways, but its not as instant and doesn't have the presentation Twitter has. So overall I'm still not loving Twitter because I find it dumb to let people know the little things occurring throughout the day.

Social Networking

Social Networking has evolved from meeting people at public places, to meeting people on the World Wide Web. These days New Media sites like Facebook and Twitter has made it easier for people who would never have made contact in their everyday life to socialize and share information. You can post pics of yourself and others, share videos of yourself and others, post what you are currently doing, start interest groups, and so onn and so forth. Online Social Networking is creating a change in the way we behave in our lives, expanding our horizons by being able to communicate faster and easier.

Social Networking has many uses. Twitter which lets you post snippets of your life( also called microblogging) can be used by companies to find out what their customers think about their products. Companies like Dell, Microsoft, Apple, Starbucks etc. get feedback from Twitter users and can address issues in an attempt to improve quality(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/technology/internet/14twitter.html). Twitter has a search function, making this easier. A negative is the sheer volume of tweets which can hamper companies who are really trying to find customers take on products and services.

As Twitter user, it can work in reverse. What I mean by that is if you have a complaint about Apple for example, you can use Twitter or some other social networking tools like blogs and Facebook to get your message out there. It may feel like no one is listening, but they are. Customer Service Issues? Tweet about it, put it on your status update and just get that complaint across to as many people as possible. This may end in a good thing for you.

Other ways this social networking tool can work for you is for news. If you are in a worse case scenario, Tweeting about it can be the first line news about it. You can get the news out there before other news media do; news media have used Twitter to get breaking news before. During the Iranian Elections, Twitter was used tell the world of the situation there. Twitter can also help in the operating room(http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/tweeting-from-the-operating-room/). Doctors can keep patients family updated on the surgery.

Facebook has helped people organize social gatherings. Some people have met significant others with Social networking sites. Overall, it has done good. The Darkside of the these social networking are the volume of irrelevant stuff on Twitter. Also there is dangers of harrasment online, cyber stalkers and what not. Sharing your information online means other people can see it, and can compromise your job and personal relationships.

Good or bad the effects of Social Networking as it pertains to New Media are great.

Social Networking Sites

Facebook is the first SN site I visited , having an account there already. I enjoy using facebook. It's a simple,easy, and clean application. I loved having my old and new friends on there. Nowadays in this fast paced world it can be hard to keep up with the people you have met over the years. Facebook makes its easier, because searching for people under their real name, and the popularity of facebook insures that you have a good chance of find that person.
Myspace is more personal. You can make it your own unqiue site , contoured to your personality. While facebook has its own layout, myspace offers the chance to make it up with html coding. I dont really like Myspace. Although it's chnaged a lot since i stopped using it, its basically biting off facebook. Also I still find some aspects of myspace annoying, like random strangers adding you, a sense of unfamiliarity with old online pals, and commenting is annoying.
I can't say much about friendster. It looks kind of outdated, but people keep using it. No idea why.

Blogs vs Wikis

Blogs are sites are written by individuals, like me and you. These blogs contain subject matter pertaining to the interest of the individual, and open to acces by anyone on the net. Wikis are similar in that they contain information on many things, but they are written by more than one person. The collaboration often done on wikis is what differentiates wikis from blogs. Blogs is one person deals, with options for people to comment. Wikis are written/editted by many people.

Now Blogs are tend to be opiniated while wikis are much more factual. Wikipedia for exmaple is the worlds biggest online encyclopedia written by people. Wikipedia would fail as an encyclopedia if it was wasn't factual. Blogs are updated on a time basis while wikis are edited on the basis of outdated information. Blogs can't be changed by anyone except for the blog writer. Wikis on the otherhand can be edited by virtually anyone.

Wikis and blog share the power of communication of information via the internet. However wikis are a powerful tool for groups who are collaborating on projects or group work. This used to be done with emails, but the easy use of wikis makes emails obsolete. Because writing,sharing, and editing information can be cumbersome with old media, it has made wikis important tools for companies and teams trying to work together. Just log in, edit, save and your done!

MMO games: New Media and its impact

My research will delve into the world of online gaming. These are called Massive Multiplayer online games or MMOs. MOst common among them being MMORPGS. I'm going to focus on how MMorpgs can be considered New Media, using the 5 Cs. I will provide an analysis of how the gaming community has impacted society, and how this new media impacts the people who use them. I will also interview some people on their opinions of MMOs, and give descriptive details on MMos which include a brief history, its current state in the world, and possible future. Should be a fun project.

What is New Media?

So what is New Media? The answer is right in front of your eyes!! These new web pages and online devices and forms of communication that make up Web 2.o is New Media. Blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Second Life are examples of New Media. These new technologies not only allow users to receive information online about countless things, but also share and put up information online. Its a two way street making it a highly interactive form of media.
That being said, the internet is very important. No internet means no new media in many cases. Even cell phones which have applications for New Media like Twitter needs an internet connection. The Internet is everywhere, highly accessible. Its free (mostly free atleast) and therefore open to the entire world. It makes the world a smaller place; it allows communication of ideas, life, and business among other things through New Media and the internet.
In many ways this new media is replacing old media. Check this blog out for example. Before you needed to get your writing published for the general public to get access to your writing and the content within it. With New Media, blogging sites makes it available to everyone on the internet. This has led to people getting their news over the net, instead of through old media like newspapers. the article "Clive Thompson on How YouTube Changes the Way We Think," by Clive Thompson ( http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-01/st_thompson), discusses how YouTube has become a place for experimental video making. Its a New Media site that can influence people as the article suggested, because video is a powerful way of getting your message across. The technology is available to make home videos on your computer easy.
So what is New Media? I'm sure you can google it.