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 Blogs are updated on a time basis while wikis are edited on the basis of outdated information.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.