Next New

I do agree that there are many different types of new media yet to be found or brought to the attention of the public. I think one thing that has not been done yet is 3-D interactive group chat rooms. Now, I do understand that chatrooms have been done, but I was thinking about the combination between VR and people conferences to make real life like 3-D conferences where people can walk around in their own rooms, but inside their headset they would be walking around meeting with other people who are on the same headset. It would broadcast their face as they walk around with the usual audio and visual. I think if something like this was implemented that people would be able to take advantage of this by using it to network and maybe even implement it educationally. This could be used in classrooms to project them and talk to people in more isolated areas of the world where people are doing research. it would provide real life experiences without the danger and even real time question and answer sessions.

Wiki So Far

There will be two topics that I will be posting about.

1. The ride of dessert food because of social media
The dessert trend started around 2015. Many people were using social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to showcase outrageous desserts that they have been getting. This lead to an entire trend being ensured. Restaurants and startups alike are now making their food more outrageous to be featured on people's stories and websites to become popular. The power of social media alone is insane when it comes to enabling a business to do well. One example of this would be the milkshakes at Blacktap. The restaurant is known for their burgers, but once their milkshakes were featured on Business Insider, their lines grew insanely long. Now there is regularly a 2 hour minimum wait to be seated. Many people go just to post it on their social media. The rise of new dessert start up is also on the rise. Dessert places such as 10 below, Snowdays, Eggloo, Soft Swerve all became popular via social media. Students and Young Adults alike will flock to these locations just to put it on their social media and say that they have gone.

Sources:
http://abc7ny.com/food/purple-ice-cream-from-nyc-is-latest-dessert-trend/1765697/
https://www.popsugar.com/food/What-10-Below-Rolled-Ice-Cream-38170473
http://www.amny.com/eat-and-drink/eggloo-rolling-and-scooping-up-nyc-s-newest-ice-cream-waffle-craze-1.11446881


2. Independent artists and how the internet makes them possible
Chance The Rapper is the current face for independent music. He has always talked about not signing to a label and being on his own while making his own decisions. His most famous releases were two albums, Acid Rap & Coloring Book, that were available for free download. His most recent album, Coloring Book, won a Grammy for best new artist. It was the first time ever that the Grammy's even considered allowing a streaming only album. Without signing to a major label, Chance has performed for concerts, featured by other artists, and even headlined for The Meadows festival in 2017 with Kanye West. Chance even worked on 5 songs with Kanye West for his acclaimed The Life of Pablo album in which he is also featured in Ultraligh Beam. Even within his own song Blessings (within his Coloring Book album) he says "Kanye's best prodigy. He aint signed me but he proud of me" to further his notion that he will not be signed. In an in depth interview with Complex, Chance talks more about how other artists can be independent using technology and the social media around them.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/19/chance-the-rapper-album-coloring-book-mixtape-billboard-charts-stream-music
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/chance-the-rapper-grammys-record-deal-a7578031.html
http://www.complex.com/music/2017/03/chance-the-rapper-interview-2017-cover-story

P2P

P2P stand for peer to peer. This means that people upload content to share with other people. This could mean anything from entertainment, music, songs, books, and movies. File sharing is often known as the ability to interchange files from one person to another over the network or the internet. P2P file sharing is a little different because instead of one person directly sending it to another user, users upload their files onto the web and then other users can freely scour the network and pick and choose what they want instead of waiting or asking people directly. P2P lending is becoming a huge thing within the tech world. Google invested $125 million in Lending Club in 2013 (NPR) It's a new way of sharing. The CEO has quoted that "Last year we facilitated about $800 million in loans and we are planning on $2 billion this year" (NPR) With the way that business is done, the investors still make a profit while keeping the costs low for consumers. Another example of a P2P site would be Bittorrent. Bram Cohen, the creator, wanted a free source that people can visit and download content that is needed. He makes a comfortable enough living off of donations that is able to support himself and his family (Wired) Of course the government  and industries involved are wary and even actively fight against P2P. An example of this would be Warner Brothers trying to combat illegal copies of The Dark Night movie. It of course failed as over 7 million people illegally downloaded the movie. (NYTimes) Many people do say instead of combating it, they should somehow learn to embrace it and work with the changing culture instead of trying to eliminate it. 

Kaufman, Wendy. "Peers Find Less Pressure Borrowing From Each Other." NPR. NPR, 10 May 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

Thompson, Clive. "The BitTorrent Effect." Wired. Conde Nast, 01 Jan. 2005. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

Stelter, Brian and Stone, Brad. "Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios" NYTimes, 4 Feb 20019. Wed. 26 Apr. 2017.

Privacy

With new media there is a new source of information that is vulnerable to security breaches. The effects can be wide reaching and across many different platforms. For example, Target is a major company with stores all around. There was a massive security breach within their system that is estimated to potentially affect around 110 million customers. Then soon afterwards Target is now pooling $100 million to advance the use of chip reading credit cards in their stores to enhance security for their customers. Another way new media is an issue for privacy is the users. There are many instances that are now cropping up that talks about the issue of catfishing. This means that one user poses as someone else on the internet and deceives another person. This can be nefarious when it comes to young children and older adult predators on the web. Many large companies like Google and Facebook are still in the midst of fully figuring out their own privacy settings for themselves and their users. New Media enables innovation and advancements, but it leaves a lot about security and privacy in the grey as people have not yet tackles these issues in full.

Advice

If I was hired by Baruch College to use new media to improve the college, there are some fundamental changes that I would make in information dissemination. I would create youtube videos on virtual tours of the school and the outline of it so that incoming students would not be confused on how to find their way about. For example, many incoming students do not know that the library is only floors 2-5 within the Newman library building. The 1st floor, floors 6-9 are all administrative and separate entities. Also most classes within the Vertical Campus are all on one side while offices and major departments are on the other. Then I would also highlight important services such as Academic Advisement,  STARR, The Writing Center, OSL, USG, and much more that can be found within Baruch College. I would make their twitter and Facebook use much more frequent so that students can keep up to date with notices from the college. I would also think about creating an inquiry/question submission blog that students can submit requests about the school and the facilities directly to the college, and then someone internally would disseminate the information accordingly to the proper departments and administrative offices.

Creativity and New Media

For this assignment I decided to make a Second Life avatar. At first I was a little apprehensive when I first downloaded it and made an account, but I realized how much fun it could be and also how creative I could be while making my account. There were so many options when it came to customizing the face, the body, and even the type of clothing that the avatar could wear. Creativity goes far when I realized that I had full reign and control over my avatar. Originally I just chose a generic girl that closely resembled me. But then I also got advantageous and changed up her clothes, her height, and then even gave the avatar a tattoo. I can see that with all these tools and options, it definitely sprouts creativity because one things leads to another and all of sudden, it's like having a new avatar.

HW Creativity

New media is an avenue that artists and users alike can use to foster and nurture creativity. New media allows users to use tools and technological advances that were not previously available to them. One example would be the way mashups are made and exemplified through "Frontin on Debra" (Frere-Jones, The New Yorker) Another famous example would be an album called the Grey Album that mashed up Jay-Z's Black Album and The Beatles White Album. New technological advances within music technology allows artists like Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) to use tools like Acid Pro and such to loop certain beats and notes to make it easier to make a mashup. This leads to thousands of possibilities when it comes to music choices and mashups. Everything you need is found online, there is no real need to have expensive equipment and a lot of training. This means that the average person could train themselves online to combine music together to make new music. A great example of this would be viral youtube videos of artists that have mashed up songs using online tools. Us The Duo, Kurt Hugo Schneider, Alex Aiono, and many more are just some of the few artists that used these tools available to them to inspire creativity that inspires those who watch them. 

Frere-Jones, Sasha. "1 + 1 + 1 = 1." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds

There are many different ways that virtual worlds may be utilized. There are articles on how virtual reality is being used in the government, in battling Autism, and also as a marketing tool. The government aspect describes when multiple people, including individuals from IBM and congress, came together virtually to hold a meeting. (Musgrove, Washington Post) They used avatars and speech bubbles to mimic attendance while a projector showed everything live, this was all on the virtual platform Second Life. In the meeting they discussed the dangers and limitations of Second Life. In another situation, Second Life is used to created a virtual safe space for those on the spectrum (Saidi, CNN) Another example would be using virtual reality to explore spaces like the Lower East Side of Manhattan  (Itzkoff, NYTimes) People will be able to login to their Avatars and be able to walk around and even go into real stores. 

There are many pros to this. People can use it to be more productive for meetings and group projects because they can just do it online without having to waste time to meet up. Also it can be used for those with mental disabilities, as shown through Second Life and how some use it to combat Autism. There are other uses like for medical professionals, they can get more practice in before dealing with real humans. However, virtual reality is not without its cons. For example, some may argue that the more and more time we spend online, the less actual social human interaction we will have. This will lead to the fact that people will have less social skills and will not know how to communicate. Also even with the virtual reality of exploring the Lower East Side, people have expressed dislike to the idea that people will be able to enjoy landmarks and establishments without actually having to visit them. Also the idea of virtual performances and who would be hosting is another issue that came up. Even with the congress meeting, there were concerns over illegal activity online. Beyond all of that too, it's hard to reconstruct reality. There may even be instances where it's doesn't follow the laws of physics because it was programmed incorrectly. 

Virtual worlds also foster a learning environment for creativity. Many of these virtual reality sites allow you to customize your own avatar in almost every way possible. There are thousands of combinations to try. Not to mention the fact that these platforms are always changing, and users who know how to can change their entire virtual world with the click of just a few buttons. 

In the future I see virtual reality going very far. For example, with the new advancements in Virtual Reality headsets, there are an immense amount of games and educational seminars that have come from that. Entire thrilling games have been shown, 3-D IMAX movies are becoming more and more advanced with their viewers too. 


Itzkoff, Dave. "I’ve Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life." The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Jan. 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.

Musgrove, Mike. "At Hearing, Real and Virtual Worlds Collide." The Washington Post. WP Company, 2 Apr. 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.

Saidi, Nicole. "IReport: 'Naughty Auties' Battle Autism with Virtual Interaction." CNN. Cable News Network, 28 Mar. 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.

Blog about Twitter

I think that a Twitter discussion feels a lot more personable compared to a Blackboard or an in-class discussion. I think this way because for Twitter, you reply to people specifically that people can see publicly. Since I get the notification straight to my phone, we can have actual conversations compared to a blackboard comment, that I wouldn't know if someone replied to me or not unless I went out of my way to check. As for in-class discussions, many of those are set in an academic environment that requires a thoughtful answer that will be judged by your peers. On Twitter, the atmosphere is much lighter and much more informal. This way people are more comfortable with sharing their opinions and liking/retweeting things. I think that is valuable to have.

Social Networking Sites

Over the past week I have visited the following social networking sites- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I've personally used Facebook since I was in middle school and probably spend the most time on it. Facebook has been my to go to for communication, information, and also entertainment. I for the most part use twitter during special events for moment to moment updates. For example, I went to the Meadows music festival last October and I used twitter to keep to dates on performers and festival updates by following hashtags. I use Instagram to follow my friends, but to also look up restaurants and pictures of their food. I use it in combination with Yelp to find the best places. I also use it to keep up with some of my favorite celebrities! I find Instagrams are usually run by the celebrities themselves and not their publicists. LinkedIn I use for professional networking. I was told by many people that it's beneficial to use LinkedIn as a way to keep up with professionals and keep track of my own network. Another bonus would be that there are a plethora of helpful and insightful articles on my newsfeed from people that I am linked with. Overall, all four social networking sites are very different and serve different purposes. However, I do find them all to be very helpful on the most part.

Blog Social Networking

Corporate companies utilize social media to reach a broader audience while also enhancing their brand image. Maureen Crawford-Hentz said "Social networking technology is absolutely the best thing to happen to recruiting - ever"(NPR) Platforms like Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn (which is around 8 million users strong) to find candidates that fit their company profile. These social media sites makes networking much quicker and easier on both the side of the employees and the employers. Another example of the power of social media would be the Obama campaign against Hilary Clinton and then John McCain in 2008. He utilized social media to vastly build and make his platform with the American people (NYTimes) They had mass email messages and also a web campaign and their own website to keep in contact with constituents all across the country. I personally think this is a very smart idea, especially considering that many millennials at the time and right now are getting old enough to vote and voice their own opinions for their country. 

This goes without saying that there can be negative detriments (or a dark side) to social media and the web. There are websites, such as JuicyCampus and Campus Gossip, that are used so that anonymous users can spread rumors and hurtful messages throughout college campuses (The Chronicle for Higher Education) This can range for stories, medical rumors, and even a section where users can anonymously add videos and pictures. This can have adverse effects on one's emotional stability. 


Carr, David. "How Obama Tapped Into Social Networks’ Power." The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Nov. 2008. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Langfitt, Frank. "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting." NPR. NPR, 22 Nov. 2006. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Young, Jeffrey R. "They're Back, and They're Bad: Campus Gossip Web Sites." The Chronicle of Higher Education. N.p., 31 Aug. 2009. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Blog V. Wiki

In the age of web 2.0 and new media, it's important to distinguish the difference between two popular ways to publish on the internet, they're known as blogs and Wikis.  They're both based on the web where users are nearly given all freedom to do as they please on different kind of platforms for different uses and purposes. They are both, however, tools utilized by the newer generation regularly

"Wikis harness the wisdom of crowds, serving as virtual commons where participants can wrestle over ideas and information until something approaching consensus - or the truth - emerges" (Morse, HBR) This quote, published in the Harvard Business Review, best encompasses wiki as a whole. Wiki, largely used as a informational site, is made by a series of contributors all over the Internet. Since they were founded in 2001 (Stutter, CNN), has always been about the user and what they can contribute. People edit, re-edit, and edit again the contents until something becomes agreeable in the general community. Wikipedia did place some rules around mass information spreading now because of the forewarning of chaos and uncertainty of the validity of the information written.

Blogging on the other hand, although there are some similarities, is used for different purposes. It is a much more informal site that users use, and it's not always for informational dissemination. The online platform for blogging allows for free thought and expression. One example would be how people in the army utilize online blogging to talk about life in Afghanistan (Dao, NYT). Since blogging is a lot more informal, there have been speculations over cyber security and the imagine of blogging itself. For example, when Yahoo acquired Tumblr, there was backlash from the users and also the plateau in users. Having a corporate face to an informal environment clashed with the original face of blogging.

Bercovici, Jeff. "Yahoo's Next Problem: Tumblr's Traffic Isn't Growing." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.

Dao, James. "Pentagon Keeps Wary Watch as Troops Blog." The New York Times. The New York Times, 08 Sept. 2009. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.

Morse, Gardiner. "Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales on Making the Most of Company Wikis."Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Review, 31 July 2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.

Stutter, John D. "Wikipedia: No Longer the Wild West?" CNN. CNN, 26 Aug. 2009. Web. 1 Mar. 2017.

Research Topic

My research topic is How new social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, has transformed the field of social activism. With the rise of new media/technology and web 2.0, the platform of social activism has changed radically because movements and social causes are now backed by thousands of people that are reached via the Internet. I would like to research how this came to be, how social media and technology is utilized, examples of causes born from the Internet, and where social activism is pointed to in the future with social media. Facebook and Twitter are prime examples of tools used to reach people to promote different causes.