With New Media the way it is today, something new and creative may in turn be considered old media in the not so distant future. For my creation of a "new media" may be a holographic device in the form of a watch as seen in most science fiction TV shows and movies. This "new" device can allow different individuals to not only communicate with one another with the use of voice, but it would also project a mini holographic image of the person you are talking to. This can greatly improve upon the communication aspect of new media as it allows face to face conversation without having to technically meet the other person, "in person."
Although it is mainly used for communication, this "next new thing" fosters user's creativity. Since the software used to develop this would be open source, anyone would be able to create applications and features for this device. Therefore, many creative minds would be able to create new uses for this device such as a virtual compass to be used when hiking or even something as cool as projecting a holographic version of yourself in clothing from a clothing store before purchasing. Therefore, this "next new thing" of new media may continue to be "new media" with the every changing additions of the creative minds of different users.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Our Class Wiki - So Far
Besides the personal wiki page created myself, I have been contributing to the New Media and Video Game Consoles section of our class wiki page. With video games being influenced greatly by new media, many new changes in video game may come about because of this.
So far, I have added a new entry explaining the future of video games as a result of new media evolving constantly. With the use of 3D TV's, many video games are incorporating this function into not only the video games they produce, but also the video game consoles themselves.
Aside from that section, I intend to further explain how video games can use the 5 C's of new media, such as communication, collaboration and creativity in future video games and video game peripherals.
So far, I have added a new entry explaining the future of video games as a result of new media evolving constantly. With the use of 3D TV's, many video games are incorporating this function into not only the video games they produce, but also the video game consoles themselves.
Aside from that section, I intend to further explain how video games can use the 5 C's of new media, such as communication, collaboration and creativity in future video games and video game peripherals.
P2P File Sharing
File sharing, in my opinion, is the act of obtaining digital copies of information from other users free of charge. This is done with programs and applications where users are able to access a song, movie, picture or other files from other user's PC. Although nothing is being stolen, file sharing can be seen as a method of replicating these digital data for other users.
P2P or peer to peer file sharing is the act of having users access other users network to obtain files. One example of this is the use of Napster to download free music. As the name suggests, peer to peer requires users to be connected to each other, via a program, where they can access the files or songs of other users. After finding the file they want to share, they would download the file onto their computer while the original file still remains on the users PC.
Another example of P2P file sharing is the use of bit torrent programs as explained Stelter and Stone's New York Times article entitled, "Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios." The process of using bit torrents is now simple as all it takes is "Using a search engine, anyone can find free copies of movies, still in theaters, in a matter of minutes." The process of bit torrents involve taking bits and pieces of data from different users uploading and sharing the same file.
With peer to peer file sharing, many industries today are feeling the effects due to piracy. As a result of this, prices are usually increased to off balance the loss in sales.
P2P or peer to peer file sharing is the act of having users access other users network to obtain files. One example of this is the use of Napster to download free music. As the name suggests, peer to peer requires users to be connected to each other, via a program, where they can access the files or songs of other users. After finding the file they want to share, they would download the file onto their computer while the original file still remains on the users PC.
Another example of P2P file sharing is the use of bit torrent programs as explained Stelter and Stone's New York Times article entitled, "Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios." The process of using bit torrents is now simple as all it takes is "Using a search engine, anyone can find free copies of movies, still in theaters, in a matter of minutes." The process of bit torrents involve taking bits and pieces of data from different users uploading and sharing the same file.
With peer to peer file sharing, many industries today are feeling the effects due to piracy. As a result of this, prices are usually increased to off balance the loss in sales.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Privacy & Confidentiality
With new media and the internet, it appears our personal and private information are no longer considered private as it is being revealed in the public domain. For example, social networking sites and video logs (YouTube), are revealing a lot of personal information of our daily life. As a result of this, privacy and confidentiality are no longer maintained and is considered nonexistent in relations to new media. Once people upload certain confidential and private videos online, such as to YouTube, this is now in the public domain. Although the video can be taken down, it does not mean that the video does not exist elsewhere as it could have been replicated or saved on the Internet "cloud". Other forms of new media, such as cell phones and skype calls may not be as private as one believes. Somewhere out there, there is bound to be a recording of the latest conversation the person has had over the telephone or internet. This is similar to instant messaging chats and information posted on social networking sites.
Therefore, with new media, there does not appear to be a place for privacy and confidentiality. As with the five C's of new media, your private and confidential are most likely available to the community you are part of and to collaborate in this community, one would need to communicate with each other certain personal information, such as e-mail and contact information. Thus, with the increase rise of new media, there appears to be a decreasing effect on privacy and confidentiality.
Therefore, with new media, there does not appear to be a place for privacy and confidentiality. As with the five C's of new media, your private and confidential are most likely available to the community you are part of and to collaborate in this community, one would need to communicate with each other certain personal information, such as e-mail and contact information. Thus, with the increase rise of new media, there appears to be a decreasing effect on privacy and confidentiality.
Advice to Baruch College
Since our lives now revolve around the concept of new media, Baruch college can take this opportunity to improve the communication aspect of the college. Similar to CUNY alerts provided by CUNY itself, Baruch should use new media to help communicate with its students in case of emergencies. Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter can be used to relay the message to these students since most, if not all, of the them has an account to these sites. For example, having everyone join a group page of Baruch college would allow them to get notifications on status changes, which would reflect school closings or other alerts related to Baruch college instead of CUNY as a whole. Twitter can also be used as it would be simple to follow the Baruch college Twitter account and be alerted with new Tweets regarding the situation of the college.
Also, these social networking sites can also benefit communication on the go as they have Apps for smart phones which allows an instant notification of status update of Baruch college. For example, people in the Baruch college group page would be able to get a pop up notification on their iPhone if they opt in to receive notifications of status changes. This simple and cost effective method of new media should be used by Baruch college to better communicate with students, as e-mail may soon be a form of old media.
Also, these social networking sites can also benefit communication on the go as they have Apps for smart phones which allows an instant notification of status update of Baruch college. For example, people in the Baruch college group page would be able to get a pop up notification on their iPhone if they opt in to receive notifications of status changes. This simple and cost effective method of new media should be used by Baruch college to better communicate with students, as e-mail may soon be a form of old media.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
About My Term Research Paper
As you may or may not have noticed, my term research paper is on the topic of piracy. Based off of personal experience and knowledge on piracy, I thought it was the best topic for me to write about. Like many people, I have also downloaded at least one or two movie or song off the Internet free of charge. Being a college student with no source of income, I believed this was the best alternative as many people are probably in the same predicament I am in. Therefore, to best research about piracy, I had to not only use the scholarly references required, but also articles on piracy and the effect on the industry. Just as expected, there were many articles written by newspapers and bloggers on the topic of piracy and these were very helpful for my research.
Based off of these findings, there were facts that were very interesting. For example, it is believed that the movie industry have lost $6 billion dollars in sales because of piracy. In my opinion, I did not believe there was such a huge loss in sales because this can be the equivalent of 6 billion bootleg DVD's being sold for $1.
Based off of my research, my main conclusion I can come up with about piracy is that it affects not only the industry but the consumers as well. The only way for these industries to recover from the loss of sales due to piracy is to most likely increase their price on future products. This would hurt the paying consumers as they would have to pay additional amount as a result of other people's wrongdoings.
Since the Internet is one of the main medium of New Media, piracy can relate to New Media because it is most commonly done over the Internet with file sharing. Also, the five C's can come into play with piracy because it is a community of "pirates" who share their files to others, there is a convergence of new and old software with file sharing, people communicate with one another what files and software are needed, there is a collaboration of people to set up these file sharing sites such as PirateBay, and of course there is always new and creative ways to share files either through peer to peer or through bit torrents.
Based off of these findings, there were facts that were very interesting. For example, it is believed that the movie industry have lost $6 billion dollars in sales because of piracy. In my opinion, I did not believe there was such a huge loss in sales because this can be the equivalent of 6 billion bootleg DVD's being sold for $1.
Based off of my research, my main conclusion I can come up with about piracy is that it affects not only the industry but the consumers as well. The only way for these industries to recover from the loss of sales due to piracy is to most likely increase their price on future products. This would hurt the paying consumers as they would have to pay additional amount as a result of other people's wrongdoings.
Since the Internet is one of the main medium of New Media, piracy can relate to New Media because it is most commonly done over the Internet with file sharing. Also, the five C's can come into play with piracy because it is a community of "pirates" who share their files to others, there is a convergence of new and old software with file sharing, people communicate with one another what files and software are needed, there is a collaboration of people to set up these file sharing sites such as PirateBay, and of course there is always new and creative ways to share files either through peer to peer or through bit torrents.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Creativity and New Media
Being a gamer myself, video games today allow users to be very creative. These video games include role playing games, first person shoots and even simulation genres which fosters creativity. Based off my experience, I have decided to show how creative video games can be by incorporating the other 4 remaining C's related to new media with an online role playing game called Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Collaboration requires people, including soldiers, to work together for a common goal
Convergence allows high level players and low level players to converge and take on a tough enemy
Communication takes instant communication to a whole new level with the use "Orien's Lightning Post" as mail is delivered with lightning speed
Community is where people come together anywhere, including spas, to discuss and share their thoughts and opinions.
Collaboration requires people, including soldiers, to work together for a common goal
Convergence allows high level players and low level players to converge and take on a tough enemy
Communication takes instant communication to a whole new level with the use "Orien's Lightning Post" as mail is delivered with lightning speed
Community is where people come together anywhere, including spas, to discuss and share their thoughts and opinions.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Creativity
New media fosters creativity in many ways nowadays. With the internet, people are able to create and upload any kind of videos, such as video logs or "vlogs", videos of babies laughing, videos of animals, etc. New ideas and creations are constantly created with the use of new media channels. Take for example Twitter, many new ideas and features of Twitter came about because of the creative minds of its users. According to a New York Times article by Claire Cain Miller entitled, "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers," the symbols @ and # were all created and thought up by users. The @ symbol is famous for its use to direct readers and followers to the person mentioned. The creation of the hash symbol was also very interesting as it was idea that was shot down. However, its creativity caught on and is applied to conferences and meetings and eventually any event that people come up with today.
With something as simple as Twitter promoting creativity, who knows how other channels and mediums of new media can foster creativity. With YouTube, people are able to use videos to reply to other people's videos, similarly Twitter has the feature of "retweeting" other people's Tweets or a response to their Tweets. In fact, creativity can be seen in every aspects of our lives as our lives are constantly revolving around the internet which brings out the creative side out of all of us.
With something as simple as Twitter promoting creativity, who knows how other channels and mediums of new media can foster creativity. With YouTube, people are able to use videos to reply to other people's videos, similarly Twitter has the feature of "retweeting" other people's Tweets or a response to their Tweets. In fact, creativity can be seen in every aspects of our lives as our lives are constantly revolving around the internet which brings out the creative side out of all of us.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds
Virtual worlds can be called a haven for some as it is a place people go to escape from reality. However, these virtual worlds today are being used for more complex and helpful situations. As explained in Nicole Saidi's CNN article entitled, "'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction", these virtual worlds are being used to serve people with autism spectrum disorders. It is with these virtual world that allows people to "create a "comfort zone" that can coax users out of their shells and get them communicating with others" which helps better improve their social and communication skills. With these virtual worlds, people are able to be themselves without the negative thoughts of being criticized as they are under an alias and only shown an avatar. However, there are some negativity with this as people are not always what they seem online. For example, there can be instances of cyber bullying in these virtual worlds and people can get away with this as they are hidden behind an alias and avatar. Although virtual worlds can benefit people who are socially isolated, they can also be targeted as a result of this.
Another use of virtual worlds can be applied in the business world. Instead of meeting up in person, business partners are able to meet up in virtual world to discuss and exchange files and documents. This is exemplified in Mark Tutton's CNN article entitled, "Going to the virtual office in Second Life". More companies are using the same virtual world technology, but have extra security. This would help employees to meet up easily as they do not have to be in the same room or even the same country. However, Tutton mentions some negative drawbacks to this such as isolation caused by lack of human contact as well as not being able to "take advantage of the kind of impromptu "water cooler" conversations that occur in a real workplace, where colleagues can share information they may have forgotten to communicate in meetings." This can cause people's lives to become more "scripted" as they are able to prepare for in advance instead of thinking up topics on the spot.
Virtual worlds foster creativity as it allows people to come up with an alter-ego who they can relate to. With virtual worlds such as Second Life, people are able to live the life they come up and create. These "second life" they have can be the total opposite of their reality which is not necessarily a bad thing. The future of these virtual world looks to be very promising as many video games can be thought up as a virtual world. Maybe in a few years or so, we may be able to live out our virtual world in holographic forms as something seen from a Matrix movie.
Another use of virtual worlds can be applied in the business world. Instead of meeting up in person, business partners are able to meet up in virtual world to discuss and exchange files and documents. This is exemplified in Mark Tutton's CNN article entitled, "Going to the virtual office in Second Life". More companies are using the same virtual world technology, but have extra security. This would help employees to meet up easily as they do not have to be in the same room or even the same country. However, Tutton mentions some negative drawbacks to this such as isolation caused by lack of human contact as well as not being able to "take advantage of the kind of impromptu "water cooler" conversations that occur in a real workplace, where colleagues can share information they may have forgotten to communicate in meetings." This can cause people's lives to become more "scripted" as they are able to prepare for in advance instead of thinking up topics on the spot.
Virtual worlds foster creativity as it allows people to come up with an alter-ego who they can relate to. With virtual worlds such as Second Life, people are able to live the life they come up and create. These "second life" they have can be the total opposite of their reality which is not necessarily a bad thing. The future of these virtual world looks to be very promising as many video games can be thought up as a virtual world. Maybe in a few years or so, we may be able to live out our virtual world in holographic forms as something seen from a Matrix movie.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Blog about Twitter
New media is definitely visible in the classroom nowadays. Instead of textbooks, people now use e-readers such as Nooks and Kindles. Classroom discussion has also changed now as students use Twitter and college community sites like Blackboard. Twitter can be considered a lot more convenient than a Blackboard discussion. Students are able to just log into their Twitter account and "retweet" about people's discussion with a simple "@" symbol. With Blackboard on the other hand, the student would have to log into the CUNY website, go into the Blackboard portal, search for your class section, go to the discussion page and then respond to a classmate's discussion.
However, Twitter limits the amount of information you are able to talk about. Tweets are limited to a certain amount of characters, whereas Blackboard discussions allow a person to fully express their ideas and opinions. Also, With Blackboard discussions, we are able to see who the poster is instead of an alias. Therefore, there are pros and cons with using Twitter as opposed to Blackboard for discussions.
Twitter, as opposed to in class discussions, lack spontaneity. With in class discussions, the students are unaware of the topic of discussion before hand and must think about it on the spot. With Twitter, students are able to research the topic and organize their thoughts before they post. This does not prepare the student for the real world as many things in life are spontaneous and requires people to quickly think on the spot. However, Twitter does help people who are shy and not outspoken as they are able to contribute to these class discussion with some sort of anonymity.
However, Twitter limits the amount of information you are able to talk about. Tweets are limited to a certain amount of characters, whereas Blackboard discussions allow a person to fully express their ideas and opinions. Also, With Blackboard discussions, we are able to see who the poster is instead of an alias. Therefore, there are pros and cons with using Twitter as opposed to Blackboard for discussions.
Twitter, as opposed to in class discussions, lack spontaneity. With in class discussions, the students are unaware of the topic of discussion before hand and must think about it on the spot. With Twitter, students are able to research the topic and organize their thoughts before they post. This does not prepare the student for the real world as many things in life are spontaneous and requires people to quickly think on the spot. However, Twitter does help people who are shy and not outspoken as they are able to contribute to these class discussion with some sort of anonymity.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Social Networking Sites
Facebook: If I'm not mistaken, you had to have had a college email address to be able to sign up for Facebook years ago. However, it seems now that anyone is able to get a Facebook page. Being the most popular social networking sites, its clear to see how it has gained such popularity. Not only are you able to reconnect with people who have moved away or transferred to different schools, you are also able to interact with them virtually with the "poke" system. Other things that you can use Facebook for includes social gaming, the most popular being Cityville or other games ending in -ville, status updates, creation of photo albums, etc. What you can do on Facebook appears to be endless.
Myspace: It used to be the King of social networking until it was dethroned by Facebook. In my opinion, their "top friends" option was very interesting as it determined people's popularity in a way. The Music option was very unique at its time as it allowed artists to upload their work for people to "sample." Other than that, Myspace does not appear to be as popular now. Instead, it appears that only young teens are the majority of its user base. Also, their attempt to be "cool and hip" by having their name as "My______" appears to have the opposite effect.
Twitter: In my opinion, Twitter appears to be a clone of Facebook's status update without the Facebook. However, it appears to be very popular with teens and adults, even celebrities are on Twitter. Although it does not have the feel of a social networking site similar to that of Myspace and Facebook, it still appears to be popular. Other than status updates, it appears there are other ways to use Twitter, such as photo upload, video upload, etc. that makes it interesting and popular to use.
Deviantart: In a way, Deviantart can be considered a social networking site as it is a community for artists. With Deviantart, people are upload their art to be viewed by others as well as viewing other people's arts. There are many talented artists out there and with this site, people are able to get noticed. However, this social networking site only attracts a niche of users; artists. Also, it does not appear to have the same look and feel of Facebook and Myspace, but people are still able to comment on each other's works similar to commenting on each other's page of a social networking site.
Myspace: It used to be the King of social networking until it was dethroned by Facebook. In my opinion, their "top friends" option was very interesting as it determined people's popularity in a way. The Music option was very unique at its time as it allowed artists to upload their work for people to "sample." Other than that, Myspace does not appear to be as popular now. Instead, it appears that only young teens are the majority of its user base. Also, their attempt to be "cool and hip" by having their name as "My______" appears to have the opposite effect.
Twitter: In my opinion, Twitter appears to be a clone of Facebook's status update without the Facebook. However, it appears to be very popular with teens and adults, even celebrities are on Twitter. Although it does not have the feel of a social networking site similar to that of Myspace and Facebook, it still appears to be popular. Other than status updates, it appears there are other ways to use Twitter, such as photo upload, video upload, etc. that makes it interesting and popular to use.
Deviantart: In a way, Deviantart can be considered a social networking site as it is a community for artists. With Deviantart, people are upload their art to be viewed by others as well as viewing other people's arts. There are many talented artists out there and with this site, people are able to get noticed. However, this social networking site only attracts a niche of users; artists. Also, it does not appear to have the same look and feel of Facebook and Myspace, but people are still able to comment on each other's works similar to commenting on each other's page of a social networking site.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Social Networking
Social networking can be described as as interaction between groups of people who share a similar interest. As a result of this, millions of people worldwide are part of a social network as they communicate with each other, with the most famous social networking site being Facebook. In a way, social networking can be used in a corporate world. For example, when a company needs to come up with a new pitch for something new, social networking would come in play. The company would find a group of like minded employees to brainstorm ideas that would be useful. Due to this, there would be less arguments and rejection of ideas between these like minded people and more positive outcomes and results because of social networking.
In a way, social networking and social networking sites can be used to benefit the society. Take for example, a case in India involving Facebook being used to catch law breakers regarding traffic laws. Facebook users were able to upload pictures of any violators, such as riding a motorcycle without a helmet, onto a Facebook page created by the traffic police. The success of this is exemplified in the August 1, 2010 New York Times article written by Heather Timmons entitled "In India, Using Facebook to Catch Scofflaw Drivers". Here, Timmons states how many people contribute to the Facebook page as "The online rap sheet was impressive. There are photos of people on motorcycles without helmets, cars stopped in crosswalks, drivers on cellphones, drivers in the middle of illegal turns and improperly parked vehicles." Therefore, this shows how social networking can be used to better improve society as well as creating more law abiding citizen.
However, social networking does have its downfalls and its "dark sides" not many people are aware of. In this day and age of technology, many people are using computers and cell phones for social networking. As a result of this, people become isolated and ironically antisocial because of all this social networking usage. As Hilary Stout explains in her April 30, 2010 new York Times article entitled "Antisocial Networking?", the question involving increased use of social networking is "whether the quality of their interactions is being diminished without the intimacy and emotional give and take of regular, extended face-to-face time." This can show how people communicate less and less with each other personally and more and more with each other virtually, creating an antisocial behavior.
Throughout the years, social networking has definitely evolved from text messaging to "tweets". In my opinion, it appears that it has reached the peak of its popularity and evolution. Not only can you communicate with others over the computer, people are now able to tweet on the go on their mobile device, letting others know their current status. The only way to improve on this is probably some form of telepathic update which would improve social networking with a simple thought.
In a way, social networking and social networking sites can be used to benefit the society. Take for example, a case in India involving Facebook being used to catch law breakers regarding traffic laws. Facebook users were able to upload pictures of any violators, such as riding a motorcycle without a helmet, onto a Facebook page created by the traffic police. The success of this is exemplified in the August 1, 2010 New York Times article written by Heather Timmons entitled "In India, Using Facebook to Catch Scofflaw Drivers". Here, Timmons states how many people contribute to the Facebook page as "The online rap sheet was impressive. There are photos of people on motorcycles without helmets, cars stopped in crosswalks, drivers on cellphones, drivers in the middle of illegal turns and improperly parked vehicles." Therefore, this shows how social networking can be used to better improve society as well as creating more law abiding citizen.
However, social networking does have its downfalls and its "dark sides" not many people are aware of. In this day and age of technology, many people are using computers and cell phones for social networking. As a result of this, people become isolated and ironically antisocial because of all this social networking usage. As Hilary Stout explains in her April 30, 2010 new York Times article entitled "Antisocial Networking?", the question involving increased use of social networking is "whether the quality of their interactions is being diminished without the intimacy and emotional give and take of regular, extended face-to-face time." This can show how people communicate less and less with each other personally and more and more with each other virtually, creating an antisocial behavior.
Throughout the years, social networking has definitely evolved from text messaging to "tweets". In my opinion, it appears that it has reached the peak of its popularity and evolution. Not only can you communicate with others over the computer, people are now able to tweet on the go on their mobile device, letting others know their current status. The only way to improve on this is probably some form of telepathic update which would improve social networking with a simple thought.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Blogs vs. Wikis
Blogs and wikis are similar in that they are part of new media. The similarities between the two is that they are both easily accessible by anyone in the world, satisfying the Community aspect of New Media. Anyone can search for blogs or wikis containing certain information in a matter of seconds with a simple keystroke and click of a mouse. Also, blogs and wikis are created by users such as you and me. it is done by a collaboration of information found over the internet or even through collaboration of like minded people. The best part of blogs and wikis is that they are free of cost to create. They are simple to create and set up using free software or even sites found over the internet.
However, blogs are considered to be more of a journal whereas wikis are a database of information. It is a form of new media that is used and accessed by many people all over the world, including celebrities. This is exemplified in an article written by Melissa Gerry entitled "Celebrity Blogs: The Impact of New Media" where she states many people now turn to blogs written by these celebrities for their celebrity gossip, instead of tuning to programs such as Access Hollywood or E!. These blogs can be a form of collaboration as someone would post a blog about a certain topic and readers can comment on these topics based on their own opinions. Therefore, these collaboration of ideas can in turn change people's opinions on certain topics if discussed correctly.
Wikis, on the other hand, are a collaboration of ideas and information written by any user. Unlike blogs where the creator of the blog can edit the post, anyone who has access to these wikis can edit the entries and information posted. Wikis as they are now appear to be perfect as people are able to converge on information found and able to easily get the message across. The main benefit of wikis as opposed to blogs can be best stated in an article by Ezra Goodnoe entitled "How to use Wikis for Business." Here she states that "Wikis are designed to facilitate the exchange of information within and between teams. Content in a wiki can be updated without any real lag, without any real administrative effort, and without the need for distribution — users/contributors (with wikis, they're one and the same) simply visit and update a common Web site." What is basically said here is that wikis can be considered more professional as it is used in businesses and teams, whereas blogs are considered less professional as anyone is able to create a blog and used by people such as teens and celebrities.
Blogs and wikis have their pros and cons. Blogs are accessed and created by many people daily, even hourly, and is best used to convey your opinion on a certain topic. However, blogs can be seen as journals that depict a person's daily life through the medium known as the internet. Wikis on the other hand can be helpful when researching for information, but the downside of this is that anyone can access wikis and the information you see may not be as accurate as you perceive. Therefore, new media can help with collaboration and convergence, but accuracy is negatively affected.
However, blogs are considered to be more of a journal whereas wikis are a database of information. It is a form of new media that is used and accessed by many people all over the world, including celebrities. This is exemplified in an article written by Melissa Gerry entitled "Celebrity Blogs: The Impact of New Media" where she states many people now turn to blogs written by these celebrities for their celebrity gossip, instead of tuning to programs such as Access Hollywood or E!. These blogs can be a form of collaboration as someone would post a blog about a certain topic and readers can comment on these topics based on their own opinions. Therefore, these collaboration of ideas can in turn change people's opinions on certain topics if discussed correctly.
Wikis, on the other hand, are a collaboration of ideas and information written by any user. Unlike blogs where the creator of the blog can edit the post, anyone who has access to these wikis can edit the entries and information posted. Wikis as they are now appear to be perfect as people are able to converge on information found and able to easily get the message across. The main benefit of wikis as opposed to blogs can be best stated in an article by Ezra Goodnoe entitled "How to use Wikis for Business." Here she states that "Wikis are designed to facilitate the exchange of information within and between teams. Content in a wiki can be updated without any real lag, without any real administrative effort, and without the need for distribution — users/contributors (with wikis, they're one and the same) simply visit and update a common Web site." What is basically said here is that wikis can be considered more professional as it is used in businesses and teams, whereas blogs are considered less professional as anyone is able to create a blog and used by people such as teens and celebrities.
Blogs and wikis have their pros and cons. Blogs are accessed and created by many people daily, even hourly, and is best used to convey your opinion on a certain topic. However, blogs can be seen as journals that depict a person's daily life through the medium known as the internet. Wikis on the other hand can be helpful when researching for information, but the downside of this is that anyone can access wikis and the information you see may not be as accurate as you perceive. Therefore, new media can help with collaboration and convergence, but accuracy is negatively affected.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Piracy: Good or Bad?
As you can see from the title of this post, my topic for the project relates to piracy. Many people are used to seeing piracy everyday, such as people selling DVD's on the trains or music and movies found on the internet. My approach on this topic is to explain the pro's and con's of piracy. From my personal experience, I would believe piracy is something beneficial to consumers, but from another perspective, this can be seen as stealing. Therefore, my project will mainly consist of the positive side of piracy with a few negatives included to argue against.
-Danny
-Danny
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