The Next New Thing
14 years ago
Friday, March 26, 2010
Privacy
Privacy and confidentiality is one of the biggest concerns with new media. Many people have personal information put onto the internet whether its through social networking sites or when making a purchase through e-commerce. Many people also put pictures of themselves onto the web. For example on facebook almost everyone has a profile picture to go with there home page. Also when people make purchases online its usually through payment of credit card. The concern with this is, when using your credit card online, you have to be aware of credible site and not so credible sites. Identity theft exists and I'm sure it occurs within new media as well.
Advice to Baruch College
My suggestion to Baruch College to improve efficiency using new media is to send out a mass text to all students' cell phones when a class is canceled last minute. If you go to Baruch, you'll know the college does this in cases of emergencies. What they do is, in case there's inclement weather or a natural disaster, the college will notify the students through text so that the student will be notified ASAP and not show up to school.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, this semester, I have a 4 hour gap. This past week I had to wait 4 hours to only later find out my class was canceled by reading a paper on the door of the classroom. I know professors cancel class through mass emails but I think this is only acceptable if done 24 hours prior to the class. If its last minute, it will be more efficient and convenient for the student to get a notifying text because generally all college students have cellphones on them 24/7.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, this semester, I have a 4 hour gap. This past week I had to wait 4 hours to only later find out my class was canceled by reading a paper on the door of the classroom. I know professors cancel class through mass emails but I think this is only acceptable if done 24 hours prior to the class. If its last minute, it will be more efficient and convenient for the student to get a notifying text because generally all college students have cellphones on them 24/7.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Twitter: Discussion
Being a new user to Twitter, my experience of having a twitter discussion was interesting.
Compared to an Blackboard discussion board conversation its almost similar. In Blackboard discussion board, you post threads and people will rely to it. In Twitter, people update their status and people may also reply to it. Although in discussion board, you're not limited to the amount of characters you can use where as in Twitter you're limited to 140 characters so tweets must be straight to the point. In Twitter you have Twitter hashtags which make it easier to find information through a simple search as compared to discussion board where you'd have to look for your topic or information by looking through all the threads.
A Twitter discussion compared to an in-class discussion is much different. An in-class discussion may carry on more quicker and smoothly. But with a Twitter discussion you're able to have more people discuss there thoughts because not everyone in the discussion has to be confined into one classroom.
Compared to an Blackboard discussion board conversation its almost similar. In Blackboard discussion board, you post threads and people will rely to it. In Twitter, people update their status and people may also reply to it. Although in discussion board, you're not limited to the amount of characters you can use where as in Twitter you're limited to 140 characters so tweets must be straight to the point. In Twitter you have Twitter hashtags which make it easier to find information through a simple search as compared to discussion board where you'd have to look for your topic or information by looking through all the threads.
A Twitter discussion compared to an in-class discussion is much different. An in-class discussion may carry on more quicker and smoothly. But with a Twitter discussion you're able to have more people discuss there thoughts because not everyone in the discussion has to be confined into one classroom.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds
In virtual worlds, people are not limited to boundaries just as they are in real life.
For many users, they use the virtual worlds to do the things they can't do in real life. For example, someone with multiple sclerosis who has a mobility disability, may use Second Life (popular virtual world game) to simply feel enjoyment from being able to walk, swim, dance, or fly in the game. Many users also create an avatar in these virtual worlds to pursue the dreams they couldn't achieve in real life. Achieving your dreams and goals in virtual worlds is much easier than it is in reality because there are less budget constraints and you can create your avatar to be ideal for your specific dream. For example if you wanted to be a NBA player, you can make yourself tall and athletic. If you wanted to own a business, it's also much easier because budget is might tighter in real life than in these games. Virtual worlds can also be used for business purposes. According to Mark Tutton of CNN, "Second Life Enterprise is designed to let businesses hold virtual gatherings". Mark also quotes Linden Lab, stating that more than 1400 organizations use Second Life use Second Life to hold meetings, conduct training and prototype new technologies more efficiently. These are ways these virtual worlds foster creativity.
Advantages of virtual worlds are plenty. The main advantage to virtual worlds I would say is its ability to fill our need for achieving esteem. I believe this is the main reason people play and also the most they take away from it. Users play to feel confident, achievement, and respect by others. On a more microscopic scale, in the virtual world you can feel good about how you look (physically) whereas in real life you may be judged based on your appearance. Many times it's not our fault how we look in real life because we were born that way. Or how much money we were inherited into. In real life goes the saying, "play the hand you're dealt". Well in virtual world games, you create the "hand" you want.
With the good comes the bad. Although virtual worlds may be cheaper than real life, you may end up spending more than you had hoped. According to Ruth La Ferla of NY Times
Even though the conversion rate is cheap, people may be addicted to these virtual worlds and may fall into conspicuous consumption. In the NY Times article above, I also read that many users have a wardrobe of up to 40,000 items. On a side note, the virtual world industry has generated $1 billion to $2 billion in revenue. Spending also increased during the recession making it “a recession-tolerant economy”.
One aspect virtual worlds may get into is education. Online classes have been a success so why not have virtual universities where you can obtain a diploma? Another way virtual worlds may enhance in the future is the idea of Surrogates
Cite
Tutton, Mark, "Going To The Virtual Office in Second Life", CNN, November 9, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html
La Ferla, Ruth, "No Budget, No Boundaries: It’s the Real You", NY TIMES, October 21, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/fashion/22Avatar.html?pagewanted=1
For many users, they use the virtual worlds to do the things they can't do in real life. For example, someone with multiple sclerosis who has a mobility disability, may use Second Life (popular virtual world game) to simply feel enjoyment from being able to walk, swim, dance, or fly in the game. Many users also create an avatar in these virtual worlds to pursue the dreams they couldn't achieve in real life. Achieving your dreams and goals in virtual worlds is much easier than it is in reality because there are less budget constraints and you can create your avatar to be ideal for your specific dream. For example if you wanted to be a NBA player, you can make yourself tall and athletic. If you wanted to own a business, it's also much easier because budget is might tighter in real life than in these games. Virtual worlds can also be used for business purposes. According to Mark Tutton of CNN, "Second Life Enterprise is designed to let businesses hold virtual gatherings". Mark also quotes Linden Lab, stating that more than 1400 organizations use Second Life use Second Life to hold meetings, conduct training and prototype new technologies more efficiently. These are ways these virtual worlds foster creativity.
Advantages of virtual worlds are plenty. The main advantage to virtual worlds I would say is its ability to fill our need for achieving esteem. I believe this is the main reason people play and also the most they take away from it. Users play to feel confident, achievement, and respect by others. On a more microscopic scale, in the virtual world you can feel good about how you look (physically) whereas in real life you may be judged based on your appearance. Many times it's not our fault how we look in real life because we were born that way. Or how much money we were inherited into. In real life goes the saying, "play the hand you're dealt". Well in virtual world games, you create the "hand" you want.
With the good comes the bad. Although virtual worlds may be cheaper than real life, you may end up spending more than you had hoped. According to Ruth La Ferla of NY Times
"About 70,000 Therebucks on There.com, or 10,000 Lindens in Second Life, each about $40, can buy a choice of simulated wares, from several pairs of thigh-high boots to a plot of land"
Even though the conversion rate is cheap, people may be addicted to these virtual worlds and may fall into conspicuous consumption. In the NY Times article above, I also read that many users have a wardrobe of up to 40,000 items. On a side note, the virtual world industry has generated $1 billion to $2 billion in revenue. Spending also increased during the recession making it “a recession-tolerant economy”.
One aspect virtual worlds may get into is education. Online classes have been a success so why not have virtual universities where you can obtain a diploma? Another way virtual worlds may enhance in the future is the idea of Surrogates
Cite
Tutton, Mark, "Going To The Virtual Office in Second Life", CNN, November 9, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html
La Ferla, Ruth, "No Budget, No Boundaries: It’s the Real You", NY TIMES, October 21, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/fashion/22Avatar.html?pagewanted=1
Friday, March 12, 2010
Social Networking
Social networking can help or hurt corporate business. According to Claire Cain Miller of New York Times, Twitter can be used for virtual conferencing. Twitter has this feature called Twitter hashtags where people would input a tag at the end of their posts to make it easier for people to find their posts in a search. There was an exclusive TED conference in California with guest speaker Bill Gates. Those who attended posted on Twitter things they were learning or quoting from Bill Gates and just putting #TED at the end of their posts. Here's an example:
Twitter can also be helpful for businesses and organizations when it comes to emergency alerts. Just like with the virtual conference, people would hashtag their posts about latest news updates on weather and natural disasters to alert those on Twitter.
In this same article, it is discussed how a 16 year old's life may have been saved. A medical student posted a question on suggestions for a strange case regarding a young boys acute pancreatitis and was responded in a few hours on how to diagnose it.
Another interesting article I read on how these technologies may help business is by Frank Langfitt of NPR. In his article, "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting", he discusses how job recruiters use Linkedin to find a fit for the job position they're looking to fill. Those with profiles on Linkedin provide information pertaining to their job, employment history, and background information. For some recruiters, this is the first place they look. They're also able to contact the potential employee via messaging.
The "dark side" of social networking for businesses and organizations is the bad publicity they get from their consumers. I actually had several friends post status updates on poor service or quality of a product they experienced from so and so. I'm sure the many people who read these updates take their friend's thoughts into consideration and possibly choose a competitor company instead.
Social networking can also be bad for the employees as well. I've seen videos on YouTube where the person I subscribed to has gotten fired for a certain tweet on Twitter or for a YouTube video they released. I'm also sure employers and recruiters look at Myspace, FaceBook, and Twitter before they finalize a decision on hiring a new employee. This is why I keep my profile private and my profile picture normal :]
Cite
Miller, Claire Cain, "Getting the Most Out of Twitter", New York Times, Technology, March 3, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/technology/04basics.html
Langfitt, Frank, "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting", NPR, November 22, 2006
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf
"By searching #TED on Twitter, people could read the latest updates (and skip the $6,000 attendance fee). People wrote quotes from the speakers, like this one: “ ‘If I only had only one wish for the next 50 years, it’d be to invent the thing that halves the cost of CO2’ — Bill Gates #TED.”
Twitter can also be helpful for businesses and organizations when it comes to emergency alerts. Just like with the virtual conference, people would hashtag their posts about latest news updates on weather and natural disasters to alert those on Twitter.
In this same article, it is discussed how a 16 year old's life may have been saved. A medical student posted a question on suggestions for a strange case regarding a young boys acute pancreatitis and was responded in a few hours on how to diagnose it.
Another interesting article I read on how these technologies may help business is by Frank Langfitt of NPR. In his article, "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting", he discusses how job recruiters use Linkedin to find a fit for the job position they're looking to fill. Those with profiles on Linkedin provide information pertaining to their job, employment history, and background information. For some recruiters, this is the first place they look. They're also able to contact the potential employee via messaging.
The "dark side" of social networking for businesses and organizations is the bad publicity they get from their consumers. I actually had several friends post status updates on poor service or quality of a product they experienced from so and so. I'm sure the many people who read these updates take their friend's thoughts into consideration and possibly choose a competitor company instead.
Social networking can also be bad for the employees as well. I've seen videos on YouTube where the person I subscribed to has gotten fired for a certain tweet on Twitter or for a YouTube video they released. I'm also sure employers and recruiters look at Myspace, FaceBook, and Twitter before they finalize a decision on hiring a new employee. This is why I keep my profile private and my profile picture normal :]
Cite
Miller, Claire Cain, "Getting the Most Out of Twitter", New York Times, Technology, March 3, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/technology/04basics.html
Langfitt, Frank, "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting", NPR, November 22, 2006
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf
Check Out Social Networking Sites
Myspace - Myspace allows you to post up pictures, photo albums, and videos just like Facebook and Friendster. Also it enables you to comment on your friend's profile, pictures, and videos. You can also make your profile private to block indiviuals or strangers from viewing it. Myspace gives a lot of control to user. Ways it differentiates itself is by allowing you to mess around with your profile's image. You can change font colors and background image. Also Myspace lets the user add a song to their page which can play when people visit their page. One thing which you dont see with other social networking sites is how Myspace attracts a lot of musicians to their website. The reason for this is because you're able to create is different kind of profile where you can upload a playlist and have others listen to it while watching how many times it gets played. This attracts people who want to get their music heard and possibly reviewed by others. I remember this is how Tila Tequila became big in her music, but she also attracted many people with her modeling pictures. Also another unique thing about Myspace is how it friends you with Tom when you first create an account. Tom is the founder of Myspace. Myspace has this feature called top 8 where you can show everyone who are your top 8 friends with their profile picture and a link to their profile.
Facebook - Facebook is more of a clean look. It's common that many people went from Myspace to Facebook when they graduate from high school. This may sound funny but I believe it to be true because it gives people the sense that they're growing up to a more professional looking website. I personally switched because most of my friends were using Facebook as their social networking site and also because my Myspace account was getting hacked into. Ever since I've been on Facebook, my accounts has not been hacked into yet. A famous feature on Facebook is their status update. Many people like to update their status on what they're doing at a specific time or what's on their mind. Its common that their status' also receive comments. Another thing about Facebook is how many people use it to invite people to events and join groups with their interests. Unique features on Facebook are how they have games where friends compete for high scores and also another feature where you can give your friends e-gifts and poke each other, have pillow fights, etc. Something on Facebook that people either love or hate is live news feed where you're able to see what's being said amongst your friends but this also means your comments are viewable to others as well. One bad thing about Facebook is how they limit your friend list to 5000. I don't understand the point of this.
Friendster - This is actually very similar to Facebook but with just a different format. Friendster allows you to block users just as Myspace and Facebook. Similar to Facebook, it allows uploads of photo and videos, has a status update and activity stream, has games and e-gifts too. Some unique characteristics of Friendster is this tab called Classifieds where I notice people post items they're giving away. There are almost all categories you can think of and you can also be very specific in your search. For example I was looking at cars and you can choose posts with pictures only, price range, the type, the make, the year, the condition, the location, or seller type. I thought this was amazing and maybe will be something other social networking sites will copy.
Twitter - Twitter is quite unique. I notice Twitter is much more simple than most social networking sites and it's formatted in the way blogs are. So between all the social networking site above, Twitter is most closely related to a blog. What Twitter is mainly about is the status updates. For those who enjoy sharing with the world what's on their mind or what they're doing, Twitter is the site to use. What makes Twitter unique is how you're able to follow friends, people you admire, and interest groups. With this following feature, you're able to get the latest feed on those people you're mostly interested in. Twitter acknowledges that not everyone wants to update the world on what their status is. According to Claire Cain Miller of New York Times Twitter can also be used for just following "friends, bloggers, and thought leaders" of your interest. Claire Miller also said that Twitter has this feature where you can create lists of those you follow. For example, if you don't want to read all the new feeds from all the people you're following, you can simply create a list of celebrities, political leaders, sports teams, etc. Just like Facebook and Friendster, you're able to update your status through your cellphone. But Twitter is unique in the sense that users feel closer to people they follow by reading their statuses.
Cite
Miller, Claire Cain, "Getting the Most Out of Twitter", New York Times, Technology, March 3, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/technology/04basics.html
Facebook - Facebook is more of a clean look. It's common that many people went from Myspace to Facebook when they graduate from high school. This may sound funny but I believe it to be true because it gives people the sense that they're growing up to a more professional looking website. I personally switched because most of my friends were using Facebook as their social networking site and also because my Myspace account was getting hacked into. Ever since I've been on Facebook, my accounts has not been hacked into yet. A famous feature on Facebook is their status update. Many people like to update their status on what they're doing at a specific time or what's on their mind. Its common that their status' also receive comments. Another thing about Facebook is how many people use it to invite people to events and join groups with their interests. Unique features on Facebook are how they have games where friends compete for high scores and also another feature where you can give your friends e-gifts and poke each other, have pillow fights, etc. Something on Facebook that people either love or hate is live news feed where you're able to see what's being said amongst your friends but this also means your comments are viewable to others as well. One bad thing about Facebook is how they limit your friend list to 5000. I don't understand the point of this.
Friendster - This is actually very similar to Facebook but with just a different format. Friendster allows you to block users just as Myspace and Facebook. Similar to Facebook, it allows uploads of photo and videos, has a status update and activity stream, has games and e-gifts too. Some unique characteristics of Friendster is this tab called Classifieds where I notice people post items they're giving away. There are almost all categories you can think of and you can also be very specific in your search. For example I was looking at cars and you can choose posts with pictures only, price range, the type, the make, the year, the condition, the location, or seller type. I thought this was amazing and maybe will be something other social networking sites will copy.
Twitter - Twitter is quite unique. I notice Twitter is much more simple than most social networking sites and it's formatted in the way blogs are. So between all the social networking site above, Twitter is most closely related to a blog. What Twitter is mainly about is the status updates. For those who enjoy sharing with the world what's on their mind or what they're doing, Twitter is the site to use. What makes Twitter unique is how you're able to follow friends, people you admire, and interest groups. With this following feature, you're able to get the latest feed on those people you're mostly interested in. Twitter acknowledges that not everyone wants to update the world on what their status is. According to Claire Cain Miller of New York Times Twitter can also be used for just following "friends, bloggers, and thought leaders" of your interest. Claire Miller also said that Twitter has this feature where you can create lists of those you follow. For example, if you don't want to read all the new feeds from all the people you're following, you can simply create a list of celebrities, political leaders, sports teams, etc. Just like Facebook and Friendster, you're able to update your status through your cellphone. But Twitter is unique in the sense that users feel closer to people they follow by reading their statuses.
Cite
Miller, Claire Cain, "Getting the Most Out of Twitter", New York Times, Technology, March 3, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/technology/04basics.html
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