The Next New Thing

Even though self driving cars are not to far away from becoming a reality, for those who still enjoy manually driving their cars and rely on traditional GPS systems, I would love to see a merge between GPS, hologram and smartphones.

Most people use their cell phones for GPS purposes trough applications such as Waze and Google Maps so the smartphone component in the merge is essential. I was recently reading an article that claimed a small number of car accidents were caused by staring long at your GPS and not concentrating on the road. So with this technology, we can use our smartphones to project directions on a small section of our windshield so that we can easily switch glances between directions and the road a lot faster than looking down. When not using GPS it can project other things such as weather, speedometer and for safety measures it will not be able to project video content.

Another use of that same technology can be used when making video calls trough our smartphones or other applications such as Skype. Using face recognition technology it would be cool to see the hologram of the person your speaking with. It could also be used for watching videos and so many other things. Holographic in general have not been developed to their full potential even thou its clear there are many applications and uses for it.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

Although I have not yet fully contributed to our class wiki, I have been researching areas that interest me while relating it back to new media. One of those areas is the politics and new media page that needs a little more content, especially this years election section and how social media has played a huge role in it's outcome. Another topic that interest me and also needs more content in the page is the relation between sports and new media, specifically in regards to soccer and use of social media during sporting events.

I also plan on adding some sections of my research paper that I did on YouTube and it's advertising aspect just to add more information to the already popular YouTube page. In addition, I also plan to browse around different pages and try to standardize it to look like other pages and work on grammatical correction if I come across it. I will try to research other areas of my interest as well and should have by the end of this week significant amount of content posted.

P2P File Sharing

File sharing in the most simplest of definitions is the concept of sharing digital information such as documents, multimedia, etc., through a shared network like the Internet. File sharing can be done in many different ways such as a removable storage device like a USB stick or memory card. The most popular method and the subject of this lecture is done trough peer to peer networks.

P2P file sharing simply means transferring digital content from your computer to another user (peer). The process is done through a shared network, usually the Internet via sites like BitTorrent or The Pirate Bay. An early example of P2P file sharing and one most people are familiar with is Napster. Napster was the pioneer in P2P technology and primarily focused on sharing audio files and copyrighted music which ironically was the main reason for its eventual downfall.

A common example of P2P file sharing and one that has been in the spotlight recently is the sharing of audio and video content. According to Brian Stelter's article "Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios" illegally downloaded and streamed movies has cost the industry 40% of their annual revenue.  A simple concept has the potential to threaten a multi billion dollar industry and with increased access to the internet there is no telling how much more damage P2P networks can inflict on Hollywood. There had been a lot of controversy surrounding this issue but rather than fighting it, companies such as Spotify and Pandora are using it to their advantage by giving free access to users and generating ad revenue instead.

Another example of P2P technology being used efficiently can be seen in the banking industry with companies such as Lending Club. Wendy Kaufman from NPR describes how Lending Club is using P2P technology to match potential investors with those looking for loans. P2P technology has not only distributed the business models of musicians and actors but the banking system as well which shows the incredible power the technology possess.

Privacy & Confidentiality

With cybersecurity and cyber crime on a rapid rise in the last few years, its more important than ever to keep information safe and private. Hackers are gaining access to peoples personal and professional lives via their email, phone and especially social media.

As the popular saying goes "whatever you put on the internet will be there permanently" and it's something that I take in to consideration whenever I upload any personal information on the internet. The biggest concern regarding privacy and new media has to deal with social media. People feel the need to post a picture of their private lives without taking into consideration the different people that might be able to see it. Individuals are even inclined to share personal information such as their address and even current location. This can lead to many complications ranging from identity theft to attracting unwanted guests. Just like any other new invention, if not used properly can have damaging consequences.  

Another aspect of privacy regarding new media is whats called a cyber footprint where certain websites track your browsing and search history to recommend products for you to purchase. For example, when someone searches for a used car online that individual is most likely to start seeing supplementary products or services such as car insurance, windshield wipers and even new set of tires for sale. Privacy advocates have heavily criticized companies such as Google and Yahoo for engaging in such activities and even see as violation of one's privacy.

As mentioned before, I take real caution when uploading pictures on the internet as I know they will stay there forever. The obvious reason is to protect my privacy but also to protect myself from future employers who might just Google my name when doing a background check. People tend to act different on social media then they do in real life so one needs to be careful with what they say and post and make sure its in line with their professional lives.

Privacy and security is a huge concern when it comes to new media which is why all the the parties involved must work together to combat this issue.

Advice to Baruch College

The concept of new media has taken the 21st century by storm and while some organizations have taken full advantage of it, others are still catching up. Baruch College is one of those organizations that fully embraces new media and technology but still has a long way to go.

One way Baruch can utilize new media is by finding an alternative to their mass campus information distribution system. As someone who likes to stay up to date on things happening on campus from club events to corporate presentations, it seems that I find out about great opportunities a couple of days late. One way to would be to subscribe to one of the clubs weekly newsletter but they primary display events that pertains only to their clubs. That means that I have to look through at least 4 to 5 different newsletters to find an event I'm interested in. In addition, when it comes to issues such as registration dates, campus security updates or even entrance closure notices, I'm usually the last person to find out.

A solution to this problem would be to combine all events and campus information into one centralized system or even a website. That way students can look through info all in one webpage rather than multiple and can even customize it to their preference. If someone is interested only in corporate and professional events they can set that as their favorites and won't have to scroll though tons of unwanted information. Since it's for the students, it should also be run by the students as they are more likely to know better what other students want to know more than administrators. 

Another idea would be to create a Baruch only forum/discussion board where students can discuss topics like which classes to take, where is the best place to study or even buy used textbooks all in one place. Last but not least, Baruch desperately needs a centralized place to get feedback on professors since third party websites such as RateMyProfessor.com are not accurate most of the times. The new system would make sure that the student rating the professor has actually taken the class and is qualified to rate.

Creativity and New Media

Just as I mentioned in my last post, new media gives users the necessary tools to create new and exciting content. The link all the way on the bottom of this blog post was something that I created for one of my classes as a semester long group project. 

We were assigned to create a fictitious business and then be as creative as we can be to present to our class. Our group decided to start a sporting goods company called SportsThrone.com since most of us were into various sports. My assignment was to create a marketing campaign for one of our best selling running shoes and to make an advert that goes along with it. Although the video you will see looks very generic, it is 100% my own work and contains snips and bits from at least 8 to 9 different videos and commercials and the background voice was also found separately. This was my first ever attempt at creating and editing videos so some of the transitions from one scene to another wasn't well timed. Nonetheless, it was really fun to make and turned out decent for a newbie. To reiterate, new media tools such as editing software's and YouTube in general not only fosters creativity, but also promotes it.

Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQcjXXVvsOg

(Please watch till the end to see closing statement)

Creativity

New media has given a whole new meaning to creativity and imagination. With easy to use editing software's such as Windows Movie Maker and Photoshop, creators are able to design and produce new and exciting content. As I mentioned in my previous post, games like Minecraft let's kids use their imagination in infinite number or ways. It emulates a world without boundaries and limitations and that mindset carries over to the real world where amazing new discoveries and inventions can be made.

In regards to new media, one of those tools is Mashups. Mashup's let the user to put together snips and bits of different videos and music into one condensed end product. According to Brook Barnes's article in the New York Times "Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why?" users are mixing and matching viral rap music with some of Disney's sense creating the impression that the characters are rapping the lyrics. As an active YouTube user, I confirm that there are thousands of videos with that idea and they are somewhat entertaining. Some Mashup's doesn't require much technical skills but rather creativity and imagination. So in one way, new media technologies has made being creative "easy" in one way.

In conclusion, new media tools such as Mashups and YouTube fosters creativity buy providing the tools necessary for creators to come up with creative content like the Disney character's rapping and has opened the doors for many more ideas to come.