Creativity

New Media fosters creativity by allowing people to create mash-up. Mash-ups are a combination of different snippets of movies and TV shows. Mash-ups have created alot of controversy because although they are pieced together by users (creating an individual work of art) big entities such as Disney often sue these artist for copyright infringements. Now it is important to note that these are billion dollar corporations going after fame-less DJs who create these mashups for fun or remixes. Disney is known for keeping a close eye on its animated characters. Two semesters ago I saw a film in my media class about mash ups, and how long they take to create and the skills they required. The finish product is usually something that sounds or looks like any finished product of the snippets they used. An article posted on nyTimes.com says that Disney believes that any use of its property is stealing, whereas Nickelodeon see the humorous videos as fair use of its copyrighted content. 

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual words can be used in different ways. In the article "I've been in that Club, just not in real life" a person enters a three-dimensional replica of a club that is just a few blocks away from his house. He has spent the last three months visiting an online social-networking replica of his neighborhood, interacting with many other users that rather enter these spaces from the comforts of their own home. Virtual worlds can be used for various reasons such as the one above. People who cannot physically make it to certain places because of a disability get to experience these places from a computer screen. Virtual worlds can also be used as virtual classrooms. The advantages of this are that it offers flexible access and new ways of communication and assessing for students and teachers. The good thing about virtual worlds is that they give some people the ability to do things that they cannot do in the real world. The downfall to virtual worlds is that they can become obsessive for some people where they think that the virtual world is the actual real world and loose their sense of reality. 

TWITR: Blog About Twitter

CUNY's Blackboard system and Twitter are very similar in various ways. They both serve as a discussion board and both foster the concept of interacting and idea sharing.  Although Blackboard is more towards the educational side people can still learn a lot from Twitter via news articles links, videos, and verified Twitter accounts. Twitter limits its users to 140 characters per tweet as appose to Blackboard where users can contribute as much as they want. During my two years at Baruch I have witnessed professors requiring students to actively participate in class discussions on both Blackboard and Twitter. Preferably, I rather interact through Blackboard when it comes to class discussions because it gives me more room to express myself. Twitter on the other hand limits the amount of space you have to express yourself but also prompts you to choose your words wisely. 

Social Networking Sites

I have to admit, I was never too fond of social networking websites; I don't think I still am. Nonetheless to say I have to admit I do own my fair-share of them. I own a Facebook account, Twitter account, Instagram account, and a Pinterest account. I had to open my Facebook account and Twitter account because of school (it was required for certain classes). My Instagram account and Pinterest account I opened because I enjoyed the sites and felt that they were the most private out of all of them. My first impression about Facebook is that it is in need of too much information, TMI! Its homepage asks you if you want to update a status, add photos/videos, or create albums. It could be a little overwhelming for some people. I personally don't like to put my personal business on Facebook, I don't like to tag my location or put personal information like my phone number and where I live. Twitter on the other hand is just like Instagram, It is as personal as you want it to be. Twitter can come off a bit intimidating. The fact that you only have 140 characters to say what you need to say can make anyone nervous. Unlike Facebook, twitter is more about vocalizing ones thoughts. It doesn't press for personal information like your phone number or the school you graduated from. To me its more of a "news-sharing" website. Instagram is one of my favorites. Its a very personal website, but just as personal as you let it be. It's very creative, quirky, and fun. Similar to Twitter you can share information based on a picture. Pinterest is similar to Instagram. It is based on the concept of photo sharing. Its layout is very inviting and the requirements to sign up are not as personal as Facebook. Ideas are shared through the form of pictures and links to websites (similar to Twitter). Pinterest fosters learning.