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.

Social Networking

Corporate entities can use social media technologies to create a closer relationship between their company and it’s stakeholders. A social media platform such as Twitter or Instagram can be the solid foundation of any factual news in relation to what is going on within the company. It is an inexpensive way of building an empire. In 2007 Senator Barack Obama understood that he could use the web to lower cost and create a sense of connection and engagement with the people all while controlling and dispensing any particular information that he wanted to release (nytimes.com). Social media is a platform for a two-way relationship. Social media can also have a dark side. False information can get leaked, accounts can get hacked into, and users (especially users who serve as influencers) have to be very particular at what they say and the image that they portray. An article titled “They’re Back, and They’re Bad: Campus-Gossip Web Sites” explains how students use blog sites to post anonymous attacks on classmates. It says that some of these websites are exclusively built to abuse, harm and embarrass students with personal attack within message boards. I’ve personally seen both sides to social media. I’ve seen viral videos of children getting bullied and I’ve also seen videos of people presenting acts of kindness. When it comes to evolving I think that these technologies are evolving and adapting to the change frequently. I say this because it is hard to tell what kind of harm some of these technologies can cause without experiencing it first. After experiencing it we can see those same technologies evolve and shift as to where they can minimize or prevent the harm that is occurring. For example, there have been videos that have gone viral of people going around randomly punching someone in the face. These videos often catch the attention of law enforcement and in no time the perpetrators are caught and held accountable. Although the damage is already done these social networking platforms help catch “the bad guys”.

Blogs Vs. Wiki

Blogs are an alternative to personal webpages. They are a regularly updated web page, typically ran by an individual and is written in an informal or conversational style (google.com).  They usually involve regularly updated post, links to news articles, documents and other blog post that are filled with passion and identity. Personal blogs are usually not censored which gives them a sense of authenticity compared to corporate blogs which are censored and very careful of what they publicize.  Examples of blogs are twitter, Tumblr, and Blogger.com.  A perfect example of a blog and how personal it can be can be read in an article posted in the New York Times titled “Pentagon Keeps Wary Watch as Troops Blog”.  The article is about an Army specialist who maintained a blog about life at the front and his experiences, which fell under the Army’s radar because it was not officially approved. A Wiki on the other hand is a website that allows collaborative editing of its content and structure by its users (google.com).  Posting on a wiki is relatively easy and can be done by different users. It is often created as a team-wide or company-wide knowledge base.  Wikipedia is a perfect example of a wiki (hence the name). “How to use Wikis For Business”, an article posted on informationweek.com states that “ a simple open-source app called wiki may soon rule the knowledge management roost.

Proposal

Who takes the credit: YouTube or Society?

It is fascinating to explore the virtual world of YouTube. People, places and things are all connected and shared with the click of a button. The spread of information and wisdom has evolved from the confinements of a classroom to a virtual space that has no limits. A person no longer has to visit France to say that they've seen the Eiffel Tower or go to a culinary institute to learn how to cook like a chef. People from all around the world upload videos and contribute to YouTube. With an already immeasurable amount of information YouTube offers it still continues to grow each and everyday. My paper will explore the informational benefits that YouTube has to offer and analyze the positive and negative effects that those benefits have on society.