Next New

New media is constantly evolving in modern society. The next type of new media that doesn't exist now but will in the future is Virtual Closets. This will be a virtual fitting room which will allow users to view a 3D avatar of themselves matching their body measurements, and try on clothes. Users will be able to access clothes from online websites and try them on before buying without going to the store. It will also allow users to add clothes from their current closets and let them mix and match outfits according to the weather and the occasion. This new media can be further enhanced with the advancements of Holograms

Wiki So Far

On our class wiki page, I will discuss how new media has affected the Sports and Gaming ndustry. I have not created the wiki page as of yet because I'm still gathering information on this topic. New media has affected the way viewers can now watch sports. Also being a current accounting student and owning a family business, I'm interested in how new media can impact businesses. Thus I'm also gathering information to contribute to the Business page. In this page I'm looking into adding information about e-commerce and new technologies to help businesses grow.

P2P

File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs or multimedia, from one media device to another. File sharing can be done through various methods; some common methods being removable media devices such USBs, centralized servers such as Dropbox, Web based links, and the use of peer-to-peer networks such as BitTorrent.

P2P file sharing is a form of file sharing where users use P2P software programs to access media files such as books, music, movies, and games. P2P software programs send out a request to download a file, then locate the file on other computers that are connected to the Internet and running the same file sharing software. When the software finds a computer that has the file, the download beings.

The biggest example of P2P file sharing is torrent websites such as ThePirateBay and Kickass. Programs such as uTorrent allows users to access media files from other computers. According to Eric Pfanner, web sites such as Rapidshare, allow users to upload media files and distribute the link to others to download.  The problem with P2P file sharing is that it is illegal and taking profits away from businesses. P2P software allows users to download copyrighted media and paid software.

References:

•  Pfanner, Eric. "Should Online Scofflaws Be Denied Web Access?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Apr. 2009. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.  

Privacy

With the advancement of technology, new media has allowed us to do things we haven't been able to previously. But as new media grows, the issues of privacy and confidentiality have become more relevant. Websites use tracking cookies to keep your track of your history and passwords. Many sites have advertisements and they display ads based on your web history. Hackers access this information and use it to gain financial benefits.

Most privacy and confidentiality issues are interconnected with social media and social networking. Many of us post things on social networking sites without thinking about how it is being used by others. People carelessly reveal information such as their phone number, address, birthdays, and much more which may lead to identity theft. This disclosure of information can also lead to stalking, sexual harassment, and other types of potential attacks. Therefore users of the Internet must become familiar with the platforms they are using so they can avoid the loss of privacy and confidentiality. Because once you lose it, it is hard to get back.

Advice

If I was hired by Baruch college to use new media to improve the College, a suggestion I would make related to new media is for the College to have video recorded lectures or live streaming of lectures. These videos, that can be viewed at a later time, are great for students that have to miss class due to an emergency. It is also beneficial for those students that have trouble understanding the material and would like to go over it on their free time. Many professors don't like students voice recording the lectures, so if the College implements this it would be very beneficial. Professors should also have pre-recorded lectures for students to view at home and come into class to practice problems. I have experienced this in a couple of my past classes where the professor has pre-recorded powerpoint slides and then in class we practice the concepts by doing problems. In another class the professor created a web conference to help students review material before an exam. These video recordings can also be used by clubs for professional events because many clubs have the same time for club meetings and it is hard to go from one event to another.

Another thing is for the College to use freeware and shareware to provide free books for students. Books tend to be very expensive and unnecessary when the professor doesn't use it. Also I would recommend an integration of CunyFirst and CunyPortal should take place to create a more centralized website for students.

Creativity and New Media

One place in which creativity is embraced is in gaming. This has changed with the evolution of new media. This is an example of virtual worlds and avatars. The avatars can be used in games and social events. When creating avatars, there is the option of choosing height/weight, different skin color, hair, clothes and accessories. Many are available for free, but some limited editions cost money. The avatars I made are on Xbox 360 and NBA 2K15.

Xbox 360: On the Xbox 360 you can make an avatar and style it however you like. You can even give it props to play with. Then you can take this avatar online and play games such as 1 vs 100, Guitar Hero, and Uno. Microsoft is working on building up the avatars by creating specific games so users can display their avatars.

NBA 2K15: On NBA 2K15 you can make a player and you play games with the player and earn money. After that you can buy items to style your player. You can also increase your players skills to make him better at the game. You can go online and play with other users and their created players. With the new generations of Xbox One and PS4, NBA 2K15 added face scan where you can actually take pictures of your face and have it closely resembled on your player.

Creativity

We have always been creative. But with the evolution of new media, our creativity has been able to expand to whole new levels. New media has impacted our lives greatly. It has improved and changed the way we communicate and view media. New media has made it easier for people to express their ideas. The Internet lets people exchange ideas easily and rapidly with large groups, and computing tools let people design new products cheaply. For example, instead of making a drawing by hand we can make them on the computer using Photoshop and share it instantly to a larger audience. Viewers of creative works can post their comments and opinions using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The artist of the creative work can see these comments in real time and take into account what to change in the future.  According to the article "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers", businesses can also see what users of their products and services think about them. In fact, consumers often come up with ideas for products, and companies wait to see if they have a mass appeal.

Technology has made it possible for anyone to produce any type of art/thought and distribute it to the whole world. But the problem is that there are a bunch of users interacting and it's hard to predict what they're going to do. Why are people using this and how could we make that better?

References:

•  Miller, Claire. "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2009. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.