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.