The Next New Thing

It is like Facebook. It is like Tumblr. It is kind of like Youtube, too. What is it? It is an artistic people oriented social media app that allows audio and video comments and let you edit your audio and videos with free high tech software. It provides you with both like and dislike buttons just like Youtube. If you see someone posting a selfie every 4 hours, you can dislike the post to show your annoyance. Of course, it will be anonymous dislike! I wouldn’t want anyone to kill each other over my innovation. You will get two different lists once you join. One list is for your friends who add you and who you accept, and another is for fans, whose requests you don’t accept. You have control over anything you post.

As it allows people to post different videos and photos, it is crucial to set age restrictions and give warnings to sensitive audience. Once you sign up, you will be asked questions like “What is your age?”, “Do you mind seeing bloody stuffs in your newsfeed?” and “Check this box if you wish NOT to see horror posts and videos”. All publishers should be honest when they upload videos. If they don’t categorize the videos truthfully, they will be banned from the site and their account will be deleted.

Will it bring people together? It will because it encourages honesty and applauds creativity. You can be honest and critical about everyone’s creations while respecting them. You can give advice to amateur video editors and photographers. It is not only for professionals but also for amateurs to grow and expand our community. Unlike Facebook, it will also allow background layout so everyone can be unique. You can insert background music along with layout so your friends and fans will be entertained when they stalk your profile for long minutes.

The only term and condition you have to accept is to be honest. After all, the app’s name is O-Nex! It will be the birth of Nex technology era.

P2P File Sharing

File sharing is the sharing of a piece or a whole computer data or space on a network. P2P file sharing is peer-to-peer file sharing, which means network users share files among one another without the control of a central server. It is also more resistant to lawsuits as no central server is involved in such act. Some examples for old P2P file sharing networks include BitTorrent and Gnutella. The famous file sharing sites that I have heard of are Piolet, FrostWire, uTorrent and iMesh. Although P2P is good for sharing files, it can also be risky as people can spread viruses and malwares through these apps. This is undeniably the source of pirate files.

In the example of "Digital Pirates Winning  Battles With Studios" by NYtimes.com , Warner Brothers tried to protect "The Dark Knight" from piracy but failed miserably. There are always anonymous pirates who put the files online so million of people can view it illegally. Because of new technology, it is very easy to stream pirate movies. The very first attack on pirated videos started on Youtube.com , where people can make fake accounts to upload videos for the whole world to access. It hurt the entertainment industry severely. Although the industry somewhat succeeded in taking down illegal movies from YouTube, the movies are still easily accessible to general public. You will be amazed how many sites you can find by just typing " *insert movie name* " and "watch online free". However, as they say "nothing is free", there are certain risks to watch pirate movies. Even if you don't get caught, you can lose all your files and your information can be leaked from viruses through such unregulated files.

More reference:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/business/media/05piracy.html?_r=0

Our Class Wiki - So Far

I have been working on New Media and Fashion for my wiki assignment and I find it extremely interesting. Both new media and fashion are my favorite topics to research about so I have been editing about social media related to fashion. It is interesting to learn how many people have been using social media these days to keep up-to-date with fashion, find inspiration and wear appropriately for certain occasions.

I also added a new content under the title about teen fashion and how new media encourages it. Sites and apps from Seventeen and Teen Vogue offer teens to be prepared for their prom or first day of college. Also, you can read fashion advices from fashionistas on these sites. They blog about deals and steals, latest fashion news and even career fashion advice. It makes fashion affordable and accessible for everyone. Because of interview fashion advice, teens can get a sense of professional fashion for corporate internships. I believe teen fashion blogs not only add sparkles to social life but also help with career path.

I will be working on more research about how much fashion industry has grown with the help of new media. I will also be adding more visuals to make the wiki more appealing and helpful.

Privacy & Confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality come into our mind when we talk about internet-related things such as online transactions or social media. Especially with new media, there are rising concerns about privacy. A lot of older people think social media is a way of giving access to our daily lives. I really don’t think posting a picture of your Starbucks every morning on Instagram can get you murdered unless the followers hate Starbucks. But, sometimes people post too much on these social media sites. One of my favorite YouTubers said that no one should ever do their collection videos because that can get you robbed or broken in. I agree because a lot of people post about expensive materials on sites that public can access and doing so is not safe at all.

Aside from that, there are other concerns related to new media such as identity theft, sexual predators and stalkers. We can lose privacy only if we put out so much information out there. We can be discreet with the way we use our social media. No one needs to know what time we leave school and what route we take to get to school. We shouldn’t post stuffs that can harm us physically and mentally. Copyright issues can also arise on social networks. But, Youtube prevents it by making put in the song and artist name on our description box and agree that the song is third party material.

 Among the social media concerns, Facebook concern is probably the biggest issue. Due to the functions provided, people can make fake accounts and send messages to other people. I received a lot of messages from fake profiles in the past but once I changed my privacy setting to “Only friends can send message”, I don’t receive any more of strange messages. Recently, one of my close friends typed in her own name and she saw 2 accounts with the same name, both using her face as the profile picture. She was alarmed and she asked me what she should do. I found out that the fake account was made to advertise things and had about 300 friends. I clicked on “report” button and reported that that profile is a fake profile. And, we shared fake profile link on our timeline and asked help from our friends to report that person. Within 2 days, the other profile was taken down. This is just an example of how we can lose privacy but there are ways to prevent it before it occurs and after it occurs.

Advice : Advice to Baruch College

I was hired by Baruch College to improve the college. The following is how I plan to improve the media at Baruch.  First, I want to expand the media outlets and second, I want to upgrade our social media sites.

I remember those old Freshman 101 days. Freshman seminar was boring but I always looked forward to writing blogs about my first days at Baruch. I think it would be better if our blogs don’t get deleted after a certain amount of time. I would want to look back at what were my problems and how I overcame them over the years. Another thing is we should start Baruch online newspapers, where students can send in about their daily life at school or their conflicts. No offense to Ticker, but online newspaper would be more efficient and more attractive to tech savvy students. Moreover, no use of paper means greener environment also.

As a potential freshman, I wanted to see what my school looked like and what student body at Baruch was like. However, there weren’t many videos on YouTube about Baruch college. Of course, there were some but they didn’t really make me excited about going to Baruch College. I think if we interview current students from different year of Baruch College about school culture, I think it will increase school enrollment.

We have a lot of Baruch groups on Facebook. I think having potential student group or sport buddy group can bring our student body closer. I believe new media is making our students into one community.

Creativity & New Media

For virtual world, I decided to do my assignment on an iPhone app called “Episode Interactive”.

This is me. 

In a virtual world of “Episode Interactive”, my name is Naomi. I am a college girl who dorms with a spy friend named Angie and tries to solve the mystery at her school. This is my exciting second life away from my mundane college life.

In “Episode Interactive”, I can write the story or play a part in someone else’s story. Either way, there are options that I can choose such as what I want to wear or what I want to do next. 

Just like in real life, I can choose different paths in life. Depending on which path I choose, my future changes. Thus, writing a story for this application is very time consuming. Besides, I can’t use my phone to write the story. I can only play written stories on my phone.I have to use my laptop for writing new stories. I have to use certain formats to create the scenes and dialogues or else, it will keep showing errors. For example, if I want to use the blue bed for my background, I have to type in "INT. ANGIE BED - DAY”, and for red bed, "INT. ANGIE BED RED - DAY”. For more advanced story writers, there are options for the characters to do certain animations or movements such as blinking, turning around, walking in/out the room. I love how I can also invite friends to play in my story or let strangers play in my story. Because of new media especially virtual worlds, I can be creative and write stories of my own with animation.

Creativity

     As globalization allows people to open their minds and challenge the impossible, it is important to be unique and stand out from the rest of the crowd.Creativity is one of the most wanted skills in the market today. New media encourages our mind to explore new ideas and imagine the unimaginable. According to New York Times article from October 25, 2009, companies use social media such as Twitter to find out the customers’ preferences. It is impressive how people came up with ideas such as photo sharing sites, voice-activated system in the car or a software that lets the fans design Lego models and makes money from it.
     Without new media, we wouldn’t be able to extend beyond  old-fashioned ideas. The birth of new media allows younger generation to discover their potential and passion.  From an article about “Disney rappers”, it is interesting to note that Disney tolerated the case because of the creativity of parodies. The world has become an exciting place to live and learn. Nickelodeon spokesperson actually praised the person who used SpongeBob in his mashup as  a “nice editor”. Because of YouTube and editing softwares, people can create and share their creativity with the rest of the world. New media undoubtedly supports creativity and fosters a learning space for innovative mind.