About Someone Else's Term Project

Overall I think everyone did a great job with the presentations. But if I had to pick one that stand out for me, it would have to be Mike's project on new media and its impact on teens. The numbers and statistics shown in this presentation were astonishing. People who are constantly using new media such as SNS and the computer or the 'heavy users' were reported to have lower grades while the 'light users' reported doing better in school. Heavy users also have family issues while light users seem happier with family members. There is definitely a correlation between overusing new media and ones person life. Teens are the ones especially vulnerable to this since they seem to have the most free time.

However, the researchers don't take into account that people usually multitask while using the computer. So although there might be an increase in hours of using the computer, people/ teens may also be doing their homework assignments (since schools are starting to offer hw to be done online) while being active on a SNS. This will go against the argument that increase computer hours means decrease school work. New media has also allow people to stay connect with family, which can actually bring families together. Overall I think there are some correlation between heavy usage of the computer and one's personal life, but there certainly need to be more research done in this area for a more valid answer.

About My Term Project

I will be be presenting about: Social Networking: Better or Worse than the Real thing? I'll first give a brief history of social networking. Then talk about the advantages and disadvantages of social networking. Follow by real life in comparison with social networking. Finally I will give you my conclusion on which one I believe is better.

The ‘original’ SNS was SixDegrees.com. It was the first to combine the features of creating profiles and lists of friends to share with others. The service did close down around 2000 because the users complained that there was nothing else to do after accepting friend requests (I guess they didn’t have mafia wars back then). Also most users were not interested in meeting random people, they would only add people they know fairly well. Just to show how times have changed.

Advantages of SNS are that it’s rather intimate in the sense that you are able to learn more about a person aside from their names. For instance on facebook, you can see where they went to school and what recent activities they've done. You can join groups and meet people with the same beliefs as you. If you're a fan of something that no one else appreciates you can rest assure that there is going to be at least another person on SNS that will support your beliefs. SNS has made the world a smaller place. Families and friends with an internet connected computer can stay connected with one another from around the world. SNS also give the notion of unlimited availability where you can literally make new friends and stay connected with others as you sleep. For instance, anyone can choose to follow you on twitter and bloggers. You can check someone's profile on facebook without the person even being online. You are constantly available.

There are various disadvantages as well. For instance, multiple suicides had been caused by cyber bullying. Privacy and malicious third party apps are a big issue as well, according to McAfee users should be weary of the links they click on in facebook. What might look like an invite can actually be malicious third party apps. Ironically although you are socializing in SNS, you can become less social-able in real life. I actually know a people who are very lively online but rather quiet when in real life, which I find odd. This can also affect your job interviewing skills as well.

When you socialize in real life you can see the other persons emotions and reactions to what you do or say. People can write 'LOL' and not actually laugh. It's just not the same as real life because you get to physically be there with the person. Instead of chatrooms you can physically hang out. People can also put up fake photos or photos can be photoshoped on SNS, this way you will be able to see the real person.

But disadvantages of real life are pretty obvious. It's hard to stay connect with people who lives far away without SNS. It's even hard to stay connected with people you go to the same school with. For instance, you and your friend go to Baruch, but you may never see or hang out with one another due to your class schedule and job. Another disadvantage is that it'll harder for you to lie to someone in real life compared with SNS, you'll have to practice to be a good actor whereas on SNS you can just bs the whole way, with an elaborate story and photoshoped pictures to prove your point. ;]

Ultimately SNS and real life are just "Two-halves to support a local community". One shouldn’t just exclude oneself to a particular field because it’s only when you combine both that will get the best results. This is pretty much what I’m going to cover in my presentation.

The Next New Thing

Nearly every kind of 'new media' exist already. For instance, you can do nearly anything you want due to the enormity of apps on the iPhone. I guess for something to be 'new' in new media would be integration of different parts of new media. Have one thing that can do everything efficiently. I personally use Amazon and Youtube a lot. I would browse what product to buy on Amazon and then open a new tab to find video reviews for the product. Why not combine both. It's definitely more helpful to have a video review of how the product looks and feels as well as written personal reviews.

Privacy & Confidentiality

There are definitely privacy issues with new media. Social networking sites might be the ones that are most subjected to this. For instance, people upload a vast amount of information on facebook, including one's birthday, occupation, address, and phone number. Not to mention the loads of pictures people post on their page. If you've ever tried it, it's quite easy to check out a strangers facebook page with just clicks of the mouse. The reason for this is because people either don't know or don't touch their privacy settings.

Users do receive a notification about changing their privacy setting from facebook, but this usually goes ignored. I believe the reason for this is because there isn't much emphasis on the notifications, it's just a small pop up text, where you can easily ignore it. I don't know the actual numbers but identity theft and scams must be at an all time high because of these privacy issues. Although new media makes life easier, it also makes negative things easier as well.

Advice to Baruch College

Although new media was used extensively in our class, it's rather rare for other professors to do use it. If I was hired by Baruch College to use new media to improve the College, I would definitely incorporate some of the new media tools I've learned. I feel that each course should have a wiki, this way students can share information with one another, as well as see the work that previous classes have done. This will allow students to have a better understanding of materials taught in class.

As seen in class, Youtube videos can be very helpful in the learning process, it's definitely more interesting and gets the students attentions. Why not create a Baruch College community channel on Youtube or on the school's webpage. Contents may include anything from giving a tour of the school for upcoming students to recorded class lectures. Hearing or learning something in the classroom just once might not be enough for people; this way students won't have to constantly bother the professor and other students about what was already said.

Whenever the semester starts, you would see so many flyers posted up for books. It's obvious that students want CHEAPER BOOKS! By just giving us bulletin boards to post our flyers in school is not enough, and not to mention extremely wasteful. The school should have a market place (similar to that of Facebook) exclusively for students; where students can buy, sell, and trade school material like books.

These are just some suggestion I have for the school. It's not perfect, but it certainly beats what we have now. The amazing thing is that ALL this is actually possible with new media!!

Our Class Wiki - So Far

Although I initially signed up to be a contributor for, "How Business is Using Social Networking" I'm also contributing in other fields as well. I basically try to add on to the, rather vast, information that's already on the wiki, from interesting articles that I stumble upon while roaming the web. I've also added information using some of the interesting class readings as well. I haven't been really active in the wiki lately because of the Spring break (which is already over =/ ) , but I will definitely continue to work on it now that school is starting again.

I will continue to use the same method as I have been doing for the wiki contribution, I will also be using the Baruch database to add information since I'm already using it for other tasks as well. I will also like to do some editing in the future seeing that some stuff are a little outdated.

My New Media Class - So Far

New media is definitely a interesting area to study, which is why I find this class to be very interesting thus far. The required assignments are all done and submitted electronically, this makes it very convenient for me, since I'm usually on the computer. This might also be the reason that I tend to finish this class's assignments before my other classes. Anyways, I find the readings for this class to be very informative and interesting. I had no idea, prior to this class that wiki's can be integrated into the classrooms; which is a great idea!

Aside from being on-top of my blogging, I'm also starting to use twitter more frequently; in fact I've downloaded the twitter app for my phone so that I can literally tweet and go. I will also start contributing on the wiki's now that I'm done with all my exams (finally!!). The way I see it is that if the other contributions (blogs and twitter) are relatively easy and fun, this (wiki) shouldn't be any different. I'm actually looking forward to see what I can contribute a relatively completed site (hopefully something :] ).

I enjoy this type of learning (so far), nothing difficult has arise (so far) and hopefully it stays that way. Not to say that I'm scare of a challenge, because that's not the case, I'm just happy that I can be laid-back for this class and actually enjoy what I'm learning :].

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds like Second life is becoming more and more popular. One can have the same or a completely different life than the one people have in real life. For instance, recession weary consumers are more cost savvy now, they are more hesitant when it comes to buying expensive brand name products in the real world; but for a small price you can buy all you want in the virtual world. "Ms. Tompkins, 37, a k a Ms. Mornington, lives in Brooklyn and is “on a budget like everyone else in the city.” Online, however, she has an inventory that Beyoncé might envy — some 40,000 items including shoes, handbags and other extras." In fact products sold in the virtual world amount to 1-2 billion in real dollars. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/fashion/22Avatar.html?pagewanted=2)

According the CNN, businesses are using the virtual world as well; holding private virtual meetings. This cuts traveling expenses and allow people from all over the world to meet up and interact in a convenient location. (http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html) I guess this is pretty similar to a chatroom, but now people will have their own avatar. Others will be able to see how creative you are by how you design and dress your avatar, making it more intimate than chatrooms.

Some of the cons to the virtual world are pretty much the same for social networking such as, there's nothing like face to face contact. One might get too caught up in it and start ignoring the real world, which can cause a lot of problems. Nevertheless, the virtual world is easier to maintain, one doesn't have to worry about going into debt in it or money for that matter (since everything costs much less). There are definitely many possibilities for the future of the virtual world, both with pros and cons. One idea that comes to mind is the movie "Surrogates", where people stop going outdoors and stop caring about personal hygiene's altogether, but now people with disabilities, such as someone without legs, will be able to feel the thrill of running (in the movie "Avatar" as well).

Twitter: Discussion

I find the twitter discussions to be very interesting. Due to the limited amount of words we can input, I had to really think of what I should put and be straight to the point. The layout for twitter allows you to see who wrote what and when. Plus the #3810XZ24A made things very organize. But I notice that not everyone used it, making the page look very messy!! >:o

Twitter discussion is better than the BB discussion board simply because it's not on blackboard. It's much more user-friendly, rather than navigating through blackboard which can be a pain. But, I do like the fact that you can simply reply to someone's posting and see others reply as well in BB compare with twitter, where you have to type "RT" and copy lines and it's hard to see the discussions going on with other people. But, compare to a in-class discussion, twitter allows someone who is shy to be heard, whereas they will just stay silent in class. But the face to face contact in class is definitely better in understanding what someone meant.

Social Networking

Social netwoking has pretty much spilled over onto the business/ corporate world. It was only a matter of time for businesses to get involve in social networking since there is so many people using it. Social networking sites like facebook allows anyone to stay connected; from being connected to your neighbors to staying connected with family members from across the sea.

But, with constant status updates and comments, one would think that only teens will have the spare time to do this. This is not the case, due to the various social networking sites available, there bound to be some SN sites that are more appealing to the older crowd as well. According to The New York Times article, the popular twitter site is mostly driven by older people (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html). This way the needs of various groups of people will be met. Plus adults can 'catch up' to their kids ;].

Corporate giants like "AT&T began 'tweeting' updates about the massive service outage in California" (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10216712-94.html). Customers will be aware of what's going on with their services and it can even strengthen their relationship with the company. Another interesting article in the New York Times is, "Tweeting From the Operating Room" which talks about a patients being in the operating room and the family members can see up-to-date status on twitter of what's going on (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/tweeting-from-the-operating-room/). This technology can definitely evolve to something very useful in the future. It's all about knowing information here and now, which is made available through SN sites.

However, there are also any problems with SN sites. Such as devaluing the meaning of friends, because it's so easy to add someone we just met for a few minutes. It also lessens the face-to-face contact with people, thus less socializing in the real world. Martin Baily states, "Powerful new technologies provide great benefits, but they also change the way we live, and not always in ways that everyone likes. An example is the spread of air conditioning, which makes us more comfortable, but those who grew up before its invention speak fondly of a time when everyone sat on the front porch and talked to their neighbors rather than going indoors to stay cool and watch TV" (http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/is-myspace-good-for-society-a-freakonomics-quorum/)

There are unquestionably positives and negatives to everything. But will one ever outweigh the other?

Check Out Social Networking Sites

Facebook is the only social networking site that I'm currently active in. Although the layout for facebook is constantly changing, it's still very user friendly. All the buttons are at a clickable distance on your computer screen. The tabs on your profile page is a good touch so that everything is organize i.e. wall, info, photos. Another great feature is being able to comment on anything, from photos to your friends relationship status. One of the area that facebook differs from myspace and friendster is that these sites allows you to fully customize your page via adding music on your page and change your background. You can also navigate through tabs on these pages as well. From the looks of it, it seems that all three sites are pretty similar. I still prefer facebook because it just looks more organize; everyone's pages look identical, layout-wise and color-wise, there isn't any flashy colors or music (some can be extremely annoying). Sometimes simple is better.

Linkedin is similar to facebook, but it's more professional, thus showing that facebook has a professional aspect to it. Linkedin is basically your resume uploaded onto a networking site. It shows past experiences, education, interest, etc. And the great part is that it can actually help you get a job without even applying!

Blogs vs Wikis

New media tools like blogs and wikis have made the internet so much more user friendly. Anyone with a internet connection can start a blog or wiki, one can then share ones thoughts and facts with everyone.

These tools differ from one another in that blogs are [usually] created by one person. That person can then write a topic of interest and allow others to comment on what that person has written. You can personalize and focus your blog on about anything you wish, for instance if you are interested about celebrity news you can go onto one of these celebrity gossip blogs and catch the latest photos. The blog moderators can then have the complete freedom of saying whatever they want to say about these photos and the celebrities without being held back http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/26280/celebrity_blogs_the_impact_of_new_media_pg3.html?cat=49 .

Wikis function in a different way. Wikis allow multiple people to collaborate together on a field of interest. This allows people to fix and change information right on ones computer; once the information is changed other people in collaboration with the wiki can see the change right away, making things that much more convenient. Popular sites like Wikipedia has become the world's largest encyclopedia because of the vast amount of people contributing, a global collaboration if you will. You can even write a wiki about yourself and have people contribute and add to it as well http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/business/media/04link.html?_r=1.

Old vs. New

'New' media are basically the latest evolution of 'old' media. For example, the basic telephone attached to a cord are now wireless smartphones with various abilities, such as email push so that you can receive your email right on your phone the moment it reaches your inbox. Printed newspapers has now become blogs and web articles which allows you to get news as it's happening.

One of the major benefits of new media is that you are now able to get information extremely fast compare to that of old media. Staying connected with some friends and family has also become very easy. For instance networking sites like facebook and myspace allows you to share videos and photos with anyone you want; whereas normally with old media, you would have to email them and before that send through postal services.

Project description: 'Social Networking: Better or worse than the real thing?'

Some key points I will like to address are how people act one way in real life and a completely different way online. And how this is affecting the way everyone is communicating nowadays. I also want to address how social networking has affected the new generation, are they more privilege by it or more deprive because of it? Basically I want to have key points for both sides of the argument (advantages vs disadvantages) and then provide the outcome. I will do this by using the databases available, news articles, blogs, and personal and friends experiences.

What is New Media?

Some technologies that are part of new media would be social networking sites, google search, wikis, blogs, and recently mobile technologies. New media has made the world a smaller place by allowing everyone and anyone with a computer to get information and stay connected with each other anywhere and anytime. Information gets passed on within minutes of occurrence for instance, " Jackson died at 2.26pm, LA time. At 2.44pm, TMZ informed the world of his death." (Brook, Michael Jackson: how celebrity gossip site TMZ got scoop of the decade).

Mobile technology has really advance in the few years as stated in the recent Forbes.com article, which said how websites are using text messages to help earthquake victims in Haiti. "Found a school that sent an emergency text for a live entrapment of kids… SAR team now dispatched to the right location to five decimal places" (Forrest, Technology Saves Lives in Haiti), we can expect more people to be helped by utilizing this technology. Think about possible future use of this tech, such as helping wounded soldiers and lost hikers etc.

Before, only people with advance technological skills and mucho money can put things up on the internet, but now anyone who wants to post something or upload a video on the internet can do so with just a few clicks of their mouse. Tools like youtube and photoshop has attended to all aspiring and amateur producers and developers etc. The internet is now an open source for everyone to play and have fun with. But, with so many people doing this, there's bound to be a lot of useless and unreliable things on the internet as well.

CNN, New York Times, to name a few were all consider to be 'old media'. Newspaper prints and television programs wasn't enough for the new media world (along with the new consumer trend) resulting in these old media's to advance with everything else. When new news come out, these big companies can have their stories up on the web rather than having to print it on paper, making information that much more accessible. Old media is simply enhanced and not replaced because again with everyone putting things up on the web, there will be a lot of unreliable information, this is when we look toward old media. We look for names we're familiar with and use their information instead of the various other sources on the web when we need to make a critical decision.

There is definitely different oppositions one can take on new and old media such as, "No one is going to mistake their 13-inch laptop screen for a 50-inch high-definition plasma" (Holson, Who Needs a TV? I'm Watching on a Laptop). There are things that the old excels in and things that the new excels in, but ultimately I believe the future is New Media.