Creativity and New Media

I have decided to create an account with Second Life since I've never heard of it until now and curious as to what it was. It was super easy to join with just an email, username, password and date of birth. Once I downloaded the program, it logged me right into a virtual world where I chose the avatar I wanted. It led me to this "#1," as shown in my screenshot, to show me what keys to use. I'm able to run around in this online world with other people who could be from absolutely anywhere. I find this similar to a game I used to play called Sims. It was similar in where you create an avatar and create your own life and connect with other people. 

HW Creativity

As technology continues to thrive in our society, it has become easier for user-generated sites to "create, share, and distribute content on the Web," according to authors of "YouTube Traffic Characterization: A View From the Edge." These sites include Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and more. New media has allowed us to share content with other users and view what others have posted. The article gives us an example using Facebook and MySpace as places where people with similar interests and thoughts can come together and form social groups. It has become easier for people who may not be "technically savvy" to also take part of these because new media stresses convenience and easiness for people all over the world.

New media has given people of different interests the opportunity to further their knowledge or perhaps learn a new skill. YouTube has an average of 65,000 new video uploads a day where the categories can range from sports to cooking channels. You can find just about any type of video on YouTube. We are able to take information from several domains and create anything we want. In a Forbes article by Greg Satell, he discusses how new media has allowed for creativity in the marketing field as an example. Using the web has also served as a place to conduct research on what the biggest trends on and what people are most interested in.  Marketers can endlessly search for people of the same interests as them to adopt their techniques, approaches and philosophies.

Although we may not always be given the opportunity to travel the world or talk to famous people, new media has given us the chance to do just that. Through videos from YouTube, you can get a live feel of about any country, hear a lecture from someone of your interest, or watch "how-to" videos on just about anything. The creative world is endless and as we are exposed more and more to others' ideas, it allows us to foster our own view of things and share it amongst the Web.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/01/27/how-technology-enhances-creativity/#47c358883f50
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxiYXJ1Y2huZXdtZWRpYXxneDozZWNhMDliNzMyMWI5OGJi

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

As technology continues to advance, it becomes easier for individuals to come together through what is called a virtual world. This is a computer-based environment where people can get together using avatars and interact in a "live" mode.

In Dave Itzkoff's article, "I've Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life," he talks about his experience trying to hop bars and see a show in the Lower East Side (LES) of New York City. As we all can relate, the city is packed from front to back no matter which bar you step into on the weekends. However, thanks to MTV, they're experimenting VLES, a virtual LES so you can avoid all the pushing and shoving. He was able to watch the show he initially wanted to see from the comfort of his own house without worrying about smelling like spilled beer by the end of the night. He described it as an in-between of Facebook and Grand Theft Auto. By being a part of this virtual world, he was able to connect with fellow explorers through instant messaging and see the city in a whole new light. A woman he met on VLES said, "there's no way that you're going to go onto a flat Web site or message board and instantly strike up a conversation with somebody who works for MTV or IBM or the president of Harvard, but these things are possible in virtual worlds." Virtual worlds allow for greater opportunity and chance to experience something you wouldn't normally have if you were just walking the streets of LES.

But are virtual worlds going to take over the world of socialization? While this may seem convenient at the time where we don't have to deal with the 3am drunkies on the streets of NYC or pay for the overpriced cab home, it stops us from human interaction and talking face to face with people. The internet could also be a very dangerous place for people to browse, especially when it involves socializing virtually. Many people have been tricked into believing someone was not actually who they said they were. There have been instances where two people have met up after talking on these virtual worlds and one of them ended up being a kidnapper. There are just so many potential risks that come along with virtual worlds and socialization. While I think it's a creative idea, I would rather stick with the old fashioned way of getting dressed up and bar hopping. In Mark Tutton's article on CNN, Surinder Kahai, an associate professor from Binghamton University said, "that lack of human contact can also lead to feelings of isolation."

However, virtual worlds haven't solely created for socializing and creating virtual cities for people to stay inside. Mark Tutton from CNN wrote about their use in the corporate and office life. It has become a convenient way for employees to sit in virtual conferences with each other. This has saved traveling costs and time. With this ability to connect with each other no matter which city, state or country they're in, it has led to collaboration within the team and the spread of ideas. In these virtual worlds, employees can still "hang out, run into someone, and have ad-hoc conversations with people," as said by Kahai.

I think that technology is only going to advance from here and soon these virtual worlds will become a part of our real world. I think that a lot of younger people these days would much rather go for convenience and be technologically savvy. Even dating apps that have emerged are all about meeting people online and people hardly rely on meeting someone randomly.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html

Blog About Twitter

Twitter has become a popular way for people to exchange their thoughts on certain issues, update their statuses and sometimes have ongoing discussions about mutual interests. On Twitter, you can directly comment on other users' tweets or repost their tweet with a reply. However, it is limited to a certain amount of characters per post, so you can only get in about 2-3 sentences depending on length. As compared to a discussion board on Blackboard, it creates a thread for all users to see what others have written/commented and you could either reply to the whole thread or a particular person. There is no limit in length for the amount that you could write and offers options to personalize your font, color, add hyperlinks, or bold/italic font. As per an in person discussion, people can freely express their thoughts on an issue without having to go onto a computer or an app. It's a faster way for people to openly communicate and share their ideas. Usually there is a facilitator and people can go around either raising their hands or continuously voice what they need to say.

Social Networking Sites

I have visited four social networking sites - Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and LinkedIn. From visiting these sites, I've realized that their purposes, home pages and overall looks all vary. For Facebook, this has taken over the social networking world and what once was for college students, has spread to high schoolers and graduates. Users can personalize their home pages with their job titles, hometowns, birthdays, profile pictures, cover pictures and keep albums of memories that would like to share. Connections are built between people who may work in the same companies, attend the same school or have been long lost friends. Videos can be shared, you can comment on friends' posts and stay updated on your connections' lives. Twitter has become a place where people can constantly update their statuses and keep it short with their character limit. Users can follow their friends as well as companies, celebrities, networks, and topics they're personally interested in. In regards to Tumblr, it is kind of similar to Twitter because they follow who they would like to get updates on. However, Tumblr is more of a blog where users can post pictures, links, journal entries, or repost things from other users. You can comment on other people's posts, message them directly and follow just about anyone. Lastly, LinkedIn is more of a professional social networking site where people of all ages can search through job postings, relevant posts and follow fellow peers or people or interests. It has become a popular place for recruiters to go and search for candidates to fill job positions and job seekers can build their profile by adding previous/current experience for everyone to see. Similar to the rest of these sites, on LinkedIn, you can also post pictures, text, or comment on others.

Blog Social Networking

The presence of social networking throughout society has significantly increased since earlier sites such as Myspace and Xanga were made. They used to be places where friends could reconnect and stay updated with each others lives, but it has evolved into something that is not only helpful in the social aspect, but in the workplace also.

Being in the human resources field, I could definitely relate to the article that Frank Langfitt wrote on NPR about how social networking technology has increased job recruiting. Langfitt talks about Maureen Crawford-Hentz, who is a recruiter for Osram Sylvania, and she uses the famous site, LinkedIn, to search for potential candidates. LinkedIn has become a professional social networking site where job seekers and recruiters can connect with hundreds of people who may be related to their field or maybe a close friend. Recruiters can filter out possible skills, previous job titles or certain degrees that candidates have had. Personally, I think LinkedIn gives great opportunity to see where your friends may work and lets recruiters know what skills you have when others endorse you for them. Even if I wasn't looking for a job, recruiters have reached out to me via LinkedIn and it turned out to be something that I was interested in.

However, there can be a "dark side" to social networking. As said by Martin Baily in an article by Freakonomics, he says, "the minuses are that all of this sharing can be dangerous, through gossip and potential abuse of the services." Throughout the recent years, there have  been numerous stories of suicide, bullying, and gossip that has ruined people's lives because some people decide to use the information shared for other reasons. Suddenly talking bad about a person has become easier when we hide behind a computer screen. Our lives have become revolved around constantly looking at our phones and updating our social networking pages. It has taken us away from face-to-face contact with our friends and family and in a sense, has made us a little lazier. Why do we need to make plans to meet up if we could just instant message through Facebook?

All in all, I think social networking will remain at large and evolve into something bigger in the coming years. Facebook has been developing to become a platform for just about anything. When the presidential debate was occurring, Facebook had a live stream for all users. You're now able to send money, order a cab or order food through the app. Soon, they will try to make it a place where you don't need to go anywhere else.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf
http://freakonomics.com/2008/02/15/is-myspace-good-for-society-a-freakonomics-quorum/

Blog v Wiki

Blogs and wikis have become a platform on the web for people to collectively share their thoughts and knowledge on certain topics. While they seem similar, they can hold many differences regarding the purpose and use. 

According to Kathy E. Gill, a blog is short for "web log" and "is a place where people have the right to express an opinion and obtain access to information upon which to base that opinion." A blog usually contains one author who regularly communicates their views on certain things or uses it as a diary to discuss their daily lives. Some of the key characteristics of blogs as listed by Gill are, reverse chronological journaling, regular, date-stamped entries, links to related news articles, documents, archived entries and passion or voice. Blogging has become popular for topics relating to politics and worldwide news in general. "Blogging can empower a group of writers to challenge a story line presented by mainstream media," says Gill. It is a place where people can voice their opinions, share their thoughts on issues and allow other bloggers or viewers to have access. Blogs have been able to bring a group of people who share those same thoughts to come together and form a discussion about what they believe to be important. They have become increasingly popular in the workforce today, allowing employees of companies to share their knowledge and thoughts on varying fields. Even people who may not have the same expertise as others, can have easy access to the company blog and  stay updated with internal news, events and achievements. This could help employees have a greater understanding of their company and create an overall positive outlook. They will have the opportunity to not only relate to some of their coworkers, learn and grow from experiences or news that are shared on the collaborative blog. 

In comparison to blogs, wikis have also become a place where people can collaborate their thoughts in one place. Unlike blogs, anyone can edit posts that are on wikis, allowing them to collectively put similar information into a single post. They are not limited to just the day it is posted, but grows as days go by and new people add additional facts. According to the article by Information Week, they say that "unlike many traditional content management systems, it remains simple enough for non-technical employees to use." This has become critical in the workforce because it makes working in teams easier for employees and allows them easier access to what their fellow coworkers have been contributing. The beauty of wikis is that they can always be edited even if incorrect information was put on, others could go in and alter what they wrote. Companies has been increasingly adopting wikis because of the convenience it holds which allows them to share important documents such as spreadsheets, powerpoint slides, or PDFs. However, Information Week mentions that when it comes to these important documents, the main person with access can make it so that it can't be edited, simply viewed by employees. 

As we start to transform more and more into the technological world, blogs and wikis have made working with teams and sharing information a whole lot simpler. It is a place where people do not have to worry about having the latest knowledge when it comes to technology and exchanging thoughts on similar interests/views. I'm not sure if many teachers and professors know of the benefits of wikis and blogs, but I think that if it were implemented into the way they teach, it could be an engaging way for students to collectively come together and learn from each other.  

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxiYXJ1Y2huZXdtZWRpYXxneDozZTliYzM1NjU0ZWQ1NjVi

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxiYXJ1Y2huZXdtZWRpYXxneDoxZGQ4MDY2YmJiMmY1ZDY4