Creativity

New media has such a big impact on our lives today that it even fosters creativity. The internet makes it very easy for individuals including ourselves to connect with others around the world who share our distinctive standpoints, experiences and fascinations. We have been able to use all of our past knowledge and combine it with the new. For example, the article “Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters, But Why?” from the New York Times shows how YouTube videos were created showing all the classic Disney characters singing new rap songs that were released recently.  Who would have thought that one day we would be watching Winnie the Pooh do the Soulja Boy dance. Now this has been done many times involving all kinds of characters and songs. Of course there are copyright issues involved with these videos but that a whole different topic. Creativity has triggered because we have more accessible media to help us come up with these whole new ideas that sound absurd.

Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds are being used in so many different ways, some useful and some just for fun. They have become very beneficial because they can be functional for organizations and businesses. The Article, Going to the virtual office in Second Life, “discusses how more than 1,400 organization use this so called “Second Life” to hold meetings. It also benefits employees and businesses because it is able to provide training virtually.
On the contrary, Virtual worlds have some cons to them as well. There are many individuals who dedicate more time in the virtual worlds than in the real world. This is problematic because at some point, it becomes very complex when trying to differentiate fantasy from reality. For example, I have read an article written by Ruth La Ferla called “No Budget, No Boundaries: It’s the Real You” . She had mentioned that individuals use virtual worlds to create whole new identities and  invest money into this. According to statistics, it only gotten worse over the years and the numbers have continued to increase.
The future of virtual worlds will continue to grow. Digital world, at one point or another, will become a norm to us. Hopefully it will be for the better and will benefit us in many ways and allow us to expand our knowledge and provide great assistance in the future.

Social Networking Sites

In today’s world, social networking sites are playing a vast function in communication. People use social networking sites to communicate, share information, etc. A few social networking sites would be Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc. Facebook has become the most popular and successful amongst most of them.

Facebook is major social networking sites ever. Today, there are approximately 700+Millon users. It allows people to share their thoughts by updating their status. Facebook is also used as a business purpose. Since Facebook is a free site, majority of its revenue comes from advertisement but businesses have also become immune to these sites and have created their pages for promotion as well. This goes to show that FaceBook is not only for individuals such as yourself or myself but it is very beneficial to businesses, companies, non-profit organizations, clubs, and events.

Twitter is one social networking website that mainly focuses on “micro-blogging”. We have the option to quickly post our thoughts or opinions giving us no more than 140 characters. We are able to follow celebrities, athletes, companies, friends, etc. It allows us to keep up with our best interests. There are pretty much no ‘restrictions’ or range of the topics we can search and follow.

MySpace was very popular before 2007. It was a very personal and original social networking site. It allowed individuals to customize their page and allow others to see who they are based on those specific reasons.  It was a very user friendly site and allowed individuals to connect on a personal scale.

Linkedin is a ‘professional’ social networking site. People are able to exchanged their experiences and backgrounds in a professional aspect such as work experience, courses taken in school, etc. It is the most recommended site to keep in touch with co-workers and keep professional relationships.

Twitter VS Blackboard

Twitter is one social networking website that mainly focuses on “micro-blogging”. We have the option to quickly post our thoughts or opinions giving us no more than 140 characters. We are able to follow celebrities, athletes, companies, friends, etc. It allows us to keep up with our best interests. There are pretty much no ‘restrictions’ or range of the topics we can search and follow.

Blackboard on the other hand has a specific purpose and that is classwork. Students and teachers are able to have discussions on topics that are discussed in a classroom per say. There are restrictions, however, it is much more personal. It is not available to the public eye and is only meant for the students registered to that course. It keeps our classwork documentation, PowerPoint slides, assignments, and videos organized and user friendly.

Social Networking

Social Networking has definitely become a hit in our generation. Majority of individuals in your class, at work, on the streets, at a bar all have a Facebook page, a twitter account, or can be found on other networking sites. Every couple of years, Social Networking seems to change and become more part of our daily lives. These sites have become addictions. Unfortunately we are the addicts. I can easy say this from a personal experience – studying has definitely become an issue.

An article written by Doug Gross, “Dictionary Work of the Year” gives a clear understanding of how major Facebook has become and how big of an impact it has on our lives. Oxford defines "unfriend," a verb, thusly: "To remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook." as mentioned in the article. The article points out how For the past few years, Oxford and other dictionaries pick up words that have leaned heavily on the digital world and in the new media. I can agree with the article in the aspect of Facebook being inevitably huge, so big it influences everyone and everything (including a dictionary). It connects individuals to their families, friends, businesses, hobbies, interests and more.

On the contrary, a major con of these sites is what I call “artificial communication”. It used to be that individuals would speak to each other over the phone, in person or even through email. Now-a-days communicating is completely different according to article “Antisocial Networking?” by Hilary Stout. The article mentions that even chatting on cellphones or via e-mail which considers typing of full sentences or even paragraphs is “passé.” Relationships have clearly changed due to these influences and so has the development of our generation. Whether it is a pro or con can be up for debate but the idea that it is different is factual.  

Blogs vs. Wikis

Blog

Blogs report and comment on topics of interest to the author. They include hyperlinks to other website in addition to photos, video clips, and much more. The most recent entry posted by the blogger is listed at the beginning of the blog. This follows a reverse chronological order; comments and other responses to the blog by readers are often posted after each entry. What is great about blogs is that it is like a virtual journal. The blogger has the ability to voice their opinions or discuss topics that interest them in a public environment. According to article "Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead To Drug Raid", blogs can be very useful and can benefit in ways you would never expect. These bloggers were able to discuss a common issue. 

Wiki

A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any web page.  Wikis serve different purposes. They are very flexible. There is always an option to edit pages and texts. The topic of collaboration takes a very big toll on wikis because everyone has the ability to input their knowledge or perspectives. Wikis are very flexible and adaptable. The wiki community is under a decentralized control. 

A New York Times article  "An Internal Wiki That’s Not Classified" shows how the wikis are becoming very useful and beneficial not only to individuals but also to Governments as well. There are advantages in wikis. We have the ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of effort and time with their simplicity.

Social Networking: A purposeful loss of privacy

In today's world, Social Networking is a large part of everyday living. We dedicate so much of our time to these websites (such as Facebook, Twitter, etc) and virtual relationships that we somewhat lost our 'relationship' with ourselves. We can access them in any location, at any time; through our mobile devices, computers, media players, etc. Can we really admit that there is as much privacy now-a-days as there were prior to the launch of these sites? Although we do not need to share our thoughts, age and relationship status with our 600+ 'friends', we all tend to do so, regardless. I would like to find out who really owns the information that each individual posts, if that information can be archived, and if it can affect our future (particularly the employment area). Many articles have been written, in the NYTimes, Forbes, and many more, about this issue and how it has an affect on individuals.