Next New

A new form of New Media that doesn't currently exist that I think there is a market for is an app where people who are into Fitness, Bodybuilding, Powerlifting and Weightlifting can get together online and share advice on nutrition, seek advice on their form, and advice on their programming. It will also be a place where they can post videos and pictures of themselves. Also healthy cooking alternative recipes. Essentially an Instagram for people who are heavily into fitness and health.

P2P File Sharing

What is file sharing?

The ability to transfer files from one computer to another via the Internet

What is P2P file sharing?

P2P file sharing allows users to share media files such as books, music, videos etc. using software programs that searches for other connected computers on a P2P network to locate the desired content. 

What are some examples of P2P file sharing?

Some software applications that implement or practice P2P file sharing are Bitorrent, Fault tolerance, Tribler, DistriBute, Freecast, Tor.

In the article, Content producers should take advantage of P2P, not fear it, on econsultancy.com, the author writes about content creators should use P2P software as a way to help promote their products. They write about how it can be a good marketing way for potentially reaching more customers and for helping spread their content. The only problem that the writers seem to worry about is a way for the creators to benefit from using the P2P software.

Wiki so far

So far in the class Wiki I have created a page on podcasts. Throughout the following days I will add some information on podcasts and the business of a podcast. Also I plan to put up some brief descriptions of certain podcasts that I listen too and episodes that I find to be entertaining and lead to deep thought and conversation.

Privacy and Confidentiality

             With the constant advancement of digital technology and an ever increasing number of social media applications, the issue of privacy and confidentiality is one that has come to the forefront of social issues facing the newer generations. The main issues that are brought up are the inclinations of people, especially younger people, to let people into their life using social media applications. For example, with Snapchat, people can share pictures instantaneously with their friends. With Instagram people publicly share their pictures of a meal, a funny moment,  or of their vacation. With Twitter people can share their thoughts with essentially the world. A lot of the older generations view this as a strange social norm. These older generations value their privacy and the fact that young people are more than willingly to give that up for something as trivial as social status is worrisome to them.
            When it comes to confidentiality, users of social media applications run the risk of having their information and other potentially private information leaking to the public. Throughout the last several years we have seen the personal information of users of dating sites being leaked out to the public and having the whole world see who is using those sites. This makes for an interesting case when the information of people who are having extramarital affairs is leaked to the public. Another worrying trend is social media apps asking a user for access into their phone files and pictures. Sometimes it makes me wonder why these apps require our information and what they use this information for.
           As social media becomes more a part of our lives, the issues of privacy and confidentiality will continue to be in spotlight as individuals and advocacy groups continue to fight for their rights and to stop the intrusion of government and corporations into out lives and from accessing our private information.
       

Advice

If Brooklyn College hired me to use New Media technologies in order to improve certain aspects of the school life for the students and the faculty, they're certain things that I can implement that I believe can achieve this.
Some of my ideas are using social media such as Twitter and Facebook to provide real time updates to students. Tweets can be useful when fire drills are planned in order for students to be prepared and not be caught off guard. Since most students don't check their e-mail hourly, even daily. I think these e-mails can be useful for students who might not be connected with formal electronic ways of communication but rather are very active on social media. Facebook and Reddit can be used to create groups and subreddits for the students to communicate and interact with one another and help foster a more friendly community.
Wikis, like the one used in our class, can and I feel like should be implemented for all classes as I see them as a tool for students to be able to exchange notes about lectures and can be used a giant study group for the class.
Finally, to add some fun I think it will be important for the school to help sponsor social media event through apps like Snapchat and Instagram. As long as the pictures and snaps are not harassing or threatening somebody I think i t can be a fine way for the Brooklyn College community to have fun.

Creativity

           In the essay titled, "Creators, Audiences, and New Media: Creativity in an Interactive Environment," the author Isaac Bell writes about the role of content creators and audiences in today's technologies of New Media. The overarching theme that Isaac Bell talks about is how these roles are not static anymore and are constantly changing thanks to these New Media technologies. One of the first things that Isaac Bell talks about is the roles that are involved in theses technologies. Bell writes, " I believe the first thing that we must do as a discipline, is to acknowledge that these labels-of audience, creator, publics, readers, watchdogs, gatekeepers, and anything else that we may use in our discussions- are not descriptions of static roles, but of purposeful actions taken by one or more people at a given time."
            What Bell is trying to tell us is that these traditional roles of content creators and audience and readers are constantly changing. No longer are people getting their content from traditional institutions and media outlets, an individual if they choose to can become a content creator and use different tools to help grow a brand/business. For example today on Youtube, I can upload a video of me critiquing a movie and after that I can watch a review of another user. This is an example  of what Bell refers to the changing roles that an individual has, "The boundaries become permeable again, because they are now referring to action that by their nature evoke transition from state or another."
              Bell goes on to describe the different roles and actions that are involved in these new media technologies and how they interact, not only with the medium, but also with one another. One of them is how an audience can take on the role of a "fandom". For example Bell writes about how these people who share a deep passion for a certain subject matter or theme come together and create these virtual communities, that at times may have real life connections. Bell writes, "Fans often perform socially-visible actions that reflect the works they identify with and sometimes will use these actions to guide their approach to other social matters, such as fans of the television show Star Trek advocating for better science education or embracing diversity."
               We can see that New Media technologies allow creativity to thrive by allowing anybody to become a content creator no matter their age, gender, race, background, socioeconomic status. That is something incredibly poetic than would be a foreign and strange idea to our ancestors.

Sources
Bell, Isaac Creators, Audiences and New Media: Creativity in an interactive environment  PDF

Creativity and New Media

An example of how New Media technology helps foster creativity by allowing users to share and interact with each other regardless of their geographic location. For example on the website reddit there is a forum where avid movie watchers put up screenshots of of movies and it is up to other users to try to guess what movie the screenshot is from. The screenshot shouldn't be so obvious and most of the time it is on mundane or trivial scenes from the movie. What this particular forum is focused on, is creating an ongoing game show of sorts where people can show of their knowledge of movies. This fosters creativity by allowing people with a deep passion for cinema to come together. As some who frequents this subreddit frequently, I have posted several times and it is fun participating in a game about a hobby that I am very interested in. Below is a link to a screenshot of movie about a post that I have made and also a link to the subreddit.

http://i.imgur.com/DiID9ke.png- Screenshot of movie. (Bonus points if you can guess the movie)
https://www.reddit.com/r/GuessTheMovie/- Link to the subreddit
- Screenshot of my post on the subreddit