Creativity and New Media

For this entry I created an avatar in second life. Besides reading about it from the articles posted for this class I also have a co-worker whose dad actively plays this game. He is a retired mechanic and spends most of his free time engaged in Second Life. Seeing as it has a substantial following I wanted to create my own avatar in it and see for myself  what all the hype was. I selected the robot to be the digital representation of myself and decided to go exploring in Dublin, Ireland (the second life version of it that is). As it turns out, Dublin is a pretty lonely place. I walked around for quite some time trying to find someone to interact with but sadly I couldn't find anyone. I stopped at a news stand for sometime then continued my search for the rest of the second life users. Eventually I stumbled upon a nice bridge by the coast and since there was no one else around I had my avatar enjoy the view. If I had any money in second life I would've bought a guitar and had him play a nice Irish jig by the water.

Creativity

The internet has proven to connect people around the world like never before. Through new media sites like facebook, youtube, and tumblr people are sharing ideas and communicating with others halfway around the world. Such open connections serve as a perfect environment to help foster creativity. An example of this would be the meme phenomena. This is where the use snapshots of well known characters add a caption describing a situation that many people relate to. Baruch even has its own page on facebook dedicated to such memes. This is just one example of how people use new media as a creative outlet. Another example is a website called deviantart.com. This site allows people to post their artwork online, organizes it, and allows anyone to view and appreciate it. I personally know a few people who are avid users of this site and have collaborated with other artists they met on deviantart. Since people are now sharing their ideas through new media this also allows people to interact with others b providing their own interpretation of another's work. For example on deviantart many people who are skilled at drawing will post their art online but others who know who to use computer programs with take that persons art and color it in with their artistic style reflected in it. another example comes from an article in the New Yorker that talks about how a remix artist used some software to create a mashup of Jay Z's song "Frontin" and Beck's "Debra. "After several months of work, he completed the track, called it “Frontin’ on Debra,” and posted it on his Web site. With an enthusiastic push from Beck, “Frontin’ on Debra” was made commercially available in October on iTunes". Another example comes from an article in the New York Times that speaks about how a youtube video was made of Disney characters singing a popular rap song by cutting sections of the movies they were from from and pasting it together to make it look like as if the characters themselves were singing it. As we can see new media has certainly helped foster the creativity of people and allowed them to come up with many new interesting, and  entertaining forms of art.

Cited Readings:


"http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/10/050110crmu_music">http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/01/10/050110crmu_music

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/business/media/24crank.html?_r=1

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds allows their users to take a break from their lives and create completely new ones. Examples of these virtual worlds include Second Life, a game where people can create alternate versions of themselves called avatars and go on $50,000 shopping sprees and World of Warcraft, where users can create mystical avatar versions of themselves as dwarfs or elves. Both of these sites link together thousands of people and allow them to recreate themselves in these worlds.

These worlds can be used an unusual way to network. Since all the players are actually real people many friendships are developed on these sites. The father of a colleague of mine is a real world example of this. He is an avid Second Life player and became friends with a few other people on the site. Through interacting with each other on Second Life they formed a band in the virtual world and eventually came to learn that they all play instruments in real life. They eventually started to meet on skype and have actual jam sessions online.

Of course there can be many good and bad things associated with these virtual worlds. A pro would be that many people get to satisfy desires through their avatar that they cannot in real life. An interesting quote from Eric Spangenberg  from an article in the New York Times accurately sums this up; "It’s the newest manifestation of how people live vicariously: if I can’t afford a Bentley, my avatar can.” In this sense people can  appease certain wants that they have without actually living out of their means.

A con would be that some people develop an attachment to these worlds. Its easy to see how their lives here can be much more grand than their real ones.There are people who spend most of their days glued to their computer screens buying new clothes for their avatar, or building a house, or creating a business. I personally know of people who have spent 16 hours straight in one day on these sites. Its in this sense that people start to neglect their responsibilities in the real world to which there are consequences and prioritize their avatar's needs over theirs.

Something positive about these worlds however, would be that they act as a means for people to harness their creative side more. Users can actually create businesses in the world where they can design a line of clothing or boots which they can sell to other people on the site.In addition there aren't any rules that hinder peoples ability to recreate places in real life. An article in the New York Times speaks about how a Mr.Brown visited a hotel he has always wanted to since he was young and then made an identical version in second life."When he visited New York last year, he spent a weekend at the hotel, and when he got home, he used photographs he had taken to construct a version of the building in Second Life."

I believe that with technology constantly improving at its rapid rate these worlds will only become more and more life like. Instead of interacting through a computer screen people will have virtual reality helmets that will completely immerse them into these worlds that they have created and will choose to leave their more boring lives behind. Its actually quite scary if you think about the implications of it. It reminds of the ending scene of the movie Repomen with Jude Law. The protagonist ends up stuck in a virtual world that he believes is real and does not know that everything is fake.

Cited Readings:


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/fashion/22Avatar.html?pagewanted=2&adxnnlx=1332418894-XX6HYyTsZ16cZG41OHdjEQ


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/nyregion/thecity/03virt.html

Blog About Twitter

Twitter has served as a forum for discussion for many topics. Whether it be for current events going on in the news today, or the release of a highly anticipated video game, or marketing for a product. No matter what the subject it has proven itself to be a hugely valuable tool for communication of ideas. Now the question is; How does Twitter compare to methods of communication that we are more used to? More specifically what are the advantages and disadvantages of a Twitter discussion over a discussion in Blackboard or an in class discussion.

On Twitter people are limited to phrasing their thoughts to only 140 characters. An economy of words is definitely needed if someone wishes to make their point. Also since this is online, people also have the option of taking their time to respond to a post. This allows them to research and better form their responses to topics . Another effect the 140 character limit has is that it is difficult to have full blown discussions. Rather than being able to write a lengthy retort to a tweet people are forced to short questions, or responses. Finally, a discussion on Twitter can be about any topic that someone decides to tweet about; whereas on blackboard and in class majority of the discussions would be academic.

On Blackboard there is no limit on how long your response can be and since it is online people can research their topic further and respond when they come up with an answer. These two characteristics allow people to fully develop their questions and responses to others without being constrained to 140 characters. Something else I notice about Blackboard is that it isn't very user friendly. I remember I had to click OK on every post made by the students in my class for the notifications to go away even though it allowed me to read them all on one page. I feel that if something is meant to be used as a means of communication it should be very easy to use and not frustrating. If a medium that is meant to share ideas is difficult to use it'll actually fail at it's purpose and discourage people from speaking.

I've always enjoyed in class discussions. I was always one of those people in the class who would argue back and forth with other students or the teacher. I've even been known to stand on my chair at times and speak louder when I felt strongly about a particular topic. The dynamic of an in class discussion is something that I don't believe Twitter or Blackboard has. While you are able to better form your arguments in the latter two there is something different about having a discussion face to face.

Social Networking Sites

Facebook is what everyone thinks of when social networking is mentioned and with valid reason. Facebook allows its users to develop their relationships with other people through posting on others walls, tagging activities they engage in, places they go, and who they're with. Not only this it allows its members to create groups to connect people who have certain things in common i.e. the Baruch memes page Baruch Memes.  I feel that Fb has been leading the way and setting the example for other social media sites with their constant innovation and their streamlined site. Another attribute that sets Fb apart is that their site is extremely user friendly, organizing the users news feed, likes, interests, and groups in a very easy manner.

Myspace was one of the most popular social networking sites before Facebook really took off. I had a profile early in high school and deleted it a long time ago when I made the switch to Fb. I signed up again for this blog entry and its interesting to see how it has changed overtime. Its clear that they have changed their focus to prevent going bankrupt by their much stronger competitor. Now there is a strong focus on music. When I signed up they immediately suggested types of music I should listen to and also asked the artists that I was interested in. After this I explored the site a little bit and it has this feature where it shows you new music videos by popular artists which restates its focus on music. Something that I found odd was there was a section where you can upload blog posts. I never really thought of a social media site that isn't specifically meant for blogs having this option. I'am not too sure as to how popular this feature is as Katy Perry is my only friend on this site and she seems not to be a very avid blogger. Another new feature that they introduced are something called "badges". I have no ideas what these are, I just know I got one for completing the process of making my profile. Do you trade these with people? Or is it something like you get more privileges the more you collect? Either way I don't think I'll find out unless someone reading this post knows and is willing to fill me in. Overall MySpace has changed a lot and I feel that it is targeting a different audience now and I don't think I fall into that category as this experience reminded my as why why I deleted mine in the first place.

Twitter was one of the fastest growing social networking sites, out pacing MySpace and even Facebook. Twitter differentiates itself by limiting its users to only posting status updates and each status cannot exceed 140 characters. Twitter also has this unique feature of using a Hashtag (#) in order to organize all the posts on its site. For example if someone were posting about the Kony phenomenon they could put #Kony2012 at the end of their status and someone who is interested in seeing what people are saying about this subject they could just do a search for that and every tweet that has that hashtag in it will pop up. I personally never really used Twitter but I can see how useful this site can be. You can choose who you wish to follow and get a lot of information this way, like following a new anchor to stay updated on current events or following ESPN to get sports coverage. Its also aided companies get feedback on their products or services by searching for posts with their hashtag.

LinkedIn differs from other social networking sites in that while other sites are used primarily for recreational purposes LinkedIn is used for professional networking. Profiles on LinkedIn and like online versions of someone's resume although these can contain a lot more information than their resume. Basically acting like a virtual resume database, LinkedIn obviously is a a valuable resource for employers looking at applicants who are applying to work at their firm. Likewise those who are looking for a job can find valuable info about employers and can find contact information of people who work at the firm they are applying to. Personally I  am a fan of this site and can give you a huge edge on competition if you know how to use the site correctly.

Social Networking

Social Networking has permanently changed the way people interact in the 21st century. People no longer need to speak over the phone or meet in person to communicate and express ideas. Sites like Facebook are primarily used to develop relationships between people through posts on each other's walls and share interests. While these may be the primary uses for these sites they are not confined to serving just these purposes. Many people nowadays learn about breaking news through posts on Facebook, people present at these events post statuses about them as they are happening. Businesses also use these sites to learn about potential employees who are applying for jobs at their company. As seen in an article On the Freakonomics website:

"Social networking sites are affecting the labor market as well, because recruiters evaluating young professionals applying for jobs are now hacking into applicant’s profiles, and making hiring decisions based on profile photos in which applicants are drunk or inappropriately dressed”.

They do this to learn more about the applicants and to determine whether they are a good fit for the position and company. Many companies also use social networking site as a means of advertising. Its common to see company pages that users can like and then get updates about sales or promotions.

There are many benefits that have come from social networking sites as well, primarily due to the way they connect such a large and diverse group of people and foster communication. Twitter played an important role in the revolution in Egypt. Twitter was used to organize meetings and used to communicate how to get past checkpoints. It also has been use to create help/support groups for teens. More specifically these sites have provided an outlet for gay teens contemplating suicide to find and communicate with others and realize that they are others in their situation. In this way the ability of these sites fostering communication has saved lives.

Up till now I've discussed the benefits and ways social networking sites connect people however, as with everything else there are disadvantages that comes with being connected all the time. A widespread addiction to these sites has been seen as they become more popular. Another con associated with with these sites is that a lot of personal information is revealed. Many people put up their phone numbers, where they work, where they live, and with the new "check in" feature people can let all their friends know where they are going by announcing it on Facebook when they arrive there.

A trend that I've noticed with these sites is that everything is getting increasingly integrated. I think this is an accurate prediction of what these sites will be like in the future. Instead of heading to Facebook to see what your friends are doing, then signing in to Twitter to follow your favorite celebrities, then watching a video on youtube, there will be one end all and be all social networking site that everyone uses. We can already see evidence of this as seen in an article by the New York times, Facebook recently tried to acquire Twitter.

"Facebook seems to be very interested in those features. Since last fall, when Facebook tried and failed to acquire Twitter, it has been slowly introducing features that mimic Twitter. Last week, Facebook added two new, Twitter-like features. Users can now “tag” friends or companies that they mention in status updates, and they can use a pared-down version of the site called Facebook Lite

Cited Readings:


http://www.freakonomics.com/2008/02/15/is-myspace-good-for-society-a-freakonomics-quorum/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/technology/internet/14facebook.html?_r=1&ref=business

Blogs vs. Wikis

Blogs allow anyone to become journalists. Whether it be about current event, the release of a new electronic product, or someone's travels though Asia, anything can be discussed on a blog.

Characteristics:

• One author
• Can be used as a source of info although may not be reliable.
• Can be used for recreational writing.
• Open forum
• People contribute through posting onto others blogs or making posts of their own.

Wikis have become a forum for everyone on the internet to share their knowledge. Anyone can create a new page on a topic and write about it or even add to an existing page. With editors constantly checking the validity of what is written one can be sure that the information present is accurate. Wikipedia, the world's largest online encyclopedia is the best example of this.

Characteristics:

• Can have multiple contributors.
• Primarily used as a source of information.
• Needs an editor to verify content.
• People contribute be adding/updating information and deleting incorrect information.

Similarities:

• Online.
• User friendly.
• Helps foster the sharing of ideas and information.