Wiki So Far

So far, I have added information to the pages about love, sports, and food. I mentioned for love more information about cat-fishing and hackers posing as attractive individuals to get information, as well as users not being genuine about their intentions. For example, they could just be trying to find sexual partners, while coming across as wanting a serious relationship. For food, I expanded on the loyalty programs for big companies, such as Pinkberry. For sports, I mentioned that athletes use social media to brand and endorse products, but don't exactly use it as a platform to further social issues, despite coming from a background that is often affected by said issues.

I plan to add a Kevin Durant meme about being the real MVP to also show that athletes are often times mocked on social media.

P2P

P2P file sharing, or peer to peer, basically allows one user to copy or download a file from another user's hard drive. Regular file sharing, according to Wikipedia, is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. There are several different facets that utilize P2P file sharing. These include sharing music, through the music app Soundcloud, where users can listen to and add to playlist songs that are posted by other users, Youtube, where users can watch and share videos uploaded by other users, as well as through the Lending Club, which allows users to create loans with other users. I know, the last one is a bit shocking and the last thing you'd expect.

Privacy

New Media has several issues related to privacy and confidentiality. There is the idea that once something is posted online, it's fair game. This rings true in many ways. Of course people can set their privacy settings for only certain individuals to see it, but that never actually holds true. Also, it places the responsibility and trust in the select few to keep your posts private and confidential. I have personally witnessed people screenshot other people's information and send it to others, sometimes to make a joke, reveal a secret, or to help catch someone in a lie. My personal strategy is if you want to keep something private and confidential, don't post it on new media. If you want to take it a step further, don't reveal any information you truly want to keep private and confidential to anyone, especially not someone who often blabs and goes on social media. If you thought word of mouth traveled fast, tweets, posts, and updates travel at the speed of light.

Advice

There are several strategies that Baruch can implement that will utilize new media to provide a better and more convenient experience for their students and faculty. One of these strategies has to deal with snow days and other weather delays. On snow days or days of inclement weather, Baruch could have a Twitter page that will tweet about the status of the school day, whether it is cancelled or postponed. Email could be another viable option, but most professors usually don't even email their students to let them know that class is cancelled. Another opportunity, which is actually just more so convenient for me and other people like me that take advantage of the basketball courts, would be to keep the schedule for the court times in a wiki. As teams and other corporations enter the gym and make it no longer available for students, the wiki can be updated on a daily basis, with only certified users having access to make changes, to ensure accuracy.

Creativity and New Media

I was able to find a few funny memes that were created through new media. These are, to me, very funny, and definitely able to cheer up even the saddest person. The first one is a play on the saying "the early bird gets the worm". How did someone disprove that theory? By posting a picture of an angry bird that did wake up early and didn't get the worm. The second one, expresses a feeling more people can relate to. How many times have you woken up and then realized that it is still early and you can sleep for a while longer? When it happens, while not often, it is often the greatest feeling. More sleep! As you can tell by the baby's excitement. The last one, which shows a compare and contrast, plays on the fact that the guy's hair is in his face. How is it possible that he sees? Well, he doesn't! At least according to this meme. Memes are creative ways for people to find humor in any situation.

Creativity

New media fosters creativity in many ways. My favorite way that it allows people to be creative is through comedy. People can add words on pictures and create memes, or can create a gif in which a funny clip is replayed over and over. It really shows off creativity because sometimes the memes will perfectly describe a moment. Perhaps it is a moment where you feel a way or you see a face and it reminds you of another situation. Perfect time to find a meme. No matter how what emotion you were feeling, the simply agreeing with the meme or finding one that fits the situation will cheer you up. Creativity in that sense tends to cheer you up and that is a big positive of social media. Another example, is the video of Winnie the Pooh and friends "crankin that". Someone probably saw the episode of Winnie the Pooh and thought, wow, that looks like they're doing the Souljah Boy dance. Next thing you know, add some music to the background of the clip, and Winnie the Pooh is cranking that souljah boy. Creativity at its finest, or maybe not, but hilarious nonetheless.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/business/media/24crank.html?_r=0

Virtual Worlds

Virtual Worlds, supported by the Second Life Phenomenon, has presented itself as a viable alternative to not just kids, ages 5-15, but also to adults. It has proved to be a platform that not only fosters creativity, but a sense of togetherness as well. Minecraft, as well as World of Warcraft, are two very popular virtual worlds. In Minecraft, which is practically a "digital LEGOs", kids are provided a "space to exercise their imagination and to connect with others to also want to build and create things". According to Forbes, "Virtual worlds can give us social connectivity, built-in support groups, and ways to avoid ever being alone again." In today's society, where people feel more and more alone despite an increasing population, having that sense of togetherness and connectivity is highly important. Virtual Worlds are important for kids, especially, as it is probably the only place where they can play without parental supervision in today's society. Other pros include that in time, companies will be able to make monetary gains from these Virtual Worlds, but perhaps that is only a pro if you look at it from the perspective of the company.
Virtual Worlds do have negatives as well. The communities are self-policing, which means that if participants see behavior that would indicate proposed real-world threats, it would be up to them to report it. That could be very dangerous, especially in the increasingly technical and digital age, where so much information can be stolen and crime committed without physically doing it. It can be used to potentially launder money, be unsafe for kids, or impose certain values or beliefs on others.
In the future, Virtual Worlds will be far more accessible. You might not need it for your computer or video game system. It will be available via cell phone, on other words, in free time, many more users will be participating in the Virtual World. Unfortunately, that could lead to the "Second Life" phenomenon becoming people's actual life. The dangers of technology!


http://www.forbes.com/sites/dianemehta/2013/04/30/after-second-life-can-virtual-worlds-get-a-reboot/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/01/ST2008040103032.html