HW Creativity

As I have previously mentioned in multiple blog posts, new media do not have limits regarding what they allow people to do. They are a representation of the developing modern world by showing how media and technologies have transformed over time. Social networking, YouTube and virtual worlds have provided people with platforms that they never had before, and this has many consequences. One of these consequences is that it encourages people to think in ways that they otherwise would not, and this in turn fosters creativity.

These platforms allow and encourage creativity by making all aspects easier. They allow instant communication, which is the root of creating anything--especially good for brainstorming. They also allow for quick changes to be made. For instance, editing a piece of written work is a lot easier on a computer when compared to a typewriter. On a similar note, when making videos and music, making changes or going back to one version of the piece of work can be done on the spot. Therefore, the way new media makes things more accessible and quick, is what truly fosters creativity.

One common example are viral videos. These videos get very popular almost overnight, create a buzz and become a topic everyone talks about. One of the examples in Professor Weisel's lecture notes is a video that explains how to make videos go viral, and it was interesting to see that I have, at some point, seen almost every single one of the viral videos presented. This is especially shocking because I come from Jerusalem, which means that these videos have gone international. The creativity that new media brings is translatable intro different cultures, because a lot of the time the creative piece is the result of a collaboration between different people, across different cultures, which is a clear result of new media itself!

This, as most things do, also has negative consequences. The law is sometimes not well enforced online, and other times it does not even exist. This leads to problems such as copyright issues. One good example of this is reported by The New York Times in an article called Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why? According to the article, a rap group has made a parody involving mashups of Disney cartoons. This is an issue because they did it without permission. Some might consider this to be piracy, but it seems like Disney is tolerating it. Mostly because the videos include different pieces of the shows put together, and the big corporations have bigger piracy issues to worry about. I can't but wonder that perhaps they see it as a way to promote and advertise the shows.

Although it has led to problems such as this one, new media has given people the opportunity to create and be heard, and once again, let's focus on the positive!

Thanks for reading,
See you soon!

Nanar

Creativity and New Media

For this blog post, Professor Weisel did not give any specific guidelines as to how to write the post and what  to include in it. Unsurprisingly, this became my favorite assignment to date (not that I don't enjoy writing a bibliography for a ten-page paper). To continue on a similar note that the last paragraph of my last post set, new media, including virtual worlds encourage creativity in and between people. What this means is that they provide a means to communicate with others and create things that are novel and innovative.

One way to do this is through an immensely popular website known as YouTube, which allows people to upload pictures through a google account so that anyone can access it, watch it, like it, dislike it and comment on it. This means that it gives people a platform. A platform where they can make their voice be heard. As long as the content is not illegal, offensive or inappropriate, video-makers can share whatever they want to share. This can range from academic lectures to videos of them playing video games.

Because of this great opportunity of the assignment, I decided to make a compilation of videos that my cousin has been sending me, of my dad making, yes you guessed it, dad jokes! My father lives in another country, so I don't get to see him a lot, but these videos make me feel like he is not too far after all. One might say that is the beauty of new media; it makes the world smaller. The compilation video I made includes videos that are genuinely made, not for the purpose of this assignment, but literally made to make me laugh.

New media, specifically Youtube, allowed me to create a compilation and get creative with it. It also allowed me to share it with you all so that we can all laugh and enjoy the positivity. This is something that not only would I have not been able to do without new media, but also would not have thought to do. It encouraged me to get creative and to share the small silly moments that I share with my family through a video. Additionally, my father would have never put so much effort in thinking of and finding so-called dad jokes, if it wasn't for recording it and sending it through new media platforms.

I truly hope you enjoy it, and at least let out a chuckle!

Click here for the video!

All the best and see you soon,

Nanar

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds are online environments that simulate real life in that users create themselves online, known as avatars, and either independently, or alongside others interact in the online environment. According to the lecture notes provided by Ms. Pearl Weisel, virtual worlds are a representation of reality, and they tend to be a lot simpler than reality itself.

There are many different ways virtual worlds are used. They can be used as a leisure activity to pass time and as a means to see places one has never seen before. It can be used to meet the people behind the avatars and perhaps create real-life bonds. Many people who have impairments in functioning in our real-world find virtual worlds to be an environment where they do not have those impairments. Others simply enjoy living in that world, as one Dwight Schrute puts it; life can be so great, that people would want a second one. 

As most things do, the use of virtual worlds has its ups and downs. By that I mean it has both positive and negative consequences on its users. An upside of using a virtual environment can be found in its use as  means of teaching. Many educational institutions have used virtual environments as a tool for learning. This can be very useful for students and teachers by giving them easy and instant access to the virtual 'classroom'. Many students who do not have the ability to physically go to a class, be it for reasons such as health or because they are in another country. This gives them the chance to do so. On the other hand, there can be disadvantages, such as poor connection, which could eventually limit people and stop them from taking part, as well as the chance of getting viruses, as stated by an article called The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Virtual Classroom the Role of the Teacher. 

Furthermore, in thinking about virtual worlds and their pros and cons, one might realize that virtual environments give absolutely anyone a chance to become anything the would like. The hierarchical world that we live in is not necessarily portrayed in the same way in the virtual world. For instance, politicians, who have power and a voice in the real world, do not necessarily have one in the virtual world, and someone who does not have many listeners in real life may have followers and a voice in the virtual world. This of course has its own disadvantages, such as the fact that virtual worlds are different from the real world with regards to law enforcement and safety. This could mean that children are at risk because after all, they are dealing with real people behind the avatars. More about the disadvantages can be read in the Washington Post article At Hearing, Real and Virtual Worlds Collide .

Virtual worlds offer people a chance to do things that they otherwise would not do in real life. This might encourage them to get creative and not fear the consequences, because a lot of the time the consequences do not matter in the real world. This might encourage people to interact with people they normally wouldn't interact with, and come up with collaborative projects that could actually make a difference in the real world. For instance, someone who is in need of help may find someone else in the world who can actually offer that help. This might actually be the future of virtual worlds, where interactions between people of different backgrounds and ages may happen and they could find common ground, and in turn, help others in need. 

This if course is a very optimistic view. After all, virtual worlds may very well take a negative shift in the future, if they haven't already.

For now, let's stay positive!

Thanks for stopping by.

All the best,

Nanar 

Blog about Twitter

Twitter isn't usually associated with anything school-related, so using Twitter as a discussion tool for class is interesting. It changes the way I look at Twitter and the way I view discussion posts.

The classic Blackboard discussion posts allow students to post and respond to other students' posts, but it is limited in the sense that it does not notify the students when someone has responded to their comment, and it does not have a feed like Twitter does. Discussion on Twitter allows students to like the posts and make their own posts by retweeting and quoting the other students. As most people know, however, Twitter limits the amount of characters to 280, so students have to keep it short and go straight to the point. It's difficult to compare it to in-class discussions because those tend to be oral, have no character limit, and happen very fast, allowing face-to-face interactions. Additionally, it's important to say that Twitter and Blackboard can allow for people to say things filtering because being behind the screen might give them the courage to do it, whereas in an in-class discussion, students tend to be more reserved.

Let me know if you agree or disagree.
Thanks for reading,
See you!

Nanar

Social Networking Sites

When we use social media, we tend to get caught up with the content, because after all, that is the point. We are incredibly interested in what other people are doing, thinking and sharing. This, however, could mean that we do not take time to observe how the site works, and how it compares to other social networking platforms. 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat  are a few of the most popular social media platforms. They fall under the same category of social networking, and are interestingly used for the same and for different reasons. This is because they offer different types of features, and this naturally leads to people using them for all kinds of reasons.

If we take Facebook, for instance, it is very high on privacy, allows people to post written text, pictures, videos, and anything else they would like to post. It allows for sharing, liking (and other types of reacting) and commenting. People connect by sending a friend request, after which the receiver of the request should accept for them to be friends. Facebook is like Twitter in that they allow for people to write their thoughts, but it does not have a character limit like the latter. 

In terms of Twitter, privacy is not a priority, as people who sign up generally know that unless they protect their tweets, anyone can read, like, retweet or reply. People connect by following each other, but it is different than Facebook in the sense that it does not have to be mutual. Being followed by someone does not mean they have to be followed back. Twitter and Facebook have feeds in which users can explore the posts by the people that they follow or befriend. 

Instagram allows its users to only post pictures or videos. One might call their Instagram profile a public (or private) photo album. On Instagram, people connect by following each other. This, like Twitter, does not have to be mutual, but in the case that the person has set their profile to private, they would have to accept anyone who has sent a request in order to gain them as a follower. Recently, Instagram added a feature where users could post videos or photos in a different section, besides the usual feed, which remain available for 24 hours, and these were called stories. This was very similar to the feature, with the same name, originally created by Snapchat. 

Speaking of which, Snapchat can probably be called the most different out of the four platforms, as the means of communication is mostly through pictures and videos. Nowadays, users can chat, but their chat is automatically deleted after they leave the platform. It is like Facebook in that users connect through friend requests, which have to be mutual. An interesting addition to Snapchat's stories are the stories that are created based on location and event. For instance, there was a story for Hurricane Michael, and people were updating and communicating through the story that was created, and anyone could access it. 

Social media sites are the talk of today, and it's interesting to take a minute and observe the way they work and the different ways that people use them. 

Thanks for reading,

See you soon!

Nanar 

Blog Social Networking

To think about a time when social networking was not popular and part of our every day lives is a difficult task. This is mostly because it has becomes such a common aspect of our day-to-day that we can't imagine a time without it. Social networking involves the use of a website, or multiple websites, that allow people to interact with others online. Just like any other popular trend, there are reasons behind the popularity of social networking. The reasons happen to be the different uses of social networking.

On a personal level, owning a social media platform can mean access to different hobbies, information about health, or simply using it to socialize with others, whom the user may or may not know in real life. On a corporate level, it could be used to find out information about another business, or someone from that business. For instance, LinkedIn is a very popular website that is used by people to find jobs and write up one's credentials on their profile. As can be seen in the aforementioned text, there is truly no limit to social networking, as the uses for it widely vary. 

Social networking also has many benefits to society. To continue talking on the corporate level, according to an article in the National Public Radio, social networking has helped companies find people with the right qualifications. Recruiting became so much easier with the use of social networking that a representative of a company could simply send a message to the candidate and call them in for interviews after only looking at their profile (click here to read the full article). Furthermore, social networking can be useful in the political arena as well. Through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, President Barack Obama was able to give his supporters the voice that they otherwise would not have found so easily. With their voice, he was able to maintain his support even after winning the presidency. Full article can be found at How Obama Tapped Into Social Network's Power. 

Besides having positive uses, social networking can also have a dark side, as do most things that are purely the making of people. The dark side can be the result of something as simple as bad advice. Bad advice about someone's physical or psychological health can lead to devastating results. Furthermore, one of the biggest issues people face when using social media is the issue of privacy. The nature of most social networking platforms is sharing information, be it about oneself or something else, and this naturally leads to the question of who is reading and how they are using the information. According to The Atlantic, even the sister of Mark Zuckerberg, who is the founder of Facebook, has had difficulties with keeping her posts private. This goes to show how privacy settings are difficult to understand and the average person is not protected because they simply don't understand how it works. This can contribute to the dark side, as the loss of privacy can be detrimental. Click here for full article on Zuckerberg's sister.

Social media is a phenomenon that is thought of as a huge part of our today. One can't but wonder what it will be like in ten, or twenty years. I personally think that it will continue evolving, as it is doing every day, and it will result in an even bigger network, offering people the chance to interact and collaborate with people that they would have never had the chance to otherwise. For instance, we may get to a point where the entire medical system is based on social networking, specifically based on patients interacting with their doctors and talking about symptoms online (of course not in the case of emergencies).
It's hard to say what the future holds, but I am very excited to find out!

Thanks for reading and see you soon!

Nanar 

Blog vs. Wiki

Before diving deep into the differences between blogs and wikis, it is important to be on the same page regarding how each one is defined, as different people may have different definitions for it. In my CIS 3810 course, taught by Professor Pearl Weisel, lecture notes were posted explaining the basics of blogs and wikis, which in reality is enough to understand the differences and similarities between them. I know that the audience of this particular post consists of classmates who have access to the lecture notes, so I will reference them when talking about the differences.
A blog is a platform that anyone can use to share whatever they want to share. It acts as an alternative to published work, which not everyone can do, and most importantly, gives people a voice that they would otherwise not have. For instance, people can talk about anything from sports to political opinions. Wikis are similar in the sense that anyone can create them and write about whatever they want to write about, but are different because they allow for more collaboration. The point of the wiki is that multiple people that are given access are allowed to contribute in different ways. In other words, wikis allow for more team work when compared to blogs.

These days anything and everything is about networking and convergence. This is why wikis such as Wikipedia are becoming more and more popular. They allow anyone to contribute without checking for credentials or background. On a similar note, blogs have a feature called a Blogroll, which links to another person's blog, allowing for collaboration and referencing. One great example of collaboration through blogging is the Brooklyn blog that led to the investigation and eventual arrests of the drug dealers. A simple collaboration through blogging led to a hugely successful raid. More information on this case can be found at Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid.

It's interesting to mention that in the past wikis such as Wikipedia have been criticised for lacking reliability, as anyone can edit the pages. According to an article in the New York Times titled Wikipedia Will Limit Changes to Articles on People, the biggest issue they faced were with articles about people, as incorrect information about people can be unforgivable by the readers. This is why when reading, editing or creating a wiki, one must always remember the features and their consequences.

Wikis can also be used in other innovative ways, such as for cooking. One person may start a page where they want to perfect a recipe, write their recipe, which they think needs contribution, and other people may add or remove certain ingredients from the list, or change the process of the recipe to bring about the perfect way to make that particular food. Of course this will depend on taste and how each person likes the food, but that can be stated at the beginning of the wiki to avoid confusion!

For quick access to P. Weisel's lecture notes:
Wiki Notes
Blog Notes 

Thanks for reading,
Hope to see you soon!