Suggest a new type of "new media" that doesn't currently exist. Describe it.
This was this week's prompt It is always difficult to think creatively about what doesn't yet exist, especially when there is a lot that does exist within the same field. Therefore, I tried to think about where are as a species and what type of things we are interested in, including where our society is headed.
This talk of the future and media, naturally made me think about a masterpiece of a TV show called Black Mirror. Some of you may have already heard about it or seen it, and if you haven't, you can get a quick preview of what its about and what it involves in this Huffington Post article titled 'Black Mirror' is the One Show You Need To Watch On Netflix Over The Holidays. Because of its focus on a dystopian future that is actually very possible, it came to mind when asked bout the future of New Media.
Inspired by the first episode of the third season, I see a new form of new media taking over our lives in the not-so-distant future. A future where we are all part of a social networking system where our livelihood is based on other people's judgements. Today, a lot of what we do, a t least in a 'western' society has to do with social networking websites where we keep in touch with other by posting what we want others to see, and by responding, or judging what others want us to see. By rating each other, we will have an average rate out of 5 or 10, that will also decide our wealth, where we can buy a home, whether we can buy a home in the first place, and what school we go to. The scores will be based on how pleasant we are to be around, personality-wise and physically.
Up till now, I have focused on the positive aspects of new media, but it is important to recognize the dangers too in order to encourage it to go in the right direction. After all, it is in our hands.
If you do not want to watch the whole hour or the episode or do not have access to it, you can watch parts of it in this YouTube video.
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Wiki So Far
For the New Media wiki, I spent time reading through the pages that some of my fellow, or previous, classmates have uploaded to gain an understanding of what type of topics they are interesting in writing and reading about concerning New Media. I also made edits with grammar and typos that I found in pages.
I then went on to find pages that I would like to contribute to with the layout editing and content, and found two that I found very interesting.
Firstly, there is a page called Crowdsourcing that talks about what it is, its history, the different types that exist and the pros and cons. I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to learn more about what it is as I complete the assignment. I want to add content to all subparts and also make edits to the layout.
Secondly, I found a page created by another student called New Media and Culture, and I have always been interested in cultures, especially because I come from a weird background (Armenian from Jerusalem). I am also taking a class called Psychology and Culture and I think my knowledge, as well as studies that have been done on the topic that I have been reading and researching about, can be of great addition to the page!
Thanks for reading.
Nanar
I then went on to find pages that I would like to contribute to with the layout editing and content, and found two that I found very interesting.
Firstly, there is a page called Crowdsourcing that talks about what it is, its history, the different types that exist and the pros and cons. I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to learn more about what it is as I complete the assignment. I want to add content to all subparts and also make edits to the layout.
Secondly, I found a page created by another student called New Media and Culture, and I have always been interested in cultures, especially because I come from a weird background (Armenian from Jerusalem). I am also taking a class called Psychology and Culture and I think my knowledge, as well as studies that have been done on the topic that I have been reading and researching about, can be of great addition to the page!
Thanks for reading.
Nanar
P2P
As I sit here writing this blog while eating sharing size peanut M&Ms, I reflect on the thought that humans love to share. There are exceptions to everything, of course, but we are a social species that likes to interact with others like them, and a lot of the time this includes sharing what we enjoy (or don't enjoy)with others.
As I have mentioned multiple times in previous posts, and as it is widely known, New Media are used mostly as a means to communicate. This can be done in many different ways, be it from directly contacting others through social media or downloading a file of an episode of your favorite TV show that a stranger shared online. File sharing is a phenomenon where people allow other people's access to digital files. This is an umbrella term under which lie a number of different ways people or companies share digital media with others.
An example of a term under that umbrella is peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, where the network is decentralized, and it allows people to share digital media content directly with each other. For instance, according to an article called The BitTorrent Effect published by Wired, BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer program that allows people to share huge amounts of data by uploading and downloading the content. It is very easy and quick, sometimes taking as short as a few minutes. This can include movies, television shows, music, academic work, and even money transfers.
It is truly amazing to think about how vastly the internet and New Media are used, and so we must be careful about what we put out there.
Thanks for reading!
See you soon.
Nanar
As I have mentioned multiple times in previous posts, and as it is widely known, New Media are used mostly as a means to communicate. This can be done in many different ways, be it from directly contacting others through social media or downloading a file of an episode of your favorite TV show that a stranger shared online. File sharing is a phenomenon where people allow other people's access to digital files. This is an umbrella term under which lie a number of different ways people or companies share digital media with others.
An example of a term under that umbrella is peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, where the network is decentralized, and it allows people to share digital media content directly with each other. For instance, according to an article called The BitTorrent Effect published by Wired, BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer program that allows people to share huge amounts of data by uploading and downloading the content. It is very easy and quick, sometimes taking as short as a few minutes. This can include movies, television shows, music, academic work, and even money transfers.
It is truly amazing to think about how vastly the internet and New Media are used, and so we must be careful about what we put out there.
Thanks for reading!
See you soon.
Nanar
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Privacy
For this post, I decided to ask my mother what her thoughts were on privacy on New Media, as I think directly asking someone who uses New Media it is truly as raw as an answer could get.
My mother said that privacy has become a concern in New Media and social networking/blogs specifically, because when someone is in the habit of posting about themselves on platforms, others are constantly aware of what they are doing, where they are, who they are friends with, the type of life they lead (or want us to think they lead) and even what they are planning to do in the future.
As the internet is a relatively new phenomenon, there is no precedent regarding the risks and what could happen in terms of privacy and confidentiality. If someone posing as themselves posts a picture on Facebook, for instance, that picture is now available for anyone to see, download and use. Since there is no precedent, people are doing these things without realizing the consequences of their actions on themselves and the people around them.
The consequences of new media in terms of privacy can be as harmless as people simply knowing what kind of food you like, or as extreme as where to find you in order to rob you. This was perfectly and tragically demonstrated by what happened to Kim Kardashian two years ago in Paris. As stated by Vanity Fair in an article titled The Inside Story of the Kim Kardashian Paris Hotel Heist, Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in her hotel room. According to the police chief, Christian Sainte, who had never heard of Kardashian, searched her on the internet and said "Now I know almost everything about her." Many argue that that was the reason she was robbed so easily, despite her having bodyguards. She uses platforms like Snapchat and Instagram that tell people where she is and what she is doing, and that made it easy for the robbers.
Clearly, new media can be very dangerous, so it is important for us to realize what we put ourselves into when using them.
Thanks for reading!
See you,
Nanar
Advice
If I were hired by Baruch College (yay, me!) to improve the college, I would first have to think about the different ways in which it could use a little improving.
It is important to note that this post and the advice listed are coming from the perspective of a student, and that professors and staff members of the college would likely have different perspectives and different areas that need improving, which would help them in their daily lives while doing work.
Thinking of my day going into the Newman Vertical Campus(NVC) and/or the Lawrence and Eris Field Building (17 Lex), I realize that it would be incredibly helpful to have a small department in the college that directly and exclusively deals with new media. The students that come into the school are increasingly from newer generations and depend on new media for many aspects of their lives, so having a department that used new media to help students would be a great step forward for the college.
If I think about the aspects of my day on campus that could use a little improvement, they would definitely include the elevators, both in the NVC and the 17 Lex building, and I think other students would more than agree. The New Media Department would use a phone app to keep students informed about elevator status. Although this may sound as a lot of work and not worth the trouble, it would be safe to say that students are almost consistently late for classes because of the elevators. To have an app that would give information about where the elevators are at that point and which is the most efficient on to take to get from one floor to the next would be a great deal of help not just for students, but also for professors!
The New Media Department would also keep students up to date about activities/club events on campus. A Baruch College app currently exists, so if the department could use this app and improve it, it would be very helpful in that it would tell people what kind of things they can do and when. I would advise the college to also have a feature where the student/faculty member can sync their schedule into the app, so that it can give them options to be part of during their free time. I imagine this would be helpful for incoming freshmen, who have not yet had the chance to find a group they belong to.
If the proposed New Media Department could spend their time working on everyday improvements such as the ones mentioned previously in this post, it would make the college a lot smaller because it would connect the students and faculty through new media. If not for efficiency, perhaps for a huge step forward!
Thanks for reading,
See you super soon!
Nanar
It is important to note that this post and the advice listed are coming from the perspective of a student, and that professors and staff members of the college would likely have different perspectives and different areas that need improving, which would help them in their daily lives while doing work.
Thinking of my day going into the Newman Vertical Campus(NVC) and/or the Lawrence and Eris Field Building (17 Lex), I realize that it would be incredibly helpful to have a small department in the college that directly and exclusively deals with new media. The students that come into the school are increasingly from newer generations and depend on new media for many aspects of their lives, so having a department that used new media to help students would be a great step forward for the college.
If I think about the aspects of my day on campus that could use a little improvement, they would definitely include the elevators, both in the NVC and the 17 Lex building, and I think other students would more than agree. The New Media Department would use a phone app to keep students informed about elevator status. Although this may sound as a lot of work and not worth the trouble, it would be safe to say that students are almost consistently late for classes because of the elevators. To have an app that would give information about where the elevators are at that point and which is the most efficient on to take to get from one floor to the next would be a great deal of help not just for students, but also for professors!
The New Media Department would also keep students up to date about activities/club events on campus. A Baruch College app currently exists, so if the department could use this app and improve it, it would be very helpful in that it would tell people what kind of things they can do and when. I would advise the college to also have a feature where the student/faculty member can sync their schedule into the app, so that it can give them options to be part of during their free time. I imagine this would be helpful for incoming freshmen, who have not yet had the chance to find a group they belong to.
If the proposed New Media Department could spend their time working on everyday improvements such as the ones mentioned previously in this post, it would make the college a lot smaller because it would connect the students and faculty through new media. If not for efficiency, perhaps for a huge step forward!
Thanks for reading,
See you super soon!
Nanar
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
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
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
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
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
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
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