The Next New Thing

I’d love to see a new media system that allows people to input their daily schedule.  I know it sounds like a simple calendar, why not just use google calendar?  But I envision so much more.
One could allow friends to see their schedule or block the view from all or just block private time.  This way people will know when you are in school, work, the gym, on a date, at a reunion etc instead of having to use new media to ask the ever present question “what are you doing” or “are you busy later?”. Now they will know.

Users could use the calendar to find a block of time convenient for a gathering and invite people.  This basically is the next extension of outlook calendars and evite.

Furthermore a user can select a time see their own schedule and what all their friends are doing at that time.

Commercially companies can follow trends of events (sports games, church attendance, names of movies mentioned etc) to suggest items.  Movies and tv show reminders can be populated on the date and time they show on users schedules as suggestions.

The idea would be a virtual social secretary!

Filed under: Uncategorized

Our Class Wiki – So Far

I found the experience contributing on the class wiki a bit anxiety developing.  Would I find an area where I could contribute to? Where I had something of substance to add or would it just come across as fluff?

It seemed if one attempted to force the issue, actively look for something to contribute to, then they have a difficult time.  Like with most cases in life, my search was fulfilled when I wasn’t actually looking.  I was just reading the current wiki and identified a section I thought was missing and dramatically added to the conversation.

Structurally I assumed the process of editing the wiki would be difficult to organize with users anxiously waiting their turn to offer submissions while another is monopolizing the site.  Instead it seemed to be quite fluid, and I later realized I could prepare my submission on a word processor before hand, cutting down on the time spent editing the wiki.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Advice to Baruch College

If hired by Baruch College to suggest ways to use new media to improve the college, I would suggest the following:

I think a great way to engage students, especially evening students who probably work full time, is to post the student life announcement videos on website or Blackboard, the educational social networking site students use.  Perhaps even having various department heads narrative guest vlogs on the web to facilitate a better unified campus.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Privacy & Confidentiality

The privacy and confidentiality offered by social media brings a mix bag of potential.  New media offers a wide array of privacy and confidentiality. Once freed from the chains of identity one’s creativity is only bounded by the ability of the individual. But in the same vein increased privacy, many times, temps social media users to cross the lines of social norms.

Video based new media are the main exemption to the anonymity veil offered to users.  More times than not, videos are generated with someone’s likeness dismissing privacy.  Though users have been known to hide images behind distorted views or with face masks or use some sort of representative (animations or avatars).

Filed under: Uncategorized

Using Twitter

Using twitter this week offered an interesting experience.  Sometimes responses were nearly immediate – making me realize that twitter is the ultimate extension of instant messaging.

Compared to the BB discussion board twitter functions more, as I said, like an instant messaging tool as opposed to the email feel of the discussion board.

Furthermore the twitter discussion, to me, was chaotic and disjointed.   I had to search through various post to find responses to my earlier discussions.  Class instruction taught us how to follow a string of tweets on a particular discussion.  Even so, I still find it difficult to keep a discussion going.  I think twitter’s functionality hinges on making announcements and not fostering responses

Filed under: CIS 3810, Twitter

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds can be used to form social groups, encouraging collaboration around the world.  They can also be used by real world groups to meet virtually and accomplish tasks and discussions digitally.

The near total flexibility of a virtually world is the prime pro.  Users may test out potential scenarios in the virtual world and use the results as consideration in the real world.  Commercial entities could also use it for as focus groups and field tests.

A con can be the virtual worlds establishment of an unhealthy misrepresentation of the user.  Users can make themselves into anything, bounded only by the extent of their imagination, and can, over the course of time, lose sight on what is reality and is virtual (La Ferla).  Also, for a tool intending to expand the social nature of humanity the possibility of users getting to socially know someone who can potentially be a complete misrepresentation of themselves seems counterintuitive.  A NYT article on virtual worlds quoted the author’s girlfriend as saying “He looks like the cool version of you” (Itzkoff).

I think a great usage for virtual worlds, if they continue to be popular, is the convergence of political discussions.  Advocacy groups can organize people around issues or politicians can interact with a broad range of the electorate without concern of travel, expenses, and lodging.

For all the potential Virtual Worlds have, I am quite weary of the medium.

Filed under: CIS 3810, Second Life

Social Networking

Social Networking can be used in a variety of different ways including to promote product (A media organization might post article or a retailer could attempt to sell their product), draw traffic to their site, or bring attention to an issue (a public policy organization).

The dark side of social networks can be a breakdown of barriers, an over extension of socialization beyond the normal parameters humanity is used to.  In terms of commercial usage clients can adversely view network usage as self-serving and intruding on the culture of networking. (Marketing Week)

Filed under: CIS 3810

Check Out Social Networking Sites

Compare your impressions of these sites. Note that you probably should register and log in to get the complete picture.

Not all social networking sites are built the same.   Each site has their own social culture.  The dozens of network sites available out there ensures that there is something available for everyone.

Although most sites are built similarly, the three major social networking sites offer pretty distinctive cultures!

1. Myspace - is colorful, and well designed for graphic manipulation.  Many established and emerging artist have music pages on the site to offer songs to users. The culture is loose, and free-flowing.  The site’s culture and design is idea for teenagers looking for virtual socialization.
2. Facebook is much barer in terms of color and design.  The site doesn’t allow for graphic profile manipulation but does offer a ton of games and applications for users (features copied by myspace). The culture of FaceBook is much more mature than Myspace; having been produced as a virtual collegiate Facebook.  20 year olds and older (college aged people) are more likely to be the target audience.
3. Linkin- is the most stripped down version of the major networking sites.  It is known as a professional networking site.  There is little to no visual appeal.  The culture is almost exclusively business networking.

Filed under: CIS 3810

Old v New Media

There are several ways to distinguish new media from old:

*Ease and increase of accessibility – New Media increases availability of information previously restricted by the bulk of Old Media’s tangible base.

*A tendency to be interactive- New Media allows for a two-way flow of information, collaboration and nurtures atmosphere of manipulating and enhancing previous work.

*Authorship extended to majority of modern world- the access of New Media offers the ability to become an author of a piece of work (journal entry, podcasts, videos,)

Filed under: CIS 3810, Homework

Blogs v Wikis

Compare and contrast blogs v wikis. Both nurture the community aspect of our internet based modern world that has made society a global entity. Blogs keep a chronicled journal of entries while Wikis allow users to vertically work on projects at any point.  In this regard Blogs are static (in the sense that after the information has been posted it can’t be manipulated by other users) and Wikis are dynamic.

How can blogs be used for collaboration? Blogs can be used for collaborations by the camaraderie within the blogger community as readers post comments on post and blogs themselves link to other similar blogs where interested parties can go to for extended views. (Gill)

Can you think of a new use for a wiki that has not been done yet? A new use for a wiki that hasn’t been used yet is a broad allowance of dissemination of public policy initiates, questions, and concerns for the consumption by the public and the chance for the public to comment, suggest, and identify problems in areas of public policy.  Let’s take healthcare reform, people could relate stories backed up with empirical evidence, or could analyze particular issuance issues including denials and adverse findings – examine systems that are currently working like the national systems in Britain France or Germany or states in the USA that offer universal coverage Massachusetts and Hawaii.

Filed under: CIS 3810