The Next New Thing

All sorts of new media technologies have already been thought of and created, but living in New York its easy to get idea's from daily life. An idea I have always had but have never implemented is a social Google Maps-type website which would allow users to get together and, in a collaborative fashion, post information about transportation in their neighborhood. There is currently no single place to go for bus schedules or alternate side parking schedules in New York City. Due to the shear amount of bus stations and blocks with street cleaning, it would be very difficult for one person to gather all this information into the website. A community based wiki-like site where everyone can just place points on a map an input information about their own block or neighborhood would be quickly populated and very useful to me and others in the city.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

As the Editor of the New Media in Web Design page on our class wiki I intend to both improve, and add to this page in meaningful ways. Firstly, there are several mistakes made by the previous editor, mostly relating to grammar and capitalization of terms. I will be fixing the content that is already there as well as bringing it up to speed with the current times. The information in the wiki is dated by about half a year or more, and I intend to freshen it up with new examples of new media websites and their designs. I have looked into Twitters latest redesign of their homepage, Facebooks new layout, and many other new media sites which seam to have moved a little farther from the simplistic designs seen in the early days of Web 2.0. I will leave information about Web 2.0's past designs and improve on it by providing more current examples as well.

About My Term Research Paper

For my research paper I focused on how the traditional print media is being forced to make its shift over to the internet and utilize new media technologies. I found that a surprisingly large share of traditional media companies are taking steps towards utilizing new technology in disseminating information. That being said, they are still years behind the first adopters of these technologies such as bloggers and wiki users. In my paper I go over the history of what led to this new media revolution, as well as the steps an organization can take to make sure it stays alive through the process. I also discuss the downfall of print media, the differences between print and online publications, and how several companies have gone completely digital by shutting down their print divisions.

This transition from print to digital is one that is closing in on us faster and faster, and new media is not only making all this possible, but it is also fueling the push towards abandoning print publications. I feel that this topic needs to be addressed in detail, and my paper provides the history, as well as the groundwork for the future of both print and new media.

Privacy & Confidentiality

In a world of Facebook and Myspace you can already log in and find someones name, birthday, and even phone number within seconds. Through Twitter or Facebook status updates you can often even see what they had for breakfast, and now with sites like FourSquare, which allows you to check in at locations throughout the city, you can see where they are at any given moment and how often they go there.

Of course, with all this information being updated every minute, the issues of privacy and confidentiality come up a great deal. While all of social media's users are voluntarily posting everything there is to post about themselves, they are often doing so without recognizing the consequences. It is not until someone you don't want having that information uses it against you that you realize exactly how important your privacy is.

We live in a world where most people are used to having their every move chronicled online, but should that be the case? Most social networking sites provide privacy settings that, when used correctly, can help protect your information from the people who you don't want having it. The problem with these settings is that they are usually opt-in, not opt-out. This means that by default all your information is out in the open, for the world to see.

The next time you update your status, fill out a profile, or check-in somewhere, think about who may be seeing this information, and what they may be using it for. If there is even a single friend, family member, or boss who you do not want seeing what you are about to post, then perhaps you should hold of posting it until you properly configure your privacy settings.

Advice to Baruch College

There are several ways Baruch College can make use of new media to improve the college. New media can be used for either marketing efforts or in the classroom to assist in the education. Various technologies can be used for one or both of those purposes for little to no cost to the college.

Tools like Twitter and Facebook could be used for marketing purposes to get the word out there about Baruch and its many offerings. The college's various departments already have accounts on these social networking sites, so my suggestion would be to make a general Baruch College account which would be used for promotion. It could be used to generate buzz by holding giveaways and using other such gimmicks to gain followers, and thus get the college's name out there. Perhaps even a creative video on YouTube could go viral and make the college known around the country. Something well produced, and funny, could go a long way towards promoting Baruch College.

Secondly, blogs, wikis, and Twitter could also be used in the classroom for students to share their knowledge. Much as they are used in this online class, they could be used for traditional classes and would allow students to continue the discussion outside the classroom. Having a place for students to post articles and information they have come across could be of great advantage. Allowing students to connect through groups on sites like Facebook where most already have profiles could provide them with an opportunity to network outside of the classroom as well.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds, such as Second Life, create a platform for us, as individuals, to be whoever we want to be. The potential is endless, as are the uses. More than allowing us to be whoever we want though, virtual worlds also allow people from all over the world to connect and meet no matter where they are. It is this aspect of virtual worlds that I feel is important for their future. Although Second Life's popularity has diminished in recent years, the concept of virtual worlds opened a new world, literally, to both individuals and corporations.

According to a CNN article by Mark Tutton called "Going to the Virtual Office in Second Life" some companies are using Second Life to allow employees to interact, no matter where they are physically located, and hold meetings within a virtual world hosted on the companies own private network. Given sufficient development of these systems, the possibilities are endless. Imagine a world where nobody has to leave their home to go to work. Without geographic limitations, the possibilities for productivity are endless.

Likewise, the possibilities are endless for non-corporate clients too. With the advent of virtual worlds you can have entire family reunions from the comfort of your home, just by having everyone log on to a specific server at a specific time. The possibility for creativity is similarly limitless because your identity in this world is limited to just how you were born. Your avatar and your virtual character can be an expression of who you've always wanted to be.

Not all these things are good, however. The big fear, depicted in the movie Surrogates, is that humanity will cease to interact in real life. On a smaller, and more immediate, scale it is important to realize that nothing can truly replace face to face interaction. Meeting in virtual worlds may be more convenient, but they may not be as persuasive. Having the real life and in person aspect to any interaction is very important and that is something virtual worlds will never be able to compensate for.

When Second Life was first developed it was the hot story. Everyone saw it as the future for both companies and individuals. Once the hype died down, however, so did Second Life. I see a reincarnation of virtual worlds in the future that, like Second Life, will try to bring in the masses, but for the time being I think that we can only make use of the bits and pieces of information gained from Second Life. Telecommuting, for example, is becoming a big part of organizations, but its still not quite the same as logging in to a virtual world. Perhaps as telecom telecommuting uting grows, there will be a push for new virtual world technologies and we will see growth in the field.

Twitter Discussion

Having a discussion on Twitter is unlike most other forms of communication, with the exception of maybe text messages, because you are so limited in what you can write. Twitter forces you to really think about what you want to say and cut it down to only 140 characters.

Unlike Blackboard Discussion Boards and even in class discussion, you don't have a limitless space to get your thoughts out. Instead you are forced to put out concise and short 140 character sound-bites which you must then make sure will be understood the way you intend them too.

Although the space is limited, when you put all the little bites together with a hash tag and are able to see them as a long string on a particular topic of discussion, you can really see the use of it and Twitter becomes a good way to communicate and share ideas.