The Next New Thing

The gaming industry is huge and it's growing at a fast rate.  The rise of the popularity of smart phones as gaming platforms has taken the gaming industry to new levels. When playing games, one of the most satisfying thing is getting a new "achievement".  A new achievement might get u a new token, or a new tool to help you in the game.  A service or system that gives you physical rewards for achievements in games will be a great addition to the games. Foursquare has just started to give rewards to users who have reached levels of check-ins. I think the same can be applied to games.  In order for this to work, companies might have to be negotiated with.  These companies will want to come on board since the platform or service will serve as another advertisement and marketing mode. Coupons, discounts, redemption codes, consumer items and free games can be some of the rewards.  Players will be rewarded for playing and companies getting an opportunity to promote products and services to a large pool of gamers.  A free cup of coffee for every golden egg found in Angry Birds will be nice.
 

Our Class Wiki- So Far

My contributions to the class wiki will be part of the New Media in Sports section.  I am currently doing research on some of the new ways live sports and its coverage is delivered to viewers.  One of the main parts of my research is in the mobile phone applications, especially the Foxsoccer application for iphone, the Espn mobile app for iPhone and Android and the Cricinfo application for iPhone.  I currently use these apps and have consulted online technology reports, along with my own experience, to provide the benefits of these new media, and also the ways in which they could be improved.

P2P File Sharing

File sharing is the process of providing access and opportunity to download digital media that is stored on one computer to a mass of people.  Digital media files have become the main means of storing movies, music, software programs, and office documents.  
P2P file sharing, or Peer-to-Peer file sharing, is the transmission of files which have been broken down into millions of bits.  An entire network of computers, each of which have the files, contribute to the transmission by providing parts of the files.  When another member of the network gains access to the files, they become part of the distribution system since other users can now get parts of the files from them.  P2P is a very easy and quick way to gain access of files.  
There were and are many P2P networks, many of which have been deemed to be illegal. P2P networks, which use Bit Torrents, can be a very useful tool for sharing files.  However, these networks provide the opportunity to share large amounts of copyrighted material.  Networks such as Pirate Bay, Napster and Limewire, have been hit by legal action and shut downs.  Chris Nuttall, of the Financial Times, stated that P2P file sharing is so popular that it accounts for between 40 and 50 per cent of all internet traffic.  There is an ongoing fight by the media companies wanting to protect their properties. It seems as though this fight will go on for some time because of the sheer size and scope of P2P sharing.  It should be remembered that P2P sharing is a very valuable platform if used legally.  It is the rampant sharing of copyrighted material that is the problem.  Sharing an entire file is illegal, but many P2P members point out that they are each only sharing parts of files.  The legal fight continues.
 

Privacy and Confidentiality

Participating in new media can involve disclosure of great amounts of personal information.  With this disclosure the issues of privacy and confidentiality have become a major talking point and critical issue in the world of new media.  

New media encourages interaction and involvement in posting to the web.  We would like to think that this information is safe and secure and only viewable by those who we intend to view and access it. This is sometimes not the case and it can have negative impacts.  It takes a lot of time and effort to configure privacy settings.  This is the main critique of the way Facebook has it's privacy settings laid out.  Users are also auto enrolled in any new service where personal information is required.

Private information is not only subject to being seen by fellow users. This information has become increasingly valuable to marketing firms. Many businesses are modeled solely around collecting personal information on the internet and creating huge data mines. This information can be packaged and sold to marketing companies who in turn can be more efficient in their targeted advertising.  

The popularity of using new media has resulted in an enormous amount of personal data on the internet.  New issues now exist in this new world culture.  Privacy and confidentiality can be upheld, but it is of a minuscule amount where this is totally the case.

Advice To Baruch College

One of the main aspects of new media is the interaction it encompasses.  Web 2.0 can be used by a college of Baruch stature to further improve the college experience of current students.  It can also be used as a means of attracting prospective students to the college.

Baruch has entered the world of online classes, wikis, and other collaborative items built into those media.  It has been a success so far since the quality is impressive. There are ways in which I think Baruch can improve its use of new media.  The college has a great website, but there is room for a greater integration of student comments and advice.  I would suggest a new section for collaboration where current students can post their comments on issues and suggestions for improvement of the college.  This service can also be used as an information tool for prospective students especially current high school seniors.  A direct link to current students can be the best and most helpful way of answering questions that they would have.  

Twitter and facebook have seen an extraordinary rise in membership and usage.  These services can be used to send messages and alerts to current students. CUNY has an alert system, but my guess is that more students will join the facebook or twitter notification group of Baruch than that currently enrolled in the service provided by CUNY. 

These are some of the ways that I think Baruch can use new media.  A wonderful consequence of new media is that many new ideas have come from the users and ended up being integrated into new media services. 

My Term Research Paper

My research paper tackled the topic of blogging and the methods and measures that should be put into practice to ensure a blog is successful in making money.  Information needed to compose my paper was obtained from books purchased from Amazon and the Google book store, along with papers and articles from the LexisNexis Academic Library.  Doing this project has helped me understand the scope of blogging and the ways it can be used.  However, mostly I have learnt about the important steps that should be considered by anyone wishing to make money using this form of new media.  Before doing this paper, I did not have enough of an appreciation for things such as Search Engine Optimization, the moderation of blogs and building relationships with other bloggers. Blogging exploded during the 2000’s and has become a multimillion dollar business platform.  Businesses and individuals alike can take advantage of the opportunities that it brings.  Since it can be a viable income generator, it is important that missteps not be taken.  I was curious about what practices should be carried out and hope that the information in my paper can help someone fulfill their bogging ambitions and make money at the same time.

Creativity and New Media

I have done or been in a few YouTube videos before.  I am also a regular user of Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and a few more forms of new media.  However, I used this opportunity to create a Second Life account.  I have heard about second life, but have never experienced or seen it in action. 

I created my avatar, but it doesn’t really look like me.  Maybe later I will customize it further and change my look.  Upon starting, you go through a welcome and instructional screen. 

I decided the stress of my job and busy week in college warranted a visit to a nice relaxing place.  I went to London Hyde Park in London and it was actually relaxing.  I loved the scenery and the music was awesome.

I also met a few other Second Life users, some of whom were dancing.  I would have joined them, but I need some practice since they were very good.  One dancer even collapsed after some rigorous moves. 

I am developing an appreciation for second life and the nature of the great work that was put into the environment to make it look as real as possible.  Since I’m in London, I will take a trip to the city center tonight.