alanshugol

I have not contributed to the wiki page as of yet however I have done research on Youtube and influential users on the social media site and intend on posting that information on the wiki page at some point this week.

1. File sharing is the exchange of files between people. These files can range from things like documents, songs, or movies. Files can be stored on a hard drive or in “the cloud.” With file sharing you can send this data over to somebody else.

2. Peer-to-peer file sharing is the distribution and sharing of digital media using peer-to-peer networking technology. P2P file sharing allows users to access media files such as books, music, movies, and games using a P2P software program that searches for other connected computers on a P2P network to locate the desired content

3. Some examples of p2p file sharing are sites such as torrentz and thepiratebay that allow users to send files known as a torrent over the internet.  These sites require the user to have a torrent program installed on their computer such as utorrent or bittorrent.

After reading the NY Times article “Should Online Scofflaws Be Denied Web Access?” it has come to my attention that the use of these torrent sites are being used to illegally download files such as movies and music without having to pay for it.  This costs these industries billions of dollars in revenue.  Why should an artist create music if they can’t make money from their talent because people are enjoying their hard work for free.  I think there needs to be stronger regulations in place that would stop these sites from allowing illegal content to be accessible online.

New Media has absolutely destroyed people’s privacy.  With sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram anyone can find out almost anything they want about you.  When people post pictures on Instagram they can tag their location which allows anyone online to see where you were when that picture was posted, which for many of us is either at our place of employment or our homes.  That means anyone can’t see where you live.  Also according to a pix11 news article the photos we post on Facebook contain metadata that includes where the picture was taken as well so if you take a picture of your child at the park then they can find out what park you take your child to.  The amount of information available to strangers online can lead to very dangerous outcomes.  Stalking is a huge problem in today’s society because people don’t realize how much they overshare.  Not everyone on the internet is your friend and can be trusted.  People should be much more careful about what they let out into the public.

If I had any advice to give about improving a college using new media I would tell them to incorporate it more in classrooms.  Currently I am enrolled in a class that uses a Facebook group as the main source for communication.  It allows students to submit work that can be viewed by their peers.  Others may leave comments including their thoughts, ideas, opinions, and feedback, that can help the poster get a better understanding of what people think of their work.  It allows people to ask questions from deep thoughts about life, to simple things like whether or not class was going to meet that week.  Their are also students who were in the class previously that have the experience to share with current students and help them do better in the course.  Also our final project is actually a team effort that involves working together with students from other countries such as France, Israel, and china.  It is a great way to keep students interested, involved, and allow them to make friends they would not have been able to by just sitting in a classroom listening to a professor speak for an hour and a half.

For this assignment I have downloaded a game that I haven’t played in many years but I spent countless hours of my adolescence.  The game is called Sims.  The game involves creating avatars in a virtual reality and building a home.  It fosters creativity and interpersonal relationships with other characters in the game.  The Sims allows you to be whoever you want to be.  If you want to be in a same sex relationship you can and their is no one to judge you.  If you want to see what it’s like to spend a day being the opposite gender you can.  The game allows you to be whoever you want to be.  You can be tall or short or skinny or fat.  You can be dark skinned or light skinned, and depending on what package you have you can even have magical powers.  The game allows you to pursue any career you want. You can run for office, be a doctor, or go into entertainment and become a singer.  I created two characters that I decided to make them fall in love.  One was a Governor and the other was a Surgeon.  I was able to have two of my dream jobs and I was able to build my dream house.  I was able to make my characters look the way I’ve always wanted to look.  It allowed me to rid myself of my imperfections and my insecurities.  If you connect your game to the internet you can interact with other people who are also playing the game and foster relationships with people all around the world.  It is a great place to interact with people from all walks of life.

Create a new post on your blog with the above title. In your post, cite at least one of the assigned readings and discuss how new media fosters creativity

Virtual worlds are a computer based environment where people create simulation of themselves called an avatar.  These virtual realities have become a growing phenomenon.  They can be used for business, education, and entertainment.  These avatars allow people to create themselves the way they would like to be perceived.  It allows people to rid themselves of their imperfections that they are self-conscious.  It is a place where people can express their creativity.  Some people are very shy and don’t feel comfortable going out to places in reality, so they can turn to these virtual realities and it allows them to interact with others in a way they would otherwise.  In the nytimes article “I’ve been to that club, just not in real life” The writer discusses how he also gets to experience being out to places without all of the negative aspects of actually being out. CNN mentions another benefit of virtual realities in their article.  They discuss a virtual reality that allows people with autism to interact with others because many of them struggle with face to face interactions.  A negative aspect of virtual realities is that it gives people a way out from actually having to enjoy real life.  Living on a computer screen is not the same as going out and experiencing life.  It shields people from actually having to go out and communicate with people.  It keeps people from having to learn how to interact with others outside of their “safe space.”  I think virtual realities will become more advanced and eventually the line between what is real and what is virtual will be so blurred that people will not want to be in reality with headsets that mimic the real world and allow people to physically immerse themselves.

With the emergence of new forms of media classes have expanded to other platforms of discussion other than in the classroom.  I personally believe am a fan of old school learning.  I prefer to have a class in person and have a face to face discussion with my professor and other students.  I feel it is easier to communicate face to face than it is through twitter and blackboard.  On blackboard it is hard to keep track of posts made by other students.  Imagine sitting in a classroom and having 50 people talking at the same time.  It would be incredibly overwhelming.  Twitter also allows people to post their thoughts and ideas and respond to classmates’ posts.  However it limits the amount of characters you could use in a post.  Also opening the website to find that 50 students posted a thought and responded to everyone else’s posts, it would also be very overwhelming.

Social Networking Sites have become more and more popular over the years.  Millions of people around the world use these sites to communicate with rest of the world.  Four sites that are extremely popular are Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Instagram.

• Facebook – I have been using Facebook for about 8 years now.  Facebook has changed exponentially since I first began using it.  I personally don’t post on Facebook, I am more of an observer on there.  I don’t like to post pictures or statuses.  I mainly use Facebook to see the articles posted by my peers and watch adorable videos of puppies and babies.  Many people post pictures and statuses on there.  I personally don’t like to constantly see what others are doing because that leads to comparing myself to everyone else, whether it is someone going on a vacation that I wish I could go on, or someone has gotten very fit from exercising which I never seem to find the time for.  These constant reminders of how glamorous the lives of others begins to tear away at your self esteem and I feel it’s better to live in my own life and not constantly aspire to what others are doing.
• Twitter – I have never been a big fan of twitter. I personally think that twitter is great for celebrities, companies, and news outlets.  Many people don’t use twitter for anything productive and post silly things like what they ate or every obnoxious detail of their lives.  I find twitter overwhelming, I barely follow anyone on there but just opening the website and being bombarded by a million posts of every detail that has happened is not something I am interested in.  I think it’s great for companies to keep contact with consumers, and for celebrities to keep in touch with their fans but overall I am not a fan of twitter.  Many people use it to call each other mean names and criticize others.
• Youtube – YouTube is a site that I am very fond of.  I watch youtube videos for hours each day.  Youtube has become a great platform to learn.  I use youtube videos to help me with everyday tasks.  If I am having trouble with an assignment I will watch a video that explains the topic that I am struggling with.  When I was decorating my I watched hundreds of videos for design ideas.  When I am feeling down I turn to youtube for songs or blogs from other people that are going/ have been through similar situations as me.  I do however find Youtube to be a bit annoying sometimes when people post videos documenting every detail of their lives, as I mentioned before I don’t like comparing my self to others.  I don’t like to be reminded that I spent 14 hours today watching Netflix while someone else went hiking on Mt. Everest, or relaxing in the Caribbean with their gorgeous significant other.
• Instagram – I personally think that Instagram is the most user friendly social networking outlet.  It is easy to navigate and has an attractive lay out.  As I mentioned with the pervious websites I believe that Instagram leads to people constantly comparing themselves to others.  However I think that it is great for celebrities to communicate with their fans and keep them informed on their activities.  I don’t post much on Instagram but I like using it to see videos and photos of puppies and to see fashion posts and see outfit inspirations.