P2P File Sharing

File sharing is a process of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as books, movies, documents, and music.  P2P file sharing, or peer-to-peer, is a subset of normal file sharing.  The only difference being that P2P file sharing uses distinct peer to peer networking technology and software set up for the purpose of file sharing.  Although most P2P networks are legal distribution companies, some networks are illegal.  There are many music sharing softwares on the internet where you are able to download music for free.  Obviously through this illegal download the artist and copyright owner of the music does not get anything in return for their product.  There are ways to combat this illegal distribution.  Companies are starting to use "Digital rights management" or DRM.  According to wikipedia DRM is, "a term referring to various access control technologies that are used to restrict the usage of proprietary software, hardware, or content.  DRM includes technologies that control the use, modification, and distribution of copyrighted works, as well as systems within devices that enforce these policies."  I feel as though this is a good technique to limit these illegal P2P services from spreading copyrighted work, and the owners of this material have every right to use DRM.

2 examples of unethical musical downloading P2P's:
Frostwire
Limewire (no longer exists)

Some other P2P networks include:
Morpheus
uTorrent
Vuze
Luckywire
Bearflix
Warez

Privacy

This world does in fact have a privacy crisis, and it doesn't seem like it's going away any time soon.  I feel as though new media has a direct impact on this lack of privacy.  Many users of social media put too much of themselves out there for the world to see and otherwise take advantage of.  According to the New York Times there are certain data companies that collect data about you and sell that information to big corporations.  This invasion of privacy is extremely unjust and should be illegal in my opinion.  There is a catch though.  If a person is generally putting all their personal information on public forums then these companies have every right to this information.  Just like how college recruiters, and job recruiters access student's social media accounts.  I understand that not all information is acquired through these accounts, but the bottom line is if everyone keeps their private information private I believe we would have a more improved world.

Advice to Baruch College

New media is the way of the future.  In order for college's to meet their quota for incoming freshman and transfer students they must be able to draw their attention away from other institutions.  One way of doing this is implementing new cutting edge ways of marketing.  A key emphasis needs to be put on social media.  Getting the word out to all these students on why Baruch is such a great school is a necessity.  A new and improved website needs to be installed with virtual tours of the college and professionally made videos.  An expanded media department is also critical to capture and teach students in areas focusing on mass communications.  I would also establish a video conferencing network with tutors that are accessible for most hours.  New media can change the way learning is done and can benefit the school greatly.

Creativity

New media has revolutionized the world.  It feels as though we can do anything through the uses of the technology that is readily available to us.  A great example of this is electric dance music, or EDM.  EDM has taken the world by storm in the past decade and becoming more and more popular each day.  One way DJ's create their dance music is through the use of mashups.  Mashups are when the DJ takes a beat rearranges it and fits vocals into that beat to make it all come together in unison.  An article from the New Yorker states, "Mashups find new uses for current digital technology", meaning musical artists that specialize in mashups are utilizing certain softwares and digital technologies to maximize their own skill as a musician.  The possibilities for new mashups are literally endless and because of this reason artists can use their imagination to come up with different variations to songs.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

One way that virtual worlds can be used is through the use of virtual healing spaces for returning soldiers.  According to Diane Mehta of forbes, "the the U. S. Army funded the creation of ICT USC in 1999, they were looking for ways to leverage the kind of engagement that Hollywood was able to get—and apply that to better training for the army. I started making virtual training environments that could were more cognitively real, in that they could evoke in soldiers a sense of unease and fear that could make training more realistic."  This is a unique way to harness the power of virtual worlds and use it to benefit a group of people in more ways than one.  Another way that virtual worlds are used is through the game "Minecraft".  Minecraft is an extremely popular virtual game where users and their friends build their own worlds.  Another example of a world similar to Minecraft is given by Saki Knafo of the New York Times, she states "Second Life is a multiuser virtual environment, a computer program that lets online users construct settings and hang out in them, using video-game-like characters called avatars."  It is a similar concept to Minecraft, because it's a world that the users build themselves and hangout with friends in. Some pro's to virtual reality is training soldiers and police officers and making them feel like they are in dangerous spots meanwhile they are not in any danger at all.  This is key because it progresses their training immensely and makes them more qualified for their job.  Another pro is leisure, the use of video games is for the users enjoyment.  Reasons that virtual worlds can be bad is that they can be somewhat addictive.  If people get carried away they may feel like that virtual reality is their real reality.  For instance the "Second Life" software.  Users of Second Life will love hanging out in their virtual world that they don't enjoy hanging out with other humans, that is unhealthy.  Virtual Worlds foster creativity because you can do anything while you're in that world.  If the software gives you the capability to fly then you can fly.  If you want to be a professional athlete you can.  Anything you can dream of is attainable in a virtual world.  Virtual worlds are just going to keep expanding and becoming more and more realistic.  For example the future of first-person shooter video games is going to become the user being the person to shoot people, not just buttons on your controller.

Blog about Twitter

The whole twitter environment feels more personal in my opinion.  It sounds strange because many people can see your tweets so it isn't "personal", but having a conversation on twitter is easily accessible and a comfortable territory to me.  Having a discussion on blackboard isn't as warm and inviting.  It feels more like an email when you are creating a new thread and waiting for someone to see it.  Even replying to someone else's post isn't as efficient as replying to a tweet.  Twitter is a better way to get quick, short responses instantly.

Social Networking Sites

When exploring the social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, I noticed there were some distinct similarities and differences within them.  Facebook seems like it's main goal is to connect with people throughout the world.  You can post pictures, customize your bio, and post statuses.  Facebook is somewhat complex to new users, there are many facets to the social network that take some adjusting.  I feel as though Twitter and Instagram are mini subsets of Facebook.  For instance on Facebook you can make a "status" which is basically the same thing as a "tweet" on Twitter.  Both of them are equivalent to saying what's on your mind at that particular moment.  On Facebook you can post pictures for your friends to see and caption those pictures.  Although this is a small portion of Facebook it is entirely what Instagram is.  Instagram's only use is to post pictures with captions.  You can scroll through your feed to see what your friends have "instagrammed" that day.  You also can like and comment on pictures, same as Facebook.  LinkedIn is similar to Facebook in the fact that you can customize your bio with a picture of you and your information.  LinkedIn definitely has a more professional feel to it because you can basically write your resume on it and have employers look at your page.  I feel that all new social networking sites have roots connecting to Facebook in one way or another.

Social Networking

Many businesses today are implementing social media into their core values to connect better with their consumer base.  If used correctly Social Networking can be as effective if not more effective than any ad campaign your marketing department can draw up.  A company that is great at utilizing the great power of social media is StubHub.  On twitter StubHub runs daily contests and trivia games and they give the winner free tickets/gift cards.  By using this business tactic StubHub stirs some excitement from their target audience and makes them want to use their site the next time the buyer needs tickets to an event.  Social media has even become a key aspect of job recruitment.  As stated by Frank Langfitt in NPR's "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting",  he illustrates how recruiters in todays job market are using the services of Linkedin to research potential candidates and deem how fit they are for the position. An alternative way to implement social media was through the use of a political campaign.  According to "How Obama Tapped into Social Network's Power" by David Carr, President Barack Obama's campaign in 2008 was the prime example of how to raise money, fight smear campaigns, and recruit millions of followers almost instantly.  Social Networking is one of the reasons that put him over the top to win the campaign outright.  Since that campaign every politician is using social media as a weapon to try to get ahead and stay ahead of their competitors during election years.  In my opinion this can work the opposite way as well.  Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has utilized twitter to try to get an advantage over the field.  He even "live tweeted" the democratic debate the other night. Personally I think it is hurting his chances more than helping him.  He is giving his unfiltered opinion on certain topics without even consulting his PR team.  It's a risky move on his part but could work out in the long run.  Overall Social Media is an incredible tool that should be utilized by all because it's a fantastic way to connect the world.  I believe that these social media platforms are only going to keep evolving more and more to try to keep their users interest in it.  I also think that so many new platforms are going to come out that the field is going to become very cluttered.  I'm curious to see if users will become more dependent on social media, or if down the road society will move on from it.

Blogs vs. Wikis

Blog's and Wiki's are somewhat similar in my opinion.  Wiki's are made so it is an open source for everyone to collaboratively change the content and appearance.  Blogs although generally written by one author can also be from multiple sources.  Blogs are more focused on the chronological order of posts whereas this isn't a major field of concern in wiki's.  Blog's are mainly about the author's opinion of the topic he/she is writing about.  Wiki's are used as a resource to gain knowledge of a certain topic and the information surrounding that topic is constantly updated by the users of that wiki.  Convergence is a key part of our networked world today.  To be able to collaboratively work on an assignment with anyone at any given moment is a true power that can be utilized to further our world today.  For instance the way this class is run is remarkable.  To go an entire semester without meeting once is something we take for granted because of the day and age we live in.  As stated by Ms. Stacie Hankins, a special assistant at the United States Embassy in Rome, "The advantage of Diplopedia, she said, isn’t necessarily the ease of creating new material, but the ease in finding information."(nytimes) I think this a fair point of all wiki's.  They are an endless wealth of knowledge we can all take advantage of.  Arguments can be made that wiki's should be utilized more in the business world.  Emailing documents, putting them on hard drives, updating the document, newest form getting lost in translation are all headaches that can be avoided when using wiki's.  "Wiki's are cheap, extensible, and easy to implement, and they don't require a massive software rollout.  They also interface well with existing network infrastructures."(informationweek)  Blogs, although individualistic by nature, can be used for collaboration.  Whoever creates the blog can have an overall theme that he/she wants to pertain to.  Then the editor has a running stream of authors writing on the feed and constantly updating with new posts.  This way although the individual is creating their own post, they are all adding to the common goal of furthering the theme of the blog.  I think that wiki's being used on the floor of congress would be an interesting concept.  They can make changes to bills, and approve or disapprove certain aspects of the documents in question.  They can all do this simultaneously instead of drafting new documents for every detail they decide to change.

Works Cited:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/business/media/04link.html

http://www.informationweek.com/how-to-use-wikis-for-business/d/d-id/1034971?page_number=3 

Media's Role in the Growing World of Fantasy Sports

Fantasy Sports has taken the world by storm.  This takeover is a direct result from the efforts that media outlets have put in to sustain the game's popularity.  Everywhere you turn there is commercials for daily fantasy leagues on "draftkings" or "fanduel".   Major stations like ESPN and CBSSports have talk shows talking about who to start and sit on your team that week.  Fantasy sports is one of the most rapidly growing industries on the planet, and sports media outlets are the reason.