The Next New Thing

A new type of new media, that can be useful considering some challenges faced today would be a social media site that connects individuals and organizations in working together to solve issues worldwide - whether they be environmental or social. While sites like this do exist, they do not filter members based on similar interests. Instead members have to explore the sites themselves and find what they like or exactly what is being offered.

This new community site will require members to create a profile that lists the issues they're interested in, and ultimately link them to others who are interested in the same issue. It would be ideal to have an organization linked behind the issues to sponsor any initiative. This linkage would then open up the users to new discussions and ones that currently exist. This site will help rid of repetition and the lengthy search process, and quickly link members to begin on initiatives through different levels.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

I recently began taking a look at our class's wiki and noticed some interesting topics with a significant amount of information for each. What particularly struck out to me at first was the topic of religion and I have started contributing to that. Currently, I am working on the Sikhism portion, as it had some general information written and being a Sikh myself, I think it can be broken down to more specific topics such as populations, religious values and contexts and even current events. Additionally, I think it will be interesting to add the new media aspect to the different religions and how religious centers have started using social networking sites to promote events or occasions. I have been focusing on researching on Sikhism first, and then will move on to the topic of new media.

P2P File Sharing

File sharing is the ability to share files, uploading or downloading, with others through some interconnected network, usually the Internet. File sharing began in the 1970s but became particularly popular in the late 90s with the Internet. By 2000, there were several sites and softwares emerging to support file sharing such as Napster (which was shut down after legal issues) and BitTorrent. BitTorrent is particularly interesting in the way it runs, and how fast it allows sharing files thanks to P2P file sharing. 

In the Wired article "The BitTorrent Effect," journalist Clive Thompson writes of BitTorrent founder Bram Cohen, who has developed one of the most efficient P2P file sharing models. P2P file sharing requires users to interact with one another in downloading and uploading files through a program with other connected users/computers. Traditional models often lag in terms of time, whether it's for the downloader or uploader because single complete files are being put up at once, but BitTorrent requires users to upload files in "bits" so they upload faster and ultimately the files come together for a complete piece. (You can read more on BitTorrent here - really interesting article!). However, there are several other P2P file sharing examples such as instant messaging and the ability to share files, Skype, and Gnutella. 

Privacy & Confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality are major concerns raised when it comes to new media. While most new media will assure users that their information will be protected, this isn't always certain. New media has given way to new methods of hacking online and retrieving personal information.
People put their personal information on places like virtual worlds like SecondLife or online banking systems. If someone hacks into these places, they receive all the personal information they can get.

Along with cyberattacks, a person's right to privacy may not really exist on new media because of interconnectedness online. For example, something someone posts on Facebook as a personal opinion can get shared by someone else, and may even cause problems for the original "poster". This can happen with any social media site consisted of pictures or posts. It is important to be mindful of how "private" new media can really be.

Advice to Baruch College

The five C's: communication, community, convergence, creativity, and collaboration. These characteristics are not only important in defining new media, but should be critical to a student's time in college as well. New media can be used in colleges to address new and beneficial possibilities for students. 

Baruch College should start addressing new media in several aspects and trying to engage students with it more. For example, the blogs we are asked to make for Freshman Seminar should be less of a requirement and more of a personal "my time at Baruch" kind of blog. It can be introduced to students each year in the beginning to remind them it exists. This blog would encourage students to share their experiences with one another as well as give or get advice for their time here. Additionally, more classes can use online class wikis, to comment on works they read and also become familiar with one another. Online newspapers and their feeds can be useful to students in business classes, or any classes covering current events. 

I do believe new media shouldn't be forced onto students. But showing them how it can possibly help them outside of just personal entertainment or social gain would be a great start to incorporating new media into Baruch. 

Creativity and New Media

One way I channel my creativity by new media is through Snapchat. My cousins and I often send "snaps" to each other that are sometimes videos of particular events or animated pictures. On my cousin's birthday, I sent a quick picture snap of my cousin who we often call "Billi" meaning cat in my language. I drew on the picture with the colored pencil features and sent the snap to some friends and family. Often, this triggers the receivers to send a creation of their own. One of my first replies was my younger cousin, who decided to save her creativity for another time.

Creativity

New media fosters creativity in several ways. Users of new media can post creative pictures they have taken, blog poems or stories they have written, create unique videos, and even collaborate on ideas instantly. New media is an open platform for users to constantly test their creativity.

For example, mash-ups became very popular on YouTube, where the producers would combine two different snippets of music or cartoons or both, into one video. In a particular example mentioned in the NYT article "Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why?," YouTubers created mashups of Disney characters with popular rap songs. These mash-ups made it seem as if the cartoons were singing and dancing to the song. (You can watch the video here).

Other examples include websites like OpenIDEO where users collaborate on new, creative solutions to social issues, Instagram where photographers can display their unique collections, and even Snapchat where users send short pictures or videos that they can draw or create. New media allows users to channel their creativity through different ways of collaboration and freestyle.