New Media Class So Far

This class is like none i've ever taken before and I must say that when i signed up for it i didn't know what to expect.The moment i looked at the blackboard page the first day i knew it was going to be either one of three things..1) it was going to be complicated and i would have a tough time keeping up because i'm no computer wiz..2) it would be boring because it would lose interest in all the computer talk OR 3) it wasn't going to be either of the first two things i mentioned and that it would be interesting.
Well so far it has been more of the number three experience. There have been moments where i spaced out on a topic here or there but i really like this class. It sheds light on things in new media that people take for granted, things that are right in front of us that we don't usually realize and things that we just didn't know or didn't think were possible. For instance the very social networking sites that a lot of us use only recreationally can be used to find us jobs.
If someone asked me about this class, I would say if you are not that interested in new media and is not a big fan of the social networking sites then you may find this class to be a drag. However if there is one spark of interest in you about new media then take the class it would definitely open up your eyes to a whole new world. (a bit of pun intended in reference to second life...sry if its not all that funny to you the reader it seemed so funny in my head haha)

Our Class Wiki So Far

I have a new found respect for wikipedia because now i have a bit of an idea as to how a wiki works.It is an overall nice experience to have but it is very difficult maintaining the class wiki. Often i get lost clicking through the different sections, sometimes im on the page and i read other peoples contributions then after a couple failed attempts to add to it i remember that i have to log in first (haha feel like a dork for that one). I've added aritcles and descriptions of the articles to the music section in the task assignment area and i've also added a paragraph or two to other people's section. Working in the task assignment area of the wiki actually helped me with my presentation because i saw a few articles that make me think about different aspect of my presentation on new media and its affect on music. I sometimes feel like i don't know what i should be doing when the funny thing is prof. friedman always says there is a lot to do on the wiki, i just never know where to begin then i start clicking a bunch of links then guess what...i'm lost again (haha). It's kind of too late in the game now for could've would've should'ves but when it comes to working on the class wiki throughout the semester BUT i think since i figured out how to operate in a couple areas of the wiki i'll just stick to those areas until assigned other wise.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

I don't have an avatar in any of those virtual worlds but they are kind of a big deal. I mean they take people out of their comforts zones...they allow them to do things they would never do in their normal lives. Like mentioned in the Nicole Saidi article iReport: ''Naughty Auties" People who have a problem socializing for whatever reason they are able to create a second life where they would meet new friends and create friendships that can overall improve their mental well being. This also goes for people who has physical disabilities they can walk around or go shopping or any other thing that they can't do that us able bodied people take for granted. Along with people who just want to experience the nightlife scene without having to deal with the issues of actually leaving the comfort of their homes.

I've heard of second life providing people with jobs that actually pay them. Companies even have boardmeeting on second life as to save them money.However for everything that has a positive impacts there are also negative ones. For instance i can see these same people losing touch with reality after spending so much time in virtual worlds. It may make them severly depressed after realizing that no matter how manny friends they have in the second life if they were to physically need someone for help they may not be around. Those same people meeting in those boardrooms on second life may not be fully able to convey what exactly they're trying to say and or do so their may be break down in communication.

The most intersting thing i've heard about second life was someone getting a job as a result of them creating a virtual flower garden and helping run a virtual sanctuary. I mean it does make a bit of sense because even though what ever people are doing isn't actually real they have to go through the same procedure as if it was real. So this would definitely expose people to learning things they didn't even think they can do in real life. Then they can go out into the real world and put what they learnt to good use.

As to the future of second life i think eventually people would begin to pay more attention to it after they realize that it's not JUST a game. That it can help people in a lot more ways than just wasting time on a pc because they choose not to socialize.

Check out Social Networking Sites

Ok so i'll be honest outside of facebook account and the twitter account i added for this class, i do not own an account for any other social networking site. I am not the biggest of fans in social networking sites. I must say i've come to like facebook after having the account for almsot four year but i think if my sister (who lives in trinidad) was not on it i would not have been. I really just view them as time passers that tend to get real annoying after a while. I hardly upload my own pictures... 90% of my pictures are pictures of me that were tagged by "friends". It's this weird thing where i spend a lot of time on facebook but i use it mostly to see what other people are doing and not so much of me telling people what i'm doing. From what i heard MySpace use to be a big hit until facebook evolved and myspace just began to look like a "rip-off" facebook then everyone made the switch to facebook. As new as twitter is i'm already hearing of people closing down their accounts. I just can't bring myself to even think of willing opening an account in another social network maybe that may cost me in this class but that's a risk i just may be willing to take.

The Impact of New Media on Music

Providing that i get the approval. I plan to do a little research on how new media has changed they way musicians actually make music. In the past musicians would play around with the idea of a melody on different instruments until it came together they way they wanted it to. Today there are a lot of computer programs that one can buy which virtually makes the sounds of different instruments. It seems that as a result of this the actually people who play these individual instruments are being needed less and less....unless they are required to play at live shows and even this they are not fully required for.

I don't think this is entirely a bad thing but i do feel like people are willing to give up that personal feel of things to cut cost. They would much rather just pay for the programs and equipment that one time as opposed to having to hire different people who they would have to pay. Its as though up and coming true musicians don't really stand a chance so in doing my reasearch i hope to find out if new media is actually helping or hurting the music industry and the musicians that's keeping it afloat.

What is new media?

New media is the evolution of everything that is old media ( journalism, writing letters, phone service,books, television..etc). It changes they way we interact with people and the way we view the world. We are now exposed to a lot more than our parents and grandparents were exposed to growing up. For example the television, when they were growing up the televisions they had (if they had any) were in black and white and it didn't come with many channel choices. Then cable came along with the many different channels when then again new media took it to a different level because now we can look at network channels on the computer. Laura sheds a bit of light on this in her "Who needs a TV? I'm Watching on my Laptop" article in the New York Times.

Actual paper books are now becoming a thing of the past because they are being replaced with electronic readers such as the Kindle. I heard some people say this can be a good thing because they are killing less trees but i don't think they stopped to think what happens to the environment when all these old electronics can't fully be destroyed. I won't get too carried away on that because that issue is for a whole entire blog post.

Take new reporting for example, its as if the public is one great big journalism community that just trades new back and forth. It's becoming increasingly difficult for new stations to keep their ratings up because people are turning else where for their news at faster speeds than the evening news. Everyone who has a blog can make news reports about what they are seeing, websites such as PerezHilton.com and TMZ. One of the biggest examples of this is the news of the passing of the King of Pop TMZ were the first to break the news and soon other stations took their news form there.

We no longer have to wait forever to receive a letter in the mail unless we absolutely feel like it because we have emails ,we also have instant messaging. This is a part of web 2.0/new media, social networking sites also changes the way we interact with our friends. We can now comment on pictures and tag each other in those very same pictures. We can know change or give our input in the things we read online on wiki enabled sites the biggest of them being wikipedia the online encyclopedia.

The way we view and interact with things are forever changing, so does that mean that every time a form of communication is changed it becomes new media?

Also how many other things has to change on the internet before it become web 2.1?...( just a random thought)