Creativity and New Media

For the creativity and new media assignment, I decided to join the virtual world and create a Second Life character. The process was simple at first. I started off by making an account via the website and then downloaded the software on my computer. Afterwards, I had to choose an avatar and a username for my avatar. Then it got pretty complicated. I own a Macbook and that is what I used to play. Many may know that the functions on the Macbook are more complicated than those on a regular PC. I had some difficulty navigating my avatar around for a while until I finally got it down packed. With Second Life I was able to create a virtual version of me, named AgentSelf, who traveled to all the places I wish I was. AgentSelf visited a few beaches in Europe, then went to the clubs in Miami and also, did some sightseeing in Europe.

After learning about virtual worlds, specifically Second Life, I thought it would be interesting to know what the hype was all about. I enjoyed creating my avatar and making her be and do everything I was not able to. The worst part of the experience definitely had to be learning the keys of navigation. The application has a lot going on and many different things to manage, such as the chat, destinations, notes, etc., which was overwhelming for me. In addition, there are certain aspects I was not able to try, like clothes and appearance, because they took time to change and I only had Second Life for a trial period. I think new media has created great ways to spark creativity among its users but I am still skeptical of the motives of its producers.

Creativity

Companies create sites with a general idea of what they want or believe will sell. But once these sites are made available to the public, it is the users who decide what stays and goes. For every social media forum that consumers indulge in there are always things that can be made better. As sites develop, producers can see what is actually working, what needs to go and what needs to be added. According to Claire Miller, companies are sitting on the sidelines waiting for their customers to innovate for them. Social media sparks creativity because people know what they want and for everything that they use, they also know how they wish it actually was. When you're using a site frequently you tend to wish that part of it was easier or made doing something more convenient. For example, on Twitter before the creation of the "@" symbol users didn't necessarily know when someone was tweeting about or to them. As Twitter founders saw a need the "@" symbol was created to fulfill. The ones who are submitting to the media should dictate how it functions so, I think it's great that companies are attentive to their audience. Is how they are going about the best way? Well, that's a different story.


Work Cited:
1. Miller, Claire. "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Mar. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html?_r=0>.

Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds are a form of technology that has not progressed the way other forms have, such as social networking sites. This is a result of businesses having the inability to "think beyond what's already there." Virtual worlds foster creativity because with every new development there is always something new and better that can be discovered. It is up to the inventors to study the needs and wants of the consumer and allows that to spark new ideas. According to Diane Mehta, "you can use virtual worlds in education, in delivery services, or as an advanced form of telehealthcare that offers so much more than videoconferencing." One of the benefits of using virtual worlds is the improvement it makes on psychotherapy. Virtual healing spaces are created for soldiers returning from war and even victims of autism. People suffering from unfortunate disorders like Autism and PTSD can now use these safe worlds as a form of therapy. On the other hand, virtual worlds create another world for people to be apart of and excessive use can lead to a loss or neglect of reality and the real world. Similarly to any other form of technology, virtual worlds hamper the traditional conversation and socializing and replace it with online networking. I believe that if the promoters of virtual worlds can find a way to market them to a wider range of individuals, it can have a very bright future. Virtual worlds can possibly be expanded into other segments of therapy and even used to close the gap of long distance communication.

Works Cited

1. Mehta, Diane. “After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get a Reboot?” Forbes.com. Forbes, 30 April 2013. Web. 20 March 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/dianemehta/2013/04/30/after-second-life-can-virtual-worlds-get-a-reboot/>.

2. Saidi, Nicole. “'iReport: Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction.” CNN.com. CNN, 28 March 2008. Web. 20 March 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/28/sl.autism.irpt/index.html#cnnSTCText>.

Social Networking Sites

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr are among the top 20 most popular social networking sites. I have the beauty of being a member of each of these communities. These sites have made it convenient staying on top of social media and remaining connected with friends. Beginning, Facebook is generally used to stay in touch with friends, especially since privacy regulations require friends to be "added" in order to view their page. Similarly, Twitter controls what you view via the "follow" button, which adjusts what appears on your news feed. Both Facebook and Twitter share the idea of updating a status/tweet, but also having the option of messaging for direct and private uses. Instagram, on the other hand, is used less to speak to others but instead communicate via photos. Twitter and Instagram users can not only add their personally friends but follow celebrities and media outlets. This is true for Facebook as well but in my opinion, I find that social media is updated more on Twitter and Instagram than Facebook. Lastly, Tumblr is a mix between a blog, Instagram and Twitter. Through Tumblr one posts photos or memes, like Instagram, which can be "reblogged," like Twitter, and commented on by other users, like blogs. Out of all these sites I use Twitter and Instagram the most with Facebook falling into third place and Tumblr almost never. Facebook has drastically changed since it was first started and now it doesn't necessarily fulfill its original goal. There is much competition for my attention between Twitter and Instagram because with both sites if they are not checked frequently, I'm left out of the loop. Finally, because Tumblr is so much alike other sites that I already have I don’t really find the need to log on as often.  

Twitter

Twitter in my opinion is one of the better social sites available because you can connect politically and socially. Having a discussion on Twitter perhaps isn't the best place though, when you have outlets like Blackboard and plain old in-class. The discussion that CIS 3810 had under the hashtag #3810NET2 was a lot more complicated to follow than it should have been. Twitter only has room for 140 characters, which is not enough especially when you're discussing an article that is 2 pages long. Hashtags also count as characters so it's either your tweet gets lost or never found in the commotion or you sacrifice a few letters. On the other hand, Blackboard discussions allow for as many characters as you wish, not to forget they come with spell check, which is a bonus for school activities! The most convenient part of Blackboard discussions it that each topic can have its own forum and each contributor can write their own corresponding thread. But on Twitter in order to follow what is being said you must "Discover" the hashtag and read through the tweets, which isn't the easiest. 

Twitter and Blackboard aside there are also classic in-class discussions. In-class discussions have everything that these two sites don't. They have emotion, passion and conflict. Typing how one feels does not come nearly as close to actually saying it out loud. A great example of this is during the #3810NET2 discussion one of my classmates posted a tweet with sarcasm intended and another classmate reading the tweet did not catch on to the sarcasm. My point exactly! Writing how you feel is the best way to misinterpret the point actually trying to be expressed. The only disadvantage I find with in-class discussions is that with all the passion being expressed not everyone has the opportunity to share their ideas. I'm sure we've all be a part of a discussion where everyone seems to have something to say and gathering your own thoughts to participate gets complicated. Not everyone is able to come up with an idea or opinion on the spot and being able to take time away from everyone and actually write how you feel can help. Personally, I appreciate the traditional in-class discussions overall. 

Social Networking

Social networking has become a widely use resource in today's generation. This technology has proven useful in both corporate and personal fields. Sites like Facebook allow users to maintain close relationships with their friends while sites like Twitter can keep one updated on news and social media. Aside from Facebook and Twitter, which are for more personal uses, there also comes webpages such as Linkedin. According to Frank Langfitt, "Professional recruiters have started hunting for job candidates using social networking technology." Social networks have opened up new ways to access potential employees/employers. Even companies like Nissan have resorted to social networking. They have created a Facebook page called NSquare that will "will connect up to 50,000 of the company's 180,000 employees worldwide, letting them create online profiles and blogs, form online communities and discussion groups, and swap data files (Hall)."These new technologies have their benefits but like everything else, also has its dark side. Maintaining long distant friendships have become easier but at the cost of the individuals privacy. Finding jobs and staying connect are now more convenient but the intimacy of direct contact with another person has been lost. Social networks have opened doors this generation may have never thought possible, but does the good outweigh the bad? Personally, I believe these technologies will only grow in the future. For every bug and inconvenience there is, there is a developer out there looking to tweak and profit off of it. Everything is being made easier on us but at the cost of losing the simple things that keep us motivated, sacrificing our human nature. In my opinion, it is important for us to take advantage of the outlets social networking provides while also never forgetting where we stood before it all started. 

1. Hall, Kenji. "Why Is Nissan Mimicking MySpace?" Bloomber Business. 03 October 2007. Web. 07 March 2015.  

2. Langfitt, Frank. "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting." National Public Radio. 22 November 2006. Web. 07 March 2015. 

3. Thompson, Clive. "Brave New World of Digital Intimacy." New York Times. 05 September 2008. Web. 07 March 2015. 

Blogs vs. Wikis

Blogs and wikis are both convenient webpages used to communicate information in different ways. The main differences between the two lie in the type of information being shared and who is sharing it. Blogs contain entries that are submitted by one author where others can contribute by posting responses and comments. Wikis, on the other hand, are pages that anyone can edit or add information to. Blogs usually have a more journal like look and share opinions versus a wiki which is more structured and knowledge sharing. Blogs operate post by post whereas wikis are much quicker since articles are continuously added. Both wikis and blogs exist as resources to gain information and highlight the importance of convergence in today's networked world. They are both used for collaboration because they bring people together to discuss and shine light on one topic. Wikis allow for authors to share facts by inserting credited articles and blogs allow individuals to share opinions by responding with comments. There is no way to say which outlet, wiki or blog, is better it all depends on how the person cares to use it.



Locher, Margaret. "More On How to Build Your Own Wikipedia." CIO. 17 April 2008. CIO. Web. 03 March 2015. http://www.cio.com/article/2436789/time-management-productivity/more-on-how-to-build-your-own-wikipedia.html.

Barbaro, Michael. "Wal-Mart Tastemakers Write Unfiltered Blog." The New York Times. 03 March 2008. The New York Times. Web. 03 March 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/business/03walmart.html?_r=0.