The Next New Thing

Today the focus of the "next new thing" should be put towards augmented reality. Though it is largely in development as of right now, we have been introduced to it on a higher level through Google Glass but doesn't exist commercially. Interacting directly with virtual happenings around you without a secondary terminal such as a phone or computer. There are discussions about how the use of AR technology outside might make people distracted while walking or on the road but it is still the direction we as a society would like to reach. Augmented Reality could enhance everything from daily tasks to something like construction. We could have all the information we need in front of our eyes while performing the task at hand. It would also enhance connectivity between people if for example you're both trying to meet up or find each other you can use the location of the other person's smart device or own AR goggles which would give directions on how to get to them through a maps feature. There are many possibilities that Augmented Reality can be used for, as of now Virtual Reality is growing rapidly and being commercialized but the ultimate goal is to achieve a commercial application of Augmented Reality in society.

P2P File Sharing

File sharing is basically the distribution of files between people, systems, and others through various mediums. It can be done physically through an external hard-drive, usb drive, or cables such as an ethernet or usb cable. Today most people and companies share files between each other through the cloud by uploading them to a virtual drive and giving access to the files present to the appropriate users. P2P file sharing is essentially users uploading all types of content, which can range from legal to illegal, and granting access to other users to download and use as they wish. Today the most prominent example of P2P file sharing are torrents. Torrents are files that let a person download the content of the file specified with the torrent through the BitTorrent protocol which requires different clients, or programs, to be able to access. Some of these P2P file sharing programs are BitTorrent and uTorrent. These P2P programs have become huge over the last decade as the capabilities of the internet and the speeds available have grown. According to Wired, "more than 20 million people have downloaded the bittorrent application." (Thompson, 2005). This was back in 2005, with the programs available the the immense growth in capable speeds, the number of p2p program users must have grown exponentially.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

So far I have updated the Project Morpheus sub-section under the Gaming category to its official name Playstation VR along with adding the release date, the price, and changing the picture. Also under the gaming category I added a new gaming company, Rocksteady studios, showcasing their critically acclaimed video game series, Batman: Arkham (Asylum, City, Knight). I will continue to add to this sub section, and then most likely add Konami which developed another one of my favorite game series, Metal Gear Solid and Ubisoft, who are the creators of the famous video game series' Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs.

Privacy

Today we are so connected to our technology the use of new media that some consider "privacy" to be a thing of the past. We willingly put our information, pictures and other types of data about ourselves online which can be accessible by a lot of people, more than the person might even be aware of. People usually gloss over or completely skip the terms of service so most of the time they aren't even aware of how their data is being seen or used. Though different types of New Media do offer various privacy options, these are usually too confusing to figure out or the options aren't extensive enough to have the type of privacy you want. A perfect example of this was when Mark Zuckerberg's own sister accidentally posted a photo of her family Facebook. She thought that the privacy setting she was choosing for the post would suffice but it wasn't really clear who would have access to it, little did she know that a friend of her sister could see it because her sister was tagged in the photo. (Greenfield, 2012) So even when we think we are implementing the privacy settings to do one thing, we are unaware of what it actually covers. When putting our information in a public space such as any New Media platform, we have to be aware that we are essentially giving up some of our privacy in the process. It is possible to have privacy on New Media, but it is impossible to have complete privacy.

Advice to Baruch College

     If I would give advice to Baruch college would be to use some sort of New Media to give updates on what is happening around the school in terms of events and updates. Though similar things do exist on Facebook but they all belong to separate clubs. There should be one central page or account that would be updated to reflect the happenings of the week. Another way New Media can also be helpful is if there is some sort of place where students can let the school know of issues around the school, for example if the vending machine doesn't operate properly or an outlet in a certain room isn't working. The goal would be to use New Media to make things more convenient for the students and even the faculty, not to make things more complicated in the process.

Creativity and New Media

      I would like to showcase the avatar I created in the MMO game DC Universe Online. It is a game where you create your own superhero, or villain, shape him/her in the image you want, and work with other players and their avatars alongside iconic heroes such as Batman and Superman to do missions and tasks to save the the world from Brainiac's invasion.

  

     My favorite superhero is Batman so I gave my character a Batman inspired helmet with a belt bearing batman's symbol along with a glider which is itself shaped like Batman's symbol. I wear superman's shield on my chest (hard too see because of the lighting) as he is my second favorite superhero and gauntlets of one of my other favorite characters, Dr. Fate. I made his colors black and gold for two reasons. The black is inspired from my lifelong favorite superhero, Batman. The gold comes from my favorite basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers. While using my avatar I can work with other players who created their heroes in the image they wanted from things that might have influenced and get see all the different styles, both cosmetically and ability wise that people have chosen.

Creativity

     New media has allowed creativity to be fostered by granting a plethora of tools for people to express themselves and their ideas online. People have the opportunity to create and share things that they have created. New media is essentially just a new platform for people to showcase their talents with ease; it allows their work to reach thousands of people with a few clicks. In his paper Creativity in an Interactive Environment, Isaac Bell states "another way that new media encourages creativity is in this ability to circulate the works with little effort. It is simple for a creator, or audience member, with Internet access to find wellknown online communities such as YouTube, Fanfiction.net, DeviantArt, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Renderosity, or Vimeo, or niche-focused sites like Blip.tv, TED.com, or Pandora, in order to share their works." New media has evolved to a point where the is are multiple avenues for all types of creative works to be shared.