About My Term Research Paper

I did my research paper on the topic of disability and new media. I tried to find out the changes that came in the lives of disable people with the advancements in new media. I tried to using the library databases for the research, it was very helpful and rest of the content Google helped me out with. I think virtual worlds and other social networking sites have given a chance to the disable people to socialize. they have more freedom as the technology is improving to give them a better access to all these resources. New media such as blogs have helped them have a better say, it has also allowed them to express themselves. There are online shopping sites which are being used which is allowing the disabled people to sit in the comfort of their homes and buy stuff. I found out although the changes are slow but more and more websites are becoming accessible to the disabled. The new business models online are trying to focus on the people with disability because these groups are underprivileged, this would earn the businesses higher revenues and give disabled a better and an improved access.

Privacy Issues

With the technological advances in new media, privacy issues have become more relevant and prevailing. Privacy issues involving the internet are the most threatening and controversial. With the public more conscious of their rights, invasions of privacy through these mediums are becoming issues of debate.
There are many privacy threats made each time a person surfs the web. There are various ways that information about you or your activities can be collected without your knowledge or consent. Privacy protection is an important issue to people using e-commerce and online shopping. Online shopping and e-commerce has been a major internet growth area, with individuals now being able to buy numerous products online. Sites such as Facebook too promise privacy protection. Facebook gives their users privacy settings to control who is able to view their page/blog but even then your friend's friends can view up to certain amount of information on your page. Individuals don't realize that even if you giving up small bits of information on different sites, with the new technology, people can come across these vital pieces of information by Googling and they can combine DOB, your name even your address and use this type of information for fraud. Although regulatory bodies and organizations are working to protect civil liberties and privacy it is up the individuals themselves to decipher how much information they want to put out there for everyone to see.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

In the class wiki I decided to contribute in the new media and sports section. I put up interesting stuff I found out about the new media is changing the sports. New media has allowed to bring the audience closer to the game and their favorite players. I put up articles about HIGHSCHOOLOT.com which is a site that is dedicated to the high school football. It recently launched an iPhone application which has allowed the users to stay updated on the scores. I also put up the article about twitter and how these sport figures are using twitter to get in touch with their fans and being followed by millions of users. Another article I put up was about the Sports telecast on the internet which is allowing tournaments to be telecast on the internet and how it had allowed the sport fans to keep in touch. I decided to contribute in New Media and business section where I put up an article that talks about the Good search which is a search engine and which is helping non profit organization receive funds. I added the same article in the New Media and healthcare section where I mentioned about the Good Search sites and Google grants program offering help to the healthcare research organisations.

The Next New Thing

The next new thing that I expect in new media will be virtual classes. This will allow the students to sit in a virtual classroom and get the lectures from their home. This will save time for the people who commute and spend an hour or two travelling. There can be a fixed time where all the students can be in the classroom and the professor can lecture. This will save time and effort for the students and the professors. Students will be able to submit their assignments in the classroom and should be able to take quizzes and exams. Students should be able to do in class writings by typing up the assignments given right away and submitting it. Setting of the classroom can also incorporate options like discussion boards and peer to peer chatting.

Advice to Baruch College

I think Baruch college should use a function like twitter and should encourage all the students to be connected. This is will keep the students informed about the stuff thats going around in college. Announcements can be made through tweet and professors should have the access to inform the students if he/she is coming late or not coming to class at all. Baruch should also offer more online course because its makes it easier for the students to take classes along with their busy schedule. The school should make blackboard more advance so the professors could record their lectures and would post them. This idea would be a good help tool for students to do well on their classes. This will allow the students to download those lecture on iPod or mp3s and revise their stuff on the train or whenever they get a chance

My New Media Class - So Far

There is a wide range of technologies that are part of new media, it can vary through different platforms from the Internet, entertainment, news, advertising industries to the incorporation of communication technologies. New media involves technologies like blogs, Flickr, Yahoo messenger, E book reader and Ezines etc. New media technologies have revolutionized our daily lives.

Internet is the most crucial part of new media. The new media technologies which we're using nowadays would't be accessible without internet. Internet has brought everyone closer and has enabled us to communicate through blogs, wikis and online social networking sites . internet has helped new media in bringing the society closer and has allowedthe consumers to come online to present their opinions.

One of the biggest reasons why old media is being replaced by new media is because of the speed that new media functions in. New media is much more faster and developed from newspapers to Stamps, from Radio to Books to E books everything is getting faster and more advanced. New media is easy to access, convenient to use, globalized, promotes interactivity, it has revolutionized out quality of life.

Interesting article about the new media being used by the jurors

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/us/18juries.html?_r=1&ref=internet

Social Networking

Social networking sites is the easiest to way to communicate with people around you. on the corporate level these sites can be a lot beneficial as well. Some companies now a days are using websites as Linkedin. This site helps them stay connected to a network of over 8 million people. This large network allows companies to look at many candidates for a job. This can help the companies HR department to look at different resumes put up by the potential candidates. With so many candidates out there it is easier for an employer to find a person that they think is perfect and helps save these companies lots of money and time. Another benefit is that these companies can advertise their products and services on these websites. This helps them target a huge market of people who are using these sites everyday.

Social networking helps people stay up to date with latest news or the happenings in the world. It helps stay friends and families in touch which keep the bonds get closer.

The darks side to these social networking sites is that unknown people can use these networking sites to get personal information. People take advantage of being anonymous and can use this to hurt other people. Theres a direct threat to privacy as people can steal your pictures and use them for wrongful purposes.

http://web.pacific.edu/x4989.xml

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf

Check Out Social Networking Sites

Myspace and Facebook
As I observed the sign-up pages they are relatively similar. Even signing up for these two is relatively similar. It is when I got into the actual design inside the program I was able to see that it can be very different. I saw all kinds of personalities in the designs of the different Myspace layouts. Where with Facebook the design is clean and clear with not as much information or style. Privacy issues with Myspace, if you do now want people viewing your pictures and information etc, you will need to change that in your settings. With Facebook the viewers actually need to have your permission.The main target forMyspace has been formed with entertainment and music in mind. I prefer Myspace over Facebook because I listen to a lot of music and watch a lot of videos, The main difference that I observed is basical that one is for more professional uses and the other is for all age levels and groups.
Friendster
It was in the late 2002 when Friendster became an official social networking site on the interent. A lot of people around the globe signed up to their site and discover the wonders and advantages of a social networking site. The main thing I observed is like Myspace and Facebook Friendster helps people meet new people. Unlike Facebook, Friendster has added features such as the users dashboard like embedded video and audio clips, improved scalability, wide range of applications, new and improved CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), and a whole lot more. The big difference I observed is there is a lot of advertisment in Friendsters and this website has a lot more traffic coming from Asia than American. I wouldnt really use Friendster because my friends are mostly using Facebook or Myspace.
Twitter
I think Twitter is the most popular internet site of the moment, allowing users to send very short messages (limited to 140 characters) known as "Tweets." I think Twitter is more geared towards people who like to live more into movie star's lives. People sign up with Twitter to experience day to day lives of movie stars and their close friends and family. You can tweet your daily routine and follow famous people's blogs. I think this website going to be more popular than Facebook and Friendster because people can follow their favorite movie star and find out what he or she is doing minute by minute or day by day.

BLOGS vs. WIKIS reading

http://llt.msu.edu/vol7num2/emerging/default.html

BLOGS vs. WIKIS

Similarities-

Both are used to spread information about various topics

Both are important tools to communicate

Both of these tools help build a stronger community

Differences-

BLOGS

1. Usually written by a single author
2. Knowledge is limited to one person
3. Edited and administered by one person
4. Usually represents single person's views
5. Structure differs

WIKIS

1. Written by multiples authors
2. Relies on collaborative knowledge and effort
3. It can be edited and administered by different authors
4. Usually tends to be objective
5. The structure is determined by content

How can blogs be used for collaboration?

Although most blogs are created and managed by individuals, there are also possibilities of group blogs out there. Blogs are easily linked and cross-linked and they help create a larger online communities. Though, the knowledge,

and content t posted on blogs tends to be personal but it gives other reader the power to comments, therefore collaboration of bloggers would result in improve interaction and enhance the informations and views.

Can you think of a new use for a wiki that has not been done yet?

I think Wikis should be used in big companies as an instructional manual and guidebook. It will make it easier for the employees and the managers to get their tasks done right and if they come up with a problem they can easily look for the solution in company's Wiki.

NEW MEDIA vs OLD MEDIA

There's a wide range of technologies which are part of new media. New media has revolutionized every aspect of today's world, it has changed the various platforms such as the Internet, entertainment, news, advertising industries and the communication technology. New media is much more faster and easily accessible compared to the old media. New Media is convenient and cheap and has given the power to an ordinary person to get his/her stuff done in a much faster and efficient way.

Old Media/ New Media

1. Newspapers/ Blogs
2. Books/ E books
3. Photography/ Flickr
4. TV/ Streaming Full Episodes
5. Radio / Podcasting
6. Magazines / E zines
7. Telephone/Yahoo Voice, MSN

Looking at the list we can easily compare and feel that the New Media has made our lives much easier than before. With the emergence of Blogs, any ordinary person can go online and present his/her views which would have been impossible to do with the newspapers. Flickr has made the life of the photos longer and easy to store. Now days people can chat or talk through different messengers which has revolutionized communication and has brought everyone much closer.

New media and access for the disabled - boon or bust?

New media is bringing a change in the world by speeding the change in the technology and by increasing speed of communication. It is making everything easily accessible to everyone without discriminating. If you have a computer you are able to use all the resources available out there. But have we ever thought about the disabled? For example people that are blind or have low visions need access to online websites.. how will they be able to move along with rest of the world and take advantage of the new advances in technology out there? Launched at a Headquarters press conference, there was the first-ever global web accessibility survey, according to which 97 of the world’s leading 100 websites failed to meet the minimum accessibility level for people who are blind, have low-vision disabilities, or cannot use a computer mouse.

There are millions of people out there that are denied access to the web because of their disability. Today there is a demand for the New Media to bring a change for the disabled but feels like the change is coming in very slow. For the disable New Media is a just a bust since they cant use and take advantage of whats out there.

New Media undoubtedly composes of 5 C's: Collaboration, Community, Creativity, Convergence and communication technologies which began in the later part of the 20th century. Few great examples of new media are Blogs, Wikis, online social networking, virtual worlds, social media forms. To me all the new media has once common feature, it is easily accessible, price convenient. Any one can use wikis, blogs or social networking sites from anywhere without any issues if they have the access to the computer. New media has made great contribution, it has help spread information fast and easy. It has helped boom the world of business and helped spread the radical ideas as well. New media was probably made with the idea to maximize profits for the business. Along with that goal, it also completed the tasks of making the internet efficient and easy for the consumers and also brought the world much closer.