ADVICE TO BARUCH COLLEGE

Many of the students at Baruch College have a busy schedule.The academic level is just as high as at NYU for example but the income level is much lower.Because of that many of us are forced to work full time while attending school.Most of the jobs students get while they are in school are low paying jobs which motivate them to network hoping to find something better.A student in his third or forth year usually will take networking more seriously since his about to graduate.This is where New Media will come in too play.I suggests we design a virtual world that will inable students to network with employers.The virtual world will be divided into two main subsections.The first section will be dedicated to meeting employers,posting resumes,and getting to know eachother.Here students will be able to let employers know what they have to offer and introduce themselves.The employers will evaluate the resumes they recive and if interested invite the qualified students to the second section of the virtual world.In this section the employers will be able too conduct online interviews.The employers will also be able to conduct group interviews using a special type of softwatre.If the students pass this stage of the evaluation the employers will contact the students and schedule a face to face interview.In my opinion this virtual world can be used as a great screening tool which can save allot of time and money.

MODELING REALITY WITH VIRTUAL WORLDS

Virtual worlds can be used for many different things.A certain area can be modeled using a virtual world giving people around the world the opportunity to get a feel of the place.In NY for example the Lower East Side has its own virtual world focused on the music it has to offer.In certain cases virtual worlds are created to give people with certain disabilities the opportunity to do things they are unable to do in there everyday lives.It gives them the ability to forget for a few hours about there disability and dance,run,swim,jump just like everyone else.Virtual worlds have also been used to help children suffering from autism.A fellow named david savill from England who suffers from Asperger's syndrome created a virtual world named Naughty Auties.He learned that because of the virtual world he created many people suffering from autism found it easier to communicate with using different types of symboles to describe there feelings.Although virtual worlds have many possitive aspects they have a dark side as well.People cam easily get addicted to a virtual world and limit face to face social interactions.Interner predidtors can use virtual worlds to commit sex crimes and sexually abuse children.Hackers can use virtual worlds to try gaining accesses to peoples personal information such as credit card numbers,bank accounts,social security numbers and much much more.

Social Networking

Social Networking sites can be used for many different things.Each social networking sites has its own unique personalty.Myspace is primarily used for promoting different types of music.The site is built in a way that enables artists to make free samples of there music available and let people give them feedback about the music.Facebook is focused on connecting old friends,meeting new friends,and allowing people to build relationships online.In addition busniesses are starting to create social networking sites.Prtner up is a site that helps people find busniess partners,network,and talk about busniess related issues.Although social networking sites have many positive aspects the have a dark side as well.It is very easy to use social networking sites to commit online sex crimes.In addition people can use these sites to invade an individualls privacy and get under peoples skin.Another negative aspect associated with social networking sites is the ease in which people can steal personal information.It is extremely easy to hack into a persons personal page on facebook or myspace and steal his or her's personal information.In my opinion the good overways the bad when it comes to these sites and people need to learn how to protect themselves from internet predidtors.

My new media class so far!!!

New media transformed are way of living.We read the news online,blog,use wiki's,watch movies on you tube and much much more.The internet had a huge impact on the creation of many different types of new media.Companies and individuals use the internet to communicate and share information.The new york times for example makes its article available online in addition to its papers soled in stores.That is all part of new media.Individuals who create mush ups by combining music and video's which they post on you tube are also creating new media.The internet enabled us to create wiki's which are also a for of new media.Before Wiki's people could not have the freedom to edit and comment on other people's work.Another creation of new media that was possible because of the existence of the internet is social networking.People mainly interacted face to face before the creation of social networking sites.When face book was born many people started building relationships online.Overall new media is changing are life and transforming the way we do things.I find it very interesting to learn about all the new types of media.

BLOGS v.s WIKIS

Firstly it is important to understand the differnce between a wiki and a blog.Wikipedia defines a blog as "a type of website that is usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary and description of events".I would add to that and say, a blog usually contains subjective information.Some blogs are dedicated to expert advice but most are owned by individuals expressing there personal opinions.Blogs can only be edited by the blogs owner and no outside sources can add or edit information.Thats were the differnce between a wiki and a blog lies.A wiki as defined by wekipidia" is a page or collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content using a simplified markup language.A wiki does not have one owner but has many owners,editors,and contributors.

Each of these sources of information has its advantages and disadvantages.A blog gives people the opportunity to express there personal opinions,give people advice,report developing news stories,and let an endless amount of people have access to that information.Since no one can edit a blog aside from its owner a blogs credibitly can be quistioned.In contrast a wiki can be edited by anyone creating information based on many different perspective.That type of information is richer and more in depth that it would be in a blog.On the flip side giving anyone the ability to edit the information can create the loss of valuable information and create a total mayhem.

A great idea I came up with for a wiki is one that focuses on addictions.It will be divided into many sub sections each dedicated to one type of addiction.It will give addicts the opportunity to share there personal experiences and help them support one naother.In addition it will have a whole section dedicated to expert advice that will give the addicts help to medical advice.

Its amazing how wikis and blogs have revolutionized the way information is accessed and exchanged.I wonderd whats next???

Evaluating social networking sites

Social networking sites are very similar to banks.They all offer the same products and services which forces them to differentiate themselves by improving the quality of customer service and the overall banking experience.Facebook and myspace are the two largest and most popular social networking sites.They both allow people to create a personal page,add friends,add graphics,join groups,add pictures and perform any activities related to social networking.Since they both have the same goal they differentiate themselves in many different ways.Facebook gives a feeling of a more personal site.It allows people to type in what they are doing and how they feel.In addition, peoples friends can comment on their status.Facebook has many different applications and groups people can join.Myspace has some as well but far less than facebook has.Myspace on the other hand lacks some of the personal feeling facebook gives but offers much more as far as music goes.Many artists created a myspace page,added sample music to their page and even posted information about their tour dates.Myspace gives the feeling of a more commercialized site that helps people promote their careers.Personally,I find facebook much more user friendly and welcoming.It gives the feeling of actually communicating with people face to face.I guess it all depends what a person is looking for in his social networking experience.

What is new media?

New Media is a term used to describe the birth of digital,computerized or networked information in the later part of the 21'st century.Many things that were considered old media such as the printing press have been transformed into new media using technologies such as photo shop.