There's currently a plethora of new media services out there that do everything from A-Z, so coming up with one is not easy.
Personally, I think a service that would benefit me the most would be a Digital Rolodex. A rolodex is a tool that someone would have on their desk that would contain the names of all their professional connections, service providers, family, and friends, coworkers, etc. This is something akin to LinkedIn, but not just strictly related to professional connectivity and networking.
This would be something along the lines of a database of people, tailored to you. The people you put in the database would have to be manually added there, and would be categorized by you: so family would have the "Family" tag, and your local plumber would have the services tag. Normally, it would be done in alphabetical order if it were physically on your desk, but this is digital, so you can sort it by any metric you want.
The database would be search-able via text box and filter-able as well. You'd also be able to search via SQL (a database is meant to be searched this way to begin with, and you can really narrow down the results quickly).
Monday, November 28, 2016
Sunday, November 20, 2016
P2P File Sharing
P2P Sharing is the process of downloading a file while simultaneously uploading portions of the file to other users. The most simple way of explaining it is that you don't need to have a server or connection to a website to being downloading files. All you'd need in the connection to your friends computer, which would open a path directly from his/her machine to yours without a middleman.
The basic premise of P2P very simple. Let's say your friend has a 500mb file that he wishes to share with 10 people. He would start a torrent with himself uploading the file. The torrent client (BitTorrent is the most famous one, for example) would split the file into different parts and upload a different part to each persons machine. This is called Seeding. Then the other users, the ones who are trying to download the file, would simply download the different parts simultaneously from each other. This is called Leaching. Together, they form a comprehensive network that relies on one another to sustain itself. If one user falls through, the structure is broken unless original user is still seeding the file...then the torrent client would go and retrieve the lost portion. P2P Sharing isn't always the best form of getting a file from A to B: "If two peers try to swap a compressed copy of Meet the Fokkers – say, 700 megs – the recipient will receive at a speedy 1.5 megs a second, but the sender will be uploading at maybe one-tenth of that rate. Thus, one-to-one swapping online is inherently inefficient." (Thompson). This problem is largely non-existent in today's world as most ISPs do not throttle upload speeds when compared to download speeds. Generally speaking, you should be getting what you pay for and no less. For example, my family pays Verizon for 35mb/s download and 35 mb/s upload.
Most people use P2P to download and upload movies and music. Since there is no middleman, the sharing service is entirely up to the users who are doing the sharing. Those with a better internet connection get the most out of the service as they can download things the fasted. In return, they can also upload the files faster as well.
The basic premise of P2P very simple. Let's say your friend has a 500mb file that he wishes to share with 10 people. He would start a torrent with himself uploading the file. The torrent client (BitTorrent is the most famous one, for example) would split the file into different parts and upload a different part to each persons machine. This is called Seeding. Then the other users, the ones who are trying to download the file, would simply download the different parts simultaneously from each other. This is called Leaching. Together, they form a comprehensive network that relies on one another to sustain itself. If one user falls through, the structure is broken unless original user is still seeding the file...then the torrent client would go and retrieve the lost portion. P2P Sharing isn't always the best form of getting a file from A to B: "If two peers try to swap a compressed copy of Meet the Fokkers – say, 700 megs – the recipient will receive at a speedy 1.5 megs a second, but the sender will be uploading at maybe one-tenth of that rate. Thus, one-to-one swapping online is inherently inefficient." (Thompson). This problem is largely non-existent in today's world as most ISPs do not throttle upload speeds when compared to download speeds. Generally speaking, you should be getting what you pay for and no less. For example, my family pays Verizon for 35mb/s download and 35 mb/s upload.
Most people use P2P to download and upload movies and music. Since there is no middleman, the sharing service is entirely up to the users who are doing the sharing. Those with a better internet connection get the most out of the service as they can download things the fasted. In return, they can also upload the files faster as well.
Our Class Wiki - So Far
My current contributions for the class wiki are as follows:
- To the Social Engineering page - All of the information that is currently there was written by and researched by me. Social Engineering is something that I was warned about at my previous job - we were told to be very careful about our interactions with all company related items as to not let any information leak outwards.
- Minor grammatical errors/typos fixed on other pages elsewhere.
Before the end of the semester, I'd like to make a significant contribution to another wiki page that is already established and researched.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Privacy in New Media
With the influx of new media usage over the years, questions about the privacy afforded to us by the tech companies have come about. Just to create an account, you usually need an email or sometimes a phone number which must be verified. More commonly, you'd need to give away your first and last name.
There are some sites that ask for much more information, although not mandatory. Facebook is the best example: it asks for you work information, address, birthday, relationships, friends, etc. There is very little information that Facebook won't accept, and it's raised concerns that the company has too much information on the general public. Leaks, hacks, or even Facebook willingly selling/sharing the information of it's users are common concerns.
As users, we can mitigate this risk by limiting the amount of information that we put on social media sites. If it isn't required, then don't input it.
Advice
Brooklyn College has made good use of new media over the last few years. Currently, they are using Facebook as their primary account, however they also have Twitter and Instagram accounts set up.
They make heavy use of Facebook, where they post news, pictures, and other information related to the college. However, scarce use of other forms of media are utilized. I personally feel that it's better if they use more forms of media to get the word out about BC. Not everyone has a Facebook account, or remembers to check the BC website for current events - so it makes sense to have more than one active account.
The BC Office of Communications is one of the most well funded offices at the college. I don't feel that it would be terribly difficult to spread out the social media accounts a little bit more.
They make heavy use of Facebook, where they post news, pictures, and other information related to the college. However, scarce use of other forms of media are utilized. I personally feel that it's better if they use more forms of media to get the word out about BC. Not everyone has a Facebook account, or remembers to check the BC website for current events - so it makes sense to have more than one active account.
The BC Office of Communications is one of the most well funded offices at the college. I don't feel that it would be terribly difficult to spread out the social media accounts a little bit more.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
How I use Creativity and New Media
One of the subtle ways that I used creativity to make my friends laugh and showcase my personality is my Facebook profile picture. For the longest time, I had it set to a fairly boring picture of myself. It wasn't a bad picture my any means, but it was typical.
To switch gears for a moment, I love Legos. I grew up with them and spent countless hours building and playing with them as a kid. I don't play with them as much as I used to of course, but I still collect some of the larger, more complex sets with thousands of pieces.
So I decided to update my profile picture to something a little bit more fitting....
The Original
The LEGO Daniel
The Halloween Special
I am not responsible for the actions of LEGO/Zombie Daniel.
Creativity
The surge of new media in the last few years has given rise to internet based creative content. New Media provides a fantastic outlet for the artistically inclined as it provides a blank canvas for the mind to run free.
One of the things that draws people to new media is the anonymity of the internet. You can choose to tell people who you are - or you can keep that to yourself. If you really wanted to, you could be someone that you aren't and no one would be able to tell the difference. It's this facelessness that lets people be free and open about what they write, draw, and create.
Something else that draws people to new media is the easy accessibility - all you need is an internet connection and you can start contributing. This means it's easy to add your content to the internet and get it out to all your friends, followers, etc.
Lastly, the internet is sort of like an unlimited canvas. You can add as much content as you want and (depending on the site you use) post it as many times as you want.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds
Virtual reality has been alive for some time in the form of MMRPGs, which go all the way back to the late 90s and early 2000. As a child, I played Runscape, a medieval role playing game with hundred of thousands of other players. It was new and fun, and never ending: there was always places to explore and new people to meet. It's been a few years since I last played that, but the virtual reality genre has certainly not stopped growing.
People use MMRPGs/Virtual Reality for a multitude of things. Some want to experience something different, some want to be someone different entirely. Others want a second shot at 'life' - a chance to do the things you might not be able to do in the real world. They might do it to escape their normal lives, meet new people, or just pass the time. But virtual reality is just that: virtual - not real. A set of 1's and 0's, a file folder, an arrangement of pixels on a screen. There are some who get so entrenched into the game that they forget this and will spend thousands on virtual and intangible items. Because of their popularity, VR is "fueling a robust economy driven mostly by avatar-to-avatar transactions estimated at between $1 billion and $2 billion a year in real dollars" (NYT). With numbers like that, it's hard to ignore the pull of VR.
But there are uses for VR that are new and ground breaking in their own right. Duke University researchers have been experimenting with VR and paralyzed patients. They've found that by putting people who are unable to walk into a exoskeleton like suit and equipping them with a VR headset 'tricks' their brains into thinking they are walking. "The device used is called Brain-Machine Interface, a computer system that records brain signals from human thoughts. The computer translates the recordings into commands to output devices. Patients had to imagine themselves making lower limb movements and then electrical signals from the brain were translated to the computer and moved each patients' avatar on the virtual reality screen." Everything was simulated, all the way down to the 'thud' of taking a footstep, which was simulated as an electrical pulse to the patients upper body. Over time, the patients reported gaining feeling and being able able to move certain parts of their body!
(Note: The article about VR helping peopel regain feeling and movement was not on the reading list, but was instead discovered during my own initial research. It can be found here.)
People use MMRPGs/Virtual Reality for a multitude of things. Some want to experience something different, some want to be someone different entirely. Others want a second shot at 'life' - a chance to do the things you might not be able to do in the real world. They might do it to escape their normal lives, meet new people, or just pass the time. But virtual reality is just that: virtual - not real. A set of 1's and 0's, a file folder, an arrangement of pixels on a screen. There are some who get so entrenched into the game that they forget this and will spend thousands on virtual and intangible items. Because of their popularity, VR is "fueling a robust economy driven mostly by avatar-to-avatar transactions estimated at between $1 billion and $2 billion a year in real dollars" (NYT). With numbers like that, it's hard to ignore the pull of VR.
But there are uses for VR that are new and ground breaking in their own right. Duke University researchers have been experimenting with VR and paralyzed patients. They've found that by putting people who are unable to walk into a exoskeleton like suit and equipping them with a VR headset 'tricks' their brains into thinking they are walking. "The device used is called Brain-Machine Interface, a computer system that records brain signals from human thoughts. The computer translates the recordings into commands to output devices. Patients had to imagine themselves making lower limb movements and then electrical signals from the brain were translated to the computer and moved each patients' avatar on the virtual reality screen." Everything was simulated, all the way down to the 'thud' of taking a footstep, which was simulated as an electrical pulse to the patients upper body. Over time, the patients reported gaining feeling and being able able to move certain parts of their body!
(Note: The article about VR helping peopel regain feeling and movement was not on the reading list, but was instead discovered during my own initial research. It can be found here.)
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Blog About Twitter
Twitter differs heavily from Blackboard in a few regards. First off, Blackboard is a great for more lengthy discussions that would be hampered by Twitter's 140 char limit. But it's more cumbersome to use - it's hard to beat the simplicity of logging onto Twitter and start typing away. With Blackboard, you have to login, navigate to the class page, and then to the topic you wish to reply too, and only then can you contribute. It's part of the reason I can't stand blackboard.
However, blackboard is a little bit neater when it comes to content. Topics are clearly laid out and you can easily find what you want to read/post on. It also gives you more options when posting, like formatting and picture options. The same can not be said for Twitter.
I think I'd prefer if we all joined a Facebook Group dedicated to this class and just posted there. It allows for plenty of discussions without the hassle of Blackboard and the obvious limitations of Twitter.
Social Networking Sites
The four sites I chose for this assignment are: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. All four of these sites serve very different purposes and you can see it just by logging in and taking a peek around.
Facebook and Twitter are probably the most straightforward sites. You are greeted with the posts of people that you're friends with/who you follow and you are immediately given the option of posting something yourself. Facebook provides the most information about a person: meaning that you can have access to a person's pictures, friends list, location, other life details, and all of their content. It's very centric and does a good job of presenting all of this information to its users. When I think of Facebook, I feel that it's the jack of all trades.
Twitter is a little bit different in that it focuses more on getting information out there as fast as possible with it's 140 char limit. Someone can tweet a live event, limited only by the number of characters and how fast they can type. It's not as content oriented as Facebook is however.
LinkedIn is more of a "professional facebook" to me. You wouldn't post pictures of you going out to a bar with friends there, but maybe you would post some articles that interest you career wise. Users can still post, like, and comment on things, but LinkedIn is meant for those who wish to keep track of their connections and perhaps look for new ones or new jobs. This is demonstrated by the first screen after logging in...which prompts you to send invitations to anyone you might know. Only after passing that screen do you get to the feed of people you're connected with.
Snapchat is much different than the previous three sites. First off, there is only an mobile app for snapchat - no desktop website you can access. Upon opening the app, you are greeted with an open camera that immediately allows you to start taking snaps. The recipients of the snap can reply via text or pictures. The twist here is that snaps (including text) are deleted after they've been viewed, and will not reside on any servers or user devices (so long as they aren't screenshotted). I am personally not a huge fan of Snapchat as there are privacy concerns (whether your snaps are really deleted or not is debatable) and it eats my phone battery like no other.
Facebook and Twitter are probably the most straightforward sites. You are greeted with the posts of people that you're friends with/who you follow and you are immediately given the option of posting something yourself. Facebook provides the most information about a person: meaning that you can have access to a person's pictures, friends list, location, other life details, and all of their content. It's very centric and does a good job of presenting all of this information to its users. When I think of Facebook, I feel that it's the jack of all trades.
Twitter is a little bit different in that it focuses more on getting information out there as fast as possible with it's 140 char limit. Someone can tweet a live event, limited only by the number of characters and how fast they can type. It's not as content oriented as Facebook is however.
LinkedIn is more of a "professional facebook" to me. You wouldn't post pictures of you going out to a bar with friends there, but maybe you would post some articles that interest you career wise. Users can still post, like, and comment on things, but LinkedIn is meant for those who wish to keep track of their connections and perhaps look for new ones or new jobs. This is demonstrated by the first screen after logging in...which prompts you to send invitations to anyone you might know. Only after passing that screen do you get to the feed of people you're connected with.
Snapchat is much different than the previous three sites. First off, there is only an mobile app for snapchat - no desktop website you can access. Upon opening the app, you are greeted with an open camera that immediately allows you to start taking snaps. The recipients of the snap can reply via text or pictures. The twist here is that snaps (including text) are deleted after they've been viewed, and will not reside on any servers or user devices (so long as they aren't screenshotted). I am personally not a huge fan of Snapchat as there are privacy concerns (whether your snaps are really deleted or not is debatable) and it eats my phone battery like no other.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Social Net'g
Corporations and businesses have been using new media for several unique and interesting ways over the years. For example, in India, the police set up a Facebook page for people to post pictures and videos of drivers who routinely break traffic laws so that they could go after them (Timmons). This is an example of a crowd sourced effort that helps the police stem the law-breaking drivers of India. Other uses for social media include recruiting for companies by simply looking at Facebook or LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a very powerful tool for recruitment as demonstrated by rectuier Maureen Crawford: "Typing keywords into a search engine, Crawford can scrape the entire network to dig out high-quality candidates that she can't find elsewhere" (Langfitt). It's an important tool for recruitment just as much as it is for those seeking a job.
New media does indeed have a darkside though, perhaps the most serious being that privacy is often a concern. An ever increasing amount of personal information is available online or is being asked of us by different companies. Just to sign up for a new platform, you might be asked for your email, phone number, first and last name, and birthday. When we stop and think about it, there is very little about us that isn't out there - and it's all in the hands of very large corporations or even the government.
New media does indeed have a darkside though, perhaps the most serious being that privacy is often a concern. An ever increasing amount of personal information is available online or is being asked of us by different companies. Just to sign up for a new platform, you might be asked for your email, phone number, first and last name, and birthday. When we stop and think about it, there is very little about us that isn't out there - and it's all in the hands of very large corporations or even the government.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Blog v. Wiki - What's the Difference?
A blog is a place that you can call your own - a place where you can share your opinions and design it how you please. A wiki is more concrete and collaborative - a place that you can go to look for solid, objective, information that is sourced by a group of people as opposed to one person. As a side effect of their collaborative nature, Wikis tend to grow very rapidly. Blogs are typically run by one person and grow slowly, one post at a time. In terms of discussion, Wikis will have an entire page dedicated to it (more of a forum style) whereas blogs will have a comment section dedicated to each post that is usually moderated by the blog's owner.
When most people hear the word 'blog', they think that it consists of one person sitting alone somewhere with a laptop and a cup of coffee, happily typing away. It doesn't have to be like this however - what if companies asked their employees to keep blogs (internally hosted of course) where they could write about their work or any ideas they have. Then their coworkers could read and comment on them, giving them the ability to provide feedback about the post/content. This type of blogging also helps to provide more personality to the corporate atmosphere, which is often very stale and drab, while promoting the ideas of innovation and teamwork.
Wikis themselves are a very powerful tool for business. Perhaps one of the best new uses that I've seen is product documentation for an internally built system. When a company builds a new software system, they could create a wiki (that only other employees can see/edit) which provides documentation about how to set up the system, get it up and running, trouble shooting, etc. This allows all employees who are working with the system (for some companies, that might be >1,000 people working on it at once!) to have easy access to help and information related to it. Even better, the information present on the Wiki is written in-house and is specific to that company, which makes it an even more powerful asset.
When most people hear the word 'blog', they think that it consists of one person sitting alone somewhere with a laptop and a cup of coffee, happily typing away. It doesn't have to be like this however - what if companies asked their employees to keep blogs (internally hosted of course) where they could write about their work or any ideas they have. Then their coworkers could read and comment on them, giving them the ability to provide feedback about the post/content. This type of blogging also helps to provide more personality to the corporate atmosphere, which is often very stale and drab, while promoting the ideas of innovation and teamwork.
Wikis themselves are a very powerful tool for business. Perhaps one of the best new uses that I've seen is product documentation for an internally built system. When a company builds a new software system, they could create a wiki (that only other employees can see/edit) which provides documentation about how to set up the system, get it up and running, trouble shooting, etc. This allows all employees who are working with the system (for some companies, that might be >1,000 people working on it at once!) to have easy access to help and information related to it. Even better, the information present on the Wiki is written in-house and is specific to that company, which makes it an even more powerful asset.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Outages and New Media: how do they impact clients and end users?
Here's a brief layout of how I want to approach this topic and the content that the paper will contain:
1. What happens when a new media platform goes down?
- number of affected people
- reaction of users
- 'flocking' to other platforms
- Damage control
2. What does it mean for businesses and end users that have a presence on that platform?
- financial hit for platform and clients
- reputation/brand damage
- alternative services may be looked into
3. What steps are taken to prevent outages/service disruptions?
- high availability/burst capacity options
- backups
- disaster recovery
- load balancing
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