The Next New Thing

A new type of new media that should exist would be virtual traveling. Traveling is expensive and tedious for many people. There are a lot of planning involved when someone is looking to go travel. They have to worry about accommodations, transportation, currency, safety, and more. It is a painful process and many people go through because being able to travel is probably the one thing that will make you rich as a person. The things you see, experience, and feel is just so different when you're actually at that place versus watching a documentary on it. With virtual traveling, you can do just that. Virtual Traveling takes the painful process of having to plan everything and all the worries that comes with traveling. With a console that connects your brainwaves and a device that will allow you to view, experience, and go wherever you want to. It can also stimulate your brain so that you will be able to feel and connect with others, giving it the true real life experience you get when traveling. You would be able to experience the culture and the people's day to day life all in the comfort of your own home. Unfortunately, it would be hard to stimulate taste and smell but I'm sure with technological advances, it wouldn't take long before someone else invents a way to stimulate taste and smell so users of virtual traveling will be able to get the full experience of traveling the world at a low cost and in the comfort of their own homes.

Our Class Wiki- So Far

For our class wiki, I've been gathering information on fashion trends after the second world war. How they're born, the first trends and how it has evolved over the years. I've also looked into fashion trends of various cultures. Each culture has their own unique kind of fashion, I thought it would be interesting to have a wiki article discussing how different cultures have different fashion trends. I will specifically be focusing on fashion trends and its evolution in Japan versus the United States. Both countries have extremely different cultures, values, and it will be interesting to see the various fashion trends that took off in these countries. Besides their respective differences from one another, I will also be talking about how they have influenced each other. In the recent years, there have been multiple occasions where the two countries have influenced one another's fashion trends and how they have crossed paths with one another. For example, in the recent years, Japan's streetwear and sneakers industry have grown exponentially. Many streetwear brands in the United States, now have specialty shops all across Japan and releasing limited edition/exclusive streetwear products that draws international attention. Another example would be Rei Kawakubo, a japanese fashion designer who has collaborated with brands such as LV and H&M and designed a line of products for them. This goes to show how japanese fashion can influence the western fashion as well. There are a lot more examples that I will include in the wiki article in conjunction with all the facts and history of fashion trends in the past 71 years.

P2P File Sharing

File Sharing is when one shares their papers, resources, images, videos, or even programs to one or more people on the internet. In today's technological advanced society, file sharing is extremely common. It allows people to share various things, from their favorite music to academic reports, file sharing allows others to see and give feedback to the same things as you almost immediately. P2P file sharing, also known as Peer-to-Peer file sharing is when you share your work or any important notes/insights with your peers. It can be your peers at school, work, or just someone working in the same industry as you. You will be able to share a specific report or file to your peer who may need it for research or simply gain insight on a common subject. An example of P2P file sharing would be BitTorrent. According to Clive Thompson in the article, The BitTorrent Effect, "Analysts at CacheLogic, an Internet-traffic analysis firm in Cambridge, England, report that BitTorrent traffic accounts for more than one-third of all data sent across the Internet." This is because "BitTorrent lets users quickly upload and download enormous amounts of data, files that are hundreds or thousands of times bigger than a single MP3." Therefore, people can download and send things a lot quicker and efficiently. Another example of P2P file sharing would definitely be when students send files through email for a group project, homework, or even a special announcement. In seconds, everyone on the email list would be able to access the files sent and respond to them accordingly. This is extremely convenient and fast for students to get things done efficiently and effectively.

Privacy & Confidentiality

With advances in new media, privacy and confidentiality have been a rising issue for many people. There have been people getting scammed and people obtaining credit card information online because the sites weren't trustworthy. It is also important to point out that many people like to post a lot of different pictures to share with their friends and family. However, there are hackers who would be able to hack into these social media accounts, obtain the photos, and impersonate them online. There are many instances where people's identities were taken and used for illegal purposes, which causes a lot of people to not feel comfortable with post their private information online or even pictures. I personally think that everyone should take precautions when posting things on social media not just because of privacy issues. This is because potential employers tend to be able to gain access to what you post onto social media, if the content you post on social media is unprofessional and offensive, it may harm your possibility of getting the job. It is important to be able to understand what sites are safe and confidential and what you should and should not post onto social media, whether it be your credit card information or a picture of you at a party, precautions should always be taken when thinking about posting something on social media.

Advice for Baruch College

My advice for Baruch College to use new media to improve the College would using social media platforms like Twitter to communicate with students. Baruch College can have students ask questions and address their concerns on Twitter. This way, the college as well as alumnus and other students can help address any questions or concerns that prospective and current students may have. Baruch College have many amazing facilities and resources that many students don't know about. Since there are so many different kinds of resources available, a lot of times students don't know where to go or who to ask. With the use of Twitter, students can get immediate answers right away and wouldn't have to waste time scavenging the Baruch website for an answer. Also, even if students were to find the answers to their questions online, there may be certain information missing that can easily be communicated via Twitter. Therefore, I believe that Baruch College should be able to use social media platforms to better communicate with students and help them and other students to address any questions or concerns they may have in a timely manner. 

Creativity

With new media, we are able to utilize the internet to get inspired and aspire to be inspiring. From the newest technology to the history of human origins, we are able to access all types of information with the internet and learn from them. With the development of social media, we can also share and discuss our thoughts and ideas virtually to anyone. People are able to express themselves and opinions through various social media platforms, unleashing unlimited amount of creativity. As long as you have an idea, there is bound to be a place for it on the internet. According to Claire Can Miller's article, Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers, "Technology companies have been the most active in relying on others to innovate for them. This is in large part because the Internet lets people exchange ideas easily and rapidly with large groups..." The internet allows us to contribute and exchange endless amount of creative ideas, which allows companies to utilize these ideas and opinions to better themselves. Whether it's developing a new feature for their product or simply looking for inspirations for their next product, the internet plays a huge role when they're look for new creative inspirations. There are new informations and ideas added to the internet everyday, it has definitely helped us all unleash our inner creativity in one way or another.

Creativity and New Media

New Media, specifically Social Media has played a huge role on how I express my creativity. I've been able to express who I am and be creative through my Instagram. A visual diary dedicating to my favorite thing, fashion. I am able to build and curate my own feed of outfits and lifestyle inspirations. Fashion has been my creative outlet since high school and Instagram has helped shared my creativity with others. I am able to share, talk, and engage with my followers my newest addition to my collection as well as inspire them to wear what they want and what they love.

@sophieeleung
Here is a snapshot of my feed.
Feel free to go ahead and take a look!