Creativity and New Media

I signed up for Second Life a few weeks ago having seen it on a TV show. I can see how addicting it can be! I selected and designed my avatar and embarked on my teleporting journeys. At first I didn't get the whole gist of this Second Life phenomenon. I was just walking around a destination for new comers. I found a store and went shopping, which was fun! Afterwards I continued exploring and met and conversed with some new friends. We danced and partied together which is something I would never do in real life after having met strangers.

I can see how someone who feels rejected by the real world would find comfort in this virtual life. I made alot of interesting friends from all over the world literally. I teleported to Italy, did some more shopping and played some games. I was in so caught up that I spent like two hours there! After that I teleported to the US again and went to club. The music was good and I did some hanging out.

    
 I got bored at the club and decided to hop over to Jamaica! I felt like I needed some sun and sand. I ditched my jacket and explored away. I am still trying to figure out some of these features and will be upgrading to the premium package for an even more awesome experience. It really is amazing of the possiblities we have in this virtual world. I can't wait to get started on creating my home and trying out some of the other cool features.

Creativity

New media has helped to foster creativity. With the growing number of technology users comes a surge of creative users as well. Each person brings something new and different to every aspect of new media. I can be sitting down for hours trying to come up with an idea for a new project and not come up with anything. If I just peruse the internet I would always find inspiration. What I love is the fact that I can search for a particular topic of interest and in navigating different sites I would almost always stumble on something totally unrelated and different. New media can be used as a means of gaining information from users and consumers for new ideas for new features of existing products or software. For example in Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers by CLAIRE CAIN MILLER, the New York Times, October 26, 2009. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html where Twitter watches how users use the site and what ideas they catch on. This helped them to create the list and retweet features. I think that this is the best way of getting the right products out on the market. With users input the need for trial testing is eliminated. This saves time and gets the job done much faster. People can share ideas on the internet in masses and can improve on each other's ideas. This is very cost effective and encourages more production.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

I've always heard of the virtual world and saw a few documentaries on it. I think it's a cool way to interact and socialize online. It can be used in many areas of life believe it or not. We can use it for business to have conferences in real time and for training. In the article Going to the Virtual Office in Second Life, CNN.com: Nov 5, 2009 http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html we see virtual meetings and conferences as a means of being cost effective. In today's economy companies are making major budget cuts and can't afford the sometimes exorbitant travel expenses. The virtual world is the next best thing, as the article also stated they can assist in cutting travel time and because of the creative atmosphere brainstorming is more fruitful. One area I find that the virtual world can be most beneficial is in the classroom. It's a great vessel to use to transport students all over the world to have class sessions. It helps them to visualize teaching concepts and to have a deeper understanding. They can have a chance to experience the real world virtually and this can help them to make better decisions in their lives. Students can open their own businesses and invent things which eliminates any actual fear or risk. In another article iReport: 'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction by Nicole Saidi, CNN, March 28, 2008. available from:http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/28/sl.autism.irpt/index.html#cnnSTCText new ways of helping people with autism has arisen from "second life" as it's aptly named. It offers a safe haven for those affected and helps them to foster communicating skills. Social networking is an area where a virtual world is helpful. Like these people with autism it helps them to handle social situations virtually to minimize any risk first before applying their skills to the real world. Even some otherwise normal people who are a little shy or not very social use virtual living to express themselves in a way they would otherwise have not. Many people get involved in relationships as a result of their interactions. The virtual world is a good way for the military to offer training as well. They can have private forums for them to conduct there events and simulations away from any outside entity. It also is a good environment to recruit people to the military to serve their country. 

Their are some negative aspects in living in a false reality. People may spend an inordinate amount of time in this virtual life that they will lose their sense of reality. This can be very damaging on their lives. The lack of real human to human interaction will have a negative impact on socialization. People may have changes in behavior and shut the rest of the world out causing them to be depressed and even suicidal. Living in a virtual world does not mean that one is living an ideal life. Some people online are living a life far from the one they live in reality. They steal, kill, sell drugs and can even rape someone. If these traits transcend to their real lives it would wreak havoc on society. The inability to express emotions is another downfall. Cyberspace is a great escape from the troubles of our lives. It however causes people to lose true relationships by wasting their time playing games and living a fake life. 


Creativity is fostered through the ability to create freely. We can fashion our avatar to our liking and create an environment where we can have things that are just not possible in the real world. Our imagination can run freely and we can get input for other users which makes for a better creation. I see more and more people becoming apart of the virtual world in the future. We will find even better uses for it and new innovations will come about as a result.

Blog about Twitter

A discussion on Twitter is very limiting. If you are a person who has a lot the say then Twitter may not be the best avenue to get your point across. I find the 140 character limit very constraining. Your point can be made but you have to summarize it as best as you can. Twitter reaches millions of people and your tweets can be continuously re-tweeted by others in order to spread the word. A Blackboard discussion is limitless with regard to writing. It however is limited to the number of people in your class. But it is a means to getting help from your classmates virtually. They along with your professor can give you valued feedback and suggestions that will help you in completing your course of study.  In-class discussions are the most personal of the three. It is also limited to the number of people in your class. I feel that this type of discussion is less inhibited. Anyone can say anything at anytime. We have to think twice before we post something online for fear of it being inappropriate. While there is a level of respect in the classroom I think that this is a more open forum. We can better understand how a specific topic or theory is applied to real life when other people relay their own personal experiences. In-class discussions help to get otherwise shy or reserved people to participate and be more involved as well. Which helps them to grow as a person and come out of their shells. It's far better than hiding behind a computer screen.

Social Networking Sites

I am so grateful for social networking sites and embrace them to the fullest extent. I visit Facebook and Twitter on a daily basis. But I only post on Facebook not on Twitter. Twitter is my source for inspiration as I follow many different users who post various quotes from love to religion. It really helps me when I read these quotes because they lift my spirits up in the mornings which is when I read them. Even when I'm having a bad day I go on Twitter to scroll through tweets to reading quotes. This really makes me feel better and it's very therapeutic. I also follow many of my favorite celebrities to keep track of what's going on in their lives. Many of them have a lot of drama going on and I'm not going to lie, I find it so riveting! What I don't like is the constant re-tweeting or replying by other fans to their tweets. This takes up so much of my news feed that I get frustrated when I scroll through and can't find what I'm interested in seeing. That's why Facebook is my favorite social networking site as I'm sure is the case for millions of other people.  It's so interactive that we can perhaps spend hours on there chatting with friends, viewing profiles, looking at pictures and playing games. Literally everyone I know has a Facebook account, even my grandmother. Facebook is worldwide phenomenon which brings together people from all over the world. We can find our long lost friends, our old school mates and can even spy on an old flame.

I use it mainly to keep in touch with friends and family who are living all over the world. It's a great way to communicate in real time as everyone now has Facebook on their mobile device.  I also feel safer using Facebook as opposed to Twitter because on Twitter anyone who sees my account can follow me at any time without prior approval. At least Facebook gives me the option to accept or deny a friend request. Myspace I feel is obsolete now and rarely hear anything about it. A couple of years ago it was very popular. I remember my teenage cousins constantly logging into their Myspace accounts  to design their pages and to update their profile songs. I had an account but was never that into in because I felt that it was for a more younger crowd. It seems as though that there are a lot of teenage users on Facebook now in addition to young and mature adults. Which is such a big accomplishment for Facebook.

Pinterest is a new site which I just heard of. It's basically a Virtual Pin board as the site says. You can share things you find interesting and beautiful from the web on the site. It basically gives you inspiration. I sometimes go there to look at pinboards to see what the latest trends are and to look for some new cool ideas. I've found so many fun, unique and interesting things there. This site is rapidly becoming a new favorite of mine.

Social Networking

I can't imagine a world without social networking. It is such a major part of people's lives today and it has become a way of life. In Being There: The subtle art of the Facebook update, by Virginia Heffernan. The New York Times Magazine, Feb 15, 2009, p. 25.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15wwln-medium-t.html we see that updating our Facebook status can be a very good way to express ourselves and a great way to see what our friends are up to. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. We all have that friend we wish we could delete off our list for all those annoy updates of what she ate 10 mins ago! But I must admit some updates do render a good laugh. Even on a bad day you can post a rant and be comforted by a friend's comment on your post.

Social networking is also used by businesses to drive sales. On my Facebook account I "like" many pages of businesses. Daily there are posts of new products, promotions and even questions asking for our feedback. This is a way for consumers to stay in the know. I can tell my mom when Old Navy posts a coupon for $10 off which would save her money. I can also see what new fashion trends are coming up for the next season. In this way social networking is beneficial to us. Besides that it helps to spread awareness for many different causes. Raising money for Cancer research is a good example. By just re-posting a message you can help generate money for this worthy cause. This simple act can go a long way in a world where everyone is on the go 24/7 and just don't have the time to go out and advocate on the streets. Many people can be reached and at a faster rate than any other method.

There is a dark side to social networking. In the article Amazon Says Error Removed Listings" By MOTOKO RICH, The New York Times, April 14, 2009, p. B1. Available at:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/technology/internet/14amazon.html we see where Amazon had a "glitch" in their system that caused a vast number of books to be misplaced from the sales ranking on the site. It affected gay and lesbian themed books, which was the reason Amazon came under fire for trying to censor the books. This caused a frenzy on Twitter which made it the a high ranking topic. This negatively affected Amazon's reputation and not to mention their sales. There was even a call for boycott. A hacker claimed he was responsible for planting the bug, which is also a prevalent problem in social networking. If this was true then this malicious act was the cause for such chaos and upset. The future for social networking holds new innovations. We can look forward to many changes, newer apps with very cool features and even more growth. Perhaps their might be something bigger and better than Facebook. We have all come to have high expectations from today's fast growing information age.