The Next Big Thing

From my own experience, when out of the house, work, school etc,  it is very difficult to find a restroom which will accommodate someone who is not a paying costumer or just isn't open to public. The application would alert people of the nearest open restroom facilities, depending on their location, along with the amenities it offers such as handicapped accessible, number of stalls, unisex restrooms, to name a few. For instance Starbucks is open for all to use, the user will be notified of said location, so that they  can do their business in peace. Similar to the way Yelp works, the reviewer can offer comments and offer a score of the facility based of cleanliness, accessibility, among other attributes.

Our class wiki - so far

At this current time, I have yet to contribute to our Class’s wiki page. I will most likely provide content to the pages that involve films, sports, food, and video games. Given the fact, that these are topics I am very spirited about and in themselves, often lead to some of the most heated discussions amongst users on the internet. I would like to address how often some of the aforementioned topics, because of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Etc. have amplified a person’s ability to emphasize their own opinions and in turn have made an impact on how some have used this to create online personas, in hopes of expanding their notability.

P2P File Sharing

File sharing is the act of sharing information/data among people, companies, and essentially one computer to another. Think of how music, documents, videos, images, spreadsheets, among others are being dispatched others. Email and Texting are examples of file sharing, in addition Dropbox users upload files for others to download. In the article, “Content Producers Should Take Advantage of P2P, Not Fear It" written by NMA staff, details how music, films, books etc., can only be uploaded, downloaded, and shared by those who have the software, this is known as  P2P File sharing (peer to peer). Often the case with P2P file sharing, besides being easy to acquire is the fact that majority of the files are being illegally shared.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Privacy on the Internet doesn't really exist, even if you delete something there will still be way to locate the data. With the surge of New media,  people's credit card, social security and other personal information, have become there for the taking if an individual doesn't have the proper protection (sometimes even if they do). Sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. where people are consistently updating others on their whereabouts and current daily activities, is kinda like a figurative voyeurism experience. This in itself isn't a terrible thing, but it unintentionally invites the possibility of a "so-called" chance meeting with someone, that you may not have wanted to see, by allowing them to know what you're doing.

Advice to Baruch

If I was hired to be in-charge of improving Baruch new media services, one of the first things I would address is utilizing Facebook to create a page dedicated on improving,  & helping students get acclimated to the school. Whether it be information regarding classes, careers, professors, function taking place in school and or any other dilemmas they may be facing. Another way to lessen the load of a student's life is too utilize open source textbooks(Andrea Agardy), which would significantly improve the current way things are done, in which older versions of textbooks are still expensive/outdated, open source books will be updated, minimizing the price spent on future textbooks.

Creativity and New Media

This is a photo of my sister and me, at a past comic con. By posting this photo onto Facebook, and with the ability of tagging people, allows for those who weren't there to be immediately alerted to see the photo ( which can foster dialogue within the comments section, or could be taken a step further by re-posting onto Instagram, to share the experience with others who may not have a Facebook).

Creativity

New Media has become a vital source for expanding the reach of creativity. The numerous social media avenues, have allowed people to express their thoughts, to share photos, videos, and art, they have created (paintings, drawings, music, among other things) at a mass scale. When some see the work others are capable of, it  could inspire them to create a piece of their own (with different interpretation,ex: music covers, parody), thus by sharing continues a cycle of art/creativity. In the article "Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why?" written by Brook Barnes. showcases how people have took Disney characters and by combining them with the music from other musicians, created a new point of view/twist, of an already established song. A double-edged sword of new media, is how the use  of comment sections, could provide either help to prosper or hinder someone's  work, with encouraging/disparaging remarks.