P2P File Sharing

File sharing is when computer data is given from one device to another. Computer data can be anything from documents, pictures, music, videos, etc. You can file share using applications like Dropbox or by email.

P2P file sharing allows people to share using a specific program that connects computers through a network to find things like books, music, movies, and games.


Some examples of P2P sharing are Torent (music) and websites to watch free movies  (like Putlocker).
"BitTorrent lets users quickly upload and download enormous amounts of data, files that are hundreds or thousands of times bigger than a single MP3. (Thompson, 2005)" BitTorrent is great for downloaded big files that usually would take hours to download. Although it is free and convenient it is also illegal and you are at risk of getting fines.

The Next New Thing

An idea for a new media is a site like Facebook that is strictly for military personnel and their families. On  the site it can make it easier to share posts, pictures, and messages while they have people overseas. The site can also be a good place to bring people together so they can share any stress or sad feelings they have. My dad is in the military and it was always helpful to have the support of other families.

Privacy & Confidentiality

Privacy is a growing concern as social media becomes more popular. People often do not realize how serious it really is. When something is put on the internet it stays on there forever, nothing is private. Anything that someone posts can be seen by anyone even if you have the right settings. Someone can easily screenshot anything that is on the internet and share it with the world. Even posting the most innocent things can potentially put you in danger. For example, if you post a picture wearing a school uniform a predator can find out where you go to school and what area you live in. Another example is when someone posts a vacation picture, burglars can see them and know you are not home. The internet is filled with information about us and all it takes is for one bad person to get their hands on it to put us in harms way.

Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds allow you to create different life experiences for yourself through the use of technology. Virtual worlds can be used just for fun,training/business, or education. In the writing by Chris Lede and Lisa Dawley, The Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technology, they discuss how through situated learning students are able to gain experience that they can apply in specific situations. The example they gave was, "a student who manages a store can gain valuable knowledge and skills in business operations, customer relations, and marketing in a authentic way that one could not attain by reading a textbook and writing a paper. Their work then becomes one important contribution to the continuing success of the store and those affiliated with it." With the help of virtual worlds students are able to experience hands on examples making it easier to retain information. Another example of how virtual worlds are used is discussed in the article Avatar II: The Hospital by Stephanie Simon. She discusses how nurses are able to use virtual worlds to practice emergency drills. This allows them to stay prepared for any situation. 

There are some pros and cons to these virtual worlds. Some positive things are that they are a very helpful learning device and allow people to show some creativity by allowing them to create a new life. Some negatives are that virtual worlds may not truly prepare us for real life situations that we come across and people may create new worlds that take over their life making it easy for people to loose a sense of reality.  

 Virtual worlds allow people to become their true selves. People are able to become the people they really want to be by being able to apply different lifestyle choices to a specific character. Some possibilities for the future of virtual worlds is allowing you to enter the game. This can be possible with the help of interactive goggles. You would simply put on a set of goggles and be fully emerged inside the virtual world. You would be able to sense everything that the character feels and completely experience the game yourself. 

 

Creativity and New Media

In this game called Sims 4 you are able to create an avatar and live an alternate life. You can choose to build a partner as well or interact with other sims and find a partner within the game. You can choose your job, house, and even have kids. There are also cheats to get a lot of money or make things happen to your character. The game allows you to be creativity by allowing you to personalize your lifestyle.

I created myself (yellow hat) and my spouse (sitting next to me). We had two kids.

First floor of the house I built

Second floor of the house I built

Creativity

New media has allowed people to show there true creativity potential.  In Brooks Barnes article, Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of its Critters. But Why?, she talks about how one person created a mashup of  a popular rap song using Disney character voices. This is made by "editing together snippets of animated movies and TV shows." Similar videos have been made using clips of President Obama's speeches to complete a song. (https://youtu.be/-eskteBvv-w) Many people have done different types of mashups in different ways and they are very amusing.  By having this technology people are able to allow their creativity to flow. With out the help of these technologies and Youtube, it would be hard to share these creative videos and make them unique.

Social Networking Sites

Today I will be talking about 4 different social networking sites. They are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin.

Facebook is a social media site used to make contact between family and friends a lot easier. You can post updates/pictures on your wall as well as your friend's wall. You are able to control what exactly you allow others to see. Everything you decide to share comes up on your friends timeline making it simple to stay connected and share news. You are able to comment/like/react to posts that you see on your wall. You can also like pages like Buzzfeed, CNN, and celebrities to see videos/posts that may interest you.

Twitter limits your post to 140 characters unlike Facebook. Tweets are usually short and about day to day occurrences. People may follow their friends/family as well as celebrities to see what is going on in their lives. Tweets may be organized with the use of hashtags to easily find tweets with similar topics. People are able to re-tweet your post and comment under post too. You can also send direct messages similar to Facebook.

Instagram is a photo sharing site.You can upload pictures and apply filters to your liking. You can also add captions to your photos. Your followers are able to like and comment on these pictures. You can also set your page to private to insure that only people you approve to follow you are seeing your photos. Every Instagram user will be able to see your profile picture, biography, number of people you are following/followers and number of photos. The people you have following you the better your page is considered.

Linkedin is business connection site. It is used to make contacts with people you may work with or with similar career interests. It is also a good way to stay in touch with classmates and colleagues. You can discover new business opportunities and find new ventures,  You can also learn about things that you need to move forward with your career.