P2P File Sharing

File sharing is the transfer of data (in the form of files) from one computer to a different computer via a network,such as the Internet. File sharing can involve just about any type of file, from mp3 files of songs, to movies, documents and programs. P2P File sharing (short for peer to peer) is slightly different from ordinary file sharing; both computers transfer data/files through a network, but both computers contribute to the transfer. Since the introduction of torrents, all the computers involved in a single file share acquire different small parts of a whole file through the Internet and then share their files with the other computers until each computer has the entire file. Prior to torrenting software, one computer would host a file for other computers to download. The problem with this method of file sharing was the disparity in upload/download speeds- hosts (aka seeders) couldn't upload their files as fast as the downloaders (leechers) could download the file.

Although it is illegal and subject to punishment by the government, "pirating" movies, music and applications is an example of P2P file sharing. By using the file sharing services provided by Torrents, the Pirate Bay and others, people can acquire copyrighted files thanks to the efforts of "oneline pirates" who upload these files. According to Eric Pfanner, piracy "accounts for the loss of $20 billion a year in sales" in the American entertainment industry. Unfortunately for the entertainment industries, pirated movies and music provides convenient access to popular files at little to no cost for the average user.

Non-punishable examples of P2P file sharing include the transfer of non-copyrighted or user-made files via sites such as RapidShare and BitTorrent. It is my personal opinion that most P2P file sharing involves pirated/illegally obtained materials, but there are many other uses for P2P file sharing technologies that aren't often mentioned by the mass media.

Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/technology/internet/13iht-piracy13.html

The Next New Thing

Someday in the future, an all in one virtual reality platform will be created that simultaneously incorporates file sharing, social networking and online gaming. When I think of virtual reality, I think of Spore, The Sims and SecondLife; games that mimic life, but limit the ways you can participate with the online community. I hope a conglomerate new media technology is created to enable communication and interaction in ways that aren't developed now. Although there's a lot of risk in making an all in one virtual reality, I think it would be neat to be able to do things that need separate apps (now) in one program. I remember watching a Simpsons episode where they showed something similar to what I have in mind- an almost limitless, interactive virtual reality.


If anyone's interested in reading the episode synopsis, I attached a link below:
The Simpsons- Holidays of Future Passed

Privacy and Confidentiality

With the rise in popularity of social networking technology (a facet of new media), people are sharing more and more information about themselves through the Internet. Even though users of popular websites such as Facebook and Twitter have the option to toggle privacy settings to restrict who views their profile and posts, the privacy settings put in place on those sites are neither clear or easy to understand ("legalese"). Because of the rise of cyber-crime and piracy, even dealing with other less obvious new media technologies such as P2P filesharing can be subject to scrutiny by the government, making confidentiality seem like a thing of the past.Taking this into consideration, the best way for the average person to avoid giving up information that they would not like publicly shared is to  a) not engage in controversial or sketchy  and b) avoid mentioning it on social media.

From the other perspective, private and confidential information recovered by third parties or large corporations often get used for a variety of non-beneficial tasks. By using third party companies with tracking software, corporations often use users' browsing history and entries made on new media platforms to tailor advertisements on the websites that they view. Other than corporations and interested third parties, nefarious individuals use information listed on new media technologies for nefarious purposes. With access to a person's name and other information publically or stored on a social networking site's server, a hacker can use the data to wreak havoc to a person. Possible threats range from defamation, cyberstalking and even identity theft.

As sad as it seems, privacy and confidentiality are routinely breached by staying connected and  participating in social media. In order for us to stay in touch with our friends, colleagues, and even businesses, we must willingly release information to people who we might not know are even involved.

Creativity and New Media

I downloaded and briefly played through SecondLife to see if I could channel my inner Dwight Shrute and show off the fact that my life was so great I literally wanted a second one. Failing in that, I created an avatar and took some time to explore the SecondLife virtual worlds.  Even though I was a little disappointed with the gaming experience, (SecondLife was too similar to Spore) I took a second to take a screenshot at an area called "New York City, NY". I found it a little strange that someone's image of New York City was a somewhat generic looking movie theatre, instead of a more tourist-centric place, like Times Square. Despite the flaws and cumbersome navigation menus, trying out SecondLife was a unique experience nonetheless.

The second image was taken at a non-descript, but popular "beach" area.

Creativity

The existence of new media creates an opportunity for creative users of the Internet to showcase their talents to the world. People are often inspired by the things they see and hear throughout their day, but the ability to blog/tweet/post about what spurred their muse is something that couldn't be done a decade ago. The rise of open source material, video-editing software and the acceptance of crowdsourcing gave artists the chance to collect new media files and create new works out of them, such as: mashups, parodies, and mods to original games/videos. To see this in more practical terms, think of the home page of YouTube. The first page is filled with popular music videos, parodies of pop culture, and edited clips of user-recorded videos (ex: Hamsterdance, RKO-out of nowhere, etc).

Most of the time, users stroke their creativity to poke fun of  people or events in videos they saw for their own entertainment, and the original content publishers don't have any objections to the subsequent parody videos. When a recording label or a bigger name company takes material from a competitor for their own business purposes or even to mock the competitors, one of the companies involved calls for legal action due to copyright violations or other legal issues. In an odd case publicized in the New York Times, several YouTube users produced mashup videos where clips of Disney characters moving were set to the music of Soulja Boy. Although the article states that some companies like Nickolodeon allow users to manipulate its videos to publish new material via new media outlets, Disney holds firm to the belief that "any unauthorized use of Disney property is stealing" (Brooks). Even though the Soulja Boy mashups were obvious parodies, Disney allowed YouTube to keep the videos up on its site. Maybe this was a case where the parodies were funny enough for the parent companies to "let it go"?

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/business/media/24crank.html?_r=0

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds can be used in a variety of ways: ranging from entertainment or recreational use for people with spare time to therapeutic use for individuals with social disorders. Since it's separate from reality, virtual worlds can be used to be or do anything. By using an avatar and a platform such as SecondLife, anyone can try things they felt they couldn't do in real life.Virtual worlds allow users to travel to distant places, run freely, and fly among other things. Two articles published on the New York Times (Dave Itzkoff) and CNN (Nicole Saidi) discuss the benefits and disadvantages of using virtual world technology.

According to Dave Itzkoff (NYT), users of Vles.com, a virtual world simulator of the Lower East Side of NY, can walk across and observe a virtual version of New York's Lower East Side. Although Itzkoff admits that he lives a few blocks away from many iconic Lower East Side fixtures, he chooses to explore Vles because it doesn't have  the"imperious bouncers or foul odors to contend with" that disturb him in reality. In addition to being able to explore the LES without the dangers of night time crime or the hassle, Vles users can communicate with each other and eventually meet up in person. While Vles users can listen to pre-recorded concerts recorded at the real bars/venues, they are limited to what they can hear and share with the community. According to Itzkoff, the major disadvantage of exploring the LES through Vles is the loss of the "coolness from at least a veneer of danger and inaccessibility". 

While Vles allows users to explore the Lower East Side, SecondLife acts as a complete virtual world for users to create their own avatar and worlds. In more than one case, SecondLife has been used as a literal second life for people who are limited in reality by debilitating illnesses. CNN's Nicole Saidi reported on "Naughty Auties", a "virtual resource center" on SecondLife created by a man affected by Asperger's Syndrome.  David Savill, the creator of Naughty Auties, created the location so "visitors can practice social interaction", "find information about the condition" and "create a comfort zone [for users to communicate freely]". The greatest benefit of having a virtual world such as Savill's creation, is having a space where people affected by autism can practice communicating and establish an online support group/community. The only potential downside to using SecondLife as a therapeutic tool is the uncertainty of its positive effect on users as well as a desire to stay within the virtual world (not moving onto reality).

By virtue of being represented by an avatar and taking actions that might not be possible in reality, users have an opportunity to do things "outside of the box" and express their creativity. Since virtual worlds are generally not limited by constraints like money or other resources, users can create objects and designs that replicate or even surpass their real-life counterparts. The ability to communicate with other users in real time in virtual worlds also helps fosters creativity; by being able to speak to other users and generate feedback, user-created content can become even more specialized. I personally believe virtual worlds will visually become closer to reality, and more people will become interested with the concept.  Although there is room for concern in becoming too attached to virtual worlds, improvements to virtual world technology can definitely be used to help debilitated people experience a more complete life.

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html?pagewanted=2
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/28/sl.autism.irpt/index.html#cnnSTCText

Social Networking Sites

Facebook
Facebook is the social networking site that I use most often to chat with friends and keep up with my social circle. Simply put, Facebook allows users to post statuses, pictures and videos as well as tag other people to certain events or photos. On this site, users can expand their social circle by "friending" other users (much like Twitter's "follow"' function). In recent years, Facebook has expanded into advertising, news feeds and gaming apps that have become somewhat intrusive. What makes Facebook very useful for me is its messenger function that allows me to message friends who I might not be able to communicate to via text message. Overall, Facebook is a very useful social networking site for connecting and communicating, but it does have issues with spam and privacy protection.

MySpace
I never fell into the MySpace craze in the mid/late 2000's, so I had very little knowledge of the site before this assignment. My first impression of MySpace after looking at its homepage was that it was aimed toward people interested in music or the arts. After registering, I noticed that the user interface is far more customizable than Facebook, Twitter and even Blogger. MySpace allows users to change their backgrounds, page layouts, music playlists and other features via html coding. Although it seems different from what I remember seeing several years ago, MySpace still resembles a blogging site for musicians and artists than a Facebook-like site that helps connect users.

Twitter
Twitter seemed like a more compact version of Facebook at first glance. Because of its odd rule of keeping all statuses to 140 characters, I didn't think Twitter would have many productive or informative statuses, but it has proven to be unique. Twitter has a dashboard that shows trending items, tweets from users you're following and a preferences tab. From what I've seen, Twitter can be a great tool to communicate or connect with celebrities, retailers and other entities that don't usually open up to the public. Since I'm relatively new to Twitter, I haven't formed much of an opinion of the site, but I am concerned about the limited characters and the Internet shorthand that usually doesn't appear on MySpace or Facebook.

LinkedIn
Unlike the other three sites, LinkedIn is a social networking site devoted to professionalism and job searching. For anyone involved in or interested in a career in business, LinkedIn seems like a necessity to obtain job offers. LinkedIn serves as a site where users can showcase their resumes, skills, prior positions and interests. In my opinion, LinkedIn can be used like a business card; it serves as a social networking site that can enhance or showcase your professional skills that also leaves an address/link for further communication.