Creativity and New Media


I always wanted to create my own hero. Here it is!!
I introduce to you My Hero: Joshua Blizzard Runner

I always wanted to have the power to run very fast like the speed of light since it is not humanly possible I created a hero that can do it. I created this hero by using lego's software. They have a hero factory in which you can create your own hero and play games with it. I was able to change his armor and select the colors. He is a runner! A blizzard Runner!! 

Creativity

New media allows users to have the power to create and develop new ideas to revolutionize the world.  In the past, people couldn't execute their innovate ideas due to a lack of technology. Nowadays, a variety of new technologies and software provide users the right tools to execute creative ideas. For instance, the article “Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers” by Claire Miller mentions how Lego started a site called DesignbyME where users can use Lego’s software to design their own models, which then are sold by Lego. The article also mentions that users create the majority of functions of twitter. In addition, new media allows users to interact with existing ideas. New programs that allow users to combine songs and modify the beats called mashups. Hence, new media does in fact fostered creativity by giving users the facility to design, innovate and create all kinds of things.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds can be used to improve health. According to the article “'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction”. A young guy who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome says that these virtual worlds let him have a second life in which he creates a comfort zone that can coax him out of his shell and helps him improve his communication skills.

Virtual worlds are also being used to innovate toys. The article “Toys with a Second Life” shows how th;is virtual worlds give life to toys. This webkinz are real stuffed animals that have a code so kids can activate them online to play with them. It is very creative and unique.

The good side of these worlds is that they give users an opportunity to socialize in a confortable way. The bad side is that privacy issues might be involved and children might be exposed to danger.

These worlds foster creativity because more people have the incentive to create ideas that bring real world situations into virtual worlds. In the future I totally see a whole new dimension of this virtual worlds. They will probably become more convenient and used in many other ways.

Blog about Twitter

A twitter discussion is much simpler than a blackboard discussion because in twitter you are only allowed to put 147 characters so the discussion would be more concise and straightforward while a blackboard or an in-class discussion would have much more details. Also twitter is much easier to manage than blackboard since it has the # discover feature that allows you to find a specific topic or trend. 

Social Networking Sites

Nowadays, we are surrounded by many options in the media world. There are sites for everything and anything. Social networking sites vary from one another, each one has its own culture and way to satisfy the user with one factor in common: communication.  

If we compare Facebook and MySpace, we can see that MySpace is targeted to a younger audience. As soon as you get to Myspace, you get bombarded with a bunch of ads, top music, top videos and movies. The main page looks too crowded and it’s even difficult to find where to log in. On the other hand Facebook [Myspace’s major competitor] is much more organized and neat. Even though both are used to post status and photos, they differentiate a lot from an organization and layout perspective.

Twitter is another social networking site that allows the user to post information that rapidly gets to other people following.  Twitter is a great way to expand news. For instance, if I’m stuck in traffic I can easily tweet my followers so they don't take that road. Twitter is different from Facebook since it doesn't allow you to post more than 140 characters.

Friendster is just a totally different way to network. This is a community that is created to play games and at the same time meet people. It is also targeted to a younger audience. Friendster is also an app on Facebook so you are able to play with your Facebook friends.

In conclusion, all these are created with the main purpose to network but differentiate one another to satisfy different user needs. 

Social Networking

People usually use Facebook to update their status or comment on pictures but this type of social networking could also be used in other ways. Facebook is a potential platform that allows users to spread massive messages. For this reason it is essential that we find every single way to maximize the use of this tool in order to get the greatest benefit.

 Facebook could be use as part of the police department as illustrated in the article, “In India, Using Facebook to Catch Scofflaw Drivers” by Heather Timmons. Since there is not a lot of police force in India they started using Facebook as a tool to catch scofflaw drivers by letting users post pictures of people breaking the law. This new trend appears to be effective and people are starting to obey the law now that they know they are being watched.

A major benefit that this technology brings to society is the ability to communicate with people oversees. For instance, most of my family and close friends live in Colombia. Through Facebook, I get the great opportunity to see their pictures, communicate with them and see how they’re doing. 

On the other hand, there is also a dark side surrounding this technology. Social networking is making people antisocial. People are relying on these technologies to communicate and they are putting to the side physical interaction with others.  Teenagers seem to be at the edge of this stage. Nowadays, they prefer to text friends instead of calling. According to the article “Antisocial Networking” by Hilary Stout, fifty-four percent of teenagers text their friends once a day, but only 33 percent talk to their friends face to face on a daily basis. In my head this question comes up: Do we also fall into the same statistic?

I believe some technologies will survive but upgraded platforms that will benefit us for the needs of the future will eventually replace existing technologies.