Someone else's term Project

Good evening readers,

The last few days of class we have been making our final term project presentations. One presentation that I was particularly interested in and shocked by was Jennifer’s presentation of gold farming in world of warcraft. Her presentation basically explained that companies in China are hiring low wage workers to play computer games for 12 hours a day to gain as much gold, items, and level ups for their character as possible. The gold and items that these workers collect are then sold to obsessed players who wish to be the best in the game without having to work for it. These are the individuals who do not have a lot of time to play computer games but still desire the bragging rights of being the best. On the other hand, for the low wage workers the game is no longer fun as it has become a chore, a daunting 12 hour task that they must commit to everyday. It was surprising to me to find that people would actually pay to be good in a game rather than to put in their own effort and the fact that this is a billion dollar industry.

Sanjay R

My Term Project Presentation

Good evening readers,

As many of you know, my term project was the way new media is changing romance and courtship. At the start of my presentation I lowered the lights and put on “What is love” by Haddaway in an attempt to “set the mood”. At first I explained what new media is (see previous articles for definition) and that new media is taking over the world of love and dating. Before new media dating applications, individuals would meet eachother in bars, clubs, malls through friends etc. but now many individuals have turned to sites like facebook, eHarmony. Match, hotornot, true.com and countless others for all their romantic needs. I then gave statistics to my audience about this growing phenomenon. One interesting statistic I was surprised was that “Donn and Sherman, 22, found that 7.7% of college students and 19.7% of graduate students had taken steps to meet a potential romantic partner online.” I then proceeded to give the advantages and disadvantages of online dating and showed two second life. I then proceeded to wrap up the presentation with what the future has in store for new media dating applications and a personal quote of mine “In the end, some things as precious as love are best left untouched by the dreaded hands of technology.” As always, comment or email me.

Facebook Gangsta

Funny video pertaining to facebook and romance.

Sanjay R

The Next New Thing

Good evening readers,

We have come a long way since the days of typewriters and telegraphs. Futuristic new media is all around us these days; the world is constantly changing and evolving. Right now the big things in new media are facebook, twitter, second life, MySpace etc. As everything, these will all be replaced by even newer media.

If I had to guess the next big thing, I would assume that it would deal in the area of education. Now a days, students time are becoming increasingly limited. Attempting to juggle a full course load, work, social life and family obligations is no easy task. I constantly find myself stressed out by all the different activities going on in my life everyday. If there was a way I could take my classes right from my home computer, this would save me loads of travel time and just be more convenient. Perhaps the next new thing could be for classes to be in video conferences. Students would be required to have a webcam, and log on a network at the specified class start time. The website user interface will allow students to stop the professor to ask and answer questions. This next new thing of video conferencing classes would greatly simplify and add convenience to a student’s hectic life. As always let me know what you think.

Sanjay R

Advice to Baruch College

Good evening readers,

As we all know Baruch has its fair share of problems. We all get frustrated by the lagging overcrowded elevators, the inability to get a wireless signal for a laptop or cell phone and the fact that the second floor escalator has been broken for four months now. You think “what are they doing with the tuition I give them every semester?” If I was hired by Baruch, I would use new media in an attempt to solve some of the college’s major flaws. In my opinion, Baruch’s biggest flaw is the four elevators that are constantly overcrowded and slow (I say four only because one is always broken). Perhaps using new media we would be able to build new elevators that can travel at a faster speed, hold more passengers and have the doors close faster so people can’t rush in. I would then apply these same technologies to the escalators so that they would be able to hold more people without breaking down. Another flaw I would change would be the ID checks when you first enter the VC. Instead of having to stand behind the guy who doesn’t know how to swipe his id card through the reader, having fingerprint readers and eye scanners would make it easier to have ID checks and even open classrooms without having to swipe a faculty ID cards. Lastly, I would place stronger routers throughout the buildings to enhance Baruch’s network signal and keep our customers happy. Any additional ideas?

Sanjay R

Old vs. New

Good evening readers,

As previously explained new media is defined as being new innovations in the areas of technology and communications that seeks to provide simplicity and convenience to individual’s lives. Radios, newspapers, VHS, wind up clocks and land line telephones were all once considered new media during their prime time periods. But one by one, each of them was replaced by new inventions, a new sparkling wonder that provided even more convenience and happiness to people’s lives.

Whether or not something has been replaced by new technology is the main distinguishing factor between old media and new media. Another way we distinguish between old media and new media is by the amount of time that it has elapsed whether or not media is replaced. For example calculators and conventional ovens are both considered old media even though they have not been replaced by new inventions but they are considered old media today because of the many years they have been around. I would like to hear what you think? Mail me a letter (lol).
Sanjay R

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Good evening readers, today I will be discussing a new craze that is taking the world by storm. A virtual reality world known as second life was developed a few years ago and released to the public for use. This virtual reality world allows users to create their own avatar with distinguishing characteristics that may or may not look anything like the user on the other side. Although it is obvious that users tend to design their avatar taller, thinner, and better looking than themselves. Second life has given millions of people the opportunity to live a life they never had. Second life gives users the ability to fly to different islands, meet people, buy property, own a business and drive the BMW you’ve always wanted to.

Large corporations have turned to second life as a testing ground for training employees, holding conferences with their different departments all over the world, to advertise heavily through second life billboards, to test a new products or service or even as an architectural foundation. Corporations have designed buildings in second life before attempting a costly project in real life.

Second life has its disadvantages as well. The main disadvantage of second life is that it is addictive and distracts users from real life responsibilities and obligations. I have seen too many videos of how marriages are torn apart because someone finds a lover on second life and it consumes their life. Please see the videos at the bottom of this article to see an example of how a strong marriage was destroyed because of an addiction to second life. Other disadvantages include obsession, becoming heavily reliant on the internet to fulfill social needs and its pricy cost to play and enjoy the game.

Second life might evolve in the future by not being an application for a PC but instead a device that you can walk right into that will let you see and live your life through your very eyes. Another possibility might include for second life to go mobile and for the applications to spread to wireless handsets. Let me know what you think.

Sanjay R

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Social Networking

Good evening readers, today I will be discussing the benefits and hindrances that social networking sites offer to corporations and everyday public users. Many of us are part of at least one of the big three social networking sites – facebook, MySpace, or Twitter. These sites help us keep in touch with relatives and friends all over the world, meet new people, meet new friends, join groups that promote ideas that we feel strongly about, express our views and opinions and even play games. For the socially awkward and illiterate, these sites are like an untapped gold mine that allows people to socialize without leaving the privacy, comfort and security of their home.

These sites also provide great benefits to corporations as well. Many well known corporations have their own face book pages and twitter accounts that allows their customers to follow them and get the inside scoop on their latest products and promotions. Corporations also advertise heavily with social networks sites in an attempt to rake in new young and vibrant customers. Employers have started using facebook to gain information on prospective employees applying for jobs. Although unethical, this behavior allows employers to weed out good candidate from party animals and potheads.

As like everything there are disadvantages to social networking. These sites create big privacy risks to some individuals and allows for obsession and stalker behavior. Individuals put a lot of personal information on these sites which creates these privacy risks. Another disadvantage is distractions in the work place. Although social networking sites allows employees to get to know each other better therefore becoming more efficient, it also creates distractions from obligations.

One way these technologies might evolve in the future would be allowing individuals to upload resumes and talk to employers through facebook and other social networking sites. Whether these technologies are providing convenience to our lives or consuming our souls is a topic for another day. As always feel free to comment or drop me an email.
Sanjay R