Next New

With advances of new media technologies sparking rapidly faster than ever, never before seen ways to connect the world has lead innovation to its apex. Performing tasks has never been faster, and the world seems to be revolved around a concept of maximum efficiency. But even still, there are much more that does not exist, only ideas we are dream of in science fiction.

A possible new technology of new media that has never been seen before could be a true virtual reality device. This device would involve a pair of glasses that we will wear. It will consist of complex electrodes and neurotransmitters that links to our brain. When powered on, it will transfer our mind into a central network hub, connecting us with everyone else in the world who is also using this device. This device will alter our sense of reality, from every perception of time, space, to our five senses; sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. In this alternate universe, we will be living a virtual world; a fantasy come true. It will be almost as if an illusion is cast on us. Our sense of time will be distorted and slowed down- one day in the virtual world will be equivalent to an hour in the real world. While in the alternate reality, you may power off your device, and doing so will resume your normal status and circumstances in the real world, but you will retain and remember everything you've experienced in the virtual world also.

This technology is inspired by many science fiction media as well as many cartoons and anime, but we are no where near its possibilities. In this world, it will be living a live dream. This virtual reality would truly be a "second life." Either choose to live reality, or live a reality in which you can manipulate. You will be immortal in this virtual reality; if you die, you will respawn. Everything you feel, see, taste, smell, hear will be as real as in reality, but without consequences. Ever wanted to jump off a cliff and feel what death might feel like? Well, in this virtual world, it might just be possible. With this technology, those living in undesirable circumstances or perhaps disabled in the real world can start a new and live a better life. With the time lapse being 1/24 slower than in reality, we can live 24 times as long, experience and learn 24 times faster, and be bound with limitless possibilities.

But like with all things in life, everything comes with drawbacks. What if the brain can not withstand all the electrical signals and neuron-impulses that are being fired when coming back to reality? Can the brain withstand all that new knowledge gained throughout weeks of virtual experience all in one shot when the device deactivates? What if hackers leak a virus into the virtual world and prevent users from ever deactivating their devices? What if users are stuck in the virtual world forever? Will there be a virtual world overseer/peacekeeper or omnipotent entity to justify the actions in this virtual world? And who is to judge if his/her morals are ethically sanctified? What will become of the real world if everyone chooses to delve in this virtual world together? What will happen if we run out of energy and resources to supply this virtual world device? Wouldn't everything go back to square one? What if people find ways to exploit and hack the system, giving them almighty control of the virtual world and decide to commit a global torture ritual of some sort?

This idea of a true virtual illusional dream world fantasy might spark major controversy and may never be approved by everyone, but it might be a start of a new world era, beginning with small steps. Perhaps the ethical concerns may be too heavy to outweigh, but with ramifications, ideas should allowed to free-flow; never to be hindered without at least giving it a try and working towards a goal.

Wiki so far

So far, I've been mostly reading the wiki blog. There are quite a few categories in the main webpage and each one contains a lot of rather interesting information! This is possible because of all our cultural differences and background diversities. Each and everyone one of us are able to contribute something personal and interesting to us, making this immersive project a collaborative and collective one.

I've contributed to the Gaming section, as that draws my personal attention. Being a hardcore gamer, my enthusiasm lies with video games of all types. I like the general formatting of the wiki page; it is simple and clean, much like Wikipedia. It also includes interesting background information about how modern video gaming came to be, such as history of major gaming companies, motivations and gaming development.

I've added information as well as fixed some grammatical error to Gaming- [Nexon NX] and [Global Offensive] subsections. So far, I've been researching more on gaming company historical backgrounds. I would like to contribute more on the Gaming section, specifically gaming companies Bethesda, Square Enix, and Capcom. Some big named games that deserve a highlight on the wiki also include the Pokemon franchise, Jagex's Runescape. And some personal favorites I might add are Dragon Nest by Nexon, Tera by EnMasse, Blizzard's original Warcraft series, Nintendo's Legend of Zelda franchise, Square Enix's Final Fantasy franchise, Bethesda's Elder Scrolls saga, and Capcom's Street Fighter & MvC sagas. Osu! Touhou, and classics such as Tetris and PacMan also bring back nostalgic reminiscence!

P2P

Sharing is caring, our parents have taught us that, but does that apply to everything in an ethical manner? Copyrights and patents exist for the sake of theft prevention and to hinder those who try to take the easy way out. And this applies to the technologies of new media as well. File sharing has existed since the days computers were invented. It is the process of distributing software to other users via a network connection, which can either be LAN, or local area network or even a WAN; wide area network such as the internet. File sharing enables us to use, learn and create software. An example would to be uploading a picture that you took onto the internet, such that everyone else can download and view that picture too.

P2P file sharing means peer-to-peer. It is similar to downloading a file over the internet, but much faster. P2P file sharing breaks down a large file into smaller parts, and redirects them to users all over the internet that are currently associated with it. When someone wants to download the file, they download it collectively a few pieces at a time from many different users, and ultimately, end up with the finished file as a whole. So instead of downloading from a website's domain directly and using their limited bandwidth, P2P allows you to download a file in little bits from many other people. Perhaps the most widely used P2P file sharing method is BitTorrents.

P2P has received a lot of negative criticism in regards to illegally downloading copyrighted material. P2P is not illegal, but it does become illegal when copyrighted material comes into play. "The Pirate Bay is a BitTorrent tracking site in Sweden with 150,000 users a day. In the fall, it posted a torrent for Shrek 2. Dreamworks sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding the site remove it. One of the site's pseudonymous owners, Anakata, replied: "As you may or may not be aware, Sweden is not a state in the United States of America. Sweden is a country in northern Europe [and] US law does not apply here. … It is the opinion of us and our lawyers that you are fucking morons." Shrek 2 stayed up." In Clive Thompson's The BitTorrent Effect, he explores how P2P file sharing has evolved during the decade.P2P file sharing has been around for years, but the ethics of legality is always at face when it comes to copyrights. And P2P websites are still live and up are because laws differ in every country, and lawsuits take a long time to be settled, dragging on the lifespan of illegal software sharing. 

Privacy

New media technology works wonders and connects the world with one another. But with all good things, drawbacks do exist. Privacy and confidentiality is perhaps new media's most prominent rising concern. With more and more people becoming better situated with electronic devices and new media outlets, privacy is a major issue. Whether people are just plain nosy or looking for ways to exploit their personal gains, privacy related issues are a high priority threat. There has been numerous accounts of hacking incidents of personal information. Large corporation insider information are being leaked by people everyday. Witty professional hackers are a major disturbance when it comes to new media technologies because of how easy it is to access information these days. Because the modern world is so orientated around the internet, a simple and minor contamination can potentially spread like wild fire and cripple the underlying structure of a business. Plus social networking and media tools also expose our confidentiality. Because we choose to use websites such as Facebook and Twitter to connect to the world, we are putting our information at risk every second. To connect means to expose; there is an exchange of information. In order for you to interact with someone else, you must yourself input personal profiles to register. But even with these backlashes, rejecting new media technologies is too much of a detriment. Privacy issues are inevitable, but it is always a good idea to be wary of where and how you are putting your personal information into.

Advice

Being a student at Baruch College is hectic. Work loads pile up on our shoulder while trying to balance work and social life can be stressful at times, but with technologies of new media, things should be alleviated, more or less. With the usage of the internet so imbued into our lives, utilizing it would be to maximize potentials. Emails and exchanging phone numbers seem to be ineffective. Why not incorporate something that everyone uses on a daily basis? Since the majority of students can not live two seconds without checking their smartphones, why not create an all-in-one application that students can use? It would include everything that a student ever needs to succeed in Baruch. This application would include things from specifics to general topics, such as tools for everyone campus wide; academic calenders, upcoming events, notifications, financial aid information, academic advisory information, class registration, etc... This application would simplify tasks that can be done on CunyFirst and CunyPortal with a few buttons on a smartphone screen. This application could also include an automated voice machine that can answer student questions. This application could also include class specific notifications, such as when your next exam is, due dates, deadlines, or even when your professor decides to cancel class. This way, students will have live, instant feedback and up to date information regarding school matters where ever and when ever they want.

Creativity and New Media

I created an animated GIF - a short three second image of nonstop repetition as my example of how new media fosters creativity. This short animation depicts me in the background with a supernatural power to warp and phase objects into and out of existence. I used the new media technologies known as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Flash to tie and edit images together as well as create motion tweens or moving parts. My inspiration of this came from watching "Naruto," well regarded as a top anime, in which a character by the name of Kakashi, yields a similar ability.

Creativity

Creativity is the phenomenon to transcend from traditional methodologies to create something new. The term "New Media" revolves around this notion- creativity, one of the 5 C's. New media makes leeway for creativity because it allows anyone for their personal space. New technology enables users to entitle their own private place in which ideas, thoughts and feelings are spilled. Like with everything that comes brand new, there's always a brainstorming process involved, and this is where those ideas and thoughts conjure up to new levels of creativity. Media outlets such as YouTube allows users to create their own videos and share it with the world. Blogs allow for individuality in which  users can create their own journal. Editing programs such as Audacity allow creativity in the musics and audio field. Photoshop allows users to be creative in arts and create limitless forms of images. Campaign Editors and Creation Kits allow users to code their own games as well as make their own additions and addons to games. These forms of new media fosters creativity because it allows people to create from scratch; from nothing to something- zero to hero. If you wanted to build a house, you would need a foundation; some sort of architectural design along with starting materials to work with. But with New Media, you can create without any physical wares. According to Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why?, Brooks Barnes state that through the advantages of spreading awareness and popularity within new media, companies allow users to use their products to create something new. Such as in the case with Disney, they decided not to hold copyright claims to the mashups created by users who used their characters because it ultimately generates new forms of creativity as well as market their company's name.