Device: Satellite Commander
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The Next New Thing
Device: Satellite Commander
Advice to Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College’s inter-department
systems require a major overhaul. Based on my experience, the Bursar’s Office
cannot access student financial aid information maintained in the computer system
used by the Office of Financial Aid. It is important to note that the Office of
Financial Aid creates and updates students’ financial data. On a regular basis,
students are advised to contact the Bursar’s office for information about the
release of financial aid checks and invariably, the Bursar’s Office goes into research
mode. Clearly, all departments should have access to information for which they
share responsibility. Most important, the new media connectivity, communication,
technology has a proven track record in education institutions and should be
implemented fully at Brooklyn College.
What is New Media
New
media is a rapidly evolving interactive communication vehicle with digital access
to and use by a technology savvy global user base. Unlike old media companies
driven by mechanization technology, new media businesses utilize new media
communication technology to penetrate and grow worldwide markets and
implement marketing strategies to maximize user activity and maintain a
competitive edge. Like old media, new media focuses on politics, economics, and
cultural/social topics of interest. However, the level of interaction from new
media’s secondary contributors, specifically bloggers and wiki writers has
facilitated an expansion of the principles of communication. Additionally, the
innovation of new media has dynamically increase human interaction, especially
social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
The
candle preceded electricity and the internet, the foundation of new media, will
experience a similar degree of dominance over old media. To illustrate the
point, the newspaper article, “Who Needs TV? I’m watching on a Laptop,” The New York Times, Tony Cenicola, writes that a
segment of network television shows are available on the respective network TV
websites and a small but presumably growing percentage of television viewers
access television content with online devices. Personally, I am an online
subscriber to the New York Times and I have daily delivery of the newspaper. In
my opinion, old media will continue to participate in the marketplace and
maintain a level of relevance in the future. Likewise, writer Clive Thompson
reveals in his piece titled, “”How YouTube Changes the Way We Think” that old
media presented video in the form of moving pictures primarily for news,
documentaries, and information dissemination. Currently, in the new media
space, online video serves both as a medium for mass communication with cyber
participants and intercommunication on a one-to-one basis.
The
level of success attainable by new media is primarily dependent on advances in electrical
and fiber optic connectivity, computer chip technology, devices/hardware and
software. In some cases, the software and related applications are ready for
implementation but not all providers are able to integrate new functionality in
their respective offerings. For example, Facebook recently acquired the photo
sharing company Instagram but has not implemented the photo sharing app in its
infrastructure. In my opinion, new media has achieved significant milestones
and has benefitted billons of users
worldwide.
Blog about Twitter
Twitter is a social networking site
with the fundamental elements of value and exposure to liability. First,
Twitter’s one hundred and forty characters tweet limit restricts the writer to
make a concerted effort to be concise. Second, tweets are well suited to
facilitate the listings of links to topics of interest, even education related
links. On the other hand, tweeting and following tweets can be time consuming
and generally unproductive. Furthermore, sharing information on Twitter can be
a problem if your information gets into the hands of someone with criminal
intent. Frankly, an abundance of caution should be in play for Twitter activity.
Without
a doubt, CUNY’s BlackBoard is an excellent medium for course management and student
activity. Professors use BlackBoard to post general class announcements; important
notifications; list assignments; and communicate with students using the
Discussion Board and email functions. Students can submit assignments in email
format (student-to-professor) or publish assignments on the Discussion Board
(student- to- students and professor) for interactive learning. In addition,
BlackBoard’s Discussion Board gives students the opportunity to build and
refine writing skills without significant time constraints.
In-class
discussions moderated by the course’s professor are opportunities for students to
exercise verbal communication skills and share their understanding of the
discussion topic. For the most part, in-class discussions are well organized
and students benefit greatly from the instant feedback provided by the course’s
professor.
Social Networking Sites
In my opinion, social networking sites,
Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, facilitate the sharing of information on topics
with infinite scope and ultimate freedom of expression. My primary issue with
social networking sites is related to the sharing of personal information with
a community of friends who may or may not exercise good judgment in disseminating
my information to individuals who may in turn use my information maliciously or
criminally. At first, my Facebook account served as an entertainment option,
now the party is over but the guests just cannot figure it out. Accepting
friend requests can be satisfying but unfriending can result in unpredictable circumstances.
I am convinced that a significant number of people using social networking
sites have the need to seek validation of their existence on planet earth. Some
postings reveal the most uninteresting aspects of my friends’ lives and I am
often embarrassed by their need to publish their journal-like entries on a
social networking site.
On the other hand, social networking sites can
be a viable mechanism for businesses.
For example, Nike modified its business model with the
addition of social networking strategies focused on brand image and the goal to
reach the ninety-eight percent of 18-24 year olds who spend a significant
amount of time in online communities. Additionally, that change resulted in the
movement of considerable advertising dollars from old media to social
networking media. Nike’s advertising on social networking sites targeted Nike’s
core shoe buying customers, 18-24 year olds, who outspend the adult market
segment by more than twenty percent. It is evident that social networking media
can be the mechanism to reach global internet consumers with minimum
difficulty.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
P2P File Sharing
Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing can
be problematic if is crosses legal boundaries, specifically identity theft,
copyright infringements, and piracy. By definition, “P2P systems provide higher storage and access capacity via
distribution of resources across peers, improved reliability due to the
availability of multiple peer machines and distributed security achieved by
distributing partial secrets across peers. Unlike the client-server computing
paradigm, where all the computation cycles and data are to be had from a single
source, in P2P the participating peers contribute CPU cycles and storage
space." Simply put, files
are shared in cyberspace among computers with internet connections with a
common suite of software and a folder maintained by the end user.
P2P file sharing should be subject to a “smell-test” because
it is difficult to authenticate a file source. P2P file sharing programs
provide a global user base to swap music, video and a variety of files over the
Internet. P2P networks include, but are not limited to: Shareaza – a powerful
search engine with connectivity to P2P file sharing networks, e.g. BitTorrent
andLimeware. A key feature of Shareaza’s file sharing software is the functionality
to identify corrupt files; BitTorrent is popular among users who share movies
and television programs; Limewire receives high ratings for its search and
download performance.
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