Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual World has become more popular than ever before. As stated by Ruth La Ferla in her article "No Budget, No Boundaries: It’s the Real You",   they allow you to be creative. An example of it is seen in the Sims, IMVU, and second life, where your virtual character can be whoever you want and they can act and wear whatever you want.  There are different ways in which virtual worlds/reality can be used. Entertainment is one of the most popular ways virtual words can be used. People are able to visit different places through the virtual world you can create a virtual copy of any place in the world (i.e. a virtual field trip) while being in the comfort of your home. They are even Virtual Classrooms. In this classrooms, professors use the virtual platform as a meeting space for students to attend the lecture with embedded videos, illustrations, eBooks, or 3D models.  As demonstrated in the article "The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Virtual Classroom and the Role of the Teacher" ,"The Internet offers such advantages as flexible access and new ways of communicating and assessing for students and teachers" which has never been seen before. Also, even people who are interested in economics can use virtual worlds in order to do so since many of them if not all have their own currency. This and many others are ways in which people use virtual worlds.   

            Still, like everything in new media, there are pros and cons to virtual worlds. The advantages can for virtual worlds are many, as stated previously you can visit different parts of the world while at home, learn economics and how to manage yourself, and even create a virtual you without restrictions. However, even though it’s great some use the virtual world to bully and even commit crimes. One of the major cons of virtual reality is that criminals and pedophiles use this media to trick people and children into doing things they are not supposed to.                                                                         

Even though there are dangers in virtual worlds they also allowed people to be creative. In virtual worlds like the Sims and IMVU users are able to build their houses from scratch and even create custom content by doing so encouraging creativity. Over time the virtual world will become even more important than they are today. Soon people won't have to leave their houses in order to do their jobs because you would be able to do so on virtual reality. There will be no limits into what you can do.

Blog about Twitter

How does a Twitter discussion compare to a BlackBoard Discussion? To an in-class discussion?

          There are multiple differences between a discussion in tweeter and one in Blackboard. The first and biggest being the limitations twitter has when it comes to characters. You are only allowed to post 150 characters in twitter while facebook allows you to post as many characters as you desire. Another difference being that when it comes to Twitter typing things is instant. Unlike in BlackBoard where multiple steps are required ,you need to create a thread and  then you are able to type and share a message. Still, when you compare this two to  an in class discussion there is really no comparison. You can express yourself fully.

Social Networking Sites

               There are many social networking sites available for everyone to use. In some aspects, some social networking sites share features but also have differences. Among these networks are facebook, twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
              Facebook, twitter,Pinterest ,and Instagram , all shared the most important aspect of  social networking sites however while looking at them they create different impressions upon the users. Looking closely at facebook and tweeter some believe they are the same, however, depending on your interest in some aspects of  the different networks. The fist difference being the life span of a status or tweet.A facebook status has a longer  life span then tweeter on timelines; It can many times last for days. On the other hand,a tweet has a lifespan of an hour. Also, while both allow you to post twitter limits a number of characters a person can post  while facebook allows you to write as much as you want. On the other hand, Pinterest and Instagram both are mainly used for posting photos with little to no writing content however, Instagram allows you to have more personal followers than Pinterest. Another difference between the two is sharing information with other medias, while in Instagram is pretty easy, in order to do so on Pinterest is more complicated and a code must be generated with a widget builder.
              If I had, to be honest, Facebook and Instagram seem to be easier to use, Yes Pinterest and Twitter are interesting  but their way od functioning is not something that interest me. I enjoy posting without having any limitations which Tweeter does ,and privacy and knowing who I follow is something I care about.
        

Social Net'g

          Have you ever wonder or question the definition of social networking?  Social networking is software that allows people to come together around an idea or topic of interest. It  has allowed for a more interconnected society. Some people use social networks to find romance,such as in websites like Cupid or international cupid  among many others. Still, there are multiple ways in which it can use. A school could use blog software to bring together anyone who's writing about things like  politics,computers, or Greek literature.Social networking can be used for to organize activities, events, or groups to showcase issues and opinions while exposing their ideas to a wider audience.  In addition just like it was stated in the article, "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting" by Frank Langfitt, "Professional recruiters have started hunting for job candidates using social networking technology". Now more than ever people are able to find jobs or look up candidates without having to do much work. Social networks have allowed employers to interview candidates without having to meet them in person.  These and things like real-time sharing are some of the benefits created by social networking.
         However, even though Social networking has  had many advantages it has also has a "dark side". Among the negative thing of social networking is the information that is shared and how little control you have over it once it's shared. Many teenagers shared pictures that  reveal underage drinking, smoking, explicit content and parties which can be very harmful to the users .These  pictures are demeaning and damaging to the teen's  reputations. even though many won't realize this up until later on in their life, until it ruins their chance of getting a job or even an internship which they apply for. As illustrated by the article, "Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private" by  Rebecca Greenfield , nothing is private. You might have shared a picture with just your friends on facebook, however, once it out or shared with anyone there is no guarantee in knowing what will happen with that picture.  In addition, social networks allow and make it easier for people to  bully other.
          Social networking has brought great things even though just like everything invented in history, some people use it for the wrong reasons or with bad intentions, I n the future it might allow people to submerge completely in a virtual reality world where you can be in America but  at the same time be in Venice. It might allow us to live virtual lives to a whole new level.

Blog V Wiki

            Blogs and Wiki share and are different in different ways. Blogs are more suited for individuals (even though it can be collaborative). They are written in reverse chronological order, which means that the newest entry is always at the top. In the case of blogs, they can only be edited by the blogger and their signature usually follows the post. On the other hand, one of the ways in which wikis are different from blogs is that they are suited for collaborative work. Many people can edit each page unlike in a blog. Also, they are written according to the content or the arrangement the author wants.  Last but not least a major different between the two is that the previous versions publish of the page are save and can be retrieved unlike in a blog. Some of the similarities between blogs and wikis are that they both allowed the expression of information and are open to opinion.  They also are accessible to anyone around the globe and are simple to set up using a free software.
          The importance of convergence in today's networked world is how it allows people to share information,such as their thoughts and ideas. It has made it possible for people to learn and shared things without having to go through books. As stated in the article "How can we measure the influence of the blogosphere?", things like blogs have  allowed people to"write about topics that matter to them; their audience may be large or small". There is no limit into what modern networking allows us to do.Blogs can be used for collaboration by simply sharing ideas. Your ideas can be read by others who respond to your blog by adding their point of view or thoughts about your idea.  Some of those ideas can be positive or negative as in the case illustrated in the article "Stung by the Perfect Sting" by Maureen Dowd. The article helps to demonstrate blogger can  influence on a celebrity gaining an award for something that wasn't positive; the model won the award for the "Skankiest in NYC". The thoughts express by  bloggers, wikiers and others  can  have an immense influence   on our society. Last but  not least, a new way in which wikis could be used is by posting jobs. People can add and take out new jobs in the wiki and help others to find a job.

     Research/Term Paper      

                 The Impact of New Media on Society

               The new technological advances have brought with it many changes in the way people interact. Blogs, Facebook,whats-app, Twitter among many others have have allowed for the interaction between people to reach new levels.  My research will; look at the ways in which New Media has impacted us on social and societal issues. The positive and negatives effects of how it has allowed for more interaction,the exchange of information among other things whole at the same time it has brought forth problems never seen before such as  physical interaction between people, global competition or the way in which most are more interested on social media and their  "followers" rather than having a real relationship with people.