Creativity and New Media

For this assignment I decided I finally had a good excuse to enter the virtual world of Minecraft. Minecraft is a java based video game that allows its users to enter a world where they can build anything they want including but not limited to virtual houses, farms, rollercoaster’s, castles, and giant replica’s of real world items.  Minecraft is similar to Second Life because of its building capabilities however it differs from Second Life because it is not massively multiplayer. This means that other users can interact with each other over Minecraft but they must specifically be invited or given an i.p. address to join another person’s world.  The graphics of Minecraft are also of lower quality than Second Life but in return the game can continuously generate landscape and terrain effectively creating a virtual world as large as Earth.

Because this was my first time playing Minecraft I set out on a simple task of building my first virtual home.  I was invited to join my friend’s world which only had 3 users, 4 including me.  Building in Minecraft is simple enough; you harvest materials (I used wood for my first house because it’s easy to find) and in return are given blocks which you can place on the ground and use to build objects. You can also build a work bend or furnace to build or smelt more complicated objects. For anyone unfamiliar with Minecraft a good comparison would be its like Lego building blocks.  The users on the server helped supply me with materials so that I could complete my house quicker and pointed me out to a landscape that was next to a house they had already built.

My first house came out pretty bad and my friend had a couple of laughs at my expense but I was happy with it. Because I was new to the game I wasn’t really able to tap into the full potential of the program. After seeing some videos on YouTube I was amazed at some of the complicated objects being build compared to what I made (YouTube search Minecraft mega buildings if you’re interested).

 

  the virtual tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR4DUXvLy3E

Creativity

New media has changed the way people communicate with one another, access information, listen to music and watch their favorite shows, and it has also changed the way people can express themselves. New media allows for more user-generated content because the mediums offered by new media are easy to access and more user friendly than older forms of media.  New media fosters creativity by making it easier for users to express themselves.One of the main ways we can see how new media fosters creativity is through it's easy use is YouTube (along with other User Generated Content websites) and mash ups. 

YouTube has made it possible for virtually anyone to upload any kind of video. With the use of YouTube there are many different emerging types of shows such as personal vlogs, newscasts/radiocasts (podcasts), tutorials, and entertainment videos.  The presence of YouTube has allowed users to express themselves easily. Ten years ago if someone wanted to express their opinions in the form of a video very few people would actually get to see that video. Now thanks to new media User Generated Content can be easily posted and viewed by all.

With regard to mash ups other new media technologies such as the development of software like Acid Pro, and GarageBand have also fostered creativity through their ease of use. In the article “The New Math of Mashups”  Mark Vidler explained the benefits of these new media technologies; “You don’t need a distributor, because your distribution is the Internet. You don’t need a record label, because it’s your bedroom, and you don’t need a recording studio, because that’s your computer. You do it all yourself.” Before the use of new media the editing of music in the form of mash ups would not have been possible. People would not have access to the resources needed such as distributors, and recording studios. A talented musician may have thought of a particular mash up in his head but without new media he or she may not necessarily have access to the resources needed to create their mash up.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Usually when one thinks of virtual worlds they may think of a video game however because of the growing use of this technology that might not always be the case. Not only do virtual worlds provide entertainment but they also change the way people interact with one another.  Programs like Second Life allow users to enter a virtual world where they can experience many different environments without leaving their home.  Some of the uses found for virtual worlds thus far are to replace a physical meeting, become a learning tool, and therapeutic means.

 In the article “Avatar 2: The Hospital” by Stephanie Simon various universities such as Stanford and Michigan have begun using programs like Second Life for medical training and education purposes.  Through the use of Second Life universities can train nurses in a virtual hospital. The training they receive on Second Life allows for a more immersive experience than a traditional tabletop run, or diorama of a hospital.  The training can even be so detailed that not only will they be tested on diagnosing virtual patients but they will also be tested on emergency exit routes within the virtual hospital.

Another use for virtual worlds can be found in the article “'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction”, by Nicole Saidi. David Savill has created a virtual world to serve as a resource center for people with autism.  When people have difficulty leaving their house programs like Second Life can help people stay active. While there is no scientific evidence to show that virtual worlds help people with autism this article shows how the use of a virtual world can be used to help people cope with a particular problem and not let it get in the way of their social interaction.

Going back to the article “Avatar 2: The Hospital” we can see that one clear benefit of using virtual worlds is the cost. A traditional medical mannequin can cost up to $65,000 and often only one will be available to a whole class of med students while buying land in Second Life will only cost $1000. Of course a person will still have to spend the time building on the virtual land or hiring someone to build it for them but overall this saves costs and allows for more people to have better access to the material.  Also if companies choose to have a virtual meeting this saves costs associated with travel. Another benefit of virtual worlds is the opportunity it brings to people who do not have easy access to the real world such as those will autism. Because of virtual worlds these people will not have to miss out on social interaction. Some of the cons associated with virtual worlds are the fact that they can be addictive and even though it provides social interaction it lacks the same degree of interaction that the real world has. While it is rare that you will hear of someone being addicted to Second Life it is becoming more common that someone is addicted to a virtual world found in the form of a video game.  Just as with social networks some feel that virtual worlds do not possess the same quality of interaction that the real world does; just because someone knows how to type over the internet doesn’t necessarily mean they will possess good social skills in person and the same applies for someone who uses virtual worlds.

  

Virtual world’s foster creativity by allowing a person to use their imagination to create a new world, or a new persona for themselves found in their avatar. Many virtual worlds cater to the user’s imagination; if you can think it up and put the time into it you can more or less build anything in Second Life. From a technical stand point I imagine that future virtual worlds will have higher resolution graphics. Similar to video game developers updating their game’s graphics every year I believe the next generation of virtual worlds will have to do the same in order to attract users. We will probably see virtual worlds be incorporated into already popular new media technology such as social network sites and blogs or forums.  Many online websites try to form a sense of being part of a community and virtual worlds may be a good way of doing this.

Blog about Twitter

After using Twitter for the first time I found getting use to the limit set on the amount of characters you can have in a single message to be difficult. I was aware of this limitation before I used Twitter but found that it was hard to condense what you were trying to say in only 140 characters. Of course the whole point of the website is to provide short messages and I’d imagine that I’d get use to it eventually with continued use.  Because of this limitation Twitter discussions aren’t as in depth as a Blackboard or in-class discussion.  It can also be confusing to follow a conversation if a person did not reply properly or re-tweet an old message. Blackboard organizes messages in threads like a basic forum so it is easy to follow the conversation.  One of the advantages of a Twitter discussion is the fact that most people have a smart phone or internet access so they can be notified of a reply, Blackboard does not have an application that I am aware of that would allow someone to receive instant notification so you may get a late reply or no reply at all when using Blackboard. In my opinion Twitter is also more user friendly than Blackboard so besides formulating what you are trying to say in 140 characters it can be easier to use than Blackboard. Ultimately both Twitter and Blackboard lack face to face interaction found in an in-class discussion. An in-class discussion allows people to better understand what someone is saying because you can directly get feedback and ask questions to a person. You don’t have to wait for someone to reply or to get notification. An in-class discussion also offers more clarity by allowing you to see and hear the person’s emotions; It may be possible to misunderstand a person’s tone through text but you always know someone’s tone when they are talking to you.  It is with this reasoning that I believe an in-class discussion is the best option, when left to choose between Twitter and Blackboard I think it can go either way based on how much depth you want to add to the conversation.

Social Networking Sites

Facebook is currently the most popular and largest social networking site. Some of its features include allowing you to add friends, instant message, provide status updates which allow the user to tell their friends what they are up to, have a “wall” which allows a user’s friends to post comments and messages to their friend, create events, upload photos and videos, and use various applications. I believe that the reason this site is the most popular is because it of its simple and easy to use design layout. For someone who is unfamiliar with social networking sites they will probably have the easiest time learning Facebook compared to the other social networks I will discuss. 

MySpace is a slightly older site than Facebook. On MySpace users are allowed to have a homepage, friends, and can have status updates similar to Facebook and various applications like web based games. The main difference between MySpace and Facebook is its music features; MySpace allows users to create playlists and also suggests music you may like based on what you listen to. MySpace used to have a confusing layout that looked less neat than Facebook. Since then MySpace has changed their layout and more or less copied many popular features on Facebook such as the previously mentioned web based games.  It’s hard to say whether or not people will go back to MySpace or not but it seems doubtful. Most of us associate MySpace with a younger user base than Facebook because it’s the social network we used during high school or even younger times.  

Twitter is a social networking site that allows its users to post short messages (only 140 characters) called “tweets”. Usually when someone tweets it is about what is currently happening to them. Twitter doesn’t focus on a traditional friends list like MySpace or Facebook but instead allows users to follow other people. When Twitter first came out it was mostly used by celebrities but since then it is catching on among a lot of people. Like Facebook, Twitter’s layout is simplistic and fairly easy to understand.

Lastly, LinkedIn is a social networking site that is business oriented.  Its features include allowing its user’s to make a profile which typically acts as a resume listing previous and current job experience, your company, and your industry. LinkedIn allows its user to create a network that consists of “connections” which include people you know and expand to the people they know. With the growing popularity of social networking companies are actually making use of LinkedIn and it is becoming a viable option for someone looking for a job.

Social Networking

It should not be surprising that the use of social networking is vastly increasing in our society because of its many benefits. Some of the obvious benefits of this type of technology are its ability to keep friends, and family in touch with one another. Physical barriers such as distance are no longer an issue and it is effortless to reach out to an old friend or just stay in touch with your current friends. Another not so obvious benefit of social networking can be found in Heather Timmons's article "In India, Using Facebook to Catch Scofflaw Drivers".  Police in New Delhi, India have used Facebook to collaborate with citizens who can post pictures of wreck less drivers in order to help make the traffic filled streets safer.  In this case another benefit of Social Networking is to moderate illegal activity, such as wreck less driving.

 One way corporations are starting to use Social Networking is as a way to recruit people for jobs. People can find better jobs and corporations can find better workers. Professional recruiters are finding it easier to use social network sites such as LinkedIn as oppose to a traditional rolodex. In Frank Langfitt's article "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting" Shally Steckerl along with other corporate headhunters have found that by using social networking sites they can vastly increase the size of their rolodex. With social network sites Steckerl can see directly who his all contacts friends are without having to call them first; therefore if Steckerl has 8500 contacts this could potentially lead to him to have as many as 4.5 million leads when looking to fill a job slot.  

Sadly there is a "dark side" to Social Networking which is its lack of privacy. Social Networking makes it easier for you to stay connected with others but it also makes it easier for unwanted people to find information about you. These people include corporations, predators, and identity thieves. The article "Leaving 'Friendprints': How Online Social Networks Are Redefining Privacy and Personal Security" revealed that with simply a person's name, date of birth, and list of friends a person can be at risk for identity theft. Even if a person’s profile uses privacy settings it doesn’t necessarily mean they are protected because their friends profile may not be as secure. Another downside with regard to lack of privacy is the lack of separation between corporate and personal use. As mentioned earlier LinkedIn is popular among corporations to recruit new employees, however there isn’t much to stop a corporation from seeing your casual persona such as your Facebook profile which in turn may affect the outcome of you getting hired or not.

Social networking has come a long way and still seems to be getting more intricate and advanced.  One possible way for Social networking to evolve is by incorporating the technology of voice over  internet protocol. By using VOIP social networking sites can bring back more human interaction by allowing friends to talk directly to each other as if they were on a phone call, or possibly make it so they can incorporate chartrooms where multiple friends can have a conversation where they can just talk and avoid chat messages.