The Next New Thing

Networking and communicating with the rest of the world can be difficult at times, especially when both parties do not speak the same language. Now, with E-Translator people from all over the world can come together in one network and have a conversation. By utilizing the technological advancements that mankind has made over the last decade, people can finally communicate with the rest of the world. Although both parties speak different languages, E-Translator allows them to speak on the phone with their native languages. The E-Translator network translates the discussion and transmits it back to the counter party's native language in a matter of a couple of seconds, making it coherent for both sides. For example, an American is on the phone with a Japanese representative in regards to a business matter. Currently, both parties cannot understand one another, but that is all about to change with the assistance of E-Translator. The American speaks into the call conference in English, but it will come out in Japanese making it comprehensible for the representative in Japan. Likewise, if the Japanese representative replies back in Japanese, it will be translated to English in America. The E-Translator eliminates the middle man, making conference calling hassle free. As we live in the 21st century, everything has to be efficient and precise, making the E-Translator the next big thing. The E-Translator is available for everyone, not just for corporations and business purposes. Despite people's comprehension of foreign languages, E-Translator allows people to connect with the rest of the world, allowing them to make new friends. This takes pen pals to a whole new level as it brings people closer than ever.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

For our class wiki, I am working on how New Media affects entertainment - specifically in the music industry. I focused in on YouTube as the new media and how it has created numerous opportunities for musicians to showcase their talent and get noticed by some big record companies. For example, Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube because of the videos he made of himself singing. YouTube is also a good place to hear upcoming or inspired artists and just hear people singing covers of their favorite songs. You can also find almost any music video on YouTube.

P2P File Sharing

File sharing is when you share digital files such as documents, computer programs, games, e-books, music and video. You can share it via the internet or through a media device like an USB or DVD rom.

P2P file sharing is short for peer to peer file sharing. Users use a software to connect to a p2p network where they can search for files that is located on other people's computers that are also connected to the network. If someone finds a file that they are interested in downloading they download it directly from that particular user. Users usually have a folder that have all the files they are sharing on the network. Some examples of P2P file sharing are BitTorrent, Rapidshare, and Bearshare.

There are a lot of files that are freeware and legal to download but many people download files illegally through these p2p programs such as music and movies. There has always been ethical and legal issues regarding P2P networks. For example, in the article titled "Minnesota Mom hit with $1.5 million Fine for downloading 24 songs" by Daniel Kreps, Jammie Thomas-Rasset was fined heavily for using Kazaa (to download songs. She downloaded the songs illegally but is $1.5 million too much?? 24 songs comes out to about $24 on Itunes but the record labels backed up that amount by saying that she violated copyrights on more than 1700 songs. The RIAA didn't collect the money from the Minnesota mother but the trial served as a warning for people who download music illegally but people are still doing it regardless. The government has intervened by shutting down popular P2P network LimeWire. There will always be issues regarding piracy, copyright and legality issues when dealing with P2P networks.

Advice to Baruch College

Baruch College already uses Twitter to inform about special events. The registrar also tweets about important information. I would suggest that the college implement twitter/facebook accounts in addition to blackboard/email for each class to inform us about urgent information such as class cancellations. Students probably check those new medias more often than blackboard and their school email. I would also suggest that they set up a discussion board on the site to promote communication and feedback about certain problems student might be facing. I would also suggest making some videos for special events held at Baruch to help promote it. Examples are basketball games and spring fling. People like to see visuals and they might get excited about seeing short promo clips.

Privacy & Confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality are two big issues when dealing with new media. Any information you put on the internet is subject to risks of having it be in the hands of people you don't know. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have privacy settings for users but there are always ways around it. On Facebook you can control who sees your profile, pictures, statuses, etc. On Twitter you have the option to protect your tweets to only people you allow. You are always taking the risk when you are putting personal information on the internet because anyone can see it unless you protect it. On YouTube, you can control who sees your videos. Every new media site has some sort of privacy settings because it has become a big issue on the internet. In the age of new media, a lot of information is being shared on the internet and some of that information may not be intended for everyone to see.

About My Term Research Paper

For my term paper, I wrote about Ebay and how it effects society as a new media. I did my research using Google, Ebay's site and using Baruch's library databases. I found a lot of useful information just looking through eBay and through experience. I actually learned a lot about the eBay's new media aspects such as eBay Neighborhoods, their discussion forums and other features that I didn't know exist. I chose this topic because I use eBay often, both to sell goods and buy stuff and I felt I had a vast knowledge of it but there were a lot more information that I learned from this experience. Many people look at eBay as just a commerce site where people bid for items they want to buy but they actually incorporate a lot of new media aspects that promote communication, community, creativity, convergence and collaboration. It is not obvious but it does take some thinking and recognition to identify how it relates to new media. Overall, I felt this was a great experience to learn more about eBay and what it has to offer.

Creativity and New Media

I've always wanted to put some sort of video up on YouTube with myself in it but never really had an idea. I decided this was the perfect chance so I made a short clip portraying Old vs New medias. It was also my first time using a video editing software so that is a new thing I'll be trying to learn too. Hope ya'll enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LESmjqoPVK4