World of Warcraft is a massive multiplayer online role playing game. It was one of my favorite games with a an amazing story. I enjoyed the feeling of creating a mythical character with special abilities who was immersed in a world filled with danger and adventures. Other MMORPG's give other players similar experiences. Some may use it as an escape from the real world and others find it to be an effective stress eliminator.
References:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/fashion/22Avatar.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1355374300-TXlCo472FCwra2yNv25NxQ
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Social Networking Sites
I will be comparing Facebook.com, Myspace.com, Google+, Twitter.com, and LinkedIn.com.
I ask myself everyday why I use facebook. There is a lot of personal politics with me that cause this, but I will not include those reasons. Everyday I log into my profile and see what is going on. They are effective in getting your attention. When you first log in you are transported to your home screen where the first thing you see is the most popular thing going on in your social groups (which for me right now was the new "Man of Steel" trailer ... pretty epic.)
Begrudgingly, I have renewed my profile on Myspace. However, at the time that I was researching this their site wasn't functioning properly. I assume they are still beta testing the new look. From what I have already saw I really liked. They did a total revamp and made it artist friendly. The other thing I really like about the new myspace is the tiled boxes giving it that news blog site look. Below is an image of the failed screen when attempting to log in with facebook and reset the password:
Twitter is the odd man out, it appears. I call it "bare-bones facebook" which it essentially is. Essentially just the "wall" option. With a couple of quick inserts of characters and text you can reach millions with whatever you like, which business' love. They have improved vastly since I started, but Twitter is still "busy". They did a great job on the first overhaul by dividing and creating borders in between tweets so you can easily identify them.
Google+ is easy, since I already had a lot of information on my gmail account. The best feature on here is the Hangout. I have already used this to connect with friends and coworkers and even completed my group assignment with my team utilizing Google Drive. The downside is that you need to have gmail account to use Google's social site and any of there other items such as Drive. However I barely look at this site itself due mainly to its mirroring of facebook's timeline.
I loved the idea of a social site for professionals who can network with each other. The idea was great almost five years ago when I originally joined. Lately, it seems to have lost a bit its professional appeal. The idea that a connection can endorse a single skill seems okay, but the better approach would be someone referencing about your work experience for a specific firm. This site needs a bit of work for the home screen. The smalls news box section is great, but aesthetically in the wrong spot.
I ask myself everyday why I use facebook. There is a lot of personal politics with me that cause this, but I will not include those reasons. Everyday I log into my profile and see what is going on. They are effective in getting your attention. When you first log in you are transported to your home screen where the first thing you see is the most popular thing going on in your social groups (which for me right now was the new "Man of Steel" trailer ... pretty epic.)
Begrudgingly, I have renewed my profile on Myspace. However, at the time that I was researching this their site wasn't functioning properly. I assume they are still beta testing the new look. From what I have already saw I really liked. They did a total revamp and made it artist friendly. The other thing I really like about the new myspace is the tiled boxes giving it that news blog site look. Below is an image of the failed screen when attempting to log in with facebook and reset the password:
Twitter is the odd man out, it appears. I call it "bare-bones facebook" which it essentially is. Essentially just the "wall" option. With a couple of quick inserts of characters and text you can reach millions with whatever you like, which business' love. They have improved vastly since I started, but Twitter is still "busy". They did a great job on the first overhaul by dividing and creating borders in between tweets so you can easily identify them.
Google+ is easy, since I already had a lot of information on my gmail account. The best feature on here is the Hangout. I have already used this to connect with friends and coworkers and even completed my group assignment with my team utilizing Google Drive. The downside is that you need to have gmail account to use Google's social site and any of there other items such as Drive. However I barely look at this site itself due mainly to its mirroring of facebook's timeline.
I loved the idea of a social site for professionals who can network with each other. The idea was great almost five years ago when I originally joined. Lately, it seems to have lost a bit its professional appeal. The idea that a connection can endorse a single skill seems okay, but the better approach would be someone referencing about your work experience for a specific firm. This site needs a bit of work for the home screen. The smalls news box section is great, but aesthetically in the wrong spot.
Social Networking
If you would have asked me years ago that there would be a job specifically for handling a business' social sites, I would have laughed out loud. A large part of my term paper on The Future of Old Media is based on the creation of this position. So what are some of the ways companies use these technologies?
My company (www.pli.edu) utilizes facebook and linkedin a lot when they want to inform the law community about new programs branching into different specializations. According the the article by David Carr, President Obama use social networking to build a database of supporters, which they can contact at cost close to zero. It appears those who familiarize themselves with social networking's advantages early can benefit later in life, but there is a downside to that. What affect does this have on youth? Another article from the NY Times reports about kid's intellectual development and other repercussions such as cyber-bullying and "sexting."
Social networking has become a part of our everyday lives and may be part of our next job's requirements. We have already heard stories of employers needing access to a potential employee's facebook profile or so on. I believe we all should "tread on water" with SN. So what is the next step for social networking? I imagine that they will take advertisments even farther, which probably means even more annoying then they are already.
References:
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Blogs vs. Wikis
Wikis and blogs are both great mediums to help deliver a message, whether it be a personal opinion, community list, or general information. However either means each have their own strengths and weaknesses which need consideration before using to push a specific message. Blogs messages can become stagnant over time so there is a need for constant updating while wikis information can become diluted over time with constant revisions from multiple authors.
Blogs are extremely easy to use. It has allowed for nontechnical writers to reach their audiences in a new way. Journalists have benefited the most out of blogging. In the article "How can we measure the influence of the blogosphere?", Kathy E. Gill writes:
"Participatory journalism is a concept that embraces an expanded two-way communication between established media and readers, allowing readers to interact with journalists and news organizations. Today’s practice of blogging embodies these concepts of journalism."Blogs allow the audience to comment on the message without altering it. A journalist or an author can also limit who sees the information they post. They also have the ability of limiting who can comment on their message.
However, wikis can have multiple authors. Wikis can be used as a centralized location for information that a work group can all provide the input. The article "How To Use Wikis For Business" by Ezra Goodnoe defines wikis for use in business environments:
"Wikis are designed to facilitate the exchange of information within and between teams. Content in a wiki can be updated without any real lag, without any real administrative effort, and without the need for distribution — users/contributors (with wikis, they're one and the same) simply visit and update a common Web site."The question is what is it you are looking to accomplish in your message? If you are looking to arrange some sort of group assignment task list, it would be wise to utilize wikis mulitple authors ability to edit the list in a centralized location. If you are writing something persuasive and looking to gauge the opinions of an audience without corrupting your message than create a blog.
Sources:
http://www.informationweek.com/how-to-use-wikis-for-business/167600331?pgno=1
http://faculty.washington.edu/kegill/pub/www2004_blogosphere_gill.pdf
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
The Future of Old Media
I will be concentrating on The Future of Old Media.
When I first attended college, we were in the middle of a huge transition into a digital world. As a Television major, we were discussing new standards for broadcasting and recording HDTV. Cut to about 6 years later of freelancing and tending bar and the standards have already been implemented. My original thought was "I have become outdated I haven't reach 30 yet" like I thought Old Media was.
Yet, we still read newspapers, hear radio programming or watch the news. These mediums have found ways to not only "stay alive" but are flourishing in this age of digital.
When I first attended college, we were in the middle of a huge transition into a digital world. As a Television major, we were discussing new standards for broadcasting and recording HDTV. Cut to about 6 years later of freelancing and tending bar and the standards have already been implemented. My original thought was "I have become outdated I haven't reach 30 yet" like I thought Old Media was.
Yet, we still read newspapers, hear radio programming or watch the news. These mediums have found ways to not only "stay alive" but are flourishing in this age of digital.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)