Creativity and New Media

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HW Creativity

According to the dictionary, creativity is “the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.”  New media is creativity itself.  Creativity was needed to develop most of the new media we consume today.  New media has made it easy for people to turn hobbies and interests into a globally recognized income generating opportunities.  One of my favorite forms of entertainment is listening to music and as it is right now, so many people all over the world create and share music through various platforms.

Through new media, a new genre of music was created.  A “mashup” is when “the vocals from one song is laid over the music from another” (Frere-Jones).  DJs, producers and even common people are able to use digital software to isolate instrumentals from already established songs.  Although “major record labels have taken so long to embrace [this] new form”, consumers, especially radio listeners and YouTube watchers have fully embraced mashups (Frere-Jones).  Creativity through new media goes beyond just creating.  I believe that for there to be full creativity, there needs to be a medium to share what was created.  What new media does best is sharing created work of any kind.  Once one piece of creativity is shared, it gives others the license to mimic or expand on what was created.  Sharing created work breeds more creativity and inspires collaboration.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual world is a computer-based online community in a simulated world.  These worlds are created and shared by users.  These virtual worlds can be used in educational, social, entertainment or training settings. In the simulated worlds, users can chat with other users and create two or three dimensional avatars.  The virtual community “Second Life” is creating new tools that allows companies to have virtual meetings using their personal networks which is an added layer of security.  According to the article, “Going to the Virtual Office in Second Life”, “The ability to collaborate effectively using virtual tools may now become an increasingly important skill as technology offers more options than, say, video conferencing” (Tutton).  This will enable companies to save money on travel expenses for employees who work in different parts of the world.  These virtual meetings are supplemented with “tools like ‘Dropbox’ [that] allow[s] online file storage and sharing, while ‘Basecamp’ lets users to collaborate on projects online” (Tutton).  

Virtual worlds are great when it comes to collaborating and creativity but the truth is that it Is not reality.  Simulated worlds have the ability in creating illusions in user’s minds.  Virtual worlds also take away the personal and social aspects of communication and interactions.  For instance, “the lack of face-to-face interactions with other peers and the instructor can be a disadvantage for the students and professors. For instance, some students desire the immediate feedback from the professor, which they do not get online. When in class a simple homework problem can be resolved one-on-one easily with the professor, however online that option is not available” (Posey, Burgess, Eason, Jones).  In educational settings, virtual worlds take away the social emotional aspects of the classroom that teachers face every day.  Another disadvantage to virtual worlds is the fact it comes with a learning curve.  Both teachers and students have to learn how to properly use the interface.

Users can be really creative in the virtual worlds because users can create any world they can imagine as long as they can use the platform.  They can even create avatars that have the same features and personality that matches theirs.   I don’t really like to think of the future of virtual worlds because it has and will continue to damage human connections and interactions.

Blog About Twitter

Twitter discussions are centered around hashtags.  For instance, for the #happynewyear, users can have conversations about their new year festivities and even post pictures and videos using the hashtags.  Any user from any part of the world can join in the discussion as long as they include the hashtag in any part of the discussion.  Anyone can create a hashtag no matter what their status in life is.  These hashtags can be so unique that only certain people know it and can join the discussion or it can be broad, inviting multiple people to the discussion.  These twitter hashtag discussions do not go away; they can be pulled up at any time by anyone.  

In Blackboard discussion, the professor brings up the topic that is discussed and students discuss and respond to each other’s responses, creating a discussion.  This discussion is limited to the people in the class and most of the time, it has a time limit.  Because Blackboard is used for learning purposes, these discussions usually involve standard English and reputable information whereas Twitter discussions don’t worry about grammar or validity.  Like Twitter discussions, Blackboard discussions can be pulled up at any time as long as the class is still active.

Unlike a Twitter and Blackboard discussion, in-class discussions are not recorded.  The professor brings up a topic that the students discuss but instead of using the hashtag and digitally having a discussion, they can have it in person, face to face.  Like Twitter discussion, these discussions are passionate and incite a lot of emotion.  The downside to class discussions is that you cannot look back and re-read, re-watch a discussion.  Finally, I think the most important difference between the three is that 10 years after having discussions through these three modes, your words cannot be used against you unless you joined a discussion on Twitter.  The most significant similarity is that discussions are not limited to one topic or hashtag.  A discussion can relate to or be connected to multiple topics on Twitter, Backboard and in-class discussions.   

Social Networking Sites

The four social networking sites I will be comparing is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.  Starting with the home pages, users on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are bombarded with words, pictures, advertisements and icons that are overwhelming.  These social networking sites have content on the right and left side of the page.  On the other hand, Pinterest’s homepage takes on a simple form with very minimal words but an abundance of pictures that are visually pleasing.  All the sites have the number of followers/connections in a very visible position on the home page.  Although these pages are meant to connect people for different purposes, they have messaging capabilities that allow uses to privately direct message other users.  On all four platforms, users can share pictures and videos but on like the other platforms, Snapchat does not achieve pictures and images that are shared.  Pages can be created by individuals and businesses or organizations.  As expected, on all four platforms, pages are riddled with advertisements.  On Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest, these advertisements appear as posts or pins on the users’ pages while Facebook advertisers decided where they want to post their Ads. These platforms have users create profiles that include profile and background pictures, name and brief biography of the user however, none of these platforms have customizable pages.  This means that you cannot change the theme or layout of your personal page.

The setup and features of these four platforms are virtually the same but the target audience is different.  Facebook seems to be more for entertainment purposes.  I see that a lot of people use Twitter as entertainment but also as a news outlet.  Twitter is also used to repost others people’s words.  LinkedIn is more of a professional site and instead of followers, the users make connections.  Lately Pinterest is used to post pictures.  Users can create boards as inspiration for a future project.  For instance, I created a board filled with pictures of custom suits as inspiration for my wedding looks.      

Social Networking

Social networks are an informal gathering of a group to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.  But these networks have moved from job fairs, trade shows and happy hours to LinkedIn, eBay and Facebook.  Social networking sites are readily available and now that eCommerce is a practical and seemingly stress free way of shopping, a lot of these sites are used to make online purchases and to advertise job opportunities or products to customers.  Social networking platforms help self-employed small business owners reach the masses without spending large amounts of money on outside firms.  One business can use multiple platforms to connect to its audience/customers.  Business owner Dave Klonke explains that his business focuses “mainly on Instagram because of the visual nature of promo products”, they have a business page on Facebook which he “calls a good storytelling platform” and “they use LinkedIn to generate leads” (Lavenduski).  All of these platforms are a free way to promote a business as well as generate sales. 

Although these platforms have helped promote small business, there are many challenges associated with doing business through social media.  On Facebook, organic reaches to consumers is made difficult because the new algorithms “favor interactions between individuals rather than businesses” and this cause “posts by friends [to] take precedent over posts by businesses on user’s news feeds” (Lavenduski).  Another challenge is found in the implementation of social media positions by bigger companies.  Small businesses don’t have the money to invest in such a position.  Apart from promoting businesses, social networking can also be used as a tool for recruiters hunting for job candidates.  The most popular of these sites is LinkedIn.  It has a “network of 8 million professionals spread across the world and users include executives from all of the Fortune 500 companies” (Langfitt).  LinkedIn markets both the employees and the employers. 

Although social networking is very beneficial to a lot of people, it has its draw backs.  Not only can people use social networking sites to scam people out of thousands of dollars, people also use these sites to create a false reality.  They mask their true selves with filters and posts of images that create an unrealistic expectation of life.  People are also looking to scam and rip other people off.  Social networking sites that advertise goods for sale and administer sale transactions are highly susceptible to fraud.  Scammers are able to generate fake invoices to lure unsuspecting customers through the guise of “safety” and “security”.  In response to these fraudulent transactions, eBay wrote, “Criminals often exploit well-known brands like eBay to attract consumers and the lure them onto fake websites and into fraudulent transactions” (Polansky).  EBay encourages customers to exercise caution but as social networking sites are available to any and every one, it is really difficult to stay away from fraudsters.