New Next

New media has come a long way but it has had the most impact in the developed world.  The future of new media has to focus more on the developing and underdeveloped world.  If things keep going the way they currently are, there is going to be an even bigger gap between those who have the money and the resources to connect to the internet and those who don’t.  There are many communities outside the United States that do not have connection to the internet and in turn, they cannot connect to the rest of the world.  These communities are left behind economically, socially and even educationally.  Affordable and accessible smart phones have started to process of addressing this issue but in order to combat the digital divide, there needs to be affordable, accessible wireless internet access.

   

I believe that the future of new media is in wireless internet connection devices.  These devices will be strong enough to connect to distant internet wires.  These devices will be portable, rechargeable and wireless.  They can be used in schools, community centers.  More importantly, they will be very cheap to connect to.  The idea is to set up internet towers or wires in a central location, then pass out portable wireless connectivity devices to nearby communities in need.

Wiki So Far

1. What have you been doing to contribute to the class Wiki?
I have not yet contributed anything to the class Wiki.
2. What pages have you created and/or edited?
I have not created or edited any pages on the class Wiki.

Picking a topic for wiki assignment has been difficult, but I decided to talk about the continent Africa, the countries in it, its people, the resources and so much more. I started doing research on these various areas of interests, and how Africa as a whole can progress by using New Media to develop its people. This is the primary reason I chose to write on the digital divide; if Africa can get more connectivity I am sure the continent will strive better. Africa currently has the largest youth population in the world and with New Media, this young populist will change the continent drastically for the better.

P2P

According to the article “P2P File Sharing  - Margomin”, “file sharing is a sharing and transmitting of computer data in a network or internet with various access levels” (P2P File Sharing  - Margomin).  It is used to get and send information from one computer to the other.  This makes it possible for people to work on documents regardless of where they are.

P2P file sharing stands for peer to peer and it is a form of file sharing where users can access files using specific software programs.  This makes it easy and affordable to share and release books, movies and music files to wide audiences and also encourage voluntary payment.

An example of a file sharing platform is Gnutella.  This platform connects to available networks and sends out a request for file that needs to be downloaded.  Another example of a file sharing platform is Lending Club.  Instead of sharing files, using this platform, investors put up money to fund business loans for individuals.  In her article, “Peers Find Less Pressure Borrowing From Each Other”, Wendy Kaufman suggests that in this system and platform, “Lenders make a nice profit, but consumers still get lower rates than they would with a conventional lender because peer-to-peer lending operates like a marketplace” (Kaufman).  This takes out the middle man by connecting investors directly with people searching for loans.    

Advice

As a consultant hired to address Baruch’s new media presence, I would first suggest that Baruch increase its social media presence.  Also most of my family and friends do not know what or where Baruch is because they are not based on New York City.  Social Media can be used to bring Baruch to people who live outside of the city.  The school can post exciting events and updates that will be appealing to people on the outside.  This form of free marketing can be used to boost enrollment.

Baruch can also use new media to improve online class participation and engagement by creating a Baruch “Second Life”.  The school can be created using the Second Life platform.  Professors who teach online classes and students who take online classes can create an avatar in interact in that way.  I believe that a visual representation of the class setting and people will increase engagement and interest in the class.

Privacy

America was founded on the idea that individuals have a right to privacy.  In fact, there are four different constitutional amendments that reinforce this right in different ways.  For instance, the First Amendment protects the privacy of beliefs, the Third Amendment supports the privacy of an individual’s home and protects it from being used to house soldiers.  The Fourth Amendment uphold this notion of privacy by protecting individual’s property and bodies against unreasonable searches.  The Fifth Amendment protects the privacy of an individual’s personal information because it protects against self-incrimination.  As you can see, “Our notions of privacy and security are deeply tied to our society and historical notions of person and place” (Reed).

New media is a recent development so there is no specific amendment protecting people’s privacy in media but I can imagine that these can fall in one of the aforementioned amendments.  The problem with privacy in new media is that there is none.  The digital cloud or ether is not a house door that you can be closed and locked.  Even with privacy settings, it can ultimately be accessed by inquisitive people.  There is nothing intimate or private about new media despite the what privacy settings want you to believe.  Your information is either being outsourced to an advertising agency or watched by hackers.  New media actually makes you vulnerable to outside intruders.  The truth is that a lot of people live their lives through the internet.  Positive and negative aspects of their lives are logged indefinitely.  The constitutional right to privacy that everyone professes through the amendments is compromised because information is exposed to everyone.  Advertisers are notorious for using people’s personal information to market products to them.  This is an invasion of privacy, but in digital space where the lines are blurred, what is actually private.