The Next New Thing

What will the next new thing be? I haven't the slightest clue. However, following the current trends, I do believe that it will be something familiar, just even more accessible. As media outlets transport themselves to smaller and more portable platforms, I think the next logical step would be to expand on these strengths. On top of that, I'm sure existing services will continue to expand their scope. Increased connectivity and capabilities should be expected, and I'm sure it'll be faster as well.

P2P File Sharing

Peer-To-Peer (or P2P) file sharing is the technology that allows for users (peers) to distribute files directly amongst each other. Where as traditional file sharing involves getting a file from a server or some other intermediary, P2P cuts out the middle man.

One such P2P file sharing software is BitTorrent. Designed by Bram Cohen and based off a design for a "distributed data haven" (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.01/bittorrent.html), BitTorret allows for a file to be shared collectively. Instead of sending the file whole, BitTorrent works by " Breaking a big file into tiny pieces", downloading a small piece from a bunch of different users, simultaneously. These downloads run in parallel, making the process much speedier. Additionally, the relatively slow upload speeds of even fast internet connections are no longer a bottleneck, since each individual "peer" is responsible for far less. This was the case with other P2P networks, such as Kazaa, and as a result, BitTorret took the lead as the preferred P2P file sharing software.

Privacy & Confidentiality

Privacy is a huge concern when it comes to new media. The huge draw to new media platforms such as the Internet was its anonymity. This has its pros and cons - while on one hand, people feel freer to say whats on their mind, it's that exact freedom that can make parts of the internet.... difficult to deal with. A quick browse of almost any youtube video's comments reveals some of the most vulgar and ill tempered things I've ever heard a person say. Clearly, the anonymity afforded by the internet is a double edged sword. However, there are bigger concerns. With the proliferation of social networking sites such as facebook, as well as mobile platforms for them to run on - laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc... another privacy issue - what if one of the portable devices gets lost or stolen? It's a lot harder to keep track of and maintain these different accounts. But let me get back on topic.

If that weren't a big enough cause for concern, many of these social networking sites are allowing you to link accounts together. While sometimes the ease of use is invaluable, and I personally have linked this blogger account, my gmail account, and my youtube account, this makes it more of a security risk. Aside from that, linking all these accounts together reduces the anonymity that helped make these forms of new media so successful. While I think there's still plenty of room to be as visible or invisible as you want to be, I feel that we're slowly reaching a point where remaining completely anonymous will no longer be an option.

Creativity

New Media is all about taking other forms of media and converging them - be it with a new platform, or another type of media. So called "Mash-Ups" are one such result of this. As described by the New York Times, mash-ups are "made by editing together snippets of animated movies and TV shows"
(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/business/media/24crank.html) The example they use is a mash-up of Soulja Boy's song  "Crank That" and Disney's "Whinnie the Pooh". The creativity involved here is apparent, as these two pieces of media don't have any natural overlap. The innate nature of youtube allows a person to see various pieces of media, regardless of subject, back to back. This could inspire ideas such as these mash-ups. Creativity can also be fostered by what people have seen before. Upon looking for the video mentioned in the New York Times article, I found a related video, in which "The Lion King" was mashed up with a song by Lil'Wayne. By taking two pieces of media and blending them together, something new is created, with the potential auidences of both.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds have an array of uses. The New York Times cites one such use, marketing. MTV's attempt to recreate the unique atmosphere of New York's Lower East Side via "VLES" is one way they're trying to bring in "new consumers and curiosity seekers into MTV’s sphere of influence" (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1352570802-s6SHsEXPEOoqsehfaEk1AA) There are many reasons this would seem appealing. For starters, here, MTV is trying to sell more than just a single sight or sound, they're trying to recreate a unique atmosphere. With such an ambitious project, MTV is able to offer a sampling of the neighborhood, beyond what pictures and music can offer. CNN offers yet another use, saying that the Virtual World "Second Life" is used by businesses to host virtual meetings. One appeal of this is setting, as the environments allowed in Second Life include  (a) "whole range of environments, from auditoriums and collaboration pods to social areas" (http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html). Additionally, another reason a company might opt to use a Virtual World is because it's a money saving technique. Instead of having employees physically appear for a meeting, they could take part in one virtually.

While all this seems like a lot of trouble to simply recreate things that already existed, it isn't without its benefits. As stated before, such Virtual Worlds provide a more engaging and interactive atmosphere, which can be beneficial for things such as marketing and collaboration. However, another Virtual World came to mind - "Minecraft". Minecraft is the name of a game that's been tossed around for a while, and initially, I couldn't see the appeal. The game is essentially virtual legos, and while that might not seem like much, that's the draw of the game. Being virtual, there are some drawbacks that never come into play, that would if it were a physical product. Right away, the idea of playing with a virtual lego set removes restrictions such as cost, and physical space, both of which would be problematic factors when using physical legos. With restrictions such as these removed, creativity flourishes, and already people have recreated everything from scale recreations of their own homes, to complex machines, all with the use of the virtual building blocks provided in Minecraft. The sheer amount of possibilities afforded by such technology is what I believe the future of Virtual Worlds will look like, and time will only see these things expanded, with greater tools, accessibility, and ease of use.

Social Networking Sites

Aside from visiting Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, my 4th social networking site of choice was LinkedIn. All of these are social networking site's I've had experience with before, with the first being myspace, and the latest being LinkedIn. Even though I'm signed up at all these sites, I rarely use any of them. What struck me the most was that while Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all seemed to be focused on the individual, Myspace seemed far more focus on the "media" aspect. Ads and pop culture figures were plastered everywhere, and it didn't seem as focused on the person, but on potential interests. Facebook on the other hand was more concerned with providing a snapshot of the individiual, and upon visiting the profile pages of my friends, I was presented with pictures, some minor personal information of choice, and their likes. LinkedIn takes this concept and tones it down to be more professional. After all, it bills itself as the "World's Largest Professional Network". Lastly is Twitter, which, compared to myspace, is hyper minimalisitc, and even limits the amount that can be "tweeted" to short quips.

Social Networking

Social Networking has many benefits. On paper it even sounds like there couldn't possibly be any downside. Who wouldn't want fast, easy access to friends, family, and an array of information, anytime or anywhere? The uses of social networks are vast, ranging from work collaboration, to meeting new people, and anything in between. The sheer easy of use and access has done wonders for companies, who use social networks such as twitter to instantly (and cheaply) inform hundreds of thounsands of people about upcoming events, sales, and other news, all of which could mean big profits for the company. However, there is most certainly a "dark side".
Possibly the biggest issue that comes up with social networking is the possibility of privacy issues. This is most definitely a big concern, and Wired Campus' article states that “engagement with privacy settings increased significantly” (between 2009 and 2010) (http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/who-cares-about-facebook-privacy-students-do/25877). This statement, even though it's slightly dated, shows that the issue of privacy is a big issue, and is on the minds of a lot of people. Although this is a major concern, this doesn't stop people from using sites such as facebook. Nicole Ellison, an assistant professor of Telecommunications, attributes this to "“social capital,” which is to say, that the benefits gained from a social networking site, far outweigh their potential costs. (http://www.freakonomics.com/2008/02/15/is-myspace-good-for-society-a-freakonomics-quorum/) Even so, there are still incidents. Recently, there was the suicide of Amanda Todd, whose death was attributed to "cyber bullying", on facebook. So with social netowrking, as with any new technology, there are bound to be incidents, society as a whole seems to be accepting the role social networking sites play.