Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

According to After Second Life, Can Virtual World Get a Reboot? by Diane Mehta,  she proposes using virtual worlds as a way for Soldiers to cope with their trauma after they come back from war. I think that is a great idea and I second that. Actually, we can even take that idea to another level given the level of technology we have now. we can bring this 2D screen world and make it 3D. There are now updated worlds where you put on these special goggles and it brings you into a very realistic version of a story. For example, there are facilities that allow people to try this and they can do a horror theme one. They sit in a chair and the chair along with the glasses and headphones stimulate the same effect as being at a haunted house or being chased by a murderer who will pop out at you. Likewise, we can take this terrifying experience and make it into a sanctuary for soldiers. I think it is very smart to turn this entertainment into a therapeutic way to help people cope. 

The limitation and down side to this virtual world concept is that it could easily be misconstrued. According to Virtual World May Impact Real-World Behaviors children often take either one of two roles. They are either the hero or the villain in the virtual world. This could carry into their mindset and create a habit for children to act out. This usually leads to violence or a child to carry themselves in a negative way. For example, children who believe they are heroes begin to think they are invincible that could lead to crazy motions to prove their ability, which could potentially lead to accidents. Villains may act out in violence to be better than others and show a dominating personality. This could easily lead to fights.

Virtual world foster creativity because it can easily be worked into business. Currently e-commerce has taken over many industries and chains. Brick and mortar stores are slowly beginning to lessen. Payless was once a very successful shoe store. However, now that Amazon, Nike, Zappos and many online retailers have provided faster and more convenient form of delivery, physical stores have been removed from the blocks. I could picture a future where we have a virtual world with streets just like the ones in New York City. We can view this virtual world in a 3D form and go "window shopping" through our own phones computers. 

Blog About Twitter

Twitter is an easier form of communication than using BlackBoard to discuss with classmates. The @ and # symbols to tag people help make posts more efficient. Rather than opening up the threads on BlackBoard and then replying to the thread through a mini word formatted text box, you could tag someone and simply respond. It is also easier to look up the replies and related posts through the # rather than opening each thread to see what everyone's response was. On the other hand, Twitter limits the responses to only 140 characters long. For you to fully answer/respond to someone, it will need multiple tweets in order to thoroughly explain your thoughts on the matter. On the plus side, both forms of communication could provide links and images for better reference.

Blog: Social Networking Sites

The four social media platforms I have visited are: Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.

I personally like Instagram better because I like looking at photos more than I like to read a status. I think Instagram is a platform that's constantly revealing new trends and really helps individuals be creative. For example, Cover Girl has never had a male spokesperson before. After Instagram became an outlet for people to post their creations (nice photos, clay art, makeup, fashion, etc.), a guy with very good makeup skills was found and signed as the very first male representative of Cover Girl. It is easy to use with a clean minimalistic format that allows users to operate and adjust quickly.

I like Twitter the least because there are too many formats to tweet, retweet, search and post. There are certain symbols to remember in order to adjust to the form of social media. The amount of characters used is also very limiting to posts and for people who want to share a little more than 140 characters. While it is made to be a simplified version of a blog, it is not my style. So personally I don't like Twitter and I don't like using Twitter.

While Facebook has become more and more complicated with the settings, I think its still (more or less) easy to use. This is mainly because I grew up using Facebook so I have a gist of what is happening. MySpace became very old and the look of it wasn't as clean. Facebook became the new MySpace and it just stuck with me growing up. I don't really post much on Facebook but I appreciate their messenger app. It is handy for me to communicate with my friends and I love the stickers I can send to better explain my emotions!

Snapchat is fun to keep up with. It is pretty simple for the most part and the filters and very cute. However, many say it isn't a form of social networking (site) because you simply send photos to each other. I disagree with that. Snapchat has changed their format and made small changes to match user demands. Certain features, such as infinite amount of time a snap could be opened to typing more characters in a snap, Snapchat has become easier for users to communicate with each other.

Blog Social Networking

Many companies revert, or rather must to some degree, to using technology. Netflix, Uber, and many major, successful companies end up using rating systems to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of their company or services. For example, Netflix carries a thumbs up system. When certain forms of media are liked and disliked by a large audience, Netflix tends to add more shows in that genre. Meanwhile, Uber uses a five star rating system for both drivers and passengers. This helps ensure satisfaction and better pairings to keep employees and customers happy. However, in the article Can You Trust Crowd Wisdom? by Kristina Grifantini, she expresses that it is not hard to alter the opinion of people through an active group of users. Votes and negative reviews could easily sway paranoid/skeptical people to believe in the bad reviews. It only takes a small group of people to submit multiple votes toward one idea they do not like and alter the opinion of others. (“If you have two or three people voting 500 times,” says Kostakos, the results may not be representative of the community overall. He suspects this may be why ratings often tend toward extremes.") 

Media has also taken a huge roll in helping us develop our careers. LinkedIn, Indeed, Starr are all technology based platforms that help connect people professionally. Facebook is the social media form of sharing one's own information. LinkedIn is the equivalent of a professional version of Facebook. While you can post certain, personal messages it is generally more formal. The profile you put up is more resume like than it is about personal interests and hobbies. There may be a section for such things, but it is more to mention it than to focus on them. The down side of to these forms of media is that it could be more exposed than you think. For example, Facebook automatically allows photos that people are tagged in to be viewed by someone who isn't a friend of the person who originally posted. In Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private by Rebecca Greenfield a family member of founder Zuckerberg had her private family photo shared to someone who wasn't her friend because limitations on who could see her posts weren't set clearly. Due to the unclear settings, it is hard for people to really know what is shared and who gets to see it. 

Technology has been advancing so quickly and even predicted to have holographic projections, I believe we'll incorporate technology even more in the future. It may even reach a point it is mandatory. Many movies and such came out with their vision of how the future is with flying cars and high tech homes. It may very well lead there and be inevitable for new media and new technology to be a mandatory part of life/business. 

Blog v Wiki

There are clear distinctions and similarities between a blog and a wikipedia page. The similarities between the two would be both sites are composed by people that may not be credible or people who obtained a degree/career for publications. Both sources are not acceptable for official papers (such as homework or essays) because the information is not provided with proper validity. Lastly, both wikipedia and blogs has someone monitoring the activity. According to Wikipedia to Limit Changes to Articles on People by Noam Cohen, due to vandalism and falsification of information on certain wikipedia pages, wikipedia arranged for protection of these pages to prevent slander and negativity. Some wikipedia pages such as President Obama and dramatic celebrities (Britney Spears) are at the least semi-protected.

The main difference between Wikipedia page and blog is that wikipedia could be adjusted and changed by numerous people. Blogs could be posted and changed by the owner of the blog, however, other people are free to comment on certain blogs openly. A key difference as well is blogging is a form of passion. People who blog write mainly on what they have expertise in and what they care about (Pulled from the source How can we measure the influence of the blogosphere? by Kathy E. Gill) Meanwhile, wikipedia pages are just a list of information updated and edited by volunteers.

In assumption the use of convergence means changing from old forms/methods of media and information to the new (blogs/wikipedia/google searches/etc.), it is important for people to convert to using these new forms as sources is because it is readily and easily accessible. While wikipedia is not a valid source for papers and such, it is relatively reliable for the general public who wants quick information. Wikipedia is the most viewed and accessed page from Google search, hence it usually comes up as the first search link/page available. The new media era/day/age requires information so quickly, that blogs and wikipedia pages become a valuable source of information. Because people blog about things they are very passionate about, it almost creates a validity in what they write. They themselves try to gather facts and truths for their own interest, so when they post and write their own thoughts and opinion they include valid sources to back up their thoughts/ideas. To some extent blogs may also provide a quick and (to some degree) accurate opinion to certain matters. Thus far wikipedia has only been a way to profile celebrities, companies, and events. Wikipedia has much room for growth but I personally do not know what wikipedia could be used for. Wikipedia's purpose is to provide useful information at easy/quick access which it has lived up to its purpose. To repurpose or to use Wikipedia in a different manner, I really can't picture. (Sorry!)

Project Description 

League of Legends Research Topic

As media and computers have been advancing, the use of this technology has also been changing. Computers were once created and used for work purposes. Now, computers have been adjusted to meet demands of games. Video games and digital media has been massively used throughout the world. League of Legends was a virtual game created in 2009 and has become wildly popular. I plan to do my research project on this topic. Here is my approach to discussing the topic:

1. Perspectives: 
1. economic perspective - It could be a career for some people. There are many gamers that stream online and receive a lot of funding. 
2. Sociological perspective -  a lot of people, both introvert and extrovert play eSports now. It's been a bridge to discussions in social setting and helped a lot of people come together. 
3. Technological perspective - clearly the advancement in this field has come a long way. Five years ago when eSports came out with games, the graphics and all the technology to allow such games have greatly improved. Even if it was to be discussed 10, 20, 30 years ago it could. But mainly within the last 10 years time. 
2. Analysis: Five effects on society are 1) new form of social gathering (positive), 2) addictive and violent (negative) , 3) allow mental growth (positive) , 4) medium for relief (positive), 5) could be costly (negative). 
3. Impact: It helped impact me personally by making me more open minded and helps me build my mind intellectually. Someone once compared the game of League of Legends to chess. Only difference is its a 5 player, strategic chess game. There are many plays and factors that could make or break a match. For example, dragons or baron help give teams a boost. However if the team goes to get baron they may leave their towers and base open for invasion by the other team and potentially lose the game. 
4. Detail: I want to further look into the topic of economic prospective of this new media. Obviously because it's the most intriguing and I am studying business. I plan to further explain how playing League of Legends became a profession that pays over millions every year.