Blogs vs. Wikis

Blogs and wikis have many similarities and because of this it is sometimes hard to see what the differences are. One similarity of blogs and wikis are that they allow people to communicate with others over the internet. They are also both dynamic web pages which means that they are constantly being changed and updated. Because blogs and wikis could be created by anyone the information on these medias are sometimes inaccurate.

Aside from the many similarities blogs and wikis also have many differences. One difference between blogs and wikis is that the wikis do not include the source of the information. The is important because we would want to see if the information is accurate. With blogs you could see the information about the person who is posting the information. Another difference is that with blogs you have more control over the information you post but with wikis the information you post could be changed by another person.

In today's world where the internet could connect everybody together the importance of convergence is great especially in the business environment. In today's business world companies are sending their employees all over the world to do business and the need to communicate back and forth is crucial. So the use of new media technology like blogs and wikis become very handy because it allows companies to communicate with each other effectively.

Though wikis can be used to collaborate with others I believe that blogs are a more effective media for communicating to specific group of people. The reason is because wikis can be edited by anyone and this isn't good for very important information. Also blogs allow other to give feedback on the bloggers' opinions which is important when a group of people are collaborating.

I can't thing of a new use for the wiki that has not been done yet but could think of an improvement. An improvement for the wiki is that it should not allow anybody to put an inaccurate information on the wiki. Like the article in the NY Times, Wikipedia to Limit Changes to Articles on People, said the wiki should be more dependable source of information.

Old vs. New

There are many ways to distinguish the difference between old media and new media. One way is by seeing if the media is static or dynamic. If the media is static than it is old media and if it is dynamic than the media is new media. The reason old media is static is because old media is never constantly changing like new media. What makes media new media is the fact that the users are able to manipulate the content in some way by either editing the content or adding comments. For example film is considered old media and youtube videos is considered new media. Film can't be manipulated by the user and youtube videos are able to be manipulated by the user or add comments about the videos.

Another way to distinguish the difference between old media and new media is usually by seeing what kind of communication there is between the media content and the user. In old media there is only a one way communication meaning that the user can't interact or has no way to get in touch with the creator of the media. In new media there is always a two way communication where the user can always get in contact with the creator of the media and also has some say about the media. For example magazines had a one way communication with their readers in which the journalist write the content and the readers read it. The reader had no say or could not write their comments about the content. But now the new media version of magazines, ezines, allows the readers to post comments about the content they read.

Also if the media is a combination of other medias than it is considered new media. Old media is always separated from other medias. For example television is considered old media because it is a stand alone media technology. But now television shows are now being seen in the internet on different websites such as hulu. Which is why hulu is considered a new media technology. Hulu is a combination of television and forums where viewers could post comments about they are seeing.

Impact of New Media on National Security

My research project for this class is going to be about how new media impacts national security. By national security I don't mean only America's security but also other countries. Because new media can't be used with some sort interaction with the internet every country's security is compromise. For example many terrorist groups use new media to communicate with other terrorist groups or send terrorist threats to other countries. There are many other security breaches that new media can potentially have on national security and with my research I will try to uncover what these security breaches are. Also I would want to find out some possible solutions, if any, are there that will eliminate them.

What is New Media?

New media is constantly changing and evolving with every new technology. There are many kinds of technologies that are part of new media. One of my favorites is YouTube because of the way people are able to show their creativeness with everybody. Everyday I'm always seeing something new and interesting that people are creating. Every time I want to see something funny I always turn to youtube and find a video like this one about some funny cats. A new media technology that I frequently use is Wikipedia. Wikipedia is an interesting technology because I would have never expected that letting people post and edit information into an encyclopedia would ever be successful. I would never have expected that people would take the information in Wikipedia seriously because they were being edited by ordinary people. Other technologies that are part of new media are facebook, flickr, hulu, twitter, and many more.

New media would have never been possible if it wasn't for the internet. The whole reason the term new media was created was to show how media was being used to connect and communicate with each other. The way we connect and communicate now is through the internet which made it possible for new media to change and evolve. Like Lev Manovich wrote in "New Media from Borges to HTML", "new media are the cultural objects which use digital computer technology for distribution and exhibition. Thus, Internet, Web sites, computer multimedia, computer games, CD-ROMs and DVDs, virtual reality, and computer-generated special effects all fall under new media." Therefore the internet and new media go hand-in-hand because new media would not have become what it is now without the internet.

Just like new media needed the internet to become what it is now, new media also needed old media just as much if not more. Many of the old media such as television, newspaper, books, magazines, and radio are being replace and/or enhanced by new media. The reason old media is being replaced or enhanced by new media is because new media is able to be more interactive with its users. Also users are able to express themselves and connect with others that are feeling the same way. An example of how old media is being enhanced by new media is the newspaper. In an article from the New York Times by CLAIRE CAIN MILLER, she wrote that a new newspaper company called "The Printed Blog" will publish blogs on paper and distribute it in big cities. It will also contain other user generated content. Though the future for this company is uncertain you could see how old media will need to be enhanced by new media in order to survive.