About Someone Else's Term Project

The term project I will be talking about is by Joseph Bruno called Free Content: What is the Cost? This project was about content that is considered free, how people react when they see the word free, and the actual cost associated with free content. The presenter first started off by defining free. Then he moved on by talking about Gillette and how they use free razors to gain a competitive advantage. They gain a competitive advantage by offering free razors to many businesses such as banks. Next he moved on by comparing a high quality product with a free product. The people preferred the free product over the higher quality product because of the association with the word free. Then he went on to explain the actual cost of free content. He mentioned that many free content create a monopoly, deteriorate quality, and cause the death of many industries.

I think that this project was very interesting and I learn a lot things that about how companies are using free content to gain a bigger market share. I also learned that there are many costs that are associated with free content. Which proves that nothing is really free. I found surprising that many people would actually choose a lower quality product over the higher quality just because the lower quality product was free. I really enjoyed the presentation.

The Next New Thing

The next new thing that we might see in the future would be a new form of the newspaper. Currently the newspaper is not integrated with the internet which therefore can't be constantly updated. This new version of the newspaper will be integrated with the internet. The new newspaper will not be made out of paper but will be a made out of a new technology called OLED which stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. It will be transparent, waterproof, touch screen, and could be folded just like paper. The news will be constantly updated when there is breaking news. Users will also be able to comment on the articles they read. The newspaper will be charged by the sun and when full will be able to store energy so that when not under the sun will still be able to run. Not all of the content on the device will be accessible to all users unless they subscribe to that content. The price to manufacture will be real low comparable to current newspapers. It is also biodegradable so disposing of the device will not harm the environment. This device will give a much needed boost to the newspaper industry. Every type of media could be used on the device such as television, radio, and you could even video chat.

About My Term Project

I am finally done with my new media presentation. I have done lots of research about my topic which is the impact of new media on national security. I learned lots of things about the government. I am amazed on how they are using new media in their infrastructure. I will start my presentation by defining national security and how the government play a major role on the country's national security. Then I will talk about how new media impacts four government functions which are inward sharing, outward sharing, inbound sharing, and outbound sharing. Next I will describe how the government has implemented new media into their infrastructure. I will also state some of the benefits of integrating new media and the government(government 2.0). Next I will describe some of the problems with new media and national security. Then I will talk about the solutions I think will help solve some of the problems. Finally I will describe how new media is being used outside the U.S.

I most interesting thing I found out was how the Department of Homeland Security is using virtual worlds to simulate terrorist attacks in order to better prepare first responders such as law enforcement on what to do after a terrorist attack. This simulation will help in better preparing them on how to coordinate with each other.

Overall I am glad that I chose this topic for my presentation because I was able learn new things about the government and how important it is for the government to use new media in order to improve a country's national security.

Privacy & Confidentiality

I believe that privacy and confidentiality do not go well with new media. The purpose of new media is to allow other to contribute and give their inputs on whatever is being shown. New media is always taking place online and the internet is no place for privacy and confidentiality. People can not expect to post sensitive information online and expect it to be out of the eyes of others. Sure there are ways to block people you don't want to be able to see your information but there are always ways to get around any security. As long as new media is able to connect people there will never be complete privacy. This is one of the main reason that the government was reluctant to implement new media into their infrastructure because it is so easy for someone to obtain sensitive information and use it for harm. The government has been implementing new media into their infrastructure but they are careful what information to broadcast and what information not to broadcast. We should all be aware of the type of information we posting online.

Advice to Baruch College

My advice on how to integrate new media to improve Baruch College would be to try to make Blackboard more customizable by its users. Students should be able to edit contents on the Blackboard homepage just like a wiki. Blackboard should be open to everybody to see not just individual classes. Also Baruch College should have a student blog implemented on Blackboard allowing students to communicate with each other. Another advice I have for Baruch College is for every professor to integrate some sort of new media into their classroom. For example instead handing in hard copies of the assignments maybe they could use a class wiki to submit their assignments and allow others to read and correct any mistakes. I also recommend that every student in Baruch should have a twitter account so that professor could update them on any recent changes with the class schedule.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

So far I have been contributing to wiki by posting to the political section of the wiki. I have posted the pros and cons of new media in politics. This basically points out some of the negative and positive aspects of using new media in the political environment. In the future I want to contribute to the sports and education section of the wiki.

My New Media Class - So Far

So far my new media class has been very interesting and fun. The professor had mention that this class will be the most entertaining class in Baruch and she was right. In this new media class we had used many social networking sites like twitter, blogs, facebook, etc. My favorite social networking site is using the blogs because I get to personalize it. My least favorite social networking site is twitter because of the limitation it has with the 140 characters. In class I learned how much of an affect new media has on different societies. Throughout the semester I have been posting many things on my blog. I have also been updating our class wiki. I think that this type of learning is the best way to learn because it is very interactive. I wish that all my classes were structure this way or at least give me the chance to creative like this class has given me. Hopefully the rest of the semester is as good as the first half of the semester.