Next New

A new type of new media that I suggest would be an app that allows users to shop products from photos seen on social media platforms. As one scrolls through their Instagram feed, they find an outfit they really like on one of their followers. They then screenshot the photo and submit it through this new app that will tell you where the person bought the clothes for and how much it is. This is great for fashionistas who scroll through social media platforms and find clothes they would love to wear themselves. As great as it would be to have an app like this, there will also be privacy issues that arise with this. However, the idea itself is great and will definitely help many users such as myself that would love to buy half the outfits I see on my Instagram feed.

Wiki So Far

So far, I have been contributing content to our class wiki. In order to do my part as the Layout Editor, I edited the layout for the following pages: Accounting in Social Media, Fashion, Marketing, Dance and Vlogging. Some of the subtopics were not as organized as I thought they could be, so I moved some topics together to have the overall page flow better together. I also combined some subtopics together under a similar topic. For instance, one of the pages I edited the layout for was Marketing. Social Media platforms was another topic within Marketing and so was Social Media Marketing. I moved Social Media Platforms under Social Media Marketing to keep everything more organized for future users to visit our wiki.

I have additionally added content to our class wiki. In the Fashion page of our class wiki, I moved 'Beauty and Cosmetics" under makeup and moved the makeup brands under this section as well. In addition, I added another makeup brand: Glossier. I described how Glossier has implemented social media in their business strategies to increase their audience and brand presence online. Another page I have edited and contributed content to is the Marketing page. Under 'Popular Brands Using Social Media,' I added another brand: Fashion Nova. In this section, I described how Fashion Nova uses their Instagram page to strengthen their brand. Overall, this is the work I have thus far contributed to our class wiki.

P2P

1. What is File Sharing?

File sharing is transmitting files from one device to another over a network or the internet.

2. What is P2P File Sharing?

According to P2p File Sharing  by Marmomin, P2P file sharing is a "peer to peer file sharing which allows individuals to access media files using software programs. P2P file sharing can benefit the community for both consumers and producers of the media content. 

3. What are some examples of P2P file sharing?

Some examples of P2P file sharing include Gnutella which is the most well-known P2P network. Other examples include Big Champagne and Pirate Bay.

Works Cited:

Margomin. “P2p File Sharing.” Margomin, 13 Apr. 2016, margomin.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/p2p-file-sharing/.

Privacy

Issues of privacy and confidentiality are heavily related to new media. As new media increasingly becomes popular among all generations, many are creating social media accounts that make it quite impossible to stay private about our lives and even our identities. Social media sites have a user agreement before one goes forth and uses their account. This basically gives the platform the right to sell our data that the site is collecting to sell to advertisements. It's quite shocking how sometimes when you speak about, let's say lipsticks with a friend through text, a sponsored ad on Instagram from M.A.C pops up on your IG feed. This has increasingly become popular, in multiple forms, even on browsers as many companies are using this to their advantage to reach targeted audiences. Even social media sites like TikTok are gathering information on a user's activities online by collecting cookies to generate a FYP (For You Page) specifically for the user. This has been quite shocking for me because as a new TikTok user, I see all these relevant videos on my page that I would be interested in and even content on some topics I text about with my friends. As a result, privacy and confidentiality is basically non-existent when you're using new media. While there have been many concerns and opinions voiced about this issue, this will only seem to get worse as more and more users turn to new media. 

Advice

As a new hire to improve some aspects about Baruch, I would implement new media usage in our academic learning. With the COVID-19 pandemic circulating around the globe and becoming a growing concern especially in the state of New York, CUNY Baruch College has used new media to stay connected with students. There are some of the suggestions I would make when using new media:

1. Use Social Media to Listen to the Baruch Community: With new media platforms such as social media, students have a desire to have their voices heard, especially during pandemics like the current COVID-19 outbreak. For instance, students wanted to change the grading criteria to pass/fail during this pandemic. As a result, many turned to social media platforms to promote a petition students created to have CUNY grades changed to pass/fail. With these new media platforms, students are able to voice their concerns and the Baruch community (along with CUNY) is able to listen to students. Aside from voicing their concerns, students also have many questions that staff should be able to answer. Someone from the Baruch community staff should be available to answer all questions and support students.
2. Analyze Baruch Demographics: By posting surveys on social media platforms and doing additional research to find the demographics of Baruch students, Baruch faculty can use this information to see what the interests of some students are, along with their background and ages to see which course content we can curate based on the results. Baruch, out of all CUNYs, is the most diverse. Each student reflects a specific background that might want them to enroll in different courses that reflect their interests. These interests can also help student organizations on campus, as well the Undergraduate Student Government. 
3. Webinars: A current relevant example of Baruch using new media is implementing webinars in online learning since the COVID-19 has everyone quarantined. In the future, Baruch faculty should use platforms like Zoom, Amazon Chime, Google Hangouts to have professors and students communicate along with any clubs on campus that need to switch to remote access. 
4. Increase Social Media Audience: If Baruch was to increase their social media audience, this would be a great way to gain the attention from students around the world that have any interests in attending Baruch College to jumpstart their professional career. 

Creativity and New Media

New media truly fosters creativity. In order to explore my creativity, I used a virtual media, Second Life, and explored around the virtual world created in the game. Second Life is an online virtual world where users can chat during real-time, change their avatar, transport to different places in the world, buy items from the market place and much more! This was my first time exploring around with Second Life, but I enjoyed it and glad I got to take the time using it due to this assignment! To start off on Second Life, I changed my avatar and played around with her outfit. I let my creativity take on from here and added a silky top and pencil skirt to match my own personal fashion aesthetic and style. Although there weren't many options since I just started the account, I still explored around and added additional accessories to complete the look. I've attached a screenshot below of the complete look of my avatar. In addition to customizing my avatar, I also chatted with other online users that were able to familiarize me with the functions and activities of this virtual world. Second Life operated similar to a browser and had many files you can explore. If you wanted to explore another part of the world, you would have to click on a spot of the world you would like to teleport to. I've attached a screenshot below that shows the different places I've explored and was able to meet new people through. I find this aspect of Second Life very creative as it gives users the chance to look back to what places they explored, along with a map that shows them where more users can be found to interact with. While Second Life has many creative and interactive aspects to the game, one thing I wish they were able to include for the basic account members is for us to decorate our houses. According to someone I chatted with on Second Life, you have to upgrade your account for that. However, I really enjoyed my time on Second Life because it allowed me to explore a virtual world filled with new people to meet online while I got characterize my avatar the way I want to! It was a great experience, especially during a time we all are quarantined and can't actually explore the real world because of the pandemic.

Creativity

New media fosters creativity which can benefit many users, especially marketers for companies. According to the assigned reading, "How user-generated content can improve your social media marketing strategy," content that users create can significantly improve your marketing campaigns. UGC includes any content such as videos, blogs, images, etc. that is created by consumers and is available publicly to other consumers. The article mentions that in order to improve your social media marketing, you should encourage your satisfied consumers to submit/post video testimonials, asking them to "talk about [your] products in the real-life environments." This is a great way to build consumer trust! This is also great on the user-end because consumers get to explore with their creativity to see how to develop this content. For instance, let's say an e-commerce makeup brand encourages consumers to post videos of their product reviews or makeup tutorials with a hashtag of their brand name. Not only is this great for makeup junkies to play around with their video-editing skills, content-creation skills, etc., but it's also great for the brand because it's generating a lot of brand recognition. Hence, new media fosters creativity and also helps businesses because of increased product and brand recognition.

Citations:
Mulcahy, Lisa. “How User-Generated Content Can Improve Your Social Media Marketing Strategy.” Multibriefs, 26 Feb. 2020, exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/how-user-generated-content-can-improve-your-social-media-marketing-st/marketing.