So, I just finished watching stranger things 3 on Netflix. It’s always fun to spend a day binge watching a mutually entertaining show with your wife and fourteen year old. Lots of snacks, fluffy pillows and no cell phones! Perfect way to spend a Friday night.

As for the show, ST3 delivers an full package of character development, thrills and excitement. We get to see the people we grew to love in season one get a little older and deal with more mature content and experiences while still trying to hold on to the friendships that were forged. A few barley used characters had an opportunity to shine this time around. The most interesting and entertaining is Erica, a ten year old sassy girl with a potty mouth backed by untapped intellect and style. Giving this girl more screen time was a great idea, and the entire show was more entertaining for it! I won’t go into details about the show and spoil anything, buy needless to say it was a fun ride.

In today’s world, it is common to hear someone speaking of their Facebook or their Twitter accounts. Social Networking as a whole has woven itself into the very fabric of our daily lives. Thousands of lint balls we call “updates”, ranging from the everyday random joke, to the ever irritating photos of food that barely looks edible decorate our “News feeds” and our personal pages. Every tidbit of personal information is willingly uploaded, tweeted, posted and video recorded for anyone with even the mildest set of access to view, comment on and scrutinize. For My Project paper in this New Media and Business class, I would like to discuss Social Networking and its advantages and disadvantages. I’d also like to look more in depth at its users and there, what I call,” purposeful loss of privacy”. I would also like to conduct an analysis of Social Networking and its impact on our lives and the way we conduct business. Social Media has completely re-faced the world of commerce and E commerce and it is the very “purposeful loss of privacy” that fuels companies research efforts and Marketing campaigns.

The first question that I’d like to address in this paper may seem simple. What exactly is Social Media? In its simplest and most understandable definition, Social Media are platforms, apps or websites that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. It’s a way to stay in touch with people who are in your life and keep them updated and possibly even meet new people. It can be a place where Elderly people can view photos of their Grandchildren who might live too far away to visit. It can be a place where parents can post videos of their babies growing up or maybe share their first steps. It can be a great place to maintain relationships without actually socializing physically or even leaving your living room. Some of the more know social networking apps and sites are Facebook, which is the largest social site to date. I’ve heard some people claiming that their use of Facebook is diminishing, however, a research study discussed by Margret Weilgel, Author of “Why Facebook most Facebook users get more than they give” says the research found no evidence that Facebooks popularity is fading, and that in fact, the more time that passes since a user first starts using, the more frequently they make status updates, use the “Like” button and comment on friends content. Then there is Twitter, a social site that is very simple and takes the messaging platform and utilizes it to create groups and lists of “Trends”. Twitter also has the added benefit that its company actually pays attention to the users wants and needs, and integrates it into their application, which is where the interactive options of liking a post came to play. You also have Instagram, where users can post pictures and short videos that they can edit with Instagram’s built in picture and video editor. Other users can then comment and or “like” the picture or video. Another growing app that allows users to upload videos or pictures is Snap Chat. The difference with Snap Chat is, these videos are not preeminent, and will disappear in 24 hours. Fundamentally, Social Sites can be a great tool to create a user space where one can post things of interest, view friends and family’s updates as well as likes or dislikes. It can be a great tool to keep in touch

With acknowledgment to all these seemingly positive attributes, one might consider Social Media to be an amazing feature and component of our lives. Businesses can interact with users and optimize content for their specific wants and needs. Customers can seek information and communicate directly with agents on these Social sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. But here is where the lines begin to get blurry. On the one hand, it might seem great to have Ad’s that are mostly unavoidable to be at least catered to your tastes. But in order to have that, many aspects of your “privacy” must be exposed. But according to Kate Murphy, Author of “We want privacy, but can’t stop sharing”, There is no privacy. She goes on to say that the Ad’s targeted by companies such as Google are “creepy”. The article points out many key aspects of users willingly giving up their privacy as they use these Social Media sites. Adam Joinson, a Professor of behavioral change at the University of the West of England in Bristol coined the term “Digital Crowding” to describe excessive social contact and loss of personal space online. He states with all the focus on the Legal aspects of Privacy and the impact on Global trade there’s been little discussion of why you want privacy and why it’s intrinsically important to you as an Individual”. It’s up to the user to decide how they will protect their information. And here lies the paradox. Its becoming ever increasing and easy to connect almost any site you visit to your Facebook. You don’t even have to create an account on most sites now. You can choose the option to “Log in with Facebook” and consequently, you agree to allow the site to post, view and use your information. It is a willingness to give up just a little more privacy for the sake of convenience.

How exactly do businesses use your information? It’s obvious how they obtain it. You post it, like it, tweet it, Snap chat it. Simple apps and trackers can be used on Twitter to see what companies, products and trends are popular at the moment. You can actually get full statistics breakdowns on this type of information. It’s cheap and it’s extremely useful in the right hands. According to Sujan Patel, Author of Forbes article “How Businesses should be using Social Media in 2015”, it has been reported that about 73% of all Americans in America alone have created at least one social media profile on one of the major social media sites or apps. Five years ago, the number was around 48%. With these numbers growing so rapidly, it is obvious that Businesses are having a hard time keeping up. But they are learning fast! Companies such as Axiom make big bucks selling your data as “Analytical Services” on 144 million households according to CNN. In the article “Why big companies buy, sell your data” written by Jason Morris and Ed Lavadera for CNN Tech, Acxiom Chief Executive and former Microsoft Executive Scott Howe, in an attempt to shed light on how companies use your data stated “Companies like Acxiom are trying to get intelligent about what you might be interested in and who you are. Such that we can deliver more relevant advertising to you, and we can deliver offers and products and services in which you might have interest,” He continued by stating, “All the information we collect and utilize is secure, appropriate, and legal.” He went on to elaborate that your data presents unlimited amount of value for not just businesses, but the people as well. You’re always going to be subjected to advertising, your data can help fine tune what’s being targeted to you as an individual.

It’s not every day that you would hear a person say “I do not want privacy.” What exactly is “Privacy”? Privacy is basically the freedom from being observed. It’s a direct contradiction to Social Media. Social Media is a platform to do exactly the opposite of creates privacy. It is the equivalent of saying “I don’t want privacy” every single time you post a picture of you at an event, or a post of what you just ate and where you ate it. But that you will not hear. In fact, what you will hear is everything from small talk to huge debates about how our “privacy” is being invaded by big businesses in order to turn a profit. In the article previously mentioned from CNN, it stated that Critics of data-Brokering companies claim that the regular average users have no idea that their intimate personal information and details are being sold. The argument is that having this information available at a single click could be a privacy risk. And while much of this may be true, and organizations such as Epic.org will exist, it is the same people complaining about a loss of privacy that willingly and daily post updates of their lives to hundreds of “friends” or “followers”. And it this time there are no real federal regulations for data brokers, the ones who sell your information. People still contribute despite this fact.

It is a contradiction that baffles me fully. In many cases you may hear the rebuttal “I’m posting these updates for my friends and family and it is private”. But let’s take a closer look at those friends’ lists. My son, who is fourteen, has three thousand followers on Instagram. I do not even think he has three thousand occupants in his entire school. Who are these people? Where did they come from? And when he posts a video of some silly thing he does at home, how can anyone consider this “private”? It is completely idiotic to believe your information and web browsing habits are “private”, especially when in most cases, you broadcast it to the world.

This brings me to my next question. What are the effects social media has on our teenage children? The answer is pretty simple. The effects are huge. Growing up already has so many emotional hurdles with self-esteem, social awkwardness and bullying. Even more disturbing is the fact that many of these teens starve for attention and now have a huge media platform to achieve it. Teens that commit self-harm or “Cutting” has been a huge problem. Author Kimberly Leonard of the article “Is Social Media Making Self-Harm Worse for Teens?” writes that despite efforts of social media sites to curb the amount of disturbing materials users post online, images of “cutting” and self-harm continue to show up on sites like Instagram and Tumblr. Executive director of the Newport Academy, Jamison Monroe Jr. says “They are seeking a connection to normalize the behavior, to make them feel OK about the way they are coping,” Monroe says. “The fact that they are cutting means they need help.” It’s these dark corners of social media that people do not want to see. It’s the decay of physical social interactions being replaced by the ambiguity of a computer screen. Cyber bullying is also a huge issue. Cyber bullies use information technology to harm or harass people in a deliberate manner. Where in the past, a teen would only have a small handful of people that could potentially harasses, make fun of or bully them, be it physically or emotionally, not they are faced with hundreds of thousands of possibilities. A bad photo or a revealing tidbit of embarrassing information can go viral, causing unimaginable regret, pain and anxiety. These attacks have actually led to many teens going as far as to commit suicide. Programs like “Don’t Laugh At Me” created by Peter Yarrow have created programs for schools and other institutions to attempt to battle these problems, as well as countless other programs.

Social Media is here and I believe it’s here to stay. With the shift of Internet use and ecommerce moving to Mobile platforms, it’s only going to get bigger. Will Face Book be the next Myspace? Who knows, as only time will tell. But today it is here and it has a major impact on our lives and the way we conduct business. Our lives are on display and it is our own faults, as we continue to post every second of our existence on some form of social media. The only advice I can fathom for battle this trend is to simply not use them. Scoff away.

Bibliography

Patel, Sujan. “How Businesses Should Be Using Social Media in 2015.” Forbes. Forbes

Magazine, 24 June 2015. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Morris, Jason, and Ed Lavendera. “Why Big Companies Buy, Sell Your Data.” CNN. Cable

News Network, 23 Aug. 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Et.al. Dwyer, and Trust And Privacy: A Comparison Of Facebook And Myspace. Trust and

Privacy Concern within Social Networking Sites: A Comparison of Facebook and MySpace (n.d.): n. pag Web.

Leonard, Kimberly. “Is Social Media Making Self-Harm Worse for Teens?” US News.

U.S.News & World Report, 29 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Weigel, Margret. “Why Most Facebook Users Get More than They give – Journalist’s Resource.”

Journalists Resource. N.p., 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Murphy, Kate. “We Want Privacy, but Can’t Stop Sharing.” The New York Times. The New

York Times, 04 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Murphy, Kate. “We Want Privacy, but Can’t Stop Sharing.” The New York Times. The New

York Times, 04 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

The next new thing, and you can quote me on this, will be VR Social Media. I can picture sitting in my living room, but immersed in a virtual vacation for an hour with a group of friends. You can be anywhere, anytime, with anyone. wear whatever you can imagine. Be whoever you want to be. With VR Tech now a reality, such as Oculus Rift and HTC, the possibilities are endless.

I recently received my Samsung Gear VR Headset that pairs with my Galaxy S7 Edge. I was amazed at how well it works. I’m sure the “real Vr headsets are far superior, but the experience I had with this headset was very positive.

A few negative aspects were a distinct blurry texture at times as well as some uncomfortably with some apps. But the positive aspects were HUGE compared to that.

I can imagine some social apps being used to have VR settings and interactions. Its a new world!

In the age of New Media, it is no secret that P2P file sharing is a huge deal. Often scrutinized and hated by most the film and music industry, it is the smoking gun many claims of piracy and copyright infringement. But what exactly is P2P file sharing? Well, File sharing itself is the practice of or ability to transmit files from one computer to another over a network or the Internet. Person to Person, or P2P file sharing is a lot more complex and rich.The definition of P2P File sharing  is the ability to allow users to access media files such as books, music, movies, and games using a P2P software program that searches for other connected computers on a P2P network to locate the desired content. The nodes (peers) of such networks are end-user computers and distribution servers (not required). This increases the speed in which you can download a file. The more Peers, or SEEDERS sharing a file, the faster the download speeds. The problem with P2P file sharing is the sharing of content that, legally you don’t have a “right” to share. Apparently, you own the rights to view a movie you purchase, but sharing the movie is illegal. I can understand why, after spending millions of dollars to produce a film, a company would be angry that a large portion of their viewers downloaded the film illegally online. But is that to say P2P is all bad? Not according to the creators of STEALTHISFILM. They distributed their film solely through P2P file sharing on sites such as Pirate bay. According to their article:

Content producers should take advantage of P2P, not fear it

producers should revisit their distribution models and find a way to include P2P in their plan.

In this age of Social Media and technology, Privacy and Confidentiality are Unicorns. If you live, purchase, sell, and conduct any online interactions, you no longer have “Privacy”. The Government can create as much legislation and bills as they want, Information is big money and it is not going to stop companies from selling and buying it in some form or fashion. The only thing you can do is protect yourself with things such as Life Lock.

In the era of Social Media and a technology surge, it is ever important to ride the New Media wave. Making your presence felt on the internet is no longer an option, but is mandatory. Keeping your website fresh, easy to navigate and informative is a great start. I would also strongly recommend that all social media be updated and stay updated. Keeping people in the loop and allowing them to participate in these venues are a great way to create a collective atmosphere for the college.

Creativity is the backbone of humanity. It is the ultimate gift bestowed upon mankind. Creativity gives us everything we find enjoyable in life. Music, food, movies, Art, theater. These are but a few venues that are completely reliant on creativity. Even from the beginning of time, creativity has catapulted Humans as the top of the food and evolutionary scales. From clothing to keep us warm in harsh climates to tools to allow us to hunt. Creativity is the sole reason for our survival.

In today world of hyper speed computers and technologies that change in seconds, creativity has evolved. The processes of creating something have changed. Became faster and more complex. The ability to take two different things, like for example a mash up of a Disney cartoon to a popular song, such as what was done on you tube in 2007 in the article:

Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why?

has made for thousands of popular and interesting videos. Entertainment has changed. The way we consume media has changed dramatically. Big companies, such as Disney, have held their properties and characters in a tight grip against outside use since its inception. But they allow these type of uses. Why? Because in actuality, if this type of video goes viral, it a a huge form of advertising that cost them nothing.

Even companies such as Twitter are smart enough to utilize its users creativity. Noted from the article:

Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers

The company changed from its bare bones services of 140 character “tweets” to offering the ever popular Re tweets and Lists. These additions were all outsourced from the creative minds of the people that count. The users!

Through all these advancements, a larger population of people are able to explore, and generate things creatively. A question that I ask is, are the things being created holding the same quality of the types of art and creative venues of the past, or has a lot of the creativity been watered down by technology? That’s for you to decide.

For many people, the stresses and limitations life has presented can be crippling. In fact, some of these limitations are in fact, physically debilitating, such as multiple sclerosis, or palatalization. In some cases, you have mental or emotional limitations, such as anxiety or phobias. In a world that already has so many obstacles and creates so much isolation, one may ask, how does one cope? Even your every day Joe going back and forth to work day in and day out, constantly yearning for a break from reality and the responsibilities it piles on you. Sure, there are hobbies one might take up, such a s knitting or collecting cards, but what else is there. Well, there is a whole new world out there as we speak. In fact, there are many. Virtual worlds such as second life is one of the largest of these worlds. It offers people who want to escape form reality an opportunity to do just that. Cant walk? Fly. Cant interact with people? Be a social butterfly in second life.

As technology evolves, additions such as Oculous rift add an entire new layer of realism so the experience. Now, I say realism with a grain of salt, however to many people, these worlds ARE their real worlds. These are the places they go to be the person they can not be in reality. But are these virtual worlds just a time killer or a waste of time. Jackie Morie, A virtual world designer in Telehealth care does not think so. In here interview with Diane Mehta of Forbes, she goes on to say “First we need to look at them critically to figure out what kinds of advances they can offer us. You can use virtual worlds in education, in delivery services, or as an advanced form of First we need to look at them critically to figure out what kinds of advances they can offer us. You can use virtual worlds in education, in delivery services, or as an advanced form of Telehealth that offers so much more than videoconferencing. Virtual worlds can give us social connectivity, built-in support groups, and ways to avoid ever being alone again. that offers so much more than videoconferencing. Virtual worlds can give us social connectivity, built-in support groups, and ways to avoid ever being alone again.”

Second life is far from the only virtual world. You have game style virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft, Mine craft, Grand Theft Auto, and many Many more. Virtual Lower East Side is another virtual world that is gaining popularity. Sometimes, as David Itzkoff of the New York Times states, Its better than the real life experience. He goes on to say “I didn’t have to contend with bouncers, foul odors and unknown substances on my shoes.”Itzkoff lives in the lower east side, but goes on to say the in many instances, he prefers to visit the area that is physically just a few steps away, right from the comfort of his home computer.

What is Twitter? I recently found myself on my morning commute to work one morning listening to NPR on the radio. The question of the topic was, What is Twitter. The main purpose of the question was to evaluate if even executives at Twitter knew the answer to this question.

Twitter is not my favorite social application at all. I don’t really know how to use it or what its about fully. I mean, yes, I use it, but very sparingly. I find myself using it the most when I WWE pay per view is on. It seems like that is the only time I can focus on what i’m tweeting about or focus on narrow tweet results.

As I’m writing this, I’m actually going through my Twitter to teach myself more about the application. It seems, and I feel silly to say this, that when you tap the search button, you can focus your feed on a specific topic or “trend”. I suppose this can be very useful if you follow these sort of things, and dare I say, in today’s world, you better!!!!

I will continue to explore Twitter in the next few days and see if I can look past my Jaded views. Once I can get off Snap Chat.

In this day and age, to not be a part of some sort of social networking site is almost unheard of. Teenagers, Parents, Grand Parents and even some people cats have their own social page, be it Twitter, Facebook, Snap Chat or Instagram. In many ways, through social sites, he internet has changed the dynamics of human interactions.

Snap Chat in my opinion is the most fun of the four discussed social sites. Its relatively easy to use, allows you to post  a few seconds of video, and then conveniently (for those who do embarrassing videos while drunk) deletes them after a set amount of time, I believe 24 hours. It also allows for chat, which also deletes over time and is unable to save. Many people find this very convenient. Your snaps are uploaded to your “story” and anyone who is a friend can view them once.

Twitter, to me, is my least used social app. I find it very confusing and maybe its just due to my dislike of it. Twitter allows you to post small posts of about 125 characters at a time called “tweets”. It always seems to me like twitter can never find its soul, and I only use it lightly. I may expand on this later and I’m sure many people reading this are disagreeing with my writing but oh well. Tis life.

Instagram is the simplest to use. Take a picture, use any filters you want (or None) and post it. You can comment on pictures and even upload small videos. Its easy to use, and very addictive. You can “like” pictures by simply tapping them.

Facebook is the monster of the four. It has a wealth of content and user abilities than can range from simple to in depth. It is a place where old people can see pictures of their family that never visits. You can blog, post videos, advertise your business, and so much more. It is also the widest used social app, and what I called a few years back, the “Myspace killer”. Facebook is the dominant social app, and the others have niche concepts that keep them used, but nothing has replaced Facebook yet.