Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

 A virtual world is a computer based simulated environment. In this created world a person creates an avatar and interacts with other avatars. Some examples of virtual worlds are games like sims. Virtual world's range from realistic to fantasy and science fiction

One major use of virtual worlds is in the classroom. It allows for things like computer based training. In addition it allows for members of the class to interact with one another in a virtual classroom. Besides from classrooms another major use is in the medical field. In order to help train nurses and doctors hospitals are using virtual realities to practice and play out scenarios. For example in the Wall Street Journal article "Avatar II The Hospital", it explains these useful qualities. As stated in the article "Dozens of hospitals, medical schools and health foundations have staked out space in the online community Second Life, where participants can build their own virtual clinics and stage just about any training drill they can imagine." I think the ability for doctors and nurses to train with various scenarios prepares them well for when real situations occur. For example, in situations like terrorist attacks there is no way to prepare without having played out scenarios for a hospital in a virtual world.

Another major use for virtual worlds is in business. For example according to an article by CNN "Going to the virtual office in second life",  in order to save money companies are organizing conferences by having workers meet remotely in a virtual space. Most importantly what it provides for companies is an extra level of security. For example, "The company's Enterprise tool will let employees' avatars -- animated alter egos -- meet in virtual worlds from the privacy of a company's own network, rather than the public networks used in standard Second Life."

To Sum up the Pro's of the virtual world is it adds an element of training and security that allows companies and educators to prepare people for real life situations. The Cons however are social isolation. Even though an individual is involved in an interactive world he or she is spending most of their time alone with this world and isn't a part of society.

I believe the future of virtual worlds will continue to see an increase in education and especially in business. You may visit a world where you do work that gives you a real paycheck even though you are in a virtual world.

Blog About Twitter

When comparing Twitter and blackboard discussions it's important to first note some of the key distinctions. The key feature that twitter has that blackboard hasn't yet been given the ability, is to remained logged in and receive and send messages clearly without having to follow numerous steps to post a message for a discussion. In addition twitter allows you only to post a message up to 140 characters, however blackboard allows you to post unlimited characters.  Twitter also has features like retweeting, favoriting, and hashtags. These features expand the user discussion. The major difference between Twitter and blackboard is that twitter is for more for a quick discussion, while blackboard is more lengthy responses. Also with twitter your ability to attach links and media is way more advanced than blackboard and easier to post.

Although Twitter has the ability to keep up with real time events, a discussion in a classroom has one major distinction. That distinction is that everyone is engaged in a more personal conversation and has less time to think before adding input to the discussion. Classrooms also allow you to understand more clearly the points and input of your peers. Sometimes through messages we lose the meaning and understanding of the mindset of the individual giving their input. However, the beauty of something like twitter is it is an organized stream of a conversation that you can look back and view the progression of.

Social Networking Sites

The Four network sites i have chose to discuss and compare are Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Youtube.

Facebook
Is the most common of all of these listed above. It is a social networking site that allows you to connect with friends and family. It allows you to create a profile and post media. This site has the ability to be used on ones computer or mobile device. Secondly you can send your friends messages and also like each others posts and media.

Twitter
On the other hand is simple quick and loaded with information delivered by the second. On twitter you create messages limited to 140 characters. The thing I personally love about twitter is how when an event such as sports, breaking news, etc is occurring there is so much information flowing in by the second that it makes you feel like you are living the news. Twitter also does a great job of forcing you to limit your ideas to short bits making it easy to get across and understand one another. Twitter is a great way to get messages and ideas across. Twitter utilizes hashtags and also has things like retweets, reply and favorites.


Linkedin
The goal of Linkedin is strengthen and extend your network and contacts. It is an excellent tool used for businesses and individuals looking for employment. The feature I instantly love about Linkedin is seeing those who view your page. This feature allows you to know which companies are interested in you and allows you to network with others. What s great about Linkedin is it's legitimacy and trusted professional network. It is also a great way for one to market oneself and prior work experiences, Especially when looking for employment.

Youtube

Youtube is a video sharing platform. Millions of users around the world upload and watch videos. On youtube you can comment like and share videos with friends and family. You can also easily upload a video of your own and try to gain as many views as you can.When it comes to youtube the thing that amazes me the most is how anyones video has the ability to go viral and reach millions of people.

Social Networking

Over the last decade social media has become an integral part of society. It provides an easy way to interact with friends and family. In addition social networks are great for having fun. It also allows one to keep up with current events whether it be in the news on a macro scale or within their personal lives on a micro scale.

On the other hand social media can sometimes have a dark side. For example, as seen in The Wire article “FacebookPrivacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn’t Private”, it explains how confusing privacy settings on facebook can be. In fact when one posts photos on social media there is very little control on those pictures. The key is as illustrated in the article “don’t expect to hide something if you do everything can be share and re-shared these days”.

Social Media is also a vital part of many corporations. For starters social media is an easy way to learn about ones audience. Leaning different analytics about ones audience such as age, geographic, etc. allows companies to better succeed. Companies can even geo target certain audiences through social media. This is seen in applications such as twitter and Facebook. Another advantage for corporations is that it allows companies to expand audiences. The beauty of the quick response of social media is that it allows instant feedback from the customer about the service. Furthermore, it allows companies to get ahead of their competitors by studying and monitoring their competitor’s activities. It may sounds simple but the fact that one can share content easier and faster with social media is a huge advantage to companies and their ability to share new content with their customers. Social networks like LinkedIn link the corporate and social media aspects to create a very effective site.

So the question is what does the future hold for social networking? Although social media has a bright future for society I want to focus on the negative it could continue to have moving forward and way into future. One of Social medias biggest problems is that it is increasing Anti socialness in society. As the New York Times article “Anti-SocialNetworking?” suggests that children used to actually talk to their friends. However, nowadays children are consumed by their phones and emails. The problem is people aren’t connecting as much with one individual and are often involved in group chats. The pew research center found that “ages 12 through 17 send 50 or more text messages a day and that one third send more than 100 a day.” These numbers have suggested the amount of time children spend alone with their phones instead of with others. In fact even when they do hang with friends they are still consumed by their phones. However, on the bright side social media will focus more in the future of incorporating more multimedia content. This has already begun with things like twitter.

http://www.thewire.com/technology/2012/12/facebook-privacy-so-confusing-even-zuckerberg-family-photo-isnt-private/60313/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/fashion/02BEST.html

Blog Vs. Wiki

A wiki is an online space for people to collaborate and edit content. It's great for group projects and team editing. A blog on the other hand can be look at as that similar to a diary. Its individual focused. Blogs are a way for one to express his or her opinion on something. On blogs you can comment on things others have wrote about. A wiki on the other hand is great for a group project or studying and sharing material with friends for a test. 

What makes both of these similar is that they are Both a way to communicate with others. However a wiki space is more of a discussion based atmosphere.Blogs on the other hand are great for collaboration because they allow those who don't have access to you to access what you have to say.

An example of a collaborative effort using blogs was discussed in New York Times article talking about the bayridgetalk.com blog. This blog was used by people in the neighborhood to discuss suspicious drug activity going on at a specific house. These bloggers helped the police and as a result it led to the arrests of some of these individuals.

However Blog's can be controversial as well. In the article "Pentagon keeps wary watch as troops blog" we see how soldiers blogging about their personal stories may be against the privacy of the government. There seem to be many soldiers who want to share their voice but due to security concerns this may be banned.

 I think a great use for wikis would be to use them in order to collaborate for individual families. A website based wiki to keep track of family history and events etc. I think it would be a great way for families to converge with one another by adding their individuality to the website.