Google Wave

At first I thought that google wave would be nothing more then any number of search engines online with a fresher look. Google has always dominated the field as far as search engines are concerned. And in light of microsoft's recent release of their new search engine "bing", it is quite clear that google wanted no chance of being threatened.
After looking through Google wave and understanding the numerous ways in which it can be very benficial, we as the users are able to see how significant of an online tool it can be. It brings together all of Google's tools and abilities in one place, in order to create the easiest and user friendly software for the user. One way I feel google wave works for the user is through its email. It allows the user to send and receive emails with others pretty much like an instant messenger conversation. This proves to be quite convenient when looking for old emails and not having to scroll through old ones forever. Also, u can invite others to join the email conversation almost like a chat room, as well as decide what material they may or may not see. Other than this, the user is able to add documents and edit any information sent.

I-phone or Blackberry?

Although I am taking a class whose teachings center around "new media", it is almost impossible not to be surrounded by it in my every day life. Even though I like to think of myself as learned individual when it comes to new media, it seems that technology is moving and developing so fast these days that even the most knowledgeable person might find it hard to keep up. At first glance one might think that new media primarily surrounds just a handful of things and this is true, to an extent. However companies such as google and apple are consistently finding new ways to come out with "the next big thing" (i.e. "google wave", "I-touch", etc...) challenging their competitors to take action.

With all of this new media constantly being thrown in our face, there is one major area of new media I feel is being overlooked: rather the "cult" following associated with what mobile media device one uses for social networking. Through the progression and development of cell phones, we have been introduced to what I like to refer to as, "the smart phone". The earliest sign of smart phones which i can think of is "the palm pilot". Since then, new media users have been given the ability to choose from a wide variety of smart phones including the "blackjack", "treo", "I-Phone", "Blackberry", etc... Of all these phones I think its safe to say that the "I-Phone" and "Blackberry" are the mobile devices which gain the strongest following amongst their users. Literally everyone I know who has an "I-Phone" emphatically argues that it is the coolest thing in the world. Respectively, every (fellow) "Blackberry" owner will tell you that the it is much better then the "I-Phone" once you know how to use it and that "BBM's" are God's gift to earth.

Overall I feel as though these media devices, which I'm sure all of us couldn't live without, have become not only a major staple in our involvement with new media but in our day to day lives as well. These "phones" not only allow their users to gain access to their preferred areas of new media, but demonstrate just how important it has become for us to involve new media in our lives multiple times a day.

Twitter; the new Facebook?

When I think about it, I would consider myself up to date with new media. However, as of late I have found that there are many new forms of media which I have basically no knowledge of. It seems as though nowadays when a new form of media comes out, it is embraced and followed almost religiously; that is until a newer form of media comes out and the short attention span of our generation immediately embraces it. Facebook has been extremely popular for quite some time but now all I ever hear about is twitter. Even though the concept of twitter is very easy to understand, it took me a while to grasp the concept. After pondering the idea behind twitter I found that it was not actually the idea of what twittering was, rather why everyone had become so enthralled by it. To me, twitter is nothing more then a facebook status that one would update more frequently. Besides this, the only difference i found is that many people look at other peoples' twitters (such as celebrities, famous athletes or complete strangers) which they deem interesting or relevant. As twitter becomes larger and more popular I cant help but wonder what is to become of other social networking sites. The main questions i draw from this is "what will become of facebook; will people lose interest just as they did with myspace?" Also, "with the simplicity of twitter, what will come next in new media in regards to social networking?" 

Text Lingo

Recently I have been evaluating the language I use when I send text messages to my friends. Is it appropriate to use sayings such as "LOL", "G2G", "TTYL", etc.? Sometimes when I'm in a hurry and I do not want to write out the entire phrase, I slip in a quick abbreviation and I simply assume that I my friends know what I'm talking about. My personal favorite is "LOL", I would have to say that I use this one most frequently. I find myself using this term even when I'm not actually "laughing out loud", especially when I'm talking to a girl and don't really know what else to say. Speaking of texting girls, have any of you guys ever asked yourself how many "y's" you should use at the end of a "hey"? Usually I deem two to three to be appropriate, but when I haven't talked to them in a long time, I will only use one because I wouldn't want them to think that I'm being too friendly. Another thing that I have been thinking about lately is how much time I should wait before responding to a girl through text messages. If I respong too soon she might not think that I have a life, but if I wait too long she might think that I'm blowing her off, and I would not want that to happen, LOL! I think that these abbreviations goes to show how lazy our generation has become, text messaging services are already giving us the convenience of avoiding a phone conversation, but now we can't even bring ourselves to write out an entire phrase. It is also interesting how we read into these small aspects with so much detail, it is really effecting our lives this much? Well, that's all for now, G2G!!!!

Is private really private?

After reading the article "Myspace Bug Leaks", I was shocked. The article discussed a new "backdoor" method which allows virtually anyone to view peoples' private myspace profiles. This means that even if myspace users are setting their profiles to private, they are still open to anyone who desires to see their posts, photos, etc.. However, the greatest problem with this new method is not only the lack of privacy, but the new ability for pedophiles and creeps to view pictures and profiles belonging to users under the ages of 16!
When I was finished reading this article I was some what relieved that I have never been a user or created an account for myspace. I thought, "man I'm glad this couldn't happen to me". But, after awhile I came to another realization; "If it it is that easy for anyone to look at private myspace accounts, why shouldn't it be that easy to access private facebook accounts (which I have)". I logged into my facebook account and went to a tab I never really paid much attention to before: security settings. Previous to reading the article I was under the impression only friends can view my profile.....Thankfully, I rechecked all my security settings, made a few adjustments and I was relieved yet again. In retrospect it seems all to plausible to assume there are quite a few people with the ability to look at private facebook accounts. I guess the only way to beat the problem is to make sure your smart about what you put online about yourself and remember who can see it...