Creativity and New Media

For this creative assignment, I decided to devise an avatar version of myself. My avatar was set up and customized through Avachara, an easy-to-use new media website that allows any non-registered user and registered user to create an anime avatar for himself/herself. As I rummaged through customization options that ranged from face shape to background color, I decided to make a Baruch poster child version of myself. As someone who is enrolled in the Zicklin School of Business, what does an online avatar version of myself look like?

There were about thirty different outfit choices if I were to make a long-shot estimate. Out of my choices for what top my avatar should wear, I went with the classic black suit jacket for females with a white collared button-down shirt peeking from inside. My pants selection was a pair of black suit bottoms that matched with my black suit jacket. The hairstyle that I chose was similar to my hairstyle in real life, long black hair with a semi-natural wave. To finish off the look, I plastered a smile on my avatar's face. She is now ready to network. 

Here is a full body view of my avatar:

and a head-shot for LinkedIn: 

  

Good luck with the job hunting process, avatar Lily.

Creativity

With new media, the possibilities are endless. There are barely any limitations and borders to creativity that a person can display through his/her new media platform of choice. Let us use YouTube as an example. In "Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why?," Barnes illustrates how the popular song "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" was used freely along with snippets of Disney's animated characters from certain films. As someone who has seen the video, I find the user-generated video comical and well put-together. The synchronization of the lyrics along with the Disney characters' mouth-movements and body-movements was impressive for the time that it was published, eight years ago. 

Disney is known to take copyright infringement of their material and intellectual property very seriously. However, why is it that they allow parodies that include their material to remain on the YouTube platform? Barnes dives deeper into the reasoning of why, and comes to the conclusion that Disney welcomes creative parodies from fans, but quickly takes control if a YouTube user were to upload a whole video of Disney material without prior approval. 

All in all, the parody that was made brought more light-hearted attention to Disney, and ended up granting Disney great public relations articles. YouTube as a new media platform allows amateur users to share their creativity with the rest of the world, by utilizing common references and symbols from well-known characters/movies such as Disney.   

Reference:

Barnes, Brooks. "Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of Its Critters. But Why?"The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Sept. 2007. Web. 26 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/business/media/24crank.html?_r=0>.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds can simulate the real world in different needed areas, such as healthcare and business. In "Going to the Virtual Office in Second Life," Tutton elaborates on the benefits virtual meetings bring to businesses, such as privacy in a company's own network and "work" in a whole range of environments such as auditoriums and collaboration pods. In addition, virtual worlds help reduce traveling costs for employees since they would not have to travel overseas to meet up with employees in other countries. The article continues to mention a virtual meeting tool IBM produces called Sametime 3D, where employees from different businesses can share ideas and collaborate in a 3D world. In this way, creativity is encouraged because "the environment was so engaging" (Tutton). However, some cons that associate with virtual meetings are lack of relational trust and relationship-building, since an online relationship can never equate to the value of meeting up face-to-face. 

Some other negative aspects of virtual worlds are the behavioral outcomes that may occur after a person is engrossed in an online world. "Virtual World May Impact Real-World Behaviour" from Health24 delivers a connection between how you treat others in the real world and the character that you become online. For example, if you play a hero in an online simulation, you are more likely to act kindly towards others in reality. On the other hand, if you replicate a villain virtually, you are more likely to act deviously towards others in reality. 

The future of virtual worlds will increasingly blend what is real and what is online together. For example, 3D virtual reality is now a new aspect of technology that makes it easy for people to experience the new and the unknown in the safety of a familiar space. 

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References:

Tutton, Mark. "Going to the Virtual Office in Second Life." CNN. Cable News Network, 09 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html>.

"Virtual World May Impact Real World Behaviour." Health24. N.p., 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://www.health24.com/Mental-Health/News/Virtual-world-may-impact-real-world-behaviour-20140210>.

Blog About Twitter

Twitter vs. Blackboard

To start off, Blackboard's creation was solely meant to be an educational platform between students and faculty. In a Blackboard discussion thread, it is a lot more formal than a simple Twitter conversation. Tweets can only hold a maximum of 140 characters, while a Blackboard discussion post can be an essay. With that being said, tweets allow classmates and faculty to connect on a real-time schedule, while Blackboard posts are edited on multiple occasions to ensure accuracy and correct grammar. However, as a student, I would prefer having a class discussion over Blackboard rather than Twitter. One reason for my preference is because it is difficult to shorten my thoughts to 140 character or less, and as a "grammar nazi", I would have to sacrifice good grammar in exchange for more of my thoughts published on a tweet.  

Twitter vs. In-Class Discussion
There are more differences than similarities when comparing Twitter with in-class discussions. In-class discussion motivates individuals within a whole class to participate in the discussion being held, while Twitter's discussion only goes forward throughout a wider span of time. When the class is over in-class, the discussion is over. A Twitter discussion can go on for days, or can even be re-ignited over years if an old Tweet is found through the use of a hashtag. In addition, a person can verbalize his/her thoughts without limitations, as opposed to Twitter, where thoughts need to be shortened and succinct. 

Social Networking Sites

Facebook
- Real time status updates
- A lot going on at once
- Real time chat option available
- High user population
- News feed is tailored to the user
- Home page is the central hub 
Twitter
- Real time status updates
- Usage of hashtags
- Hashtag trends show what Twitter users are talking about
- No private real-time chat option, private messages only
Pinterest
- Home page is tailored to the user
- Home page feels a bit overwhelming, since multiple pins go across the web page and vertical as well
- Peaks creative users' interest 
- Private message option only 
Tumblr
- Home page is tailored to the user
- Private message option only 

Overall, all four social networking sites have their home pages tailored to the user. Personalization is what defines a person's profile, and central hub (home page). Pinterest and Tumblr appeal to creative minds.

Social Networking

In a corporation, social networking can be utilized through human resources in recruitment. Today, job seekers are not surprised at all about that fact and most job hunters seek to refine and polish their online social media presence in order to improve their personal images. This makes them more desirable to employers so that in turn, organizations will proactively seek to hire them. LinkedIn is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, social media communities used for career purposes. The relationship is two-fold, as job seekers want to put themselves out there, and recruiters can easily identify top talent in a simple manner. LinkedIn is essentially a recruiter's best friend, since it allows them to "find [talent] faster using a vastly increased network of contacts" (Langfitt). Recruiters can also use other more personal social media mediums to uncover how a potential best-fit candidate for an open job position carries him/herself on an everyday basis. For example, a recruiter at any large corporation would want to make sure a potential candidate does not divulge confidential information in online communities, such as Twitter. Aside from corporate, social networking can be used to bring people together of course for a variety of common interests and purposes, no matter the physical distance. These technologies allow people to converse in the comfort of their own homes and their phones, behind a screen. It is also easy for people to come together for a larger societal meaning and purpose, which is why hashtags such as #BlackLivesMatter and #PrayForParis emerge. 

Backtracking to recruitment strategies, there is a dark side with social networking. As millennials are entering the workforce and acknowledging how their social media identities are synonymous to their real-life identities, they especially value their online privacy. As the article "Who Cares About Facebook Privacy? Students Do" states, "the majority of young adult users of Facebook are engaged with managing their privacy settings on the site at least to some extent...". It is also imperative that recruiters are mindful to not show bias towards certain candidates if they are of a certain ethnicity, age, or gender. Bias can be easily created through social network searching. 

I believe social networking will continuously evolve in a way that will make every member of society have to play a part in social media. The big social media greats such as Facebook and Instagram have already started to incorporate new and exciting technology such as 360 degree live video and live coverage of live events. It would not be a surprise if the workers of these companies are actively seeking ways to make their product a "must" for all people, and to further their reach and influence even more.   

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References:

Langfitt, Frank. "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting." NPR. NPR, 22 Nov. 2006. Web. 06 Mar. 2016. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf>.

Parry, Marc. "Who Cares About Facebook Privacy? Students Do." The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 July 2010. Web. 06 Mar. 2016. <http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/who-cares-about-facebook-privacy-students-do/25877>.