Creativity and New Media

            New media fosters creativity and virtual worlds, such as Second Life, are one of many examples of such technologies. In Second Life, users are given the opportunity to play as avatars and explore new experiences in a virtual representation of reality. Users are able to live a new life through their avatars as they are able to explore the different settings, socialize and trade with other users, customize their avatars, and participate in group activities. In order to gain a better understanding of virtual worlds, I created an avatar for myself within Second Life. Immediately after logging in, users are offered several, different presets for their avatar's appearance. After choosing an avatar, you are immediately placed into the virtual world and you can see many other new users exploring the area around you. As you progress further into the virtual world, you are able to change your appearance as you'd like and access the marketplace to trade and obtain new customization to modify the avatar as you desire.

Creativity

            It is undeniable that digitalization and the existence of the many forms of new media contributes to and fosters the creativity of users. With the many different types of new media that exists today, users are provided with the means of expressing their unique ideas, or even creating their own works, with the medium that is the internet. In addition, there are millions of internet users with different opinions, and perspectives, so when users place their ideas and works, whether it be a webpage, a blog post, a video, a drawing, or even a comment, their ideas are given visibility and they may receive helpful feedback, including valuable criticism, by others. For example, Twitter has become one of the most popular social networking websites today but this is also due to the fact that the founders had accepted and used the ideas given to them by their users when Twitter had only began as a startup company. In the article, "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers," the writer states, "But it was a learning process for the company. The founders did not like several user-generated Twitter features at first, but accepted them once they saw that others were adopting them, Mr. Williams said. When people started referring to Twitter posts as 'tweets,' Twitter resisted until a few months ago, when it applied for a trademark on the term." It can be said that the founders of Twitter had acknowledged and utilized the feedback of users in order to create the successful website that it is today. By recognizing that the internet is a hub for creativity generated by the endless number of users, we may see that new media promotes creative expression by providing users with a tool to work with and feedback for growth.

Citation:

Miller, Claire Cain. "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

            Virtual worlds, or virtual reality, is the technology that allows humans to experience a simulation, or representation, of reality. This technology is relatively new and  it is used for all types of purposes including entertainment and profession training. In terms of entertainment, many virtual reality technologies are being used for the development of video games. Video game players are allowed to explore different interactive settings and experiences that are not bound to the rules and limits of reality. For example, in the article, "No Budget, No Boundaries: It's the Real You," a psychologist states that, "It's the newest manifestation of how people live vicariously: if I can't afford a Bentley, my avatar can." For the purpose of profession training, virtual reality technologies are also being implemented into many different fields of work, including military professions, medical professions, and many other specialized fields, and these technologies allow for individuals to be trained in a safe, secure environment. In addition, training through the use of virtual reality technologies is considered to be inexpensive compared to the cost of real-life training. For example, the article, "Avatar II: The Hospital", states that, "Medical schools traditionally have run such exercises using computerized mannequins, which can be programmed to exhibit certain symptoms. But each mannequin costs about $65,000, so there may be just one for every 50 or 100 students. In second life, though, every student can take on a nurse or doctor avatar and practice interviewing virtual patients, filling in medical charts and making diagnoses." As with all technology, the use of virtual worlds also has its pros and cons. The main advantages of virtual worlds includes its potential for aiding in the training of all types of specialized fields, its promising capabilities in improving all forms of entertainments, and its ability to remove the restrictions of reality to provide uncommon experiences. The disadvantages of virtual worlds includes a sense of anonymity which results in possible illegal activity, lag time as a result of poor hardware that some are limited to, and lack of acuity by some individuals that wish to partake in the use of these technologies.

            Virtual worlds foster creativity by mainly removing the restrictions, and circumstances, that inhibits us within reality. By creating simulations, or representations, of reality through virtual worlds, users appeal to the fact that real-world risks are removed and users may want to experiment. Without restriction, it is up to the user to question themselves and to decide what they want to attempt and experience. I believe virtual reality technologies will continue to grow over the next few years and that the use of virtual worlds for profession training will become more common in the future as businesses, relating to even more fields of occupation, consider the lower costs of training through virtual reality technologies compared to conventional methods.
Citation:

Ferla, Ruth La. "No Budget, No Boundaries: It’s the Real You." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

Simon, Stephanie. "Avatar II: The Hospital." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 13 Apr. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

Blog about Twitter

            Twitter discussions, BlackBoard discussions and in-class discussions are three means of communication that allows for modern day students to connect with their peers. These three methods of discussion similarly allows the average student to share ideas and thoughts with ease but they may also be compared to show their unique differences. Twitter discussions differ from BlackBoard discussions in mainly formality and audience. The discussions on Twitter consists of many small, public conversations, also called "tweets," and contains informal language and slang as users mainly speak with comfort. In contrast, BlackBoard discussions tends to be written with more formal, academic language and the discussions are usually directed towards a single academic group of students to invoke course-related ideas and thoughts. In addition, in-class discussions greatly differs from both, Twitter discussions and BlackBoard discussions. In-class discussions occur in person within the classroom rather than through the use of the internet. Within in-class discussions, only one individual speaks at a single time and there tends to be more focused attention on the verbal thoughts that are communicated compared to discussions through the internet. Each of the three forms of discussions have its own exclusive appeal and it is up to the user to decide which is best for the type of discussions that they plan to engage in.