Blogs vs Wiki

Blogs and wikis are both ways of sharing information. The main difference is that with a blog it is more personal. A blog writer can choose whatever they want to write on and people can post comments on them and share opinions freely. For example, "In the world of celebrity and entertainment, some blogs have found a niche and have become quite successful in discussing celebrity news, sharing photographs, and other topics in entertainment..." (Gerry, Celebrity Blogs: The Impact of New Media). Blogging has become a new way of getting information across and it helps keep us updated. With a wiki, it is a more collaborative effort. A wiki allows you to post a topic and anyone can edit and post information on it. An example of this is Wikipedia which is an internet based encyclopedia. It has information on almost anything in the world and anyone can just edit it or update new information on it. An interesting article showed how wikis can be used. The VP of EMC, Tony Pagliarulo, used a wiki as a way to build their project. “He chose a wiki—a software application that allows groups of users to create, edit and comment on online documents—so that each team member could contribute and access up-to-date information on the project.” (Locher, More on how to build your on wikipedia). It seems like a very convenient way to keep each other up to date with the project. This shows the importance of convergence. It allows people from everywhere to come together and work collectively. Wiki allows this. Another way we can use a wiki can be to start a wiki for a specific community so people involved in that community can offer ideas of improving it or complaints. 

Social Networking: Better or Worse Than The Real Thing?

I am just curious as to see how socializing has become nowadays. Instead of leaving outside to meet new people, we are able to meet people online. Through websites such as facebook, myspace, and twitter, there is a new way to socialize with people. People can just check on these websites and find out what their friends are doing. They may chat with them online rather than pick up a phone and call. I am curious to see the development of social networking and to analyze to see the negative and positive effects it has in our society.

Describe New Media

How can we describe "new media". In my opinion the new media is the new technology today that generally have made the "old media" digitalized through advanced technology (such as laptops, smart phones, and of course the internet) and as a result made it more interactive for us people. 

The "old media" such as books, radios, newspapers and magazines have been replaced by this new technology. Rather than flipping a page in the NYTimes, we are able to read the news on the internet. And we are also able to leave comments on these articles as a way to share our ideas with other people. 

What the new media has also allowed us to do which I find amazing is being able to catch shows online. When I'm in school all day and I know I am going to miss a show, I can watch it on the internet. “For network television shows the best places to start are their home Web sites, including ABC.com, NBC.com,CBS.com and Fox.com, where shows are posted usually within 24 hours of being shown on television” (Holson, Who needs a TV? I’ve got a laptop). Also, I am a huge sports fanatic and when I know I can't watch games on a television (usually soccer games) because I don't have a channel, I am able to stream it online! It's incredible what this new technology allows us to do. And as I'm watching the games on these websites, I am able to share opinions about it in a chatroom with random people I meet online. 

In an article, Heffernan says "In the ’90s, “magazine” was a pacifier — a word like “bookmark” to keep us quiet as we acclimated to life online. But now that we are here, Slate and Salon are communities and producers of influential articles; they’re not really magazines. Two online things — TheHuffington Post and The Daily Beast — don’t call themselves magazines. HuffPo is “an American liberal news Web site and aggregated blog” and The Daily Beast offers “curated news aggregation plus original reporting and opinion.”" (Heffernan, Articles of Faith). One of the things about the new media is that the news is not only reported by big companies such as the NYTimes but now anyone can go make a blog and report the news themselves. The ability of social networking has allowed us to report and share our ideas and thoughts to everyone using websites such as twitter, facebook, or even this very own website right now! We are having an online class through blogging! This is an example of new media! I still find it strange but I guess it does make things easier for us all who just want to sit at home and read in peace rather than in a classroom with students and a professor. 

Oliver Valenzuela

Welcome to my blog everyone!!