Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds is a fascinating new reality that can be used in so many aspects of life today including virtual business, pleasure, education, healthcare, travel, sports and even politics. Although it is not physical, a virtual world can have profound effects on real human life. Virtual worlds foster creativity by opening doors of endless possibilities; as far as the imagination can go. In the flesh people are limited in various capacities unlike the virtual world. An example of such is the ability to fly or be a superhero who saves the world.

Some pros of virtual worlds are that they allow people a different and possibly better life. In one of the readings on 'second life', physically disabled people have the opportunity to experience a world without their disabilities. Virtual communities can help people with social anxiety disorders, provide support groups and even companionship for the lonely.  The virtual world of Minecraft is a great learning tool for kids where they can use imagination to create and improve cognitive abilities. There are cons of virtual worlds too. The fact that it is not real and people make it their reality can pose issues in the physical world. Regardless of who one's avatar is or how powerful, successful, brilliant or good-looking it may be, it remains just an avatar. People can become so connected to their avatars that they lose grasp of reality in the flesh. More real world problems arise where people fail to disconnect from their virtual worlds or where virtual worlds have transformed people.

There is a promising future for virtual worlds as more people catch on and as designers of the virtual worlds continue to be creative. Virtual travel might be a norm because people will have the ability to visit and experience places without actually going there; for instance taking space walks.

 http://www.forbes.com/sites/dianemehta/2013/04/30/after-second-life-can-virtual-worlds-get-a-reboot/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/01/ST2008040103032.html

Social Networking Sites

Social Networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and LinkedIn all offer great communicative aspects and although they are different, they are similar because of their networking capabilities. Facebook seems to be the most popular and most used. It's very easy to use and because separates itself from the others because of its ability to connect people. Twitter is unique in that it allows people to follow each other and post views and photos that can be viewed by the rest of the world. People do not have to know each other in order to follow or be followed. Myspace is a networking website that was among the first to connect people and is similar to Facebook but not as diverse as Facebook. LinkedIn is the most popular out of all the sites for professional networking.

Twitter Blog

Blogging on Twitter and Blackboard as well as speaking in a classroom are  very different. I'll address the issue from an aspect of the setting. Twitter offers a very casual and private setting where users may not even know who each other are and therefore people feel comfortable and express themselves more freely. This freedom results in people saying whatever they feel; even adding obscene and uncensored content. On Blackboard however, people are a bit more confined and professional and the content is much more guarded and related to specific relevant topics. In the classroom, more vocal people usually contribute greater toward discussions and the shy or more introverted ones may not feel like contributing. Those who are less vocal in the classroom however, may find it more comfortable having their discussions online or under unanimity.

Social Networking

Social Networking has transformed the way we live our lives in so many different capacities. It's very easy to think of Facebook when referring to social media because it seems to dominate the social networking world and allows its users to connect with each other with little effort. Facebook embodies networking; however, there are other networking websites such as LinkedIn that has a less social-networking but more professional-networking aspect.  LinkedIn is a very creative platform whereby one can post a professional profile and basically advertise himself/herself and possibly be matched with appropriate jobs. 

Although Facebook offers a more informal way of networking it, the website also allows for companies to advertise their products and services which is a corporate feature of Facebook.  Users of technologies such as Twitter and Facebook use the technology as a means of expressing themselves which can be useful but can also be to their detriment. For example: employees being fired after posting comments and photos that were not acceptable to employers. Another dark side of these very vocal technologies is the harmful effect they can have on innocent people. For instance the issue of cyberbullying http://chronicle.com/article/Theyre-BackTheyre-B/48220/. 

Also see article: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/26/victims-cyberbullying-fight-back-in-lawsuits/

In his campaign to the White House, then Senator Obama and his team wisely used social media with its widespread communicative abilities to clench his presidential title. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/business/media/10carr.html

Blogs vs Wikis

Both blogs and wikis are very useful tools in this new media age. Although they have their differences, they share common characteristics such as the 5C's - Communication, Collaboration, Community, Creativity and Convergence. Wikis and blogs are fascinating communication resources because they allow for the exchange of dialogue between their creators and contributors. Wikis are very collaborative in that users can modify the content of the webpage at any given point without restriction. This can foster more creativity and collaborative efforts by users as opposed to blogs. The downside to wikis is that any user can edit their content which makes it very easy for one's contribution to be modified. It is also limited to the number of users unlike blogs where one manages the blog he or she created but has the ability for anyone to read and comment on that blog.

Blogs are so useful in conveying information to the public and although personal blogs are more popular, it is not uncommon to see corporate blogs. The article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/business/03walmart.html speaks of a blog where employees of Wal-Mart actually give their views on products that are sold by the company and their contributions are very useful in shedding light on good and not so good products.

This other article highlights the collaborative elements of wiki in soliciting proposals from the community in an effort to maintain its culture. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/business/media/31link.html.

Hello readers,

I'm Marsha Mc Leod and welcome to my blog. The topic of my project is "The Digital Divide" which I find to be a very interesting subject, especially at a time like this where the use of technology is so useful and important to daily life.
My project will address the actual meaning of the digital divide and how it was created. It will also identify how the digital divide affect people, organizations and industries and also explore if there are ways to bridge the gap. I will research this topic through the use of Baruch's Library as well as peer-reviewed articles and trusted websites. I look forward to producing a very interesting paper and to have some fun while doing it also.

Stay tuned,

MM