The Next New Thing

I think the next new type of new media will be an evolution of virtual reality. There could be a virtual reality game in the future where you put on a helmet and step into a virtual world. The player would experience more senses and be more connected to the technology of the game. In this way, the game(s) could become much more like reality. We see this type of virtual reality gaming in movies and television shows often. It doesn’t seem too farfetched to develop this kind of game in the future.

P2P and File Sharing

File sharing involves distributing information online. This information can include music, photos, videos, documents, and much more. People are able to file share via channels such as removable media, centralized servers, web-based documents, and P2P sharing.

P2P sharing, also known as peer-to-peer sharing, involves a centralized location where users can connect to a server and share files with others on the server. One example was Napster. Napster was one of the first big P2P sharing hubs, as “… college students praised [the site] because it enabled them to obtain hit songs without having to buy an entire album” (Choi, 2006). Users were able to share the single songs they craved rather than go out of their way to buy more than they wanted. P2P sharing creates sharing communities online, showing its relation to new media.

Privacy & Confidentiality

The topic of privacy online has become increasingly magnified with the continuous introduction of new media, specifically social networking sites. Sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter are great ways to connect with others, but they are also easy ways to share sensitive or private information. The problem with sharing information online is that once it is on the web, it is there forever. Sure, you can delete the post, but someone could have copy and pasted it or screenshot it. Not to mention sites like Facebook archive your activity on the site. Information is also automatically stored in code once created. People can talk online the same as when they talk in person, but there is a much greater risk of what you say being recorded and seen by unfriendly eyes. Of course, the same could be said for blogs and wikis. Putting sensitive information on the web for anyone to see could certainly come back to bite you. As new media continues to develop, we must be able to control ourselves and what information we distribute online for our own privacy.