Nicholas Pooran's Blog

P2P file sharing is a system that allows users to share various media and files from one computer to another. Users can access the content through the internet without accessing a server. You would need to use a P2P software to use this resource. This is just one way of file sharing. The earliest form of p2p software is Napster which gave birth to systems such as BitTorrent. According to Clive Thompson in the article "The BitTorrent Effect," BitTorrent lets users quickly upload and download enormous amounts of data files that ate hundreds or thousands of times bigger than a single MP3." This may be a great source of content for many to take advantage of to save time and money but it creates a legal as well as an ethical issue considering that some content may be the the intellectual property of someone else.

Privacy is a concern of many users of social media. Completing your profiles on many social media sites may requires a boatload of personal information and allows us to share so much but sometimes its easy to take for granted what can be done with this information if it falls into the wrong hands. Companies like Facebook make it a priority to collect user data from our profiles but how much of it do they take and what do they do with it? How much of that data is considered confidential? What are the chances of your profile being hacked? There's so much to be afraid of. And the freedom we have to express ourselves and post what we want creates more opportunities for vengeful exposure of others at the expense of their dignity and pride. Identity theft is not the only concern. The mental health of users are at risk as well. It may also be worth wondering if the laws on privacy and confidentiality are strict enough to keep companies and individuals in check. 

Jersey Shore Beach Paradise? Tutorials Out of curiosity I decided to create a Second Life account to see what it was all about. Not sure how surprised my teacher will be but I needed to see it for myself.  I created a free account and installed it on my laptop. My choice of a zombie avatar stems from my love of the AMC series, The Walking Dead. There was a tutorial on how to move around while playing. You learn how to walk, jump and fly just like in any game. You're able to customize your character's body and clothes to your liking and move around collecting free items and notes you keep in your inventory. You can teleport to various locations and chat with other players. There weren't that many people online from what I saw. There is much more you can do in Second Life. So consider this a preview and go find out for yourselves!

The fact that new media even exists is as a result of our ability to be creative! Linda and Hershey Friedman's concept of convergence in "New Media Technologies: Overview and Research Framework," tells us that the user is no longer a separate entity but can be the creator of content as well and the consumer. YouTube celebrities are the epitome of creativity in the age of new media. Coming up with innovative, new ways to share content and information on topics of interest that bring an entire community of users together is no easy task and takes great initiative!

Virtual Reality can be used to create better gaming experiences and enhances success in training and new ventures such as medical or military training and even for training astronauts. The creation of a mock environment where theories can be tested and played out without danger to real people or wastage of resources in something that may not work is the greatest advantage of this technology. In the article "Avatar II: The Hospital," Stephanie Simon conveys the use of this technology to help nurses to simulate emergency situations in which they would have to act quickly to save lives. The mental preparation that this allows is simply invaluable. Virtual games can also be used as a great escape for those who need to take a breather from their everyday lives. However, having access to this technology may be expensive and time-consuming and for people who use it as an escape may find themselves less inclined to interact with reality. Second Life is great example of a virtual worl

Facebook has always been characterized by a strong presence of family and friends and strong focus on memories such as pictures and videos of events. You can chat with your "Friends" or poke them or wave at them. On the whole it seems more fun. Though young people made it famous, it seems the older folks have taken over and made it their own. Though young adults may still have a Facebook account they prefer to actively use Instagram or SnapChat because it allows them the privacy they want to have with friends that are their own age. I have neither of latter at the moment so I will not be saying much about them. Twitter started out as a more serious platform to share thoughts and views and to promote discussion about news and current events. Twitter later provided the feature of sharing pics to diversify capability and keep customer bases interested and growing. There's great importance placed on what's trending and getting involved by chiming in. LinkedIn feels less