What is the Future of Social Media?

The future is endless for the world of social media.  If you think it isn't then you are not currently up to date with the latest craze. Individuals began using social media and now businesses everywhere are using it to communicate internally and externally with employees, clients, perspective clients, and suppliers. 

Many technological  advances are already in place to further develop the use of social media. Arduino technology will allow objects to tweet us. These tweets might warn us that the iron was left on or that your security alarm went off.  Perhaps we will reach a point where we can receive tweets that an elderly loved one, who lives alone, has fallen or stopped breathing.

Optical Pattern Recognition  and Augmented Reality is technology used to identify objects.  This is great tool for identifying priceless jems, or pieces of art.  However, this technology is also looking into biometric face recognition.  It is currently being used, in a rudementary way, by police but imagine the possibilities in the future.  Perhaps you are single and want to date someone but you are not sure. Biometric face technology could allow you to scan, from a distance, there on the spot, and then be supplied with feedback on your possible date.  Would this technology be considered a safety asset or an invasion of privacy? 

Mind Reading Technology is also a future contender in the social media world. Neuroscientist are already able to determine simple things about us even before we do.  Research is already underway which will help many people who are unable to comunicate or even move, to communicate to others or to limbs and fingers in order to move that part of their body .  Standford University calls this Brain -Computer Interfacing.  Emotiv has created a headset that reads your mind and is already enabling the use of an electric wheel chair by a disabled person and for playing games.  In the future perhaps we will only have to think of what we want to do on the computer and it will do it. 

Virtual world technology is also advancing in leaps and bounds. Educational institutes are already using sites such as Second Life as a teaching tool to more actively engage students in learning material through games and in the future, as a simulation tool.  Imagine simulation involving virtual worlds and the Mind Read Technology.  Students could practice skills both physical and critical thinking in a simulation lab in the comfort of their home thru their TV. Another future use of virtual worlds and mind reader might be for fitness training.  Instead of turning on the TV at the treadmill, you would put on your headset starat working out with your virtual fitness trainer who will be able to target your program according to your own bodies condition and adjust the program at any time depending on your health and physical status at that moment.

Many of todays social media tools are becoming attainable thru your cell phones and iPods and so I am sure future technological advances in social media will also be made available thru your cell phone.  Perhaps they will combine the use of geometric sensors(navigational compass) and virtual worlds so that you can find your way.

Web 3 and Semantics will allow you to have a sort of technological best friend, someone who knows and understands what you like to do, to watch, to read, to eat, what issues you care about and find all of those things for you, even automatically.  All this based on the computer understanding what you want and your history.

Will the future use of social media be used primarily in a positive manner, such as for education, for recognizing crimminals and  for helping those with disabilities live a better and more productive life? Or will it be used to control people, to follow people, and insure that we all think "The Right Thoughts".  Will Orson Wells' novel "1984"  become a reality. Or perhaps we will socialize as in the Matrix?  Is social media slowly taking away personal contact? I for one think that the future advances and use of social media will be positive, but it will certainly be different.

References

Borel, B. (2009). Mind-reading tech may not be far off. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-06/mind-reading-tech-way

Inc Magazine. (2010,  December 2008). Emotiv's mind reading headset [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcWKneKWt0U&feature=related

msporny (2010, December 2007). Intro to semantic web [video file]. Retreived from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGg8A2zfWKg

Olsen, A. (2005). An overview of biometric face recognition and video identifing technologies. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from http://www.video-surveillance-guide.com/biometric-face-recognition.htm

Shenoy, K. (2010, January 2009). Brain-computer interfaces [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7lmJe_EXEU&feature=channel

Are there Products or Services that Just CanNot be Generated With Commons-Based Peer Production Methodologies

Today social media is building the foundation for a Participatory Economy (J. Chrisite, Social Media Notes, November 1, 2010). This type of economy results from people working together, to produce products and services, often for free and for use for no fee (p. 2) .   This is turning consumers into users as they are more actively involved in the products and services being developed, from the original idea, to the production, to the marketing and finally the use of the product (p. 3).  This cooperation without single ownership rights and control is known as Commons-Based Peer Production (CBPP), which is changing economics into wikinomics.  Wikinomics is based on openness and partnerships and it results in better products because they are what the user wants and innovation is greater due to the world wide resources available (p. 3).  Can every product and service be produced in this manner?  There are pros and cons to this idea.

This style of economy requires trust and this trust is developing despite credit ratings and actual personal knowledge of the other participants - A trusting collaboration.  Will this trust mean that racial and ethnic issues disappear? Will fear of terrorism also be erased? If so then any product or service can be created by CBPP.  If these factors do not disappear then certainly not every product or service can be produced in a collaborative manner.  Do we want bombs and other weapons of destruction to be created in this manner?  Certain things must be developed in private/ secret to protect our countries.  There are some legal guidelines that are being used such as Free Licences, and  Creative Commons Licences, but how strong are the laws.  If there is no ownership, as stated by Y. Benkler and H.  Nissenbaum (2006)  “ No single entity “owns” the product or manages its direction”, who do you accuse if there is a problem with the end product or service?  How much easier will it be for terrorists or psycho’s to get people to unknowingly contribute to the development of killer viruses.  On the other hand perhaps as a result of trust we can create new vaccines, medication, and new procedures that will benefit society.  Through trust people are bartering and sharing (collaborative consumers), and as a result we are becoming more environmentally friendly (J. Chrisite, Social Media Notes, November 1, 2010).  Finally through trust and collaboration the costs of some products and services may be lowered due to reduced fees if any paid to developers and the reduced costs to obtain funds through another social media effort called Crowd funding (M. Bauwens, 2010) .  Crowdfunding does not have a lending rate like a bank instead supporters may receive a % of the profits, discount on product, or simply notoriety (J. Chrisite, Social Media Notes, November 1, 2010).

So what products can and cannot be generated, with a Commons-Based Peer Production methodology?   It is impossible to say.    This will be up to us, the user/s and the creator/s.  For me, someone who has lived the majority of their life in a market-based society, products and services that protect me and my country should not be developed using a common’s based peer production method.   I don’t want the enemy to know how to attack and destroy my family, myself or my country.  I would love to think that the trust is there and that these fears would not be there but I’m not there yet.

References

Bauwens, M. (2010), The emergence of open design and open manufacturing. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from http://www.we-magazine.net/we-volume-02/the-emergence-of-open-design-and-open-manufacturing/

Benkler, Y., Nissenbaum, H. (2006). Commons-based Peer Production and Virtue. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from http://www.nyu.edu/projects/nissenbaum/papers/jopp_235.pdf

Berkman Center (June 12, 2008). Berkman@10: Cooperation. [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ummx6OG1GbM

Christie, J. (2010, November 1), Social Media and the Economy Module. Retrieved from Durham college WebCT site: https://connect.mycampus.ca/webct/urw/lc4130011.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct

Lioubareva, I and Feledziak, B. (n.d.). Organizational arrangements in Commons-Based Peer Production. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from http://www.isnie.org/assets/files/papers2007/lioubareva.pdf

Do You Believe that Social Media has Increased the Quality of News and Information or Decreased it?

 What makes a good news story, as per John Zhu, a good news story follows the following guidelines:

• The # of staff produced stories
• Number of sources cited in the story the more the better
• Number of Typos -  fewer errors indicates professionalism and sufficient time to properly research and edit
• The # of investigative stories produced - more indicates experience and depth of research
• The # of follow up stories to a breaking news article - articles looking further into the case indicates thorough investigation 
• Story should answer the 5 W's and H's
• Action items - Does the news story provide an opportunity for the reader/listener to respond or contact someone in regards to the issue. (Zhu, 2009)

Are these still important to the masses of today in this era of the real-time web? Today information travels at a greater velocity than that of traditional media (newspaper, radio, magazines) and so people want and expect different things from traditional news sources.   As per Jordan Banks, managing director of Facebook Canada, "Social media has fundamentally changed the two most important aspects of traditional news, namely breaking news and commentary. As a result, it is no longer sufficient just to provide the news. The expectation of the masses is now to be able to participate in the news, to share it, shape it, comment on it, define it and to use it as a tool to democratize the entire creation and dissemination process (CNW Group, 2010). The masses participate in the news through social networks, video sharing, photo sharing, podcasting, blogs, microblogs and wikis.   Pew researchers  were told by 92% of Americans, that they seek out news from a variety of platforms, and 59 % saying that on a typical day they look to both the Internet and offline media for information. In the digital era, news has become omnipresent.  Americans access it in multiple formats on multiple platforms on myriad devices. The days of loyalty to a particular news organization on a particular piece of technology in a particular form are gone (Purcell, Raine, Mitchell, Rosenstiel, Olmstead, 2010). 

Social media tools change the the way we recieve news and allow us to be engaged in the news and information process. Social networks allow people to partake in live debates, to spread their favorite news with others, comment on and discuss articles, post and or comment on information of all sorts and to follow specific journalists,  professional or citzen. Video Sharing allows news stations to post video news and for the public to post videos they have that relate to current stories, what should be a story on products or general information.   You can also view videos on current books - book trailers. Podcasting allows IPod users to recieve highlights of current news stories or upload their favorite radio show.  News blogs often serve as a preview fo upcoming news stories, a pointer to interesting stories about a subject, or stories that don't make the paper or T.V.. With blogging you can also comment on news, magazine issues, products and radio shows. Twitter allows for delivery of news flashes, comments on topics, resource for ideas for future stories, and view novels in short snippits. Wikis have not been successful as readers flod sites with inappropriate material. Citizen journalism allows everday people to collect, report, analize and disseminate news and information. Are these tools providing better quality news and information? 

I have heard from friends that they heard about stories from a social media source long before that news was relayed through traditional news services.  With the general public being allowed to upload live news videos / stories, stories that might have been traditionally blocked by the goverment are now being seen/ heard. Does this represent quality? You might think it is great to hear about what is happening in other countries but would you want the rest of the world to know about these things? Is it possible that the information could lead to war or economic downfall? Even on a smaller basis companies might close or loose their good reputation all because of unqualified or incomplete comments. 
We want to believe that when CBC or CNN  reports a story, their professional approach ensures objectivity and the highest available degree of accuracy. Individual posts meanwhile provide little proof of their veracity. The references and links used might be from sources just as dubious. Does the number of people that agree on any subject make it any better or representative of the truth? How many people believed, in times past, that the earth was flat? Did the breaking news that earth was round get immediate buy-in by the masses? Heck, there are people in 2010 that still refuse to believe that the earth is round.

Given the opinions above, statistics and through my own personal opinions, Istill believe that quality has improved, not because of the stories that amateurs post or through their shared opinions listed online, but because news outlets, manufacturers face a check of their work; You can no longer film and edit a news story, editorialize, and market products as would have been the case in the past, as people are more informed and informed from a variety sources all at a much greater speed, thus making it difficult as it were to pull the wool over ones eyes.   

References

CNW Group. (2010). Experts to discuss and debate social media's impact on news at DigitalJournal.com's future of media event in toronto. Retreived October 12, 2010, from http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2010/25/c4926.html

Flat Earth Society. (1998). Retreived  Oct 12, 2010, from http://www.alaska.net/~clund/e_djublonskopf/Flatearthsociety.htm 

Purcell, P., Raine L., Mitchell, A., Rosenstiel T., Olmstead, K. (2010). Understanding the Participatory News Consumer. Retrieved October 12, 2010, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-News.aspx

uwacomm2203 ( June 11, 2008). Citizen journ vs traditional journ. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU5LonkXbCE&feature=player_embedded

Zhu, J. (2009). How do we quantify the quality of newspaper journalism?. RetreivedOct 12, 2010, from http://www.john-zhu.com/blog/2009/04/06/how-do-we-quantify-quality-of-newspaper-journalism/

Social Networking: Fad or Permanent Fixture - in a word, both!

Social networking both broadens and restricts the means to communicate, like a snake eating its own tail. Does social networking transform the online landscape into something new or is it the very change itself that we seek?

The wikipedia page defines a fad, as "any form of behavior that develops among a large population, followed with enthusiasm for a period as novel in some way and then the behavior normally fades quickly once the perception of novelty is gone" (as cited in Kornblum, 2007).

Everything today seems to not only change often, but more quickly - which implies that a so-called fad like cabbage-patch dolls might today represent the overnight celebrity-dom and fall of a small-town church leader, hell-bent on burning the Koran as a form of protest. From decades, to years, weeks and days. Is Andy Warhol's fifteen minutes of fame, as enjoyed by You-tubers who cry about leaving Britney Spears alone a 21st Century version of a fad?

Is social media (SM) NOT about the tools? SM is about Twittering, enabled by its Twitter functionality. Where and when do you separate the dancer from the dance. If the medium is not the message or the convesations taking place on the platforms (Fruchter, 2009) our own Marshall McLuhan must now spin in his grave (Federman, 2004).

Creating and publishing information, in greater volume across a wider potential audience as social networking clearly features, were previously unavailable options under former media channel. The divide between the haves and have-nots remains despite boasts of democratization - what rubbish. Equality for all to access and publish views escapes the vast majority of humans too poor to afford computers or internet cafe access-time on the web. Social networking faces opposition by the continued use of traditional radio in countries like India because the vast majority of inhabitants cannot afford the medium, let alone learn how to use it (World Mission Far Corners, 2010).  In this way the two-way conversation only takes place between a small majority of technology-enabled elitists who Forrester describes very well in his laddered, digital caste system of have's and have-nots at the bottom rung. But the ladder seems shoved so hard underground that another rung might not appear to the casual observer - those who simply do not care despite having full access or opportunity to read or write online. I had to read about Splashy-pants the humb-back whale and the Moment-in-time project on good old-fashioned printed paper.  Universal McCann's survey of 17 thousand on a planet of over 6 billion seems about as representative of anything Industrial Revolution-like as what Star-Trek fans will do to sway global warming.

Artist Andy Warhol

Will the technology fad or fade-away? I doubt it. Today's traditional & preferred classroom  - teacher in front, students nailed in rows listening to lectures originated in the Industrial revolution. Will Twitter and Facebook become distant memories to my nieces now barely in public school when they enter University? It takes 18 months for Ipod frenzy to spawn an Ipad? Will fads be measured in mere hours before the century runs out?

More important are the lessons all media teaches us, however it changes on the surface. Just because something is on TV, does that make it true or merely powerful?  TV sways audiences so much that advertisers spend millions every year for a single 30-second commercial during the Superbowl.  The Encyclopedia Britannica's online Web 1.0 format, differs from theWikkipedia Web 2.0 model by inviting contributions from readers in a fun, productive two-way communication. But recent scandals over untrue postings underscored the danger of the freedom to publish "because you can" and more and more plaforms now find themselves under more and more restrictions or review. For the final word on the matter - click here.

References
Crisite, J. (2010). Introduction to social media (web page). Retrieved from https://connect.mycampus.ca/webct/urw/lc4130011.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct

Federman, M. (2004, July 23). What is the Meaning of the Medium is the Message? Retrieved Sept 26, 2010, from http://individual.utoronto.ca/markfederman/article_mediumisthemessage.htm

Wikipedia, (n.d.). Retreived Sept. 26th, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fad

World Missions Far Corners. (2010), Live broadcast (Listened to Sept. 21. 2010) WDCX 99.5

Me in a Nut Shell

This Practical Nursing student just done year 1. On summer break, decided to take 2 courses to lessen load in year 2. Brand new to blogging. Excited and nervous.