R2Design

2009-12-15T08:18:00.000-08:00

2009-12-15T08:12:00.001-08:00

Well the semester is over and I have done all the work so now its all awaiting game.
It is time to really get down to learning all the ways you can alter and modify a blog. I see some blogs out there and they are wonderfully modified and customized. I will still focus on new media and technology although I have no real focus yet. Odds are I'll spew my wonder and awe endlessly into cyberspace and nobody will ever know. To take a quote from a professor of mine Nick Jankowski I will "allow the seeds of creativity to grow."

2009-11-17T16:39:00.000-08:00

I have tackled a little to much this semester. New Media is a new found passion and I had no idea the time involved with building a web site. Audience analysis, coding , and planning is only half the battle. Producing an effective site takes major amounts of time. That is only one class. The capstone project in 495 involves collaboration with Italian students from the University of Trieste in Italy. This is a translation project on an article and brochure I have created for the travel magazine Conde Nast. Ad to that 306 a technical writing class and 418, I hope I have what it takes to get three reports, four presentations, and a ton of course work done effectively and on time. New Media is more than I bargained for, I love the challenge. The most important thing I have learned is BUDGET YOUR TIME wisely!!!!

Distant Communication

2009-11-17T08:31:00.000-08:00

We have been finally meeting on a weekly basis in 418-518, New Media Theory, through the use of the Elluminate software. This software allows distant on line collaboration woth real time feed back and response. Like Skype you have many options to communicate over long distances. Both use audio, visual, and text applications to communicate. Elluminate ads a white board for file sharing. Any member involved in the session has the ability to edit, highlight, and design a presentation or document. There are many other advantages of Elluminate such as a simple microphone shut off to eliminate any background noise, a raise hand button to organize a meeting and keep users from speaking over each other. A clapping hands icon is used along with a thumbs down icon to show you agree or disagree with any changes or suggestions. I would say Skype is an excellent communication platform providing the ability to have a face to face conversation with a loved one, or colleague over a long distance. Elluminate is more of a collaboration platform that supports long distant file sharing. While Skype is a favorite of mine for distant communication, Elluminate it is far more productive in a learning environment.

2009-11-06T05:35:00.000-08:00

While I was thinking about the effects virtual environments have on society I began thinking about marketing. I was researching second life and noticed they have companies buying up virtual space for this purpose. Who do they advertize to the persona in the virtual world or the person behind the persona. I was thinking that if a person spends more time in virtual life could that be a more accurate depiction of who the person really is. Take a teen with acne for example. If a teen has massive acne and becomes withdrawn and reserved (out of embarrassment) doesn't that affect who they are? In reality the teen may not reveal there true personality because of what they consider to be a flaw, they would rather keep to themselves than be harassed by there peers. In this case when they go on line they become who they want to be as an avatar; however when they spend a majority of there time there would the teens "real" personality show through? It is true people live vicariously through an avatar in virtual life, and some think it is mere role playing. Yet in the case of the teen (or anyone else who may shy away from the public) is a virtual environment the place where, because of anaminity their true personality show through. I only think this would be the case for those that spen 30-40+ hours in virtual life. If so I think I would advertise to the online persona as the primary target audience.

2009-11-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

The more I read through all of this new media theory the more I am beginning to understand what I am reading. I realize more and more everyday how new media is intertwined into our daily lives. It is complex and their are many components that make up new media. It is mindbogglingly how prevalent new media has become in todays society. Every application on the famous I phone owes its existence to digital technology. You can tune your guitar, play spectacular 3-D video games, conduct a conference call, play music, surf the web, blog, and search your favorite social networking site FROM YOUR PHONE!!!! This has gone beyond the technology of Kirk's communicator, that at one time was considered science fiction.

2009-10-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

2009-10-28T09:10:00.001-07:00

In my term paper I want to explore the influence blogging has on society, as a scholarly tool used for collaboration, as well as the effects it has upon news media. I need a better understanding of what a blog is outside of the basic definition of " a web log." I question how do we separate fact from opinion, what is credible information, and can any blog be used as a scholarly reference? Even some of the major news networks seem to have a biased opinion based on a political point of view. Does this alone invalidate the credibility? Or is it considered fact based opinion?

2009-10-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

I find it hard to extrapolate information from scholarly text. I have no trouble reading the text; however I find it difficult to understand and formulate my own opinion about the information. Reading text alone is not enough for me to fully understand some theories. Discussion helps me to gain a better understanding of a particular theory and enables me to formulate my own opinion. With nobody to discuss issues with I feel lost and overwhelmed. I have know idea why this is it seems the definition of new media changes depending upon the person defining it at the time. It is extremely frustrating to read all the information given but then still struggle to complete an assignment. Each assignment for 418 takes me more than 4 hours to complete and it is not necessarily translated into a good grade.

What is that?

2009-10-02T16:43:00.001-07:00

It has brought to my attention that I have not explained the resoning for the random Pandora poasting. Iwas exploring the random interaction we have with new media every day when I came accross this interactive advertizment for the movie. I thought it would be interesting to share because of the many interacrive tabs and in fact; it inspiers me to produce that level of quality.

Skype

2009-10-02T05:32:00.000-07:00

Today marks the day of my first ever skype call. I have experience skype before during a lecture I attended. So this is the first solo run with skype. I have to say I am a little nervous. The call will be with a professor of mine so I hope all goes well. (I hope I provided the proper name ) I am excited to use skype I am excited to think I can have a face to face meeting with my professor who is thousands of miles away. This application will be useful when collaborating with my colleagues in Europe as well. It will be nice having the ability to see the recipients reaction during production meetings. This will provide a better sense of familiarity between us and take away some of the guessing that happens because of the many context issues inherent with text.

2009-09-22T09:27:00.001-07:00

2009-09-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Depth of New Media

2009-09-17T06:28:00.000-07:00

Defining the term "New Media" is far more complicated than I had previously thought. The fast rate in which technology changes is not the biggest issue with new media. The ability to understand the process that has created new media, is critical to understanding the direction new media is headed in the future. There have been many types of digital technology that have contributed to the advances in communication throughout history. Not all communication can be categorized as new media, nor is all digital technology dedicated solely to new media. The webs of communication and technology are intertwined and they each have a direct influence on the advancement of the other. This entanglement gives great depth to new media and makes it interesting when trying to focus on defining the term "New Media."

2009-09-16T04:25:00.000-07:00

It is well documented that new media has evolved with technology. New Media Technology is constantly evolving and that means users need to stay ahead of the curve. Knowing what application to use is essential to user ability. It seems our online course Software Angel works best with the Firefox browser. If you are using explorer, Safari, or another browser some information may be omitted from the site. If you use Firefox you will not miss essential information you need to stay productive. LESSON LEARNED! (the hard way)

2009-09-14T14:05:00.001-07:00

I began to think of the how new media has become a part of my daily routine. At work, in my car, and while I exercise I listen to my mp3 player with musical content digitally stored inside. As I begin my day one of my first task is to check my e-mail, I then proceed to log into Angel to be begin course work. This is all digital content sent through my computer, my postings are almost instantly received as soon as I hit submit. To be honest access to new media is essential for me. I must be able to stay "connected." Actually I will for ever utilize new media. I only hope to be able to stay ahead of the exponential rate of change. In business it seems simply being current equates to second place.

2009-09-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

After all of our course readings I have continued to try and focus on how I would define "new media" It is well documented that new media is is continuously re-defining itself. Past research has led me to believe new media is not a cell-phone, computer, or an Mp3 player. These are the digital tools used to send and receive digital content. New media is content that is able to utilize digital technology, and be delivered in a split second.

Interesting

2009-09-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

It seems I am not as lost as I had anticipated. I was reading our text and I realized it was far more comprehensive than I was expecting. I hav always been hammering out the next assignment as acurrately and efficiantly as possible. It was not until today that I realized how much I have absorbed.

New

2009-09-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hello 418-518
My name Is David LiBritz and this is my first blog
I hope to be less confused by the end of the week and hope to get as much out of 418 as possible. Hopefully in time this wil be less confusing.