Wiki So Far

The semester has been going by so fast that I haven't even gotten the chance to contribute to the class wiki the way I would have liked to! Going forward, I'd like to further my term paper by adding articles that tie into my topic. I'd like to piggyback on and add to my classmates' contributions that I find interesting, and I'd also like to link to articles/websites that I think would be beneficial to the class for studying for the final.

P2P File Sharing

Google defines file sharing as the practice of or ability to transmit files from one computer to another over a network or the internet. P2P, or "peer to peer" file sharing, deals with the transmission of files from one end-user's computer to another's through the internet, without using an intermediary server. In his article, "The BitTorrent Effect," Clive Thompson addresses just how prominent P2P programs have become, providing statistics as "BitTorrent traffic accounts for more than one-third of all data sent across the internet," as of 2006. Using P2P file sharing platforms can be an efficient way to share large files with others, but users must take caution, as certain files can subject users to viruses, spyware, and even identity theft. Examples of P2P sharing platforms include well-known ones as BitTorrent, Napster, The Pirate Bay, and lesser known ones such as P2P lending platforms Lending Club and Prosper, mentioned by Wendy Kaufman in her article, "Peers Find Less Pressure Borrowing From Each Other."

Privacy & Confidentiality

In today's IT-driven, surveillant society, privacy and confidentiality issues arise with regard to the use of new media. Privacy and surveillance issues are primarily concerned with about personal information. It is practically impossible to operate online without being tracked in numerous ways and by numerous entities. Electronic records have broken through physical restraints, and they are easy to create, store, maintain, manipulate, search, and more. The distribution of information can take place with or without the knowledge of the person whom the information is about. Norms with regard to appropriate or inappropriate kinds of information and distribution of information are both formal and informal, and changes in information norms are often triggered by a change in technology. Helen Nissenbaum's account of privacy as contextual integrity states that when information norms are violated, an individual's privacy is violated. One of the main features of IT-configured activities where ethical issues seem to arise is in its distinctive identity conditions. Anonymous posts are not always anonymous. Internet-based communication is mediated, and anonymity is contextual and relational. The degree of anonymity one has in any situation depends on the ways in which information can be linked with other information. In the end, the flow of information through platforms fostered by new media shapes organizational practices, and these practices powerfully affect the lives and experiences of individuals.

Advice to Baruch College

If I was hired by Baruch College to use new media to improve the college, I'd start by immediately looking into a couple of the school's flawed features. First, CUNY Blackboard either needs to be modified or replaced all together. While Blackboard is a great avenue through which professors can get a notice out to a large number of students, it is very much a one-to-many means of communication. Blackboard does have a discussion/comment feature, it is scarcely used, in my experience. The idea would be to either update the design of blackboard with the intention to highlight those features in order to encourage discussion among classmates, or to replace Blackboard with another platform that can allow professors to get announcements out to students while also functioning as a many-to-many means of communication. And secondly, I would change the appointments policy for student-help offices such as the Center for Academic Advisement, Registrar, and Bursar. While some things require a students physical presence to be processed, I would have a team whose sole purpose is to handle "online appointments." Being that Baruch is a commuter school, it is unreasonable to require students to make the trip to school and be physically present for something that may be able to be handled in just minutes over the internet (Blackboard or another program would be used for these online appointments).