New Media Blog: Eric Jiang

When I previously served as the Membership Director for the Association of Latino Professionals For America, I designed and created a sign-in platform using the survey software Qualtrics to track the students who would attend our events. Additionally, I would also use Qualtrics to create surveys to send out to the attendees as a way to review the event. We would use the reviews as a means to improve our future events and what we can offer students. I attached screenshots below on what our sign-in log looks like: This is the back-end of the survey where the design of the survey is created as well as where the data is analyzed and extracted: And here is the front-end where users are able to see the finished product and also the place where students sign in at the beginning of every event:

New Media fosters creativity from both the producer-end and the user-end. For example, Twitter monitors its own users to see what features they like and what they want to be changed or added. Then the company’s engineers turn the ideas into new features. In a 2009 New York Times Article, when Twitter was still in its early years, Twitter only offered a 140 character post. However, the company decided to outsource some of its idea generations to its users and the list and retweet features were born.      Technology companies now offer beta testing for its employees and its users. It could be a special developer program within the app where a user who is savvy in software engineering and/or design can create and test new features for an app with other developers. The company can release some of these features to a test market of a limited number of participants to see how well it performs. If it performs well, the developers can be rewarded handsomely. This establishes a ...

Virtual worlds can be used for education, business, therapy for returning soldiers, rehabilitating patients, gaming, the list goes on and on. For education, students can don VR goggles to take virtual field trips to faraway places, learn about refugees, or explore the inner workings of a volcano. (Earle) It has received mix reception from teachers. Some don’t believe virtual worlds add much while others are enthusiastic. One history teacher, Elias Thomas of the St. Pius X Catholic School, said that virtual worlds are more of a supplement to the actual learning process but also noted that VR fields trips can give students a sense of “being there” and seeing everything to scale. (Earle) Virtual worlds give people the opportunity to experiment with virtual reality and seeing what creations and design they can build. For example, virtual world designer, Jackie Morie, can experiment with building an Iraqi village for veteran therapy or building a similar Iraqi village for military trainin...

Starting a Twitter discussion with a post is similar to starting a BlackBoard thread. You post something of interest and people will reply. People can add links, reference other people, and respond to others. Exactly the same as starting an in-class discussion. The only difference is that Twitter is limited to 280 characters per tweet whereas there is no limit on BlackBoard posts or a limit on that amount of words a person can say.

Ahh, social networking sites. Finally, I can write about something I am proficient in. In this blog post, I will be comparing my impressions of four social networking sites: 1) Facebook, 2) Instagram, 3) Twitter, and 4) LinkedIn.     Facebook. I made a Facebook account at the end of 7th grade in middle school. Facebook then seemed so simple, friends posting statuses and pictures, playing Facebook games, and occasionally chatted through messenger. However, Facebook lost its touch and meaning throughout the years. It could be that I used it much less than I did before. Or it could be all the updates the company made to the social networking site that made it feel less personal. Today, I mainly use Facebook for its messenger app. However, there are some interesting posts and videos that I see from time to time when scrolling, so it's not too bad.     Instagram. This is the app in which I clock the most thumb miles on. There are many features I l...

Social Networking has expanded tremendously over the past decade. Social networks bring users "closer" to their friends, family, and colleagues while also acting as a medium for spreading messages, entertainment, and building fame. Users might use a social network such as Instagram and Facebook to share updates about their lives through the stories feature or post photos on a recent trip. A company might use social media to connect with their stakeholders and share any new updates a company is looking to pursue. Although social networking brings the world closer together, there is also a "dark side." In a podcast published by the National Public Radio, Frank Langfitt reports on how social networking technology has revolutionized the job recruiting process for both corporate recruiters and job hunters. The professional network, LinkedIn, allows users to list their work experiences, skills, and certifications. This allows them to highlight their professional caree...