New Media and Technolgy

http://www.dailytech.com/After+Catching+1000+Pedophiles+CG+Child+Scores+First+Conviction/article36759.htm Sweetie, a ten year old Filipina girl, was created to catch online sex offenders. This article was published in late 2013, but I had not heard of this story until recently. “Sweetie” hits the nail right on the head when thinking of something about new media and technology to relate to internet communication. New media and technology has been growing insanely fast. The internet has played a major role in facilitating this growth. People from all over the world now have the ability to instant message and video chat to any country in the world. While that is amazing, and certainly a recognition of the smarts that those who invented these technologies and communication platforms possessed; it also creates opportunities for pedophiles to reach vulnerable young girls and boys in developing countries (and in wealthier countries) and exploit them for a dollar. I recommend this article to my classmates in Internet Communication because it highlights the capabilities of new media and technology. Terre des Hommes, the children's rights activist group behind Sweetie, was able to create a virtual girl that could catch thousands of predators without using a real child to find them through online communication. Having never heard of “Sweetie,” I was so intrigued by this virtual girl and the makers behind her and I thought many of my classmates would find this really interesting as well.

Networks Laws

After reading about the network laws, I most agree with Reed's Law (web 2.0) which claims that the utility of a networks with n members increases exponentially or 2 to the nth power. From Dr. Lou's PowerPoint, we note that the law “explains the power of social networks and the various groups that form because of network affiliations.” Having a minor in political science and being an advertising major has led me to a lot of research on social media networks, and I know that social networks are very powerful, connecting people and spreading information at very rapid rates. This background makes Reed's Law standout to me; I understand this law the most and have seen it in action on social media sites. In five years I think information will most likely spread through the sharing of information on mobile devices- not just cell phones, but tablets, laptops, etc. This sharing will take place on sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and news apps such as ABC News, that people read on their mobile devices as opposed to TV, radio, newspapers, etc. We have already seen a rapid rise in this type of information sharing, but it will continue to increase at rapid rates during the next five years and other information sources use will decrease. More and more people will have social networking profiles and rely on the information shared on these feeds to educate them on the changing world. There will still be information spread through television and other mediums, but news channels and educational television programs will make a social media account for their brand and use those accounts to share information, which their followers will share on their accounts, and this will continue and be the main way that people get their information. More than anything, I know that information will increasingly spread at rapid rates through any medium in five years form now. What will be an issue is the rapid spread of false information.