Week 9: Blog #2

PEGGLE!!!!!

Peggle is yet another example of a mobile video game that is highly successful. Originally it was a points purchase on Xbox, but due to its popularity they have made many more versions including downloadable ones for mobile phones and other devices, laptops and Ipads. The game is a simple arcade game but i find it addicting and it will be a staple in my college memories as a result of many hours of killing free time. I think it is a good example of social media's potential at its finest. The creators originally made a cheap arcade game for the Xbox, but of course nobody really buys those. So they had the genius idea to create it on a social media platform and distribute it to smart phones and Ipads, which of course has turned out much more profit and notability than they ever could have hoped to achieve if they left it alone as an Xbox Arcade game.

Week 9: Blog # 1

On this week's Ted Talk we listened to Rhonda Lowry as she discussed our identity and second life with new technologies and social media. This was the first Ted Talk that i did not find particularly interesting, largely due to the fact that i wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about or where she was going with the conversation. I got lost on the idea of a second life. Eventually i caught on with the references to things like Facebook and Timeline where something like a design or page layout was altered and at first there was backlash and an uneasy feeling. However, in almost no time at all most people just accepted and moved on, much like they do with other technologies and life in general.  A new road is opened, and everyone thinks wow a great new shortcut, but after a month they are already complaining again and the new road feels as old as every other road in town. Also i definitely prefer face to face interaction over virtual chats and avatar sit ins.

Rhonda Lowry

Topics in class that relate could be to the idea of a virtual reality and second life are the industrial revolution, collaboration of course, and social media serving a higher purpose. The Industrial Revolution comes to mind because it was a time where many new inventions and resources came about. At the time they were amazing and unlike anything else, yet today much of what evolved in that time is obsolete or forgotten because it has simply become a part of everyday life. Collaboration is an obvious one because it directly relates to what she was talking about. Any form of communication through technology and social media is collaboration. Basically in my mind any form of group communication with a purpose or goal is collaboration so that is pretty broad. Finally, this leads into the idea of social media being an outlet for everything in life, from work to play, business to friends, etc. Social media is continuously evolving and as a result many different functions are coming into play like the use of online meetings and personal avatars for business as well as pleasure.