Extra EnTrY ---> aBouT SociaL MeD!a ..

Many people do not know that social media is also a part of interactive media. They thought that social media is standing alone and not related to any things. Social media refers to interaction among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

• Refer to Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.".
•  Furthermore, social media depends on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content. It introduces substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals.

Types of Social Media

• Social Networks - Services that allow you to connect with other people of similar interests and background.  Usually they consist of a profile, various ways to interact with other users, ability to setup groups, etc. The most popular are Facebook and LinkedIn.

• Bookmarking Sites - Services that allow you to save, organize and manage links to various websites and resources around the internet.  Most allow you to “tag” your links to make them easy to search and share.  The most popular are Delicious and  StumbleUpon.

• Social News
     -   Services that allow people to post various news items or links to outside articles and then allows it’s users to”vote” on the items.  The voting is the core social aspect as the items that get the most votes are displayed the most prominently.  The community decides which news items get seen by more people.  The most popular are Digg and Reddit.

• Media Sharing - Services that allow you to upload and share various media such as pictures and video.  Most services have additional social features such as profiles, commenting, etc.  The most popular are YouTube and Flickr.

• Micro-blogging - Services that focus on short updates that are pushed out to anyone subscribed to receive the updates.  The most popular is Twitter.

• Blog Comments and Forums - Online forums allow members to hold conversations by posting messages.  Blog comments are similar except they are attached to blogs and usually the discussion centers around the topic of the blog post.  There are MANY popular blogs and forums.

Social Media brings Advantages or Disadvantages ??

Advantages of Social Media

• Social media has the power to drive traffic to your website, blog, articles, etc.

• Social media could be the spark you are looking for to attract attention to your site, product or service. It could also be used to further build loyalty and long-term relations with your audience.

• Social media is able to bring people together, especially when promoting global products or cause-related campaigns and ideas since it allows people from the different geographical location to meet at a single point and express their views.

• Social networking offers many benefits. It is now easier than ever to keep in contact with old friends and colleagues. The professional networking site Facebook even allows users to request introductions to business people who are known to their contacts. The potential of this enhanced connectivity is huge; whereas once you would be left sifting through business cards after a networking event, trying to remember details about each person, you can now easily look up a connection’s credentials and business interests on their social media profile. Your profile is designed to function as an online resume, detailing your education, career history (with recommendations from your colleagues), and creative portfolio. The platform encourages users to connect with people working in their organizations, and to endorse their colleagues for the skills they display in their daily work. 

Disadvantages of Social Media

• The wrong online brand strategy could put you at a viral social disadvantage and may even damage your reputation, example, when you make a mistake offline, a few will know but when you make a mistake in front of hundreds or thousands of you online audience, most of them will know!

• Social media can have a negative influence on worker productivity. Employees may waste valuable time using social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. They can also use social media to attack people reputation!

• When social media is used excessively or in the wrong way, it could have serious detrimental outcomes on both mental and even physical health of individuals.

• The one potential risk of social networking cited most often is that of hacking. Incidents of profiles and accounts being hacked into are commonplace. While this could be restricted to simply playing a practical joke on a friend, it sometimes leads to the more serious misdemeanour of identity theft. This requires a low level of technical skill and is referred to as social engineering. This technique banks upon the psychological aspect of a ‘friend’ connection; the hacker uses common interests, background and professional information (all of which are posted on profiles) to extract sensitive information, like passwords and other details from the targeted individual and use them to create an alternate identity. Just using simple data like date of birth, name and location allows hackers to create fake social security cards, driver’s licenses and ID cards.

           In conclusion, social media is the hottest online trend of the last few years. Not only do social media sites provide a way to keep in contact with friends, but they can also offer opportunities for professional online networking. Social media could be advantageous for your career, but there are also disadvantages to consider. Could the time you spend interacting online be put to better use? Social media has brought to the world a common medium for thoughts, words and expression. However its correct and efficient usage is completely dependent on how it is managed. Being aware of the risks and vulnerabilities that we are exposed to through these media only empowers further to use them in a positive way. It is up to us to make sure that social networking does not turn into social dysfunction. 








Reference : 

http://outthinkgroup.com/tips/the-6-types-of-social-media

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2290890/advantages-of-social-media-and-social-media-automation

http://www.e-guillotine.com/the-pros-of-social-media.php

Entry 3 - How VR Technologies have develops in human life ..

Virtual Reality (VR) is generally defined as a three-dimensional computer-generated world that can be explored interactively through a variety of computer peripheral devices. Virtual reality (VR) can also refer to a computer-simulated environment that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world or imagined worlds. Most current virtual reality environments are primarily visual experiences, displayed either on a computer screen or through special stereoscopic displays, but some simulations include additional sensory information, such as sound through speakers or headphones. VR systems are configured to display the computer-generated world, or virtual environment, so that the image changes continuously depending upon the orientation and gaze of the user. Nowadays, human senses have allowed the interaction between human and VR technologies. These VR technologies have many usages in some specific area like in health, education and so on.

Health and Medical     

       These VR technologies can be use in health, it can also be use as a medical tool. Healthcare is one of the biggest adopters of virtual reality which encompasses surgery simulation, phobia treatment, robotic surgery and skills training. One of the advantages of this technology is that it allows healthcare professionals to learn new skills as well as refreshing existing ones in a safe environment. Plus it allows this without causing any danger to the patients. Virtual reality is quickly finding wide acceptance in the medical community as researchers and clinicians become aware of its potential benefits. In the United States, significant public dollars have been invested in the research and development of VR technologies, especially by the military which views VR as a promising tool for both training and physical and psychosocial rehabilitation. Revolutionary health care applications have been studied for surgical procedures (e.g., remote surgery), medical therapy, preventive medicine, visualization of databases, skill enhancement and rehabilitation, and medical education and training. VR has also been shown to be highly effective as a psychotherapeutic tool. It is often used to distract patients during painful medical procedures or to provide graded exposure during treatment for a wider range of anxiety disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder. VR can provide a blend of both distraction and experiential therapies that teach patients these techniques within a structured, safe environment. Virtual reality is often used as a diagnostic tool in that it enables doctors to arrive at a diagnosis in conjunction with other methods such as MRI scans. This removes the need for invasive procedures or surgery. Below is the example video of using VR to make surgery :

Education

         Besides, VR technologies can also be use in education. Education is another area which has adopted virtual reality for teaching and learning situations. The advantage of this is that it enables large groups of students to interact with each other as well as within a three dimensional environment. It is able to present complex data in an accessible way to students which is both fun and easy to learn. Plus these students can interact with the objects in that environment in order to discover more about them. For example, astronomy students can learn about the solar system and how it works by physical engagement with the objects within. They can move planets, see around stars and track the progress of a comet. This also enables them to see how abstract concepts work in a three dimensional environment which makes them easier to understand and retain. This is useful for students who have a particular learning style, e.g. creative or those who find it easier to learn using symbols, colours and textures. VR can also use in education like to train teachers before they teach their students. --> Virtual Reality Classroom Trains Teachers

            In conclusion, these types of studies may also be useful to explore related concepts which rely on the quality of information that is remembered and/or perceived within a virtual environment. The qualities of memories are also important in training in or learning from virtual environments. Since the Virtual Reality Monitoring decision process defines a measure of "realism" for a virtual reality, it can be correlated with transfer-of-training measures in order to determine if learning benefits from the degree of realism of the simulation.



Reference : 

• http://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality-healthcare/index.html
• http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/meetings/VRT/