Creativity

What part of new media doesn't foster creativity?

New media has made it possible, for pretty much everyone, to let out their own creativity. From comedy video on youtube, to music mixing and editing, to making short YouTube videos, to this thing that I am currently posting on-ehem- Blogs.

I have been blogging for a long time now and I have never seen more creativity then I do within this world.  There are blogs for writing, commenting, photography, lifestyle, cooking, whatever you want you can find. And there are also the people who create the templates for blogs and website designers.

But I think one of the biggest and greatest outlets for creativity is YouTube.In "I Tube, You Tube, Everybody Tubes" it says that " YouTube, the world's largest UGC site, serves 100 million distinct videos and 65,000 uploads daily."   Go on YouTube and the world is in front of you. The other day I learned how to use iMovie software on YouTube.  You know how much creativity is fostered in 100 million videos?

Take a look at this...

Or if you prefer something a little more well eclectic...

Two different video. Both very creative and both on the same site.

Of course there are also the videos that Brooks Barnes talks about in his Article which are people doing mash-ups with already well known things; like disney.  To take a show, movie, song, etc, that people know and basically rip it apart - and very well- is just incredible.

New media is a great for people looking to get themselves out there. Whether it is a blog, fred-like youtube video, or some song mash-ups and parodies.

New media is bursting at the seems with creative minds.

Blogs vs. Wikis

Two of the best examples of how the world of media is growing, changing and expanding are blogs ( or web logs) and wikis.  These two forms of what is referred to a “New Media”  make, available to the public, pretty much all the information one could ask for. You want some new recipes or helpful gardening tips, well there is most likely a blog for that. Need to write a paper on George Washington, well you can learn about his entire life off Wikipedia.  

But it is much more than that.

Blogs and wikis have become a tool for people to be heard. An outlet to say whatever you want, from citizen journalism to arts and crafts. Michael Barbaro of The New York Times writes about the blog formed by Wal-Mart employees. Checkoutblog.com  is an open blog in which Wal-Mart employees can talk about, well anything they please. They are not the only ones: General Motors and Dell also have employee blogs.

As for wikis, we see the altitude of its magnificence right in our own virtual classroom.   We are able, as a class to put together a page in which we can all communicate and share ideas with each other. “ [They] needed a way to organize in one place all of the schedules, code and other details of the project. He chose a wiki,” writes Margaret Locher, CIO.com. She was referring to Tony Pagliarulo,  who decided that a wiki wold greatly benefit his company EMC. They were ahead of the game because they were always updating and communicating.

In my own personal life, I have been part many blogs in which many collaborators can each log in and contribute their latest articles. For example, when I worked for WhereshareNYC.com, reviewing New York City establishments, I and the rest of the employees were able to log on at their leisure and upload a new review.  

People believe that blogs and wikis are pretty much the same things. The truth is, they do share many similarities but it depends on what you are looking for. Blogs are great ways for writers to get together and produce things like online magazines or comments on pop culture. Wikis work great for classroom assignments and communication and with business communication and ideas. Personally, I think both can work but I recommend blogs for writers and wikis for  more information-based and business like endeavors.

Both blogs and wikis can be very helpful and are a great addition to the web and out day to day lives.