My Term Project Presentation

My term project was on the impact of social networking on recruiting.  The goal of the presentation was to share with the class the ways that new media and social networking have impacted recruiting and the role that they will play going forward.

I reviewed the definition of new media and illustrated some examples of the old vs. new media methods for recruiting.  Also I provided some information on various sites that are used for recruiting from both recruiters and job seekers.

I am open to any questions that the class may have on my presentation or the topic.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Working with virtual reality to create reality, think about it.  That statement at first may sound a bit weird but it is happening around us now.  Corporations are using this technology to create training environments and test scenarios that my not present themselves in real life enough to practice.  I have also seen the use of second life to create a memorial to lost loved ones.  A specific example has to do with the tragedy that took place at Virginia Tech, an alumnus created a memorial to those lost and set up a community for others to visit and pay their respects.

The use of virtual worlds to practice real world scenarios or enhance reality is of great benefit to society.  Doing this provides people with the opportunity to go somewhere that they are completely safe.  In these virtual environments they are in complete control, and by participating in these scenarios gain confidence and comfort in dealing with them.  People will have the chance to try anything out.  Think about that if you had the chance to practice something important and you could do it from the comfort of your home would you?

I do not see much of a down side to this.  Perhaps there is a danger in the policing of how adult and non adult worlds and scenarios are monitored.  However as technology improves I see this as less of an issue.  I see someday that people will have a card that they swipe and it will have on it their past visits and preferences this way when they sign on somewhere they can get a quick list of recommendations to check out.

Social Networking

Social networking when you think about it has an unlimited number of uses.  There is no reason to think that it can not be applied in every instance that networking could.

For us in general social networking and the sites that are available allow us to open up our networks as much as we like.  Geography no longer prevents you from staying in touch with friends and family.  You can let everyone know how you are doing every minute if you wanted to by tweeting your heart out.

For corporate users they can join any of these social networking sites to stay up to date on the latest trends, keep up on what the lingo is with today's new workforce.  The great part is that they can do all of this for little cost as many of the sites are free to join.  

These sites benefit society by providing a channel and voice to everyone to stay connected and give their input on any issue.  In the past there was not a way for everyone to be included.  In the future these sites will be available to us in almost realtime through our phones and tvs and possibly through kiosks in major shopping centers.

Is there a dark side?  I guess that depends on who you ask.  Me I do not see any downside to this, with everyone now afforded the option of getting in touch with the world how can they be left behind.  One concern I have is that people in the future may not be able to interact in a live real world social setting.

The next new thing

So what will the next new thing be? I believe it will be delivered via a mobile device for sure. As smart phones get better at operating software and service improves, people are doing more mobile computing. So what will the new media thing be? Voice driven exchange. People will be able to recite notes, blog post, papers and have them transcribed and distributed to the masses. We have voice recognition software now but it is not quite there yet. So this next big thing will work in multiple languages and be able to translate as well. 

Old vs. New

How does one distinguish old media vs. new media? That is a great question. Some way to look at this are by asking is it transferable? Can others easily access it? In terms of transferability, old media was very limited. Today with new media anything can be shared with a person anywhere at anytime. With old media searching for information is limited, for example newspapers are outdated and unsearchable overnight. Today with new media we have access to information from the past and present at our fingertips. Has it gone too far? 

Advice to Baruch College

As a recently hired advisor to Baruch, I would recommend that the school improve it's website and in-particular blackboard. It would be great if this utility was more like Facebook. Also it would be nice to have some pod-casts of lectures from Professors. It is one thing to view a recommendation but it could prove powerful to hear and see a Professor in action.

Our class Wiki so far

Our class Wiki is shaping up nicely. As a group we have put together quite a bit of information on new media. So far I have added some info under the business in new media section. I plan to add information on webcasts and online training. I also update the page with various new media sites to include Twitter. Which I have recently become a fan and user of.