Virtual Reality

VR (Virtual Reality), as well as AR (Augmented Reality) and MR (Mixed Reality), are changing many different industries. It has many different applications, from entertainment, education, design and more. Virtual Reality is the use of a headset and headphones to immerse yourself within a computer-generated environment. VR headsets consist of two individual screens separated to display to a single eye each, and different hardware allowing for head tracking. In addition to headsets, there are normally VR controllers for each hand that work with an external sensor. Most standard VR headsets connect to a PC and run through a real time engine, but there are some standalone VR headsets. In 1968 Ivan Sutherland invented the VR headset, but the technology only recently advanced enough to sell the commercially available ones we know today. 

VR does not necessarily solve a problem, but opens new paths. Now, medical students can see virtual diagrams of different organs and systems, architects can walk within buildings they are designing, and more. The main risks of VR are eye strain from staring at the screens for extended periods of time, and motion sickness from the simulated movement. VR will affect the world in many ways. It could be used for socially distanced meetings and conferences in the future, it could allow students to learn in a more immersive way. Eventually, there will be more adaptation of VR with MR to implement virtual aspects into our reality. VR will become a leading tool for learning and entertainment in the near future, when they begin to make the headsets more affordable. 

 

References:

Corporativa, Iberdrola. Virtual Reality: Another World within Sight. www.iberdrola.com/innovation/virtual-reality.

Thompson, Sophie. “VR Applications: 21 Industries Already Using Virtual Reality.” VirtualSpeech, VirtualSpeech, 12 Mar. 2019, virtualspeech.com/blog/vr-applications.

“Explained: How Does VR Actually Work?” Wareable, 26 Dec. 2017, www.wareable.com/vr/how-does-vr-work-explained.

Mobile Apps

YouTubers generate income directly through the app as well as pairing the site with third party sources. Many YouTubers will begin their own lines of merchandise as their channels begin to grow. This can be anything from clothes, plushies, accessories and beyond. They would have to sell their merchandise through a third party source but can promote their own products on their channel. The main source of income provided to creators directly from YouTube is ad based. By including ads within their videos, content creators can generate income based on the number of views a video receives with ad impressions. YouTube has now started taking 50% of each video’s revenue, so oftentimes creators will use other third party resources in addition. 

One example of such is Patreon. Patreon allows fans to subscribe to a payment plan to help support their favorite YouTubers. The site also gives the option to upload exclusive content only accessible to subscribers. Another way content creators create revenue is through partnering with businesses. Oftentimes businesses will sponsor YouTubers, and in return the YouTubers will promote their products or services within their videos. This can also include things like affiliate links and creating ads for them. 

Instagram is another large app that many people use to make money. The way creators generate income on Instagram is very similar to YouTube in some ways, but differs in others. Instagram doesn’t generate income for its creators in any way, and it is left up to the creators themselves to use third party sources with it to make money. This consists mostly of partnering with businesses as an influencer or with sponsored ads, or through promoting your own products. Many people on Instagram are influencers, and are paid to create posts that advertise a product. The aim is to get people attention and make them aware of the product. Income for this ranges depending on your reach, being your number of followers and how many views you typically receive on a post. Creators will also partner with brands to become an affiliate, where they attempt to sell more products for the company. They usually will then make their income through specific links or codes, which then gain them commission from sales when used. 

The other way that people can use Instagram to create income is by selling their own products through the site. These can range from promoting physical products, digitally downloaded products, or more. Through Instagram Shopping, you can link a specific product page to a photo to allow users to quickly access items they would like to purchase, rather than having to go to the website and dig around for the specific product. 

 

Sources:

 

“Evan Edinger: The Five Ways YouTubers Make Money.” BBC Newsbeat, BBC, 18 Dec. 2017, www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/42395224/evan-edinger-the-five-ways-youtubers-make-money.

O’Connell, Brian. “How Much Do YouTubers Make? Revenue Streams and Top Performers.” TheStreet, 12 Oct. 2018, www.thestreet.com/technology/how-much-do-youtubers-make-14743540.

Roach, Andrew. “Selling on Instagram: A Beginner’s Guide to Instagram Shopping.” Oberlo, Oberlo, 3 Oct. 2019, www.oberlo.com/blog/instagram-shopping.

Xue, Jennifer. “5 Ways You Can Make Money on Instagram in 2020.” Oberlo, Oberlo, 1 July 2020, www.oberlo.com/blog/make-money-instagram.

Cloud Services

We use many services that rely on cloud computing, whether we realize it or not. My first example would be Google Docs. Google Docs allows you to write text based documents which can then be distributed electronically or printed. By using your own account, you can access your documents from a variety of devices without needing an external hard drive with the files on it. The obvious advantage to this is being able to access your documents on the fly without having to have a hardcopy of it on hand, and being able to access it on whatever devices you have available, whether that is a smartphone, laptop, tablet, or desktop. Without the cloud computing the application would still be useful, seeing that at its core it is a document writing application, you could still make use of it and just export the files to an external drive. The cloud functionality adds an ease of access and better quality to it. I personally do not worry as much about a security breach seeing that it is a Google application. Google Drive is another cloud computing application I often use. Google Drive is entirely reliant upon cloud computing, with its main function being a storage place for images, audio, text documents, and other files. It allows you to store files within the application and access them through other devices by simply logging into your account. Without cloud computing it would not be functional at all. Again my security and privacy concerns are the same because it is another Google application.

Popular Content Management Systems

There are plenty of different content management systems for individuals wanting to create their own websites. The first CMS I will be talking about is WordPress. According to wpbegginer.com, about 35% of websites are powered by WordPress. The only fees associated with WordPress are domain names and a hosting account. WordPress allows lots of freedom when creating websites, does not require any coding knowledge, and allows you to make money. It is designed to be able to integrate seo easily. Joomla is another good option for people with little to no coding experience, and is good for building complex websites due to its large amount of flexibility. You can use extensions to set up a store on your website. The only fees with Joomla are also domain names and hosting accounts. Drupal is a CMS that is better developers, Drupal is more sophisticated and not aimed at beginners as much as WordPress or Joomla. It is easy to add content to your site though. BigCommerce is a site that works as a CMS and hosts it. BigCommerce is centered around ecommerce rather than blogs or other sites. BigCommerce also provides security for your site. It can be integrated with WordPress. You do not have as much control over customization as other sites. You pay different payment plans depending on how much income you are making yearly. Shopify is another good ecommerce CMS, which provides both CMS and hosting. You have more customization options through third party apps, but it will cost you. There are different pricing plans that are not based on profits, so this allows better flexibility based on income and expenses. 

 

Sources:

“15 Best and Most Popular CMS Platforms in 2020 (Compared).” WPBeginner, 14 Feb. 2020, www.wpbeginner.com/showcase/best-cms-platforms-compared/.

Resource Reliability

For my first resource I chose to find a source on YouTube for how to convert a color image into black and white in photoshop. The video I chose is relatively recent, and was posted about a year and a half ago. Considering this is software, it could be slightly outdated, but in this instance it is okay. The video was posted by a channel called “PHLEARN”, which I found out hosts their own photo editing website. The site seems to contain good lessons and information, and could be considered a good teacher but maybe not quite an authority. I would imagine in this instance the video and its information had to go through a gatekeeping process. There was most likely an editor and a script writer, and somebody to approve all of this, seeing as the information has to meet the standards of the normal lessons that are on their website and YouTube channel. The information is easy to follow, being able to see both the instructor and their screen at the same time. They take you through the process step by step both explaining what to do and showing you how to access these tools. I typically prefer to watch YouTube videos if I need a tutorial on something software related, so I would be very likely to use this source again. 

 

For my next source I chose to find an article explaining how to retouch and correct images within Photoshop. The article I found does not have a post or edit date, but is actually a resource on the Adobe website, so it is up to date. Adobe would be considered an authority on the matter seeing as this is explaining their own software to users. There would be a longer gatekeeping process, having to be written by somebody who understands the software, going through multiple editors and checks before being posted. The information is well written with step by step explanations and images to accompany them.While I prefer to watch videos typically when learning software, I would use this resource again because it was easy to follow and very informative. 

 

For my last resource, I decided to go to YouTube again to learn how to use the blur tool in Photoshop. The tutorial was posted in 2016, so it is somewhat outdated. The information is good however, but issues may arrive if any of these tools have been altered at all in the last few years. The poster is not considered an authority in my opinion, seeing as it is just a single YouTuber posting tutorials, but he does have a large following leading to believe that his information is good at least. The video would not need to go through checks, seeing as he is recording and editing the video himself and posting them to his own channel. The information is well presented and easy to follow with him showing examples of how the different tools work and how to use them. I would use this source again, but I would be cautious seeing as it is outdated. 

 

Resources:

 

Black and white conversion in Photoshop : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lykFo-R-0_o

 

How to retouch photos in Photoshop: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/using/retouching-correcting.html

How to use blur tool in Photoshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpU5vg2fvOM

Content Management Systems

Content management systems are allowing for people to publicate and share their own personal articles, blogs, essays, and more on whatever topic they please, without having to go through a gatekeeper or even any kind of process of checks. This allows for both more honest journalism but also an abundance of false information to be spread. It can be useful for more niche subjects and topics, allowing for more specified sites to arise, such as fangroups, game clubs, blogs and more.  

 Content management systems are affecting web design due to its ease of access. There are plenty of CMS’s that are based within your browser, meaning that you simply have to go to a website and from there it will guide you through designing your own personal site. This means anybody could create a personal website without any knowledge of programming. It also means easier collaborations, because another individual with access can log on through their own personal computer or device and make edits to the site as well. 

Creating a website in a program like Adobe Dreamweaver greatly contrasts creating one in a CMS. When creating a website in a CMS, you simply build websites by using pre-existing templates and adding your information. With a program like Dreamweaver you are creating the website from scratch by coding, which gives you more possibilities for features if you know how to program. A CMS is better for a smaller group or an individual site, as it is easily accessible and allows for easy updating and maintenance, while a website created in Dreamweaver should be used by experienced coders and larger companies who can hire web designers. 

 

 

 

SOURCES:

“Content Management System.” Optimizely, www.optimizely.com/optimization-glossary/content-management-system/.

 

“Dreamweaver vs. Content Management System (CMS).” Ty the Web Guy, 10 Nov. 2017, www.tythewebguy.com/dreamweaver-vs-content-management-system-cms/.

Privacy, Security, Hacks and Leaks

As the IT supervisor at one of the top clothing stores and websites along the east coast, we deal with all sorts of cybersecurity. As for the summer of 2020 we have to be on the watch for phishing scams,ransomware,employee data breaches,cloud storage breaches, and safe transactions for customers. Phishing is when an individual or group attempts to compromise a business through email, by posing as another business. Typically, they target businesses who send large sums of money through wire transfers. Ransomware is any virus that attacks your computer and then claims a specific program or application needs to be installed to fix this. An example of this could be clicking a bad link on a website, and then your computer is locked up except for a link for the virus, which claims you must install it to fix your computer. Employee Data Breaches is any breach of data caused accidentally or deliberately. The two main causes are not enough training to watch out for phishing or avoid ransomware, or it could even be a disgruntled employee selling data after being fired, or leaking data. This data can include anything from clients to account information. Cloud storage is a newer front people are facing, and must be used with caution. Cloud storage is the act of saving data on non-local servers. Strong security needs to be set so that people cannot access and information you have saved within a cloud storage system, and distribute it. We have seen this with celebrities having personal pictures and information leaked due to cloud storage systems being breached. And lastly, you need to be wary of hackers trying to obtain customer information when purchasing items. 

At our company we already have some practices in place to protect our cybersecurity. We have set up a firewall, anti-malware software on our devices, regular data backups, safe passwords, and employee education. We have in place a firewall to manage the network traffic. This can be faulty if employees do not pay close enough attention to the information. Anti-malware is important to have in case an employee accidentally opens an email with a virus in it, as it will work to detect and remove any malware from your computer. Anti-malware could fail you however if you do not keep the program up to date and the subscription paid for. In order to prevent information loss, we will do weekly data backups to external drives. It could be problematic, however, if the drives were lost or became corrupted, and they need to be organized to keep track of what data is where. We encourage our employees to use safe passwords, things that are not cliche or simple, typically number and word combinations. This could be faulty though, as all it would take is one employee not taking this rule seriously and using a weak password on their work devices. Lastly, we try to provide good employee education on how to safely use the internet at work. During orientation we try to provide good information and booklets on how to identify phishing attempts and other threats to our cybersecurity, and we incorporate any new information at our weekly briefs. This could prove ineffective if some threat pops up before we have had a chance to address it with our team. 

There are plenty of different possible measures you could take to increase cybersecurity.  To improve our security, I believe we should increase our firewall to have both an internal and external firewall, to truly have a better watch over our cybersecurity. Secondly we should have training on how to quickly react to and report any new cybersecurity issues, and have a way to inform the rest of the staff, possibly something like an important notice email detailing the issue. Thirdly, we should secure our WiFi by making it a private WiFi only accessible by work devices and set up an alternative WiFi for personal device use. Fourth, we start making multiple copies of backup data, that way if one goes missing or becomes corrupted, we still have the other on hand. Fifth, we need to come up with a way to make any data inaccessible to anybody who has been fired or left, and a system to track who is copying what information, that way if any information is leaked that person can be held accountable. And lastly, we need further education on how to read the firewall logs and how to spot phishing.

 

 

References:

 

Lobert, Chuck. “The Top 5 Digital Security Threats to Business.” Vision Computer Solutions, Chuck Lobert /Wp-Content/Uploads/2017/11/Vision-Logo-Large.png, 19 Nov. 2018, www.vcsolutions.com/blog/the-top-5-digital-security-threats-to-business/.

Mathews, Lee. “Phishing Scams Cost American Businesses Half A Billion Dollars A Year.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 May 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2017/05/05/phishing-scams-cost-american-businesses-half-a-billion-dollars-a-year/.

Segal, Chelsea, and Chelsea SegalChelsea Segal. “Chelsea Segal.” Cox BLUE, www.coxblue.com/8-cyber-security-best-practices-for-your-small-to-medium-size-business-smb/.

 

Social Media

Many people have varying favorites when it comes to social media, seeing as how many different platforms there are, but these are the most popular overall. Excluding messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, and WeChat, the most popular social media sites are Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. If you are curious to how each of these sites work, here is how. Facebook is used to both keep in touch with people you know, and interact with different businesses, especially locally. YouTube is used to share videos, anything from short Vlogs, to How To videos, to news and other media. Instagram is used to upload pictures to upload images and view others images. What are demographics and how do they impact social media? Demographics are a specific group of people. Social media is affected by demographics in how it must appeal to theirs, and how they cater to these age groups. Here is how demographics apply to our top three social media platforms. Facebook’s major demographic is made up of middle aged women and generally older users. YouTube is used by a much broader spectrum of people, anywhere from young children to middle aged men and women. Instagram is usually used by teenagers and young adults. Here is how much time users spend on these sites on average. Most adults spend 38 minutes a day on Facebook on average. People spend an average of 40 minutes watching YouTube. In 2018 Instagram users will average around 53 minutes of use per day.Out of these three, this site is growing the fastest. Instagram is currently growing the fastest out of all these social media platforms. I believe this is due to Instagrams easy access nature, with you mostly looking at images and reading shorter length captions for information or entertainment.Most people are accessing these sites through these devices. For Facebook, most users access it through mobile devices. YouTube is accessed mostly by mobile devices as well. Most people access Instagram by mobile devices. 

 

References:

Lua, Alfred. “21 Top Social Media Sites to Consider for Your Brand -.” Buffer Library, Buffer Library, 4 June 2020, buffer.com/library/social-media-sites/.

 

“92% Of YouTube Viewers Use a Mobile Device to Watch When at Home.” Klick Health, www.klick.com/health/news/blog/social/92-of-youtube-viewers-use-a-mobile-device-to-watch-when-at-home/.

Southern, Matt. “Instagram Has 1 Billion Monthly Users, Now the Fastest Growing Social Network.” Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Journal, 21 June 2018, www.searchenginejournal.com/instagram-1-billion-monthly-users-now-fastest-growing-social-network/258127/.

Metev, Denis. “How Much Time Do People Spend on Social Media in 2020?” Review42, 19 May 2020, review42.com/how-much-time-do-people-spend-on-social-media/.

Evolution of the World Wide Web

At one point of time, all internet access was done through computers. Now, with the advent of different mobile devices, this has changed. Suddenly, consumers were able to access the internet from computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and more. According to broadbandsearch.net, as of 2019, slightly more than half of internet traffic has been accessed through mobile devices, with 52.2 percent of internet access percent being attributed to just smartphones. Many people know the term “World Wide Web”, but do not know what it is made up of or who controls it. The world wide web is comprised of of documents and various other resources, tied together through hypertext. The World Wide Web’s standards are created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) . W3C is made up of full time staff, member organizations, and the public. You may be wondering who created the world wide web. That would be Tim Berners-Lee. TIm Berners-Lee is best known for creating the World Wide Web, and performing the first successful communication between an HTTP client and a server. What is a blog? A blog is website where an author(s) will post information regarding a specific subject, often times personal events, in a reverse chronological order. The main purpose of a blog is to get current information to a relative audience. Many people know what a responsive website is, but do not know that this is the term associated with it. A responsive website is any site that responds to your personal settings, namely what device you are using to access it. This is mostly seen with websites that are change their formatting to work on a desktop, tablet, phone, etc. This is important because many people access the internet in a broad variety of forms, so you want to have the correct formatting to allow for the best possible experience. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of increasing the amount of traffic a website attracts and the quality of the traffic. SEO is targeted for organic search results rather than paid promotion. This is important to site owners because they would want to have a lot of traffic through their site so people can interact with whatever purpose said site serves, and making sure your website is appearing in web searches is how you are going to gain traffic. What is dynamic content? Dynamic content is content that is specifically adapted to you. This could be things like showing you information related to your location, how many people are viewing the same item currently, and more. What is a Content Management System? CMS is a software that helps individuals create and edit content on a personalized website without coding. We have experience with a CMS from our use of WordPress. A YouTube channel is a public account on YouTube, a video sharing site. A YouTube channel can be useful for anybody, from musicians, to movie studios, to gaming sites, to personal content creators, vloggers, businesses, and more. 

 

References:

“Mobile Vs. Desktop Usage (Latest 2020 Data).” BroadbandSearch.net, www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/mobile-desktop-internet-usage-statistics.

W3C, www.w3.org/Consortium/.

“History – Tim Berners Lee.” BBC, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/berners_lee_tim.shtml.

Skrba, Anya. “What Is a Blog? – Explanation of Terms Blog, Blogging & Blogger (2020).” What Is a Blog? – Explanation of Terms Blog, Blogging & Blogger (2020), 21 Feb. 2020, firstsiteguide.com/what-is-blog/.

“Responsive Web Design – What It Is And How To Use It.” Smashing Magazine, 12 Jan. 2011, www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/01/guidelines-for-responsive-web-design/.

“What Is SEO? Search Engine Optimization 2020.” Moz, moz.com/learn/seo/what-is-seo.

“What Is Dynamic Content? Definition & Examples.” Omniconvert, 29 Apr. 2020, www.omniconvert.com/what-is/dynamic-content/.