Before this class, I didn’t know it was possible to analyze the thing that we refer to as “new media” in any kind of academic setting.  It has undoubtedly opened my eyes to the fact that everything and anything that we experience in our every day lives is important, and affects us greatly.  When I say this, I mean every time that I log onto Facebook or Twitter and click on a link, I see a meme.  Instead of just laughing at its ridiculousness and mindlessly closing the page, I think about what it actually means.  This class has taught me that our means of storing and exchanging information is evolving rapidly, and must be acknowledged.  The new ways in which people can make money, become famous, or create viral content that is so culturally impactful and relevant is astounding.  I never would have taken the time on my own to learn about how powerful of a company Google is in terms of its social ubiquity and corporate control.  Even YouTube (also being controlled by Google), being a cultural necessity by means of its monopolizing video platform, was something that I had taken for granted as a simple accessory of the Internet every single day of my life.

The mere fact that this class exists and was successful in terms of our analysis is a testament to its subject matter’s newfound importance in today’s society.  One cannot simply disconnect from technological services such as Google, YouTube, or Facebook without the consequences of being ignorant of current events or culturally relevant information that can be applied to everyday life.  For that matter alone, it is necessary for us to begin analyzing our collective societal behavior when dealing with this online content.  I feel that it is a new concept that may take some getting used to for some, considering sites such as these, and other forms of social media, are not generally applied and observed in an academic setting.  Though, without such research, it will be difficult for us to study social behavior as it is now evolving into this new digital era.

I feel that the group-based work, as well as the classroom setting to accommodate it, was conducive to my own understanding of the material.  It has taught me the ways in which other people utilize this new media, and that there are many more uses for these tools that I would not have been cognizant of otherwise.  The classroom itself made me feel as if I were immersed in this new media setting, as it would have been impossible to conduct our research without actually using forms of new media to do so.  My skills for working and communicating with others have been refined in addition to this, while having to stay connected to my group members, as well as interviewing people I have never spoken to before in order to gather the information necessary to participate in the class.  All in all, this was one unique class that has had a large impact on my perspective of what we refer to as “new media”; I will no longer consider sites such as Facebook or Twitter to be simple cures for boredom or just for fun, but as outlets that also document our society’s developing behavior and use of new media.