New Media can be defined as anything after technology came
into play. While studying new media there are six main characteristics that we
can use to break down the main parts of what new media is.
These statistics are based on the book New Media, A critical
Introduction, Second Edition. The book was published in 2003, but these
characteristics still stand strong today.
It is important to know the base of media and what makes it
what it is. It is something that is changing constantly and at a really fast
pace. So you need to know how to keep up with all the changes.
The first characteristic is “Digital”.
Traditional media was mostly something you could touch. When
transferring media or sending out information it was done in a physical way. But
the digital characteristic of new media changed that. Traditional media used an
analogue system. So everything was physically stored.
The first main change is that media data was transformed. Instead
of being a physical thing it became binary codes.
Binary codes let people use the data easily. Data was now an
output and an input. Everything we see on the internet is made up of binary
codes. Everything sent through technology is sent through binary codes.
An example we could use to see the difference is newspaper
archives. Today there are online sources that have links to all the past
articles. Before new media came into place, traditional media had a different
way of storing things. Each industry had physical archives stored into books. If
you wanted to access something from an old newspaper you would have to go to
the warehouse it was kept at, and ask for the specific article. Then you would
have to look for it through stacks and stacks of old newspapers!
Today there are links that make it easier for us to find
things right away. We can allow get this information from anywhere in the
world. We don’t need to go to a specific place and ask for someone to pull out old
books, we can do it from our personal devices at home.
The next characteristic is interactivity. This means that
communication changed from being one-way to being two-way. It is a main value
in new media. It shows how the people who receive information are engaged with
what they are seeing.
People today, comment on news, share things they find
interesting, and post their own things on a daily basis. News articles can be
found with a comment section for people to debate the article. Companies even
have a better way of gaining customer feedback through instant online sources.
Hypertextual is also a characteristic of media. It has to do
with using hypertexts which are links embedded into text that can take you to
different links or sources. It is a great tool that people use to link things
together. For the users it makes finding information much more easier. While on
a website there can be a link that says “for more information click here” so
the user will automatically be taken to a place that offers what they are looking
for.
Networked is a characteristic of new media. This is the “network”
of people through the internet. The way that things are linked together, and
the people involved in the process all fall under the networked characteristic.
New media manages to take people into a more virtual world. The
5th characteristic is “virtual”. So it shows a world created by the
consumer engagement. People are involved virtually, as opposed to only being on
the receiving end before.
The final characteristic is simulation. There are real life
simulations that will throw people into an imitation of a real life situation. Any
car racing games or flight simulations are examples. This allows people to have
the experience of what it is like to drive a car or fly a plane without
actually being in a car or a plane. Today many people use this as practice
depending on their profession.
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