I’m sure this question has been on everyone’s mind lately.
What exactly is new media? Do special effects count as new media? Differences between new media and ‘old media’?
Wikipedia states: “New media is a term describing media that can only be created or used with the aid of computer processing power. It is a form of media that includes some aspect of interactivity for its audience and is usually in digital form. “
So the Wiki itself, is a form of new media.
However, our advisor, David, said that to him, ‘new media is about new techniques and experimentation, something to set it apart from the old media.’
I believe it’s a little bit of both.
To me, new media is a chimera of sorts, taking bits here and there and merging to become a beast with no true form, nothing and everything at the same time. You have a traditional medium like film, and you have new media in the form of Youtube, which builds on a traditional medium but gives the user a sense of interactivity, participation and opportunity to change how the traditional media is used.
Comparing it to a Japanese site called Nico Nico Douga, which allows members to post comments in real-time and sync them with the video they’re watching, upping the ante on interactivity as well as entertainment value.
It’s saved on Youtube by and I gleaned it from Wired.com. I don’t think I could embed the original even if I wanted to.
But my emphasis is not on the interactivity, rather, the twisting, adapting and modifying the medium into something different, a fresher experience.
I could go on all day on what I see as new media – machinima, webcomics, games, Oekaki forum boards/panels, interactive LCD screens, etc. The list goes on and on.
Ultimately, it comes down to your intepretation.
So tell me, what is new media to you?
Signing off,
Loucifer.
