Reading through the ideas acknowledged in the assigned readings and actually experiencing first hand the power of new media and the connectivity it has to all spectrums truly show how much technology has developed. The different types of technologies that are apart of the new media are: the internet, internet websites (blogs, wikis, social media platforms such as twitter, tumblr, facebook, myspace), video games, dvds, blu-ray, digital television, DVR/Tivo programs, and portable devices.
If we take a look at the internet specifically, its importance to the new media is very telling in the fact that it serves as the medium of how to obtain information, make money, and facilitates the spread of information and ideas in fast manner. The interface of the internet that has different websites you can assess in terms of the https format has the power for people to access databases such as start up companies advertising and selling their technologies and products. Also the mass of information that is readily available helps those seeking news, research and other important information to look on databases or websites that has them. Not to mention the ever important spread of ideas between all different types of people can be shared and thoughts can be picked apart by others on the internet in terms of blogs, wikis, social media websites such as twitter, and of course a comments section on all websites.
For example, in the Clive Thompson Youtube article, he discusses about the evolution of videos that could be made by anyone to evoke attention and it's freedom to express any content it wishes. As little as it may seem, it can still garner thousands of views on Youtube. He also briefly alludes to the anonymity of the internet when he says, "All these people from across the globe convey something incredibly evocative while remaining completely mute." This means that the evolution of social media on the internet and spread of ideas made people that were completely anonymous before, have a platform to express their opinions and thoughts all the while evoking attention to their own space on the internet. This brings us to what new media's relationship with old media is.
If we take a look at the differences between new and old media, it is incredible how adaptive or replaceable certain forms of old media is towards new media and the new way of thinking. We can see the example of television, portable media, and the internet. The transition from analog television to digital television showcases the adaptation of TV channels readily available in a box top format from cable companies. Then it evolved that instead of basic channels, we get hundreds of different channels that we pay for from all different genres such as movie channels, sports, and foreign channels. Then in the case of the new media we have today technologies such as Hulu, Network Websites, TiVO, Apple TV, and DVR, where you can record and watch TV programming later on or fully watch them online. This enhanced the old media idea of sitting around a television because you can multitask and save time to watch things on and off time instead of being confined to watch a program at a certain time. This idea of watching shows online at anytime you want showcases autonomy in making television programming work into your schedule and when you are bored you can access it wherever you wish. Though it does not replace the old model because some people still watch television through their television sets to see things large on screen and live, if they watch sporting events and shows religiously.
If we also look at internet websites such as social media sites like twitter, facebook, blogs, wikis, and media company websites, it shows how new media replaces and somehow enhances old media to deliver information at any given point and helps people interact with information and each other even more. For example with blogs and wikis, information is readily available and someone's opinion piece is published online and available for anyone to read and consent or disagree with. This information can be truthful, biased, a first hand account of thoughts on certain ideas but it will always come from that person without some form of censory unless indicated.
In a way, the wikipedia pages, blogs, and the online publications that replace pre-existing newspapers is the evolution of information readily available at one's fingertips. Even newspapers and magazines that were a newsstand staple are now digital and online newsstands are the norm. You can utilize your internet to access online columns on specific things such as economics, opinion pieces, and world news that interest you. With these newspapers, they are starting to adopt the new online publication viewing module because they might lose readers that they usually have on their paper printed publications which some people buy still but majority are turning to their online web pages for information. They are attracting those that are at work on a break looking to online for the news of whats going on when they don't have the newspaper or television to do so. For example, the New York Times now offers online access to their articles and subscriptions online for those who use their media site solely. This therefore shows the commitment and adaptations old media and new media is making in their relationship to the future.
Works Cited:
Thompson, C. (2008, December 22). Clive Thompson on How YouTube Changes the Way We Think. Retrieved September 1, 2014, from http://archive.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-01/st_thompson
