New Media
Each generation has their own unique idea and understanding of what “new media” is. Millennials believe new media to be today’s new gadgets and trends where as baby boomers think of new media as something completely different.
“New Media 1740–1915” focuses on the two centuries before commercial broadcasting. This period was crucial to understanding how electronic and digital media have come to mean what they mean, and how they do what they do. Rick Altman created the term “crisis historiography”, or when new media emerges, their place is at first ill defined. Their ultimate meaning or functions are shaped over time by that society’s existing habits of media use. The crisis is resolved when the perception of the new media have adapted to existing categories of public understanding about what that medium does for whom and why. There is always the chance that certain mediums could “die”, or fail to survive for very long. For example, myspace was extremely popular when it came out in 2003. The surge in popularity halted by 2007 when other social media sites surfaced. Another medium that is currently decreasing in popularity is print. Newspapers were once the only way the masses could retrieve news and updates. However, with television and the world wide web, newspapers are no longer necessary to acquire information. Nowadays, people can do a quick search online and get the news. Even further, social media allows for people to initiate conversations and engage in news. Thus newspapers are dying out.
Media never stops advancing and changing. For example, Facebook has been improving ever since Mark Zuckerberg started the project. Many don’t even know about these subtle updates. Instead, they happen automatically. Media tends to erase its own historical contexts. Perhaps it is because it is harder to archive certain websites and social media. In fact, digital archiving is a relatively new field. It is one which has come about with the new digital revolution.
Part of the lure of new media is the uncertain status. Part of new media is it’s ever changing status and instantaneous status and organic conversations. Since it is never here for too long, people do not get comfortable. Many websites exist in “beta” stage for awhile, until they are improved to suit their audience better. After people have had a taste of one’s website and after they have given feedback, many websites change and advance and improve. Apple is a great example of a company that is ever changing and always advancing. They have put out new products every few years; each time they do, the old version is hastily forgotten.
Communication is a prominent part of culture. How people communicate and share information form the backbone of a society. With each new form of media and new way of communicating, society changes and their culture morphs to suit that new medium. For example, youtube is changing the definition of a “celebrity”. These youtube stars are “average” users who have gathered a massive following. However, they are not on the big screen like the normal celebrity. Instead, they are on the web. Another definition that is changing is “friends”. On Facebook, one can have thousands of friends, yet it’s more than likely that not all are actual friends. Thus, although the network has grown exponentially, friends is just another term for “acquaintances”.
Another medium that changed culture is the phone. The phone made it easier to connect almost instantaneously. Information is getting extremely instantaneous with less and less work. Even further, with texting and emails and IM’s, people are no longer interacting face to face, or over the phone. Instead, people are writing out messages. Emojis replace facial expressions and new words are added to the dictionary to better suit this new medium. Many words have to be added with the changing media. Words such as “tweet” have entered our dictionary with new definitions. Even further, words such as “Facebook” and “Snapchat” are now verbs instead of just nouns.
In today’s society, people are ten times more connected than earlier generations. The baby boomers grew up without computers. Nowadays, there are multiple computers, IPads, and other technological products in every household. The norms today are not the norms of the past decades. People have quick access to friends and emails and information. Many replace conversations in person with conversations over messages. Everything is in real time. Society is very different due to media. Due to this new media and culture, businesses must react and conform to their audiences. Businesses are now paying more for advertisements and to find their way onto social media. Snapchat now has “Discover” which connects users to websites and shows like Daily Mail and Comedy Central. Also, Facebook has a lot of advertisements. These advertisers understand where many of their customers are spending their time thus more money is funneled into this. Also, more companies are beginning to change their products or make it better suited for an online platform. One great example of this is the Chicago Tribune. They used to be solely print but with the newspapers on the decrease, they have revamped their online presence and website in order to attract the new paperless generation. Even further, they now have apps for the phone users and twitter sites and Facebook sites. This new generation is demanding the rest of the world to conform to their new media standards.
In conclusion, new media is a constant presence for new mediums are always arriving. Society never understands their effect until years into their lifespan. It is not until they become extremely popular when we realize how important they are. By that time, we have already forgotten about their history. In addition, since they are ever changing, they do not have a clear and definite timeline. These new mediums allow for conversations and expedite information, as well as connect people from different parts of the world. These mediums are the backbone of society and continue to impact and change our culture. When media first emerges, there is “crisis historiography”, meaning media is at first ill defined until their meaning is shaped by that society’s existing habits of media use.
