New Media is a term usually applied to visual, audio, and video productions that are not created by mainstream media.  Online videos, podcasts, and vidcasts are all examples of this category.  Wikipedia says , " New media is a term meant to encompass the emergence of digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century.  Most technologies described as "new media" are digital, often having characteristics of being manipulatable , networkable, dense , compressible, and impartial ."

I love new media because:

  1. It is usually finely targeted at a particular audience rather than trying to please everyone.
  2. It is not over written or produced.
  3. It is usually denser and thus shorter in length.
  4. It can be easily time-shifted to meet my personal  schedule.
  5. It is easy to find and obtain online.
  6. It is easy to store.
  7. It is easy to play.
  8. I can easily go mobile with it and use on many digital devices.
  9. It is usually free.
  10. If there are ads, I am usually actually interested in the products or services. See #1.

Current advertising reports show that this recession has been a tipping point for media ad buys. Many new media companies are reporting record profits while mainstream media reports the opposite.  The reason? See #1 — advertisers simply see a closer tie between their ad dollars and its return with new media. For that reason,  I believe that our Information Age will also be the rise of new media.

What do you think about this?  Is new media here to stay?

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for April 16, 2009 ©Scott Coughlin .