When it comes to communication, there is never a right or wrong way to do it. And by "it" I mean conveying a message, any message, however and wherever. By today's means, there really are an unlimited resources to supply that message. The internet itself is a massive tool in deriving what new media means. In the digital age, the opportunity for creativity has never been bigger. Pen and paper could only go so far…
This semester I had a chance to learn and develop new skills in communicating myself through these new types of mediums that the digital world allows. Email has been a staple since the beginning of the internet and its function still stands today as a primary source of direct peer-to-peer messaging. Now there are just a few slight additions to the email process such as Gmail and the ability to create groups and conferences solely online. There you can have a stability to host documents and calendars as well.
I believe the newest tool in new media is also the most significant in changing the current landscape- social networking. What began as a means for "friend finding" now has shifted the ways in which news travels, language changes, and culture propagates. Advertisers are no strangers to this new landscape; Facebook advertising has revolutionized this as ads are marketed strictly to the individual user base.
Also, I've learned how it's possible to create an income from network marketing and advertising. Network marketing in the real world is pretty much the equivalent to networking in the digital world, only a lot faster and on a much broader scale. Since more and more people spend their time online rather than with other types of media such as television and print, websites have utilized this to attract advertising revenue. Websites themselves, whether news sources, entertainment based, etc., have taken advantage to the fact that if they have an audience, you might as well make a profit while doing so. Generating web traffic is a primary concern in most companies as a result.
News is being reexamined from the journalist standpoint. Because "news" can come from anywhere and reported by anyone, there's the concern for the sanctity of the source. Who is a valid reporter? Who is a valid source? Is the message itself valid enough to be considered news?
In this regard, what may be news to me may not be news to you. In fact, a life changing tidbit to me may not even raise an eyebrow to you. Sources such as some of the people on Twitter (or blogs with a niche audience) are not only changing what news is, but filtering who cares about what and when they can read them. An example of this effect is television- digital television also allows for literally thousands of channels now. Each fulfilling a specific niche. It's the same on the internet, only with millions of "channels" to fill.
By using all these news of ways of media, I'm learning how to use them to my advantage. Most likely not every new tool of communication will last forever, but each one leads into the next… which in turn leads into the next. If I am not there to utilize these tools, someone else will.
