New media has changed the way people communicate with one another, access information, listen to music and watch their favorite shows, and it has also changed the way people can express themselves. New media allows for more user-generated content because the mediums offered by new media are easy to access and more user friendly than older forms of media. New media fosters creativity by making it easier for users to express themselves.One of the main ways we can see how new media fosters creativity is through it's easy use is YouTube (along with other User Generated Content websites) and mash ups.
YouTube has made it possible for virtually anyone to upload any kind of video. With the use of YouTube there are many different emerging types of shows such as personal vlogs, newscasts/radiocasts (podcasts), tutorials, and entertainment videos. The presence of YouTube has allowed users to express themselves easily. Ten years ago if someone wanted to express their opinions in the form of a video very few people would actually get to see that video. Now thanks to new media User Generated Content can be easily posted and viewed by all.
With regard to mash ups other new media technologies such as the development of software like Acid Pro, and GarageBand have also fostered creativity through their ease of use. In the article “The New Math of Mashups” Mark Vidler explained the benefits of these new media technologies; “You don’t need a distributor, because your distribution is the Internet. You don’t need a record label, because it’s your bedroom, and you don’t need a recording studio, because that’s your computer. You do it all yourself.” Before the use of new media the editing of music in the form of mash ups would not have been possible. People would not have access to the resources needed such as distributors, and recording studios. A talented musician may have thought of a particular mash up in his head but without new media he or she may not necessarily have access to the resources needed to create their mash up.
I agree with you, new media has changed the way we live our day-to-day lives. I think sites like Twitter and Facebook are a great way to find out information and news before it airs on televisions and radios.
ReplyDeleteYes, the "do it yourself" idea is so much more prevalent now than it has been before. Everything is your fingertips and all you need to do is grab it.
ReplyDeleteI agree the greatest contribution new media brings to the society is providing more convenient communication tools and ways to express ourselves.
ReplyDelete