Old Media vs. New Media

The old media is a traditional means of communication and was mostly analog, primarily relied upon print and analog models such as printing press, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, direct mail and most print publications. The new media, on the contrary, is more digital and computerized and predicated upon the use of digital computer, such as the Internet and online publications. A few examples to distinguish new media from the old media:

a) Journalism, which has turned into online blogs. It's inherently a two way communication where the readers have the opportunity to share their views online, whereas printed newspaper had a strict one way communication with its reader. Online blogs have the advantage, over the traditional media, to be able to correct their news in a matter of few hours if they were to make a mistake.

b) For books we have turned to eBooks, hypertext, wiki and amazon's Kindle. The convenience of finding a book online and not having to physically walk into a bookstore definitely saves time. The amazon's Kindle is incredibly light weight as opposed to the printed books and is able to fit into any small space.

c) Direct mails have been replaced by emails. As far as international mails were concerned it was slow, expensive and often not reliable.

d) Online magazines and newspaper are free of cost and the market entry cost is no more than a computer, a modem, and an Internet connection. The manufacturers are able to duck many of the major costs that make traditional newspapers expensive to produce.

These are only a few ways to analyze the old media from the new media. The new media has endless possibilities, as it continues to grow it will hopefully make our lives that much easier in the near future.

Globalization and New Media

What role does the new media play in the scuttle of globalization?

There is definitely an ongoing debate about what the commentators would suggest. Some would say that globalization in the new media allows the flow of ideas in multiple directions, and expands the opportunity to have diverse ideas. It also greatly expands the importance of what information is available in the public sphere, and sharing that information definitely has an impact on the private individual as well as the nation they live in. The result is less homogenization and more diversity within an existing culture.

Yet, others suggest that it creates a series of tension in the concept of "public sphere". Virtual communities are being established, where computers substitute for human relationships and a whole world is created that is only to limited to the computer screen.

As the debate goes on, my research will primarily be based on the two different sides of the new media in globalization. Although, I'm an advocate of the positive sides of the new media, I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at the negative aspect as well.

What is New Media?

I know what "new" means and I'm well familiar with the "media", nevertheless when I heard of "New Media", I did not have the slightest clue what it meant. Could it be because I'm challenged, intellectually...? I wouldn't put it past me.

So... I had to find out what New Media was, especially for my class. I did a little research and turns out it's something I live and breathe everyday. The emergence of new technology in the world of Media. That's what it really means! (My ''aha'' moment)

Think of new technology that's part of New Media, and the first thing that comes to mind is the Internet. Also, manipulable software like Adobe Photoshop, social networking websites as in Facebook (I'm so guilty of the term "facebook junkie"), and compressible gadgets like laptops & pda phones.

So.. how important is the Internet to New Media? Starting from allowing greater flexibility in working hours and locations, banking online, ordering pizza, buying stocks, reading the hottest celeb gossips, doing research, getting firsthand information, sending emails, paying bills, finding love on match.com, and the list just goes on and on about the possible usage of the Internet. Undoubtedly, it is THE most important part of the New Media. Period.

And why is the new media replacing/ enhancing the old media? As Melissa Gery in her article "Celebrity Blogs: The impact of New Media" says, "I think that this is important because it allows new voices to be heard and challenges the established media outlets to compete and raise their levels of coverage." She also says, "Accuracy is extremely important in publishing in traditional media like newspapers and new media like blogs. A writer wants to be accurate and avoid potential lawsuits at all costs. Bloggers seek to write the truth and if they make a mistake, they are able to correct it immediately. This is an advantage that bloggers have over more traditional mainstream media outlets in which a retraction of a story may take days."

Lastly, how is new media replacing/ enhancing the old media? The sales for movie rental stores and cable companies are going down as more consumers are turning to youtube.com to watch their fave shows, and other websites for movies. Less consumers are buying magazines & newspaper as the information is easily accessible on the Internet. The article by Michael Wilson, "Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid" is an interesting piece of article that is a good example of how the new media is enhancing the old media. It talks about bloggers on BayRidgeTalk.com, who observed more than a few suspicious activities in the neighborhood, and complained at the local precinct which eventually led to the arrest of three suspects. Wish we could solve more crimes with blogs like these!