In recent years the term New media has come into existence to to distinguish it from the older forms of media that were mentioned in a previous post. If you”re an Internet veteran or consider yourself a “techie” you may want to take a pass on this article as I won’t be saying anything that is really new to you however in future posts I will spring board from this and the previous post in this topic into more niche areas. I will share some of my own experiences and opinions in this post if you wish to keep reading and to comment and add to the conversation as I point new users and business clients here.

Web - When most people think about the Internet or even what I do they think of the web even though it’s only a part of the Internet and a part of what we do as a company. I see the web a being the backbone of other forms of new media mentioned below. I love creating sites for clients and providing services on their web site which allows them to interact and connect with potential customers.

Forums - The New Oxford American Dictionary defines a forum as, “a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.” The forms of forums on the Internet have changed over the years. Before most people got on what is known as the Internet they could dial into local computer systems known as Bulletin Board Systems. The has been pretty much replaced by the e-mail list or web forum. You can compare it to a group of people sitting around a table or in a circle of chair discussing an issues. This is one of my favorite resources for looking for help and mutual support. Forums however can turn in a nightclub atmosphere and things can get out of hand if not moderated.

Blogs - The term “blog” has become misunderstood and can mean different things to different people. At it’s core it’s a combination of the words “web” and “log.” You are reading a blog now and I’m using it as a way to communicate my thoughts on subjects related to my business and areas of expertise

E-mail - E-mail is probably one of the most used yet abused forms of new media. One of my biggest pet peeves is how e-mail is used for things it was never intended to be used for. That doesn’t mean I think they should do away with E-mail. I really think the e-mail protocol has not kept up with changes in the Internet. If I had the resources I would reengineer it so each message was secure by default, large attached files would get uploaded to a server space and a link would be created so the receiver could download it at their convenience like they way they are doing in some of the file sending services like yousendit.com . I would also roll in RSS functionality and microblogging so the average user would not have to deal with separate applications or go to specific web sites for those uses.

Chat - Of all the new media forms this is the one I use the least. To me for chat to be useful it has to be targeted to an event, one on one live communications (Instant Messaging) or tech support in which I can quickly type out my questions I receive time pressing messages in real time. Even in one of my favorite video games, Uru, the chat aspect is my least favorite. I don’t mind real time text interaction but general “chit chat” (pun intended) online has never been the best use of my time.

Streaming Media - In part 1 of this series I talked about how much I enjoyed radio and how late at night as a child I would be fascinated by tuning far away AM station with a little transistor radio late at night. Before podcasting became available to the general public about the only way to enjoy radio-type shows on the Internet was through streaming media and while I prefer the portability of podcasts, streaming media allows one the opportunity to hear things in real time.

Podcasting - You will hear me and see my company talking about “portable media” and for the most part we are talking about Podcasting. Podcasting for all practical purposes is mp3 files (usually in a talk-radio style format) placed into an RSS feed that people can subscribe to thus when I new episode is posted it can be automatically downloaded to the user’s computer and transfered to a portable device. Podcast has pretty much replaced the talk radio habit I used to have. I love the face I can subscribe to just about any show revolving around my interests and not what my local radio stations think i will enjoy.

Video Games - Would it surprise you to learn that my interests in graphic design and interactive media began with a video game? I was playing video games like Pac-man, Frogger, Space Invaders, etc. since the early 80’s but in the mid 90’s I discovered Myst. Myst was criticized at nothing more than a “slideshow” and the current game by the same company, Uru has been called a “pretty chat room” but neither of those descriptions are correct. Watching the “making of” feature of Myst on the original CD I learned that I could create such media too. Myst inspired me by using interesting graphics and music that made me ask more questions and I “felt” I was being watched and their was another surprise around the corner. We can all learn something from that.

Social Networking - This is the latest “buzzphrase” on the Internet and which somewhat redundant it is interesting to see how it maturing as a means for creative marketing, education and restoring and strengthening relationships if done right. The two web site that are known for social networking I use the most are FaceBook and Flickr. Facebook is the current mega social networking service. I prefer Facebook over MySpace because of the higher accountability, cleaner layout and creative ways of networking.

DVD - Some may say the DVD is not part of the new media. In a lot of ways it is a combination of old media forms like movies and TV combined with Interactivity, the ability to chose chapters, etc. I got my first DVD player not because I though the technology was cool but because it didn’t have to moving parts of a video tape. On top of that I love DVD’s because of the higher quality and special features where I can learn from the director and actors what creating the movie was like.

Whew… That was a long post. I don’t plan on making posts this big again for quite some time but I figured I need to get this information in writing.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 8:41 am and is filed under Innovation, Internet, Portable Media, podcasting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.