What is New Media?
We are living in a very fascinating time in terms of media.
Have you noticed how the media has been evolving for the past few generations?
Which leads us to the question: what is new media?
With the rise of technology & interconnectivity, a new information age is rising.
Nowadays, with social platforms, more and more users have the ability to play a prominent role in terms of the media.
Simply having a message & the confidence to communicate it will allow you to build a global brand.
Media literacy (the ability to understand & navigate the media landscape) is more important than ever.
Without that ability, you will be in a continuous cycle of overconsumption, bias & fake news.
This article is going to introduce you to the concept of the new media & how you can take an active part in it.
If you have been looking to go from a consumer to a creator, then this article will be for you.
Mass communication is evolving. Let’s see how that affects you.
What is Old Media?
Media is defined as:
The main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing and the internet) regarded collectively.
Do you see how ‘the internet’ has snuck its way into that definition?
Well, it wasn’t always like that.
The means of communicating a message thru media came down to:
- Written
- Audio
- Visual
And the old school media tackled that predominately thru:
- Newspapers – written
- Radios – audio
- Television – visual
These were staggering in terms of mass communication.
Sometimes, we take these forms of communication for granted.
But you have to digest history to understand the importance.
Ancient times had storytellers simply communicating messages orally.
That meant 1 on 1 communication OR communicating to a group that had to be physically present.
Newspapers, radios & televisions were considered MAGICAL because it allowed a source to communicate messages to 1000s if not millions of people.
Gamechanger.
The LandScape of Old Media
The landscape of the old media was pretty aristocratic if you think about it.
Typically, a high class controlled the information that the public was given.
There were a lot of gatekeepers that you had to go thru in order to get your message across.
Just picture what BIG news it was when you saw a family member or friend get on TV.
You’d wonder how many people they had to go through to be given that level of celebrity.
Publishers, editors, and investors of the media company also had a MAJOR say in what kind of information got spread.
If certain ideas did not align with the media company’s message, then the higher-ups had the power to ax it.
This model came with the good and the bad.
The good was that the public was able to get consistent information & often at a relatively cheap price.
However, the bad was that many giant mainstream corporations formed, which often led to bias & monopolies.
The old media landscape has not fully come to an end.
But the trend is showing a decline in the present day.
New Media
The world is more interconnected than ever.
It is safe to say that if you are not thinking GLOBALLY in many cases, then you ain’t thinking big enough!
2 factors for this are:
- Internet
- Social media
I’m a firm believer that the internet is a living breathing thing of its own.
If you zoomed out and took a look at the interconnection of the nodes & networks, you would think that you are looking at neural pathways of a human brain.
Sort of like the earth is forming a brain in real-time.
Next, social media has played a HUGE role in the new media.
Social media is what you make of it.
If you use it for superficial reasons, then you will get superficial results.
If you view social media as a pocket media company, then you will get lifechanging results.
A combination of social media, as well as other online platforms such as blogs, YouTube, podcasting, has ushered in a new form of media.
And this media is one that is controlled by the people.
Example:
- Newspapers= Blogs
- Radios= Podcasts
- Television = YouTube
We are currently witnessing the media landscape evolve from an aristocratic structure to a meritocracy.
Very fascinating to witness.
Where Do You Stand in the New Digital World?
Did you know that the average adult consumes roughly around 7 hours of media a day?
7 HOURS. That’s fucking insane.
From Netflix, Twitter, YouTube, TNT, etc.
Media is a part of our lives.
So where do YOU stand in this new world?
Well, that depends.
The majority of people are consumers.
And this is a pretty dope time in terms of consumerism.
There is niche content for pretty much ANYTHING out there.
I recently saw a dude listening to a podcast about playing Yugi Oh cards.
Imagine finding something like that in old media. Good luck.
So as a consumer, it is a golden era.
However, overconsumption is a thing.
Some people treat content like candy & tend to indulge.
So you want to beware of falling into that boat.
The other group are the creators.
There has never been a better time to be a creator than now.
Most tools required to become an active creator in the new media can be found on your phone.
You can always get more advanced tools, don’t get me wrong.
But ultimately, you have a camera, mic, text all on your phone.
If you have creative thoughts & ideas, then you can always jump into the internet & make a splash.
As of 2018, it was stated that 3.5 BILLION humans are online.
So getting just a fraction of that is more than enough to build a global audience.
You have multiple platforms to hop on, provide information & build a following.
The dope part of it all is that what is put on the internet, stays.
So it’s cool to think that your future generations, 100 years from now, can see you evolving in real-time.
That’s a part of you becoming immortal.
The Age of New Media is Here
It’s not rocket science that information plays a huge role in terms of culture.
Perceptions, conversations & debates are major factors in the world that we live in.
With the rise of the internet & social media, we all have a voice.
Unfortunately, many will use their voice to spread hate, victimhood & nonsense.
But don’t let that stop you.
If you are someone who is gifted & has a message, then it is your duty to communicate that.
‘My duty??’
Yea, your duty.
Our ancient ancestors were set up in a way where everyone in the tribe communicated information.
That was the power of the people.
But by the time information dissemination was seen as a profitable business model, that’s when things changed.
That’s when mainstream organizations rose & controlled the market.
The power was stripped away.
Well, my friend…
History is repeating itself.
The power is being given back to the people.
If you have a gift, it’s your duty to get out there & share the message.
Be the light that the world needs & build your legacy in real-time.
– ArmaniTalks 
