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Introduction: What is New Media?

This content is part of the History of New Media course material package.

Next section: Media Computer - From Math to Augmentation

The resource is published but not ready. The original texts by: A. Botero & T. Leinonen

Introduction

If we want to understand the extent, significance and nuances of the New Media, historical perspectives on it are useful. By having a look of the history we might understand how we came here and draw conclusions on where to go.

What ever you are interested in to apply ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as a space and material for design or as a medium for artistic expression it is helpful to know, not only some basic facts about technology, but also the circumstances that produced them.

When studying the history of New Media we may ask the following questions:

• How the technology, genres and design patterns of New Media were developed?
• How widely they are spread around?
• Who are using them? Who used them before us?
• Why did they take the form they are?

New Media is a multidisciplinary and multiperspective field. This course is intended to generate a share understanding between professionals of some of the phenomena related to New Media. The objective is to discover some shared vocabulary and common ground.

In addition to the online material the New Media Reader book is recommended.

What is New Media?

New Media is not one. We may claim that, there are three converging and overlapping themes:

1. Computing - Information Processing,
2. Media (format - content - genres) and
3. Networked communication. 

As a way to introduce 3 converging or overlapping areas that present aspects of "New Media" we will take a look to a New Media Timeline with some milestones from each of the three.

Google give several interesting definitions with the search define:"New Media. You may also want to have a look of the Wikipedia article about New Media and maybe edit it.

New Media in Numbers

Now when we have several conpcetions of New Media, we may take a look of some scale and importance of technology and practices closely related to these. A short tour into some numbers may help us to clarify the scale.

• Telephone, Mobilephones, PCs and Internet
• The GVU WWW User Survey
  -  Since 1994 the GVU Center, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology have made user survey on the growth and trends in Internet usage.
• Internet usage numbers - Numbers about "the world's online population"

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