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New Media ??? A Critical Introduction Interactive Media Design Research and Communication IDCEM1001 Word Count – 2076 ‘New Media ‘is cutting edge technology which combines five different concepts which are Digitally, Interactivity, Hypertextuality, Dispersal and Virtuality. During this study I will select a ‘New Media’ experience and describe how I feel it is applicable to the characteristics above.
I have decided to discuss the creation and dispersal of Magazines and Newspapers and how it has changed from a form of media to a new media technique. What is ‘New Media’? Digitally ??? Digital Media has become a huge help to the way magazines and newspapers are now produced this is because it now allows the creator of a magazine to do everything within one computer. Articles are now created in a digital way which allows the writer to save a lot of time when proof reading and adjusting parts of their work.
This is because with software such as Microsoft word (which is created for writing,) making changes to work is a lot faster and easier done. This speeds up the production time and replaces the old analogue method of having to rewrite pieces to change simple spelling errors. With the digital method you can cut and paste different parts of articles which allows simple layout changes to take place. Creating images and photographs for articles is also a lot faster and easier to do with new digital methods.
Before the invention of digital cameras when creating images people would have to take the picture with an analogue camera, remove the film and develop it without a preview of how the photograph might turn out, this is a costly and timely process which would affect the production of magazines. With the new digital cameras you can now take better high definition photographs with the option to preview them for use this means that if you are not happy with the image you can retake it instead of spending time developing.
As well as this benefit digital cameras save money because a memory stick is used instead of negative film rolls this stores the images as numbers for easy compact storage and can be reused again and again. When the image is transferred onto a computer it can be manipulated fast and easily with programs such as Photoshop this allows effective changes to be made again saving time as it can all be done on the one computer through links in different software programs. When the photographer is happy with the image they can use email to production as well as the article where the finished article can be made.
Again this is another benefit of the digital techniques as all work can be send electronically and instant, which means that production does not have to be held up with postage. This is also a free method of sending and receiving information. This can be then printed as a Digital hard copy or a soft copy which can be kept for changes in the future. Dispersal ??? “Time spend on e-papers more than doubled from 45,000 hours in January 2008 to 106,000 hours in January 2010. ” (http://www. zmags. com/blog/new-study-time-spent-e-papers-has-doubled-two-years)
Before ‘New media’ if you wanted to read a newspaper article or a magazine you would have to go to a shop to buy a hardcopy this was an awkward thing to do as shops close at night and some well known brands of magazines and newspapers sell out quickly again meaning that you would have to wait on deliveries which can take time. With the ‘New media’ technique of soft online copies you can go onto newspaper websites and read some articles there 24 hours a day. This also allows the website to create an archive of different stories for people to look at anytime they need to. 24 percent prefer a print version, 23 percent prefer the digital magazine, while the rest do not prefer one over the other. ” (http://www. zmags. com/blog/three-reasons-why-digital-magazines-are-compelling-mid-aged-audience) You can now also buy digital copies of magazines for iPads and laptops this means that the customer does not have a physical hard copy of the magazine but has a digital copy which they can access anytime as it is downloaded for them to keep. This makes the production of magazines for companies a lot easier as they can release the magazines new editions online for anyone to buy safely.
With the magazines being online it means that customers can search and buy older editions if they need to. If a company decides to sell digital copies of magazines it means that they are also likely to make more copies as they only have to produce one digital copy on the internet which can be downloaded many times this means that the company is creating more profit for the copies sold digitally. This is because online copies do not need to be printed or delivered this is saving money on buying paper, ink and delivery charges.
As well as that companies such as Tesco which are selling the magazines would need to make a profit from the copies they sell. If they are sold online there is 100% profit made by selling digital copies. Hypertextuality ??? With magazines and newspapers available to read and download online, Hypertext has become more useful. Through my own experiences I have found that online newspaper websites, hypertext is quick ways to find the articles you are want to read without having to spend time searching through other articles to get to the ones that interest you.
This is a great development as traditional hardcopies of newspapers and magazines means you have to read through most of the magazine to find articles which interest you as they do not have a contents page. Because of this development most newspaper and magazine businesses, with websites displaying their work are more likely to get an audience increase as people can access them anytime and they are always kept up to date with the latest information which is easy to find.
This is the same as digital issues of magazines as targets audiences can view magazines or newspapers any time and flick with ease throughout them. As well as this the articles could have links to the websites of the company which can be accessed through digitial copies again bringing a bigger audiences to the company and there resources. “Usually publishers distribute the online magazine through a link on the title’s main webpage, which provides an easy way to combine the beauty of print with the interactivity of the web. ” (http://www. zmags. com/blog/what-online-magazine-anyway)
Because of the digital movement more magazines are being brought online and viewed that way instead of buying hard copies this means that the companies can save money as they do not need to spend as much money on printing of hard copies again allowing them to get a full profit of digital copies as they do not have to pay shops for selling their products. Virtuality ??? With the creation of digital Magazines and Newspapers things seem more real. This is because with the use of digital viewers you can zoom and change the layout with ease instead of the traditional paper copy which you cannot change to suit you.
Online Newspaper websites allow you to create an account and login to your own personal space where you can customise by changing the colour schemes and the information displayed to you meaning that you see more of what you want and less useless information. With digital copies the publishers tend to add more of a rich media experience including animation, videos, small games and polls. This keeps the user entertained and makes them want to read the articles more. These features are only available on digital copies of magazines this is a big change caused by the change to new media techniques. For publishers who want to generate additional revenue with online magazines, this is where the fun begins. Adding interactive content in digital ads that entertain readers and make them want to visit the advertiser is the key to success. ” (http://www. zmags. com/blog/what-online-magazine-anyway) By doing this the online magazines is getting more business for products they advertise as well as companies which pay the magazine for advertisements to be displayed by doing this the magazine company will get more business from advertising agencies allowing them to make more money.
The virtuality aspect of reading magazines makes the whole progress more fun and unique for each reader. Again this makes the reader want to come back to view the next issue of the magazine. Interactivity ??? Digital Magazines and newspapers link into the change of analogue to new media as user can now interact more with the sources. In a recent survey done it has been proved that mid-aged readers prefer a digital copy as they feel it is more user friendly as it allows the user to enlarge the text and zoom in on images which they find hard to see. This gives magazine companies a bigger age range to target.
Before digital copies users where only given the choice of a normal hard copy which had a standard text size which made it hard for all users to read. If a user wanted the magazine to be in a different format they would have to write and ask for it to be specially produced and sent out. This meant that it was harder for people with a sight disability to read the articles and newspapers which interest them. Now with the digital copies text readers are available so visually impaired can listen to the information be read to them, there is also features where the text can be enlarged and images can be zoomed in on. The results of the survey stresses that a user-friendly digital magazine definitely adds value for the mid-aged audience. Here are some highlights of what we got insight to: ??? “82 percent of readers older than 60 years agree that the digital magazine is a good way to get information ??? 85 percent of readers older than 50 years agree that the digital magazine is easy to navigate ??? 79 percent of readers older than 50 years agree that the digital magazine gives a good overview” (http://www. zmags. com/blog/three-reasons-why-digital-magazines-are-compelling-mid-aged-audience)
As well as these features for people with disabilities there is also the option to like articles so that it is sent to Facebook for your friends to see this is also a way of advertising for the company. This means that if a user finds an article interesting and thinks that there friends may also they can post the link on their wall which allows other users to click and access the same information allowing magazines to get more viewers. This can also be done by the use of Twitter. This allows the user to interact more with the magazines.
Another way users can interact with magazines is finding the pieces which interest them and get to them quicker as they can use tools which select keywords allowing them to find information without having to read through the full magazine. With online newspapers users can comment and discuss stories. This allows them to interact with other people who are reading the same articles and share points of view this is a big difference as with analogue copies you can only discuss with people you know instead of anyone in the world who has read the same article.
Digital copies have brought people from all over the world together as it allows all readers to talk and share knowledge of different pieces. In conclusion I feel that the New Media experience has created a bigger audience for magazine and newspaper readers as they can download digital copies which can be edited and changed to suit the user’s abilities. The use of video and animation makes the experience more enjoying for the reader again making them wanting to return to the magazine. By taking all these steps the magazine companies are creating a bigger audience which generates more money.
Because digital issues are becoming more used there is less need for paper copies of newspapers and magazines to be created again saving the companies more money and helping the environment. With the constant updates of newspaper websites information never gets old meaning customers can get access to the latest news as it is happening instead of once a day. The Digital experience is beneficial to companies, customers and also the environment, because of these benefits I feel this is a good change and feel it has to experience before one can truly appreciate it.