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new edia concepts
In considering d1e broader socio-cultural impM:ts of nev, media, there are
"
i some recurring (:oncep<.s that come into play in iclentifving 'vhat it is m be
'n<c"v'. A rr:view of the summary litermure on new media (e.g. Elmer 1002;
Gauntlctt & Ilorslcy 2002; Burnett & !vlarshaU 2003; Lister et aL 2003;
Cranny-Francis 2005; Fltw 2005; Lievrouw & Livingsnmc 2005) points
to themes and key cono.:pts that act as organising principles for argnments
about the specifics of new media ;md why it: .is ,!u.sciJied w refer to such media
as new. This is not to S<l)' that thest; authors present an <trgument that a!! that
is 'old' is j:'tw/ and (Jf no rdcv,mce w underst.mding the nature of new media:
far from it. h is rather lO say th<1t, in so br ns it is legi!imatc tl mlk about
new media, there an; some organising themes and concepts, The 20 key
concepts <tre listed in aiphabt:tical order rather than in any perceived orckr of
signifit.,<HJec, and they will all he recurring through this hook.
1. Collective intelligence
Cl)l/ative inuJJigencc is a term used by Levy {1997) ;md de Kcrdzhove (i 998) Hi
refe1: to the cap;lcity nf networked lC'Is to c,yponentiully enh<m\:t' tht: collective
poiJl of social knowkdg; hy simultaneously rbe estent of human
interactions em1bled by commur1k:H:ions network;; that can generatt: new
knowledge, lllld the greMJ:y enhanced catladty to codify, store, mld n:rrieve
such knmvledge through collective access to ncnv<Jrked dat;1hases. 'fhis
Flew, T. (2008) Twenty key new media concepts. In, New
Media : an Introduction. (pp.21-37). 3rd ed. South
Melbourne : Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195551495.
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n:c;w capat'ity w coJ!abon:n:ivdy devclop, distribute, share. am! unuuwaican:
is central t<J :trgum<mts that we arc novi in a krmzdct(gc
The concept of 1,:oikctive. sdf-organising knowledge networks i$ also central
to claims tll;1t fl(itn <:ourt:t softw:m! development will generate superior onl>
cornes to p,opriemry software devdnped within cnrpmarions, there is the
scope to hame!\s the hive' ofknowiedge th:n e>:isrs within :1 particip;lttng user
community (Haymond 2005}.
2. Convergence
Omvergencc refers iu the tirsr in:>tanc\; to inn:rlink:inf+ of cqmputing and
iT comrnunie<tion;; net,vorks, and nl<::db c<mtent rh;lt n\:C1trred with the
deninpment ;;nd popubrisntion uf the Internet, ;md the convergent products,
servKcs, :wd aGivities thn have enH:rged in the digital media :'pact. ;Viany :;ee
the tlp nf the iceberg-, since a!! aspo:ts of instirutiord ;)t.:tivity
and !ife---fmm an to g<.JVenunent to journalism, healch <llld
tducation, and beyond----m\c im:rc:tsing!y conducted in thi" interactive digi-
t<tl media envirmunem, acro5s n pl;:thura of networked ICr
Aostnlian, Res;;Jnh Council Cemre of for Cn;ative Indvst:rit:s
and lnmJVJl'ion (CCI) rhis n:t<kt.-tm:y for >xmvcrgenee as shmm .in
Figu.re 2.1.
For writets such as TlvHnas Friedman (200'). this is in turn genern1ing
3 global 'flat e;lrth', wber<: acti<i6t:s eondw.:te.J thrmlg'h digi.t;ll media nm
occur in any !X1rt of the world, It is noted in Chapter:; 9 and IO of this hnok
th<lt there eire r.;:awn.s to questim1 this dain:l, that culture, policy and
orher variahks remain critical w the g'.:.:ogr:<phicll lo<:ation of ne;v mtd.ia
pankalar!y wlth the shift toW;)rds a global knowledge economy.
CuiturRI
!ndu;W!es
The scc<>ml clement of convergeno.: is the morphing of ck:viccs (cornpmt:rs,
mobile phones, etc) :;s becomt: mnlti .. pmpose conduits for a
range of activities involving nu::di;L h >vas [ that
tnnds wwnnh, <:onvcrgeuce coexist with trends towards
oflCT (Zetie 20{H).
Creative industries
VVhilc the ten.n 'creative has Its origins in;; policy in1ti;1tivc
Blair Labour govonm.:nt in the lJnited Kingdom to link ;he ::uts, media,
llnd ICT sectWS more in ec-mwmic and export.
.l !J9g), it has gained wider '.;urn:ncy :1 result
H link crcatidry and v\en!th gem:mtion
and servi<:es dcvdoped and distrihmed usiug JCls. H;utley ddine .. 'i the !erm
as describing rhe concepnwl ;;nJ pMctic<t1 cr.mvergcnc<: of the cn:;ttive :lrts
(individu;;l with cn!tmal industries (rnas!l scale), in the context of
me,Jia tedmolugies (information :and cormntmicatinn . .,,.fj
within ,, new knowiedhr.;: for the 11se of
consumers' (Hardey 2005: i\s this definition ck<lr, the rise of the
creative industries se:cn not ;;s ilr1 of pnbb.e w
support creative hut rather, as being inextricably linked rn ;;W;,:w
medi2, globalisation, and th>:; knowledge econmny, 'While
and how m
me,1surc their size and growth, and term itself is in SQmt: (see
Hesmondha!gh 2007 for n penpe .. ir: capn:re;; the
extem to which individual creativity is inc:re;1&ingly seen a<t a cnrt' intangible
il\St:t in the devdopment of new ::tnd compdling coment in iniJ;raclive
tal media environments, and the to which ncnvorked 1Glll :>
detnncratising of the for in n1t'dia production.
Arguably the most inHm,ntial nc\v media concept oi th: .l
the metaphnr wwd t:<' <lt'ltribe the 'sense of :a sodal rhat exists
purdy wirhin a of represent\ltion and cm:mmmk:ation ... ir exist;; entirely
within a cmnputcr space, distributed cm:;;;s cmnplt:x and fluid
w::hv-orks' \Slater 201:U: The term \vas first hy the science fiction
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the 'wodd in the wires', and 'the matrix', in which tTansnationrt! corpm:tt!ons
trade infl:mnacion in a space tlur is visual, orJercd, and ch:ctmnic (Kitchin
JQ9H: 2). Popularised in the, 1990s by Int<:rneL activists such as John
Ba dow and \1 itche!l Ktpor ( npparcn dy first med in a 199 3 speech given
by Bar.bw to CL\ operatives, accortl5ng to S!rceter ::SB--9]), the tenn
wok off as both mtt.aphor and myth becw&c: it earm; m c;.pcme four cure
dernc.nts of the lntcmct as t digimHr !ktworkcd env[.ronmcnt.
First, ir rle:>cribed the flow:<. nf digiml data through the network of intercon-
nected com putcrs that wa;; both not 'real' ---sim:e one cnu!.d nm spatially
it or fed it as <1 tangible ohiect--<md dearly 'rt:af in it:, effects. The popular
pht:lsc i;; where your money is' etptm:ed the encnt to which
globallinanci:il instimtions had been ksders in rhc: devdupment nf such digital
rwtworks, and decision" maJe within th<::se instimti.tms of digttul mjJitulism
could h:wc great impacts on peopk yet not he located in an identifiable plan:
where ;;uch decision!' could he cnnnolled. cybersp;ice WH5 the site nf
romputcr--NmJi.ttcd toumtm;i,fttifm (CA:lC}, in which online relationships and
alternative forms of online identity were enacted, raisin.g impommt questions
:1bout the social psychology "'t h1tcmct usc, the relationship between 'online'
:md 'offline' f(Jnns of life and irm:ractinn, and the n:lationship between the
'real' and the virtual, 'Third, it drew Jttention to the remcdim:itm nf euh:un:
through m:w medin technologies, and the extent to which the lnt(!l'Het h<1S
never sirnp!y he(:n comnmniccninns tool, bur a cultnra! form and 'a social
m its own righr ... fwhich! means looking ;H the of communien-
tion, and idl'miry th:lt <Ire prmJuc<.:d wirhin this ;odal sp<H'C, :mJ how
;lrf.: sust:1incd u;;ing rl1e re;;ou.rces aYailable within this onJin;;; setting'
\Slater 2002 5Bl. Finallr, because cybo:;pacc was pr("Sented as a qu:1lit:1tivdy
new space, h. was seen as providing: new (\ppornmities to reshape soci<::ty :md
culture, whed1cr through identities, hnrderless
:wd culture, or the rediscovery of puwerful myths such as the 'American
Dream' and !!on tier civiHs.nion 2004). Cyb.:rspacc a" myth nnd meta-
phor was rJ:rus integrally linked to the surrounding the Internet that has
surh a recuning feature of new media discour;;e.
Oigitai capitalism
Political economists such ns Dan Schil.ler
(1999, 2003), Vincent Mosco
have used this term to
Robert McChesney
and Philip Graham (1000, 2006)
and the J.ntcr.net revolution'
sectnr tn prominence in the global capitalist economy, conslimting the core
infn.Jsuncture of glob! (:ommerce and the bstt:st growing sectors of inter-
natiunai Rather than seeing this h:ralding a 'new ccom1mv',
they argue rhat such trends mark the eon::.o!id:Hion ,md intensihe;ltion of
taiist rdations on a gioba! :1s iJ\fonn:lrion incn:asinglr c-lmnmdilied
as int<:llectual pmpeny thruugh digital Political e{'Onomists have
stre,;scd rl1e !wy role pbyed by tnE!iiional corpon tinns sud1 ilS
News c,,rporation and Time--\ii;'amN' in the n.:w <.:nvironnwm, and
art.rue t.har there i,; in fact a fnrth.er conccntt:ltinn of media . ,wnersbip and
control m:currinf:, alon)!Side ,1 growinj!; imematinnal dit,ritai div1dt het\leen
information 'havt:s' and 'h:1\d;-Hob ,_
6. Digital copyright/Creative Commons
A central par;1dox of media has hcen the l'>:lY in ,,bich digitisatiun :l::i a
tt:..:hnologJC:ll process h:a,; m<Jdc the copying, disrrihm.ion, nu:;c, and repilll!OS
ing nf all forms of media eomem almost intinitely simpler and quichl\ while
;:tt the same time the bws that guvern tht ownersb1p. u!ie, acc<:';s, :md finand:li
payment for ;rH:h nmtent have become strict:r. \Vhiie eopy-
ri!tht hw has alwav::. contained tensions l>eiN.:cn rt:<lson:1b!t li>r
......- <' >
its orie.>'inal creaturs and E1i use f(w nrm-cmnrncrcial purpose-; in the pnbiic
domain, in copyright law in tht: 1990s and :WOOs have seen n.ew
m:maging the mvuership am! use of intellectual properry that many
critics arf:,rue unduly bendit t.he twmers of existing mpynghtnhie mmer!aL
to the detriment of lle\V :1pphc<ltion.s nf rb1r reuse existing ttigiu!
omtcnr in rw>v and inn.:natit<: wav;; (l.essit:r 200 l, 2004: V:1idlrv<1mlth:m 200!;
.., . . ' . ' ._J >
Perdman 2002). ;m altemar.in: t<J thi:-: use of!:1w lu tst:ahiish monopoly
through intellectual property rights (lP'Rs) as a pan of digit,!! capiulism, the
Creative Commons movement hi<S hought to em1ble ;,uthors, artists, scientists,
educators, and other of original .::ontcnt t<} c:mthlish mort: lle!iible yet
legally sound principles through which their work can used and repl!rposed
to serve non-cnmm;;rcial, puhlit: good principles \Cn:at1n: Con:unom, 2\!07).
1. Digital divide
The J\"ational i{!ecommuniz:;u:ion and lnfnrmation A.dministration
this terrn in Jts ..f<.ftliing J!:trtntglt .Net in !at{: l990s into tf:t";.::
diffen.:nth1l at(;CSS to ncrworked persont!.l trm.lptners. It ha; been ddined as
'rhe to and use of the Internet m::cnrdin:r to income,
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race, and ioC'Jt'itm' tRice 2002: 106}. The term has :ilso been in
a<; the lfnitd
i'<m1ons ohs<:r'i,;:d in 19'15. 'mo.re than half of rhe population lives
nHwt th;<n rwo hours from a in Couldry 2002: !ofJ).
ln m overview of digital dhride
importantm
:1CC{:$S hctween narimh based en access ro networked 1Cl' infrwstmcn1res,
lnrernet
that
inch1de CPP')fluniue;, tr; in online erwironments
2002). Murdock and th:H becau;,e thv computing
so quickly, and
to learn the5;;' new are unequally distributed, inequalirics in the digital
ewvin.>m:ntnt continue to rdkct other soun;es of social
One of the wn:;;t widely used in sxi:l.l theory
i'> a t.:rm used ro both describe and make sense <d:;; ''cries of inu;,ndawd
sHch 61;; (;f n1u.hin:.aionaJ intern:;\ ...
donal prodnccioR and 11nanci:;J iiystems; iuternational conmmnications
mon;rnems ,_,r and the increasingly multicuhuml nature
sojat rHovenlenrs
a:' the envi.romnent<ll m<A(:rrv:nr: of internation;i1 govern-
nWnt\l org-.<.nisat.ions trding b!oe'l, and international non-
gover:mncnt;1i anrl gli!l;al conllkts sud; as the 'war
on tt:rmr' ;tfter att<H:k; on rhe \-'/(Jrld Ti:m:k Center imd tht: on
1,.
September l ! , 2001. \V11.ik mrmy of ,u..o not
nnd enlpirt: have been a of the wnr!d systt:m ilt lellst <;ince Columbus
crossed thr: Atlmnic m 1492---th.:ir imerco1mectedness
an: by -il.S 2 stage in sociat
rha! t"nablt 'bordcrles;;' comnn.m.k:arion, nev.c 1m:di;1 are cem.ml
to debates 2bont its GlobaHsation bas both its
advrJt.:ates (e.g. 1998; L<:gTain 2002; .FriedmtA.l'l critics
lvbnd;;r & (h;.Jdsn<ith 1996; Barbt:r 1000; of 1t;;
critics on th polidc.ai L-eft .in
hut the extenL to which d1e term J'> used cov1:r UJ extend tht power of
mnlt:inatkma! corporations in an age of digital capitllisrn; <lS the Murxist \Hirer
(;WOl: ill). nu':t:s s question, which is the extent to which tht
trends with globalisation mark a qualitmhr in rhe !Mrrcrn of
economic, political, and cultural relations within bttween stares :md
of long-est;iblisht:d trends. Argument<: that propose th:n
out a fundarnental shift in soci11l :rehlrions have heen termed .mw1g "'"'!wll,,Jt
arguments (Flew & McElhinney Ly rhert ;;re dwse who c:m
be described ,1s globttlistltirm sceptit's (e.g. Hirst & rhomps(lll I
)f!t t!w C:\tent tn which nuny of the developments :1ssoci:1ted with
tio.n are rwr historicdly m:w. nnd question the pnliticill mntivv'i d1<Jt lie ixhind
glolmiisa!ion hype Oi.x an overview of thtcsc sec Flev: 20iF).
9.Hype
A. ftoature of the devdop1m:nt of the Intemet and tht'
of dig.it:al rnedia tedmolngio:s has been their c:lp:Jdty to genet:ux
how these te(hno!ogles v>iU cb>;nge typic2lly for the bt:tter. List:e:r
and colleagues (20{H: 11) ohs<:red that this is un inherent of discourses
su:rmundi:ng ncw mcdiu to the mode:r:nist belief in
ht:ing 'The "m:'w" is "the cutting edge", 1lHc
the phv::e for fi1rward to be'. Such prophetic
chamcterised nwny Internet in the 1990s (e;g. Dy'Son et ,,L
1994; Rhdng<1ld l':N4; Negrnponte 1999), which
in tnm t<:nd.::d to generate dd.n:mkiog that looked ar the dowmides
of the new techno!op;ies ;md sought to revet!l rh;1t the digital had m:-
dorhes (Postman 1993; Sale i995; SmU l<nhins &\Vebster 1999). 'fhis
hetween narrow
2002
triven ;vay m more cmpiri.::a.liy "'"''-''-'1.1'-'""'
(Silver 2000; Fkw 20\H; \Vdlnum
com cn;sh of :wo 1 a!su revealed very
Tlwdot.
In
around m::v; media companies that rested on fatally flr;wcd busiJwss
1\t the sarnc time, the extent w wb,ich
beeause it hdp::; to boost share prices, persuade
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cyberspace possesses not only political, and economic properties,
but is also oonstituted as a form of cultural myth, offering possibilities of
transcending the limits of contemporary society and the material wo.rld.
10.1nformation overload
The Internet has given its millions of users worldwide unprecedented access
to a plethora of infOrmation. It was estimated that that there were about
30 billion Web pages worldwide in {i'ebruary 2007 (Boutell 2007), while tire
Wikipedio at. the end of 2006 had over 1.5 million entries in English alone. Yet
the availability of so much information, and the increasing speed with which
information is sent to users, generates the problem of information overload.
The. problem is not simply dealing with well-known 'Net nuisances' such as
spanuning or the making of fraudulent claims online, but relates to a problem
inherent in the Internet as a source of information. The philosopher Gordon
Graham has pointed out that when the term 'information' is used of online
content, it refers only to the capacity to access digital data from a computer
or other networked device. The fact that this bears n.o relation to the quality
or usefulness of the data generates the problem, since we typically understand
infonnation as an epistemologically normative term, because 'to he newly
possessed of information implies that we know something we did not know
before. But "digital information" can store mimiformatirm , .. as much as it can
store the truth, so that the text or images .it generates may be wholly misleading
and produce erroneous belief rather than knowledge' (Graham 1999: 89). This
tendency to con:flate infOrmation in the frJrm of digital data with knowledge i<>,
for Gr.1ham, an example of misleading hype, and he argues fnr the need 'not r.o
confuse the power of the Internet as a form of communication with its value as
a conveyer of (epistemologically significant) information ... All the undeniable
advantages of the Internet make it as powerful an instrument fur deception
and misintormation as for ln10wledge and learning' (1999: 90).
11. lnteractivity
lnteractivity is generally seen as a centra! feature of new media, although
there is t'Oilsiderable debate about its meaning. It is typically presented as a
feature of new media that distinguishes them from 'old media', which could
only offer passive consumption. Lister and colleagues (2003: lO) observe
that interactivity 'stands for a more powerful sense of user engagement
with media texts, a more independent relation to sources of knowledge,
CHAPTER2 TWENIY KEV NEW MEOlA CONCEPTS
individualised media use, and greater user choice'. \Vhile many forms of
media offer some form of interactivity (e.g. digital television, D\lDs), the
unique features of the Internet .in this regard relate to the distinctive
ofinterconnectivity and interoperability. Interconnectivity refers to the <.-apacJty
to easily connect interactions across different networks, while intl.'rOperability
refers to the capacity to access all available forms of information and media
content using different operating systems. One of the unique achievements
in the h.istory of the Internet was th(! way in which the adoption ofT ransmis-
sion Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (l'CP/IP) as a common switching
protocol for interconnecting networks promoted both interconnectivity and
.interoperability.
Interactivitv can occur at many .levels and degrees of engagement.
McMillan (2005) argues that it is important to differentiate three levels of
interaction: (1) uscr-to-u,'ier interaction, or the ways in which computer-
mediated communication intersects with, or is at odds with, other rules,
codes, and conventions of interpersonal communication; (2) para-social inter-
action, where online media generate new forms of user engagement with
the content, which may range from the navigational practices of accessing
and organising content to generate hypertext 'pathways', to d1e immersive
practices associated with engagement with 'rich media' content such as
multi player online games; and (3) user-to-system interactivity, or the ways in
which users engage with the devices they are using, as srudicd in fields such
as human-computer interaction (HCI) (cf. Reeves & Nass 2002).
Whether enhanced interaL'tivity is synonymous with enhanced fonus of
participation \\ith new media remains an open question. Tun Berners-Lee,
one of the original developers of the World Wide Web, saw the concept
of inter-activity as it had developed on the Internet by the late 1990s as too
constrictive, since it focused on the ability to access and choose content and
not on the capacity to create and distribute new content. Berners-Lee (2000:
183) argued instead that the Web needed to be about inttnreativit:y, or 'the
process of making things or solving problems together. If intet<activity is not
jnst sitting there passively in front of a display screen, then intercreativity is
not jm;t sitting there in from of something "interactive"'.
12. Knowledge economy
The claim that the 21st century is marked by the rise of the knowledge
economy points to,tbteincreasingly important role played by information.
technology, and learning in wealth creation and economic competiti\eness
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(t:.g. OE.CD l
there is the
He behind this argnmem.
shift in employment from agriculwre .wd industry
towards tht and information sectors. Nor:1 and i\1inc 0 981) ob<;erv<:d
tint tht: ;.mmbcr of eJnplnyed in agriculture; ,md manuf,;cturing
in the USA fdl from 55 per cent in i94ti t.o 30 per cent ]:;go,
ami rhat i.n inti:mmnion-rdated rose fr,.nn 20 per
oYer 405 per cent (JVcr tht: same period. Similarly, Castdls and .\Qy:una
(l994) fvund t!J<tc the pmpm:tkm of thz' population involved in rhe handling
grew by 80 per cent
in the US/\. 19:?0 n.nd 1\190.
accelerate the production (tf new v""",r-"
new media and IC1s
(D:nid & Foray 2002). They
tbnmgh !Wtworh:d lhta-
b:Jses, promnting: online interaction between designers, producers, ,md users,
and dnunat.kaHy the speed with which new knowledge can be
disstmi.nan:d into ;be puhli<: doJnain. In tlwse 1vays, pnJm)tc not only
new knowk:dge, hut the of imdligt:u.;:c all knowledge
domains. Fi;Hlly, it is :1rgued that inuovation, or the development <>f new
prmhKts and mrw 'comes to sol.t! nK:ans to smv:ive
and prosper in highly cm.npetitive and g!obai.is<;,l ;;:c:onomics' (DaYid <'k For;;y
2002: ! J ). ,,\;:, knowlcdg< is not ;.ynonymous with informmion, chis presents
rhe qut'ition of how m prmm,te ind.ivh:lual cn:ativity and fosttT kuovvledge
networks ;unong with.in and outside org:misati.Jn!i. the evidence
<Hl kntwledge creation ;wd knowledge n;;.nsfer indicates that 'there are
to ""'ot:king \reH peopie n111y he hy
technology' (Bmwn & Dn&;'llid 2000: 146), One t:nnsequwce of the increas-
ingly rnu.:mctive as networked nature (}fdigit<li media i'i
the rist> of user-it'd irNwVtftion, us us<:r" of online product.<;; ;md scorvkt'S are not
si!nply but lnnovmrs in their own
13. Networks
T'he centrality of:ncrwork:; and nt:rworking w new media needs to be
stood ar levds. rhc Internet ,L;; it:selfa ted:mittJf 1/t'I''/J'f!rk, or a global
'u<;twork of net;.vorks'. At the core of its physical infntstnJcture arc the w.ires,
(ahles, wireless transmission and so on that provide the .;:ap<lcity to
c<wry large :m1outlts of inf) .. ,rm:adon to 11 series of interconnected pnims. The
internet has exceeded the of ea.rlier net>vorln:d communie;tticrns
systems, s:w,:h as the tekpbone system, ali a result of im n1arrh: stntcture, w.herc
::1ll senders and re<;ein:rs ,;rc imen.onn.::cted thronr.;h :1
<n serv\!.rs
1
distribute regardless
of the initial 1{wn1 encoded by the signal and
tht: enduser. Second, is the ""'"''"'"'"'
in social 1wnvork analysis >b
namn; elf links between
managing resonrce tlows,
a.nd maintaining d.urabie of
third is that of Iu the \vork uf
Castells in panicubr, networks 'constitute the new social
societies' 19%: tn the poim
strm:n.1n of the .htfoml;ltiun
ln Castdls' wodc, the technological tcvolmion with the
and necworked JCTs and the 1'0d,;! <nmsfm:m,uion ro .,. global information:!!
cconorny b:1scd around networks ;trc Unked, it has
with the technologic:tl advances u:>sflciatcd wirh new media that
C:lpacity of networks tn operate at: n and )eve! of
lx:come the dominant mode of stK:i;J! org;misation. ln p;trticular, ""'"'''"''"'""
fhrms of organisation are !men as being the driV<-rs of
,,.f,,,bniisa,tinm at the economic, and cutttm:tl levels <lr'id in terms
of media use ;m.d i.dentit.y fonnadon (Castell:; 2001,
14. Participation
1n the new media punicip;ltinn is a <:t!tl<.:cpt used in three V{:ws.
First:, in the mnn:xt of the digital di,,ide, it refers to in access to
ne'v m.ediu and tht: opporrunh:y to nse ICTs to panidpae as a. u.;;er, worker,
dtizen, or comumer. At a ginbal kvd, it reters tn the t1a:cd by
developing countries in being involved in the
development of ICE (see e.g. \VS1S 2003). secnml u;;<:: idenrifit': the
distinctive propen:ieti of ne'.\' media make it more open and
than tradition,,! communic:.uions and (:WOO)
argue that new media rl'lquires a rethinlcin.g of trnrlitiona1 sender-recdver
models of conHmmh::ldon, since 'Imernninn .. , dcmaxhls a ni<OWt:: (or
muiti-direetiorml) mo.id of communic:1tion.. \Vith the feantres of
new media, tbe teceivt;J i;s tecognistd '15 :m active participant.' rnc extent to
which rtiffe.rcnt f(>nT!S of new media invite user partidputi.m is highly varia hie,
ami nud1ors such
7
5
is synonymous with participation. At the user level, Mayfield (2006) has
developed the fJfr.er /trw ofpart:ir:ipntifm (Figure 2 .2), observing that the model
of collective intelligence associated with Wch 2.0 is not necessarily at the high
end of potential user engagement with different forms of online media.
The third use of the term relates,to the second, and concerns the question
of whether the partidpttto:ry l:'tdt:ure that is promoted by new media Qenk:ins
1006a,b) is connected to wider processes of democratisation of media access
:md u.<:e in tile context of the rise of the crt!41i:ve industries, and what Hartley
(1999b, 2005) has referred to as 'DIY citizenship' and .Bruns (2005) describes
as the rise of the 'prod-user' (cf. Dew..e 2006).
Figure 2.2 The power law of participation
Colllt:tiVe
lntelligellGe
Favorite
Read
Low Threshold
Tag
C
Subscribe
omment
15. Remediation
Collaborative
Intelligence
lead
Moderate
Collaborate
Ref actor
Write
Network
Share
High Engagement
Source: Ma'{fieid 2000
Bolter and Grusin (2000) have proposed remediation as a way of thinking
about the relationship between media forms that is not couched in terms
of a transition from 'old media' to 'new media'. Arguing that the relation-
ship between media forms is a 'genealogy of affiliations' rather than a 'linear
history', they propose that 'no medium ... <.'lll1 now function independently
and establish its ow'l1 separate and purified space of cultural meaning'
(2000: 55). They observe two apparently contradictory featnres of digital
media design and new media content, First, there is the desire to establish
immediacy in the relationship between the user. :md the content, to generate
a sense of'being there' that seeks to ef.face;ttl.eenent ro which this :interaction
CHAPTER2 TWENTY KEY NEW MEDIA CONCEPTS , -
is technologically mediated in order to enhance its realism and immediacy.
vv11ile Web cams, Web logs (blogs), and Yi.Ju1ube video feeds are an example
of this in the new media environment, contemporary reality 1V programs
such as Big Brother represent a similar tactic from 'old' media, offering
their audiences a more unmediated, more real form of access to the show's
contestallts, along with the opportunity to shape the reality of the contestants
through technologically mediated interaction. Second, there is the e1<1:ent to
which digital media content is generated hy the combination and collage of
already existing media content that is reassembled in the digitally networked
environment. Examples such as the online 'repurposing' of prim and
cast media content on wehsite.c; are obvious examples, but Bolter anc:l Gntsin
(2000: 96-9) also draw attention to more distinctive :md innov-ative modes of
remediation, such as the appropriation of a range of well-establishe,l filmic
techniques related to character, narrative, plot devices and in
computer games.
16. Security and surveillance
The Internet has generated a plethora of new information :md personal
issues, which range from email spamming, computer virus proliferation and
online harassment to forms of cyber-fraud and identit)' theft. The fact that the
law nearly always lags behind new issues related to information security has
meant that the ICr industryitselfhas frequently taken the lead in developing
technologiC'al solutions to such problems. This has in tum raised issues about
government sovereignty, democratic participation, corporate uses of personal
infornmtion, and the scope for new forms of S'IJ.rveiilimce. At the heart of many
questions about information security are the tensions between visions of the
knowled1,re economy that are grounded in notions of digital copyright and
infonnation as private property, and the Internet as a creative commons
based around the social sharing of knowledge in order to build collective
intelligence. The ambiguous position of the hacker in these debates, whose
activities in accessing computer systems and reproducing and altering data on
them are both highly illegal yet possibly essential in exposing design flaws in
such !>)'Stems, i.s indicative of the complex legal and political environment in
which such information security questions arise (Dyer-\Nitheford 2002).
Lyon (2001) has argued that a combination of interconnected digital
technologies, from the,\cookies' left on personal cotnputers by \Veb browsers
co mark acceSsed sites, ro dosed-.circuit televisions (CCIVs) in various urban
7
6
spaces, have led to th.e rise a surveilimlcc Jnc;u-es the li:mr key
ckments of a:, tbe g:rowingnse oflGis to mark and
locJte where people are ;lt part:kuhu times in order to conrdin,ne activities
hett;:r; rhe rmnmg:ernent of risk of nrious forms, from 1he comparatin:ly low-
h:vel---weHim;: fraud, oilwpl.ifting, stred crim.;----to the risks with
bqfe-:,cale tcrmrist ac!ions; the balance between person;d privacy and the use
of informntion by various :'le>uro.;-s, from to lnsnm.nce
;1g:ncks and m<lrketers; n:nd the questions of power with wh() has
to such information, an<i informntinn is accessed, or who watche;;
and 'vho is :\s Lyon nmes, one of the great paradoxes
Jf rJH: use of IC!s to ;lddn::ss security cfaKerns is that ';he <!ppi.ications of
redmology tQ dsl; m:utagcmem in the sodal ;-;phen:. tht:mselP.:s he read
;<sa risk' (2'001: 7). This point has ;r,mde by many in relation to n1rious
fonns of anti-terrorism :;uch as the US R4.TNlOT Ail"' passed by
hut:h ( Iouses of thc lJS Cnngress in tiw immediate aftcrmnth of
l ! . 'fhe is:.me also leen raised in rebtion to new media companies sw.:h as
Coogle and Yahoo! agreeing to cooperate wi.d1. in the
Pt.:nple's t<epuhlic of China 11nmnd Internet censo-rship provisions.
17,Speed
!Sew medi<t (:nahk us tn do th.illg; nwre quickly. Activities such as
funds benvcen hank '"cumr:.t'i. emoUin1;1: in a or !:myi.ng- an
ticker c-.Jn now be. eornplered in minutes. bdlwc they could oft..:n
hours. Se;m:h r:ngines ;;-ueh as c;ooglc also give us fllStJ.Ilt to
dovmload.abk from our pr:.rson,11 cn:rnpm:t:rs. 'flu: lnt<.:rnet has
gcnt:r.m:d a 24-hour nc'.v" ('yde, Nhere it is expected th;lt online an;
e(mstantly updated n<.:''"" i.nfr-,nnation emerges, rather than relying on the
ttadiriunal time routine:\ of print or broadc:;st new;; production .. Nlicrosoft
founder HilJ c;ates (l 999} identified '\:msiness at the ;;peed of thoug-ht' as
the: w suct..:<:ss in the econ,)my, -.vhile popalar texts such a". Faster:
Tbc A,-,-dermirm About B:.'t-rytbing (Gleid:. 2000) cmd nu' Futztre ]u.rt
HltfJIWned {Lewis 2001) dn;;w ;mention to the connections made ber-.,vl't.'n
speed and new 11tedia. Ct>.a.nny-Frands (lUOS) has that one of the key
way> in wh.ich we !CIS an.d \Neh c;ontent sines is thdr speed:
hm\ quickly can relt.'vlint rull.terial be uploaded, downlo.-Hled, distrihmed,
aml mo<.!iiied. 'fhe question whether this emphasis on speed is ha\ing a
corrosive impact on politics, culture, and. st1ciaHife rai.ted by the
Canadian wmnmnicarions theorist l Iarold lnni;.; ( ]<
1
51) in his critique oF the
bias oft!Jmtmmimtion in lOth-centtwF medi:l. Contemporary dworists
such l.!S P:ml \"irilio have the impact of ne-w medin in terms of
;ttxekrrrted motfc,Hit!' (Redhe:lti 2004), whilt.: Ala.ttdan (2003) ha:' r<:ferred to
neo- Darwinism', whkh feri>hes speed :n rh<.: expense of critical
:md ret1eedve thought.
18. Ubiquity
ln the co;Hext nt:w mcdi;1, ubiquiry refers to the t')O:Cnt ro which the
Lifcration of digital the dtmsiry <md intereonnectednts'i of llt'l'I.Vorks,
and both rhc multiplicity of forms of use :md the rou.tim: m\tute of ust'S of
neVI' media see new mdht incn:asingty cmhedded in all of
life. \Vhi!e new media in dw 199\)s lar!!dY assodated >Vith dw Interne!
as ;Jecessed from computers, and for l.l!Ot>t people computers w.:;;re
boxy d<:vku; with screens that sat on desks, in dw the rnnge of digital
devices that enahie access to !.nformm:ion and communication services in ways
that maximise speed and mobilizr has pxuJ)fr;:rated. At the s;tme l.ime, the
that ICT were rilway"l' tied to compvtcrs W;1S ahnty;,
a to exam ph;, the micmware oven has <liway:; es:!e:t!J'\:ntv
a ..:omptlter used for the purposes of food, but is
appeal more to <Xlnstmlers. (tfi fiKJd prt:partlti(m device.
() 998) wnrk rm rbe invhible comprtt't' drawn to the
of design ;md usability in the appeal of new te<hno!ogi:s to tx>nmme.!-"', in
rehn:ion w question:> nfhu.m:m-rxnnputer i.nte.raction and interaction design.
Recent initiatives around the disttppewring computer have raised the question
of what will it mean for rhe fuwre development of lCls and new rncdia a_.;;
'computers rJjsappear from the s<.enc, become invisible, and disappear lrom
the perception of the use1s', who seek tbdr commtmication
and cap .. .abi!it.it:s !Streitt; & Nixon 2005: 34; cf.
Compt!l.:er 20{!4).
At one level, all Internet content is user-gtnerat<.d. :1s th.; medium
very natur,;: intera;;tive, Iuo.:ks of communicm-imL
The phenmnenon content, however, refers spedjcllUy
m
7
7
media content engage in new forms of large-scale participation in digital
media spaces. Massive multiplayer online games (1\L.V10Gs), for instance,
derive their particular dynamism a.-; media forms from the productivity of the
players themselves, and the ,inve&tments they make in the evolution of the
game itself (Humphreys 2004). They represent a model of media production
that is recursive, non-linear, and ongoing, leading to the emergence of what
Bruns (2005: 23) has termed, in relation to online news sites, the rise of the
who engages with such sites interchangeably as both a. producer
and a consumer, often simultaneously. Such an understanding of the online
u..r;er as participant in co-production points in the direction of the open
source movement in the software development realm, artd its championing
of t.'Ollective intelligence as the cornerstone of better software in the software
realm. This;in turn Jinks to what von Hippel (2005: l) has described as user-
led innovatibn, and the tJmwcrqtisttifm of innrlvflti(l'fl, where 'users of products
. firms and individual con.'lWners--arc increasingly able
:to inn<Wate !for themselves' and, through digital networks in the knowledge
economy, these innovations can be distributed, shared, and improved upon
by u..-;er com:munities.
20. Virtuality
One of the feamres of new media is that it enables forms of interaction
through computer-mediated communication that are separated in both time
and space and have a potentially global reach through digital networks. The
Internet has also promoted the amverg!fftce of modes of communication from
one-to-one (e.g. email), one-to-many (e.g. and many-t(.)-many
(interactive 'real time' online spaces) that challenge.<> tTaditional hierarchies
between senders and :receivers of communication and between producers
and consumers of media content. The 1990s saw a plethora of works that
drew attention to this 'virtual' nature of communication and d.iscusscd the
emergence of virmal communities (e.g. Rheingold 1994), virtual identities
(e.g. Turkle 1995), virtual reality (e.g. Levy 1998), and ways of 'being
digital' (e.g. Negroponte 1995; Tapscott 1998) that offered newer and better
possibilities of life and experience in the 'online' worl.d than in reality, or
what was f.tshionahly referred to at the time as the 'offline' world. \v'hile it
was not hard to identify a strong degree of unsubstantiated hype behind such
propositions (see e.g. Lockard 1997; Robins & Webster 1999; Slater 2002),
and elements of the 'digital sublime' (Mosco 2004), the question of how
CHAPTER2 TWENTY KEY NEW MEOlA CONCEPTS -
particip.ttion in virtual environments intersects with the everyday experience
of those involved in sustained CMC remains an important one. VVoolg-ar
(2002) has proposed 'five rules of virtuality' that draw on extensive research
in the United Kingdom on uses of new media:
1 Both the uptake and uses of new media are critically dependent on
the non-ICT-related contexts in which people are situated (gender,
age, employment, income, education, nationality).
2 Fears and risks associated with new media are unevenly socially
distributed, particularly in relation to se<,urity and surveillance.
3 CMC-mediated or 'virtual' interactions supplement rather than
substitute for 'real' activities.
4 The int.Toduction of more scope for 'virtual' interaction acts as a
stimulus for more face-to-face or 'rea\' interaction.
5 The capacity of 'virtual' communication to promote globalisntion
through communication that is spatiaJJy disembedrled encourages,
perhaps paradoxically, new forms of 'lo<.11.lism' and the embedding,
rather than the transcendence, of identities grounded in a sense of
place, belief} experience, or practice.
USEFUl WEBSITES
WikipeditJ <en.wikipedia.org/wikVMain_Page> and (Joogle <:w>vw.google.com>. rhc
largest online enc}'Clopedia and the world's largest Internet search engine arc
the rwo obvious starting l)Qints for getting infi:lrnlation on new media cont:,"t!pts, who
uses them, and the debateS l'.1.llrounding tbf.'tll.
Nctl' l'vledhl StfJ(/ics <www.ne-w1nediastudles.com>. David Ga.untlett, Professor of Media
and Communications at the University of Westminster, has maintained this lively and
quirky site since 2000. It is particularly focused on the telationship between media,
theory, identity, and the Web, and it accompanies his two books on Web studies
(Gauntlett 2000, 2004) as '\\'ell as uther works.
VOice ()fthe Shuttle <Vos.ucsb.edU>. First developed by Alan Liu at the University of
. Califomia in 1994, this site provides a remarkably rich range of resources
in the humanities, including <--yberc::u.ltwe and media stndies.

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