No. 151 / Apr 19, 2021
Due to social distancing required by COVID-19, there has been an increasing shift toward accessing information through the media rather than directly outside. In light of this, let us learn more about the new media. Welcome to the new media!
The new media is a new information-transmitting medium created through the advancement of computers and communication technologies. It exists as adding new technologies. You can think of online newspapers, podcasts, video call platforms, YouTube, etc. Social media such as Instagram and Facebook, which constantly developing on a daily basis, are also part of new media. What are the main characteristics of the new media?
First, due to digitalization, data collection is easier, and target marketing based on big data is conducted. An Internet browser remembers the web address that the user visited without erasing it. Remembered information files about that previously visited address are called cookies. Cookies provide access to big data, including words searched by users, staying time, and frequently purchased items, and they are used for customized advertising. You can easily see that brand sneaker sales information appears on the Instagram application if you have searched for sneakers on your phone just right now.
Second, information could be reprocessed to make it more convenient. Sometimes, more practical and friendly information can be obtained. For example, in the recently aired drama Penthouse, the YouTube manager of a broadcasting company reprocessed the said drama into a YouTube video consisting only of certain scenes and called it “top-rated moments”, and it received about two million views. People do not have to watch the entire drama on television separately; instead, they can enjoy the drama more conveniently through 30-minute YouTube clips. Another example is that if you want to get information about the Ajou University Dormitory, you could also do so through blog posts and YouTube videos posted by Ajou University students, which are more practical and friendlier than official websites.
Finally, two-way communication occurs in new media. The term, meme first appeared in the book The Selfish Gene by British biologist Richard Dawkins, and it was defined as a non-genetic cultural element that can be stored in an object’s memory like a gene. It refers to a unit of cultural transmission or imitation. The singer Rain’s unique choreography of “GANG”, MBTI, and Muyaho (the word that recently became a popular using in a situation that responds to something ambiguously) are all memes. These memes were created and circulated through two-way communication, usually on social media.
In this day and age, the new media is all around us. Knowing of these main characteristics of new media, you can now make the most of the new media by greeting targeted marketing and practical reprocessed information, especially with two-way communication.
By Noh Hyun-jin, AG Cub Reporter
noh0605@ajou.ac.kr
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