Although I am taking a class whose teachings center around "new media", it is almost impossible not to be surrounded by it in my every day life. Even though I like to think of myself as learned individual when it comes to new media, it seems that technology is moving and developing so fast these days that even the most knowledgeable person might find it hard to keep up. At first glance one might think that new media primarily surrounds just a handful of things and this is true, to an extent. However companies such as google and apple are consistently finding new ways to come out with "the next big thing" (i.e. "google wave", "I-touch", etc...) challenging their competitors to take action.
With all of this new media constantly being thrown in our face, there is one major area of new media I feel is being overlooked: rather the "cult" following associated with what mobile media device one uses for social networking. Through the progression and development of cell phones, we have been introduced to what I like to refer to as, "the smart phone". The earliest sign of smart phones which i can think of is "the palm pilot". Since then, new media users have been given the ability to choose from a wide variety of smart phones including the "blackjack", "treo", "I-Phone", "Blackberry", etc... Of all these phones I think its safe to say that the "I-Phone" and "Blackberry" are the mobile devices which gain the strongest following amongst their users. Literally everyone I know who has an "I-Phone" emphatically argues that it is the coolest thing in the world. Respectively, every (fellow) "Blackberry" owner will tell you that the it is much better then the "I-Phone" once you know how to use it and that "BBM's" are God's gift to earth.
Overall I feel as though these media devices, which I'm sure all of us couldn't live without, have become not only a major staple in our involvement with new media but in our day to day lives as well. These "phones" not only allow their users to gain access to their preferred areas of new media, but demonstrate just how important it has become for us to involve new media in our lives multiple times a day.
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Good point Michael, my cell phone use definitely demonstrates my dependance and interest in new media mediums such as social networking sites like Facebook. I find myself checking my favorite websites and Facebook on my Blackberry many times a day.
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ReplyDeleteEveryone in DC has a Blackberry because most people's carrier is Verizon and Blackberry has a contract with the government. When I go home everyone has an Iphone and Blackberrys are old news. I have a Blackberry too, but I am counting down the days until I get my iPhone next month. I don't think that there is anything better than an Iphone, and this is coming from a Blackberry user!
ReplyDeleteRemember when flip phones used to be all the rage? I am a proud user of my dinky little samsung, flip phone, but I can't hide my jealously of those with iPhones and blackberries.
ReplyDeleteLike Caroline said, I miss the days when it was cool to have a phone that flipped. Not so anymore, I have a Blackberry now but I miss having a phone that could probably survive an accidental swim or two. Now its much more important for phones to look cool and have instant access to other New Media forms like Facebook or Twitter.
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