The Tool and The Weapon
My aluminum foil hat is on and secure on my head. I know that I’m supposed to talk about Manovich, Packer and Jordan but I’ll save that for synthesis 3. I want to talk about the new media that is the internet. It is truly the bad place and I’m afraid we’re in too deep. Anne Wysocki challenged that “Manovich’s definition of new media as composed of computer data. . .” (Eyman 38) and she is correct. Society has had a hand in creating the new media that is the internet. In her explanation, I assume she is implying that new media requires transcoding and this is the natural order of digital spaces and technology. As badly as I would like to complete my normal blog posts, I have thoughts.
New Media: No Students, All Teachers
Historically, knowledge was controlled by institutions: universities, publishing houses and mainstream media dictated what was “valid” information. With knowledge decentralized, the shift from authoritative knowledge sources to open-source platforms and citizen journalism has negatively impacted conventional notions of authority and credibility. If everyone is a teacher, who the hell are the students? Where are the degrees? Where is the credibility? How do we define credibility in a digital world?
New Media Commodification: Attention in the Attention Economy
Attention markets, which incentivize user engagement, shape how creators design and distribute content. New media platforms prioritize engagement over accurate informative content reducing meaningful discourse and intentional online engagement. In a market where virality, clickbait, and outrage dominate algorithms, how can users resist manipulation? Social platforms amplify polarizing content over content that is informative or valuable. How can we engage with digital content on our own terms without letting platform incentives drive us? The attention economy does not just shape what we see, it shapes how we think. If new media trains us to seek constant stimulation, what room does it leave for deep thought (Remember when you used to ponder?!), creativity and nuanced discourse.
New Media: From Sole Creators to Collective Voices
In print culture (which is superior, by the way), authorship was largely seen as a solitary act. Digital spaces, however, introduces collaborative, decentralized and fluid forms of authorship. Multi-author environments reshape how creators produce, value, and interpret texts. New media challenges traditional ideas of creation, ownership, and authority—authors and users constantly update, delete, and alter digital texts. This shift begs the question: Who is the owner of the text? Digital spaces shift traditional notions of originality making authorship an ongoing process rather than a final act.
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