The Depaul University Department of New Media Studies defines new media studies (NMS) as:
"an interdisciplinary field that examines the processes and platforms through which the digital encoding of various media operates and circulates. New media studies also focuses on how digitally encoded media products are combined into new media forms, such as websites, webcasts, interactive games, graphic designs, and sales technical information. Put simply...[NMS studies] ways to both create and better understand content strategies, web and interactive design and development, and the transformation of visual and written communication on digital platforms and in digital culture more broadly."
New media is, at its core, a method of communication of ideas via technology with an emphasis on user-produced and user-consumed content. For example, what is this blog? At once it is a syllabus. In an instant, it can also change, at the hands of just about anybody. Somebody might comment, adding in a new layer to the writing on your computer screen. Perhaps I, the author, could edit this page. By the time you accidentally exit out of your browser, double click your browser's desktop icon, type in "writingengineers.blogspot.com" into the URL bar, and hit enter, the entire format, page design, and content can alter. Common examples of new media include: Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, Instagram, Amazon, Vine, Wikipedia, YouTube, iTunes....the list is somewhat endless.
New media is most often digital. This allows for anybody with access to the technology and know-how to create media. So, why should we care about new media as technical communicators and professional writers? New media is a contemporary phenomenon -- something constantly being produced and consumed at an incredibly intense rate.
Google your full name. Type it into a search box that traverses all of the different areas on the Internet, the World Wide Web. What do you find out about yourself? Perhaps you are not the only person with your name. Maybe you find photos you tried to delete from an old Myspace account. You could find your personal home address or links to your personal email address. New media moves these elements of your personal life from the private sphere to the public sphere. Now, anybody with access to the Internet can find out your entire life. It has become increasingly easier for potential employers to dismiss a candidate from a job position due to the results of Google search.
A part of "technical communication" as a field of study is the understanding of what is considered "professional" or "appropriate" for the workplace, particularly in regards to language. If we can create and produce language content on the Internet, then we can also alter that content in ways that present us in a more "professional" or "appropriate" manner. Perhaps one of the easiest or more useful manners to do so is with new media(s).
Throughout the semester, you will learn various new media rhetorical techniques you can utilize as you begin to think about and progress within your professional life. My hope is that you are able to create and cultivate a professional online identity that you are proud of, one that presents you as the professional, academic-minded and career-oriented student that you are.
Further readings:
New Media Institute
PC Mag
WGA definition
