The Next New Thing

All sorts of new media technologies have already been thought of and created, but living in New York its easy to get idea's from daily life. An idea I have always had but have never implemented is a social Google Maps-type website which would allow users to get together and, in a collaborative fashion, post information about transportation in their neighborhood. There is currently no single place to go for bus schedules or alternate side parking schedules in New York City. Due to the shear amount of bus stations and blocks with street cleaning, it would be very difficult for one person to gather all this information into the website. A community based wiki-like site where everyone can just place points on a map an input information about their own block or neighborhood would be quickly populated and very useful to me and others in the city.

Our Class Wiki - So Far

As the Editor of the New Media in Web Design page on our class wiki I intend to both improve, and add to this page in meaningful ways. Firstly, there are several mistakes made by the previous editor, mostly relating to grammar and capitalization of terms. I will be fixing the content that is already there as well as bringing it up to speed with the current times. The information in the wiki is dated by about half a year or more, and I intend to freshen it up with new examples of new media websites and their designs. I have looked into Twitters latest redesign of their homepage, Facebooks new layout, and many other new media sites which seam to have moved a little farther from the simplistic designs seen in the early days of Web 2.0. I will leave information about Web 2.0's past designs and improve on it by providing more current examples as well.

About My Term Research Paper

For my research paper I focused on how the traditional print media is being forced to make its shift over to the internet and utilize new media technologies. I found that a surprisingly large share of traditional media companies are taking steps towards utilizing new technology in disseminating information. That being said, they are still years behind the first adopters of these technologies such as bloggers and wiki users. In my paper I go over the history of what led to this new media revolution, as well as the steps an organization can take to make sure it stays alive through the process. I also discuss the downfall of print media, the differences between print and online publications, and how several companies have gone completely digital by shutting down their print divisions.

This transition from print to digital is one that is closing in on us faster and faster, and new media is not only making all this possible, but it is also fueling the push towards abandoning print publications. I feel that this topic needs to be addressed in detail, and my paper provides the history, as well as the groundwork for the future of both print and new media.