MEDIA AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

                                                                                                           

Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission (e.g. hard disk drives or computer networking) of information or to the "end product", such as digital video, augmented reality or digital art. Florida's digital media industry association, Digital Media Alliance Florida, defines digital media as "the creative convergence of digital arts, science, technology and business for human expression, communication, social interaction and education".

 Basically digital media refers to any type of electronic media out there. Today media can be accessed in many ways, including with hand held devices like mobile phones, laptops, desktops, mp3 players, and more. Digital media must be stored in an electronic way, so there is a lot of digital content on the internet today, including text content, pictures, audio content, as well as video content. Through the history of internet, digital media has been developing in various ways. Here's we'll take a look at how it has affected the Internet and ways that it may be integrated moving forwards.

The digital revolution in information and communication technologies has created the platform for a free flow of information, ideas and knowledge across the globe. The new media (internet) has been able to incorporate all other means of communication the newspaper, magazine, radio, television, cinema, photographic image, and video. The consequence is the Internet divergence from mass communication. Not only has it led to normative rethinking on the traditional role of the press, it has also led to the adaptation of publication roles. Apart from the more apparent evolution of the content in mainstream mass media, it has also led to a rethinking of the role of the media professionals.  Added to this is the greater ’interiority’ and also ‘interactivity’ of the audience, which is no longer regarded as a passive entity. The fragmentation and blurring of the media institution is fallout. It is no longer an impervious monolith, but subject to constant evolution by the audience. The proliferation of the new media also leads to reduced social control.

You may have heard of digital media, but you may have no idea what it is and how it can help you out when it comes to marketing. It's definitely important that you get up to speed so you can use this to benefit your business. Basically digital media refers to any type of electronic media out there. Today media can be accessed in many ways, including with hand held devices like mobile phones, laptops, desktops, mp3 players, and more.

Digital media must be stored in an electronic way, so there is a lot of digital content on the internet today, including text content, pictures, audio content, as well as video content. Through the history of internet, digital media has been developing in various ways. Here's we'll take a look at how it has affected the Internet and ways that it may be integrated moving forwards.

One type of digital media is text; this in fact represented the very first explosion of this type of content out there on the Internet. When the Internet first got big, there was an explosion of content on the web, especially with all the text editors and word processing options out there today. Larger companies started to put date on computers instead of storing it in cabinets, and the internet definitely allowed a great way to share, transfer, and store content as well.

As the Internet grew, images began to appear. Instead of just text emails, soon people could send photos, and soon photo sites for sharing photos began to pop up. Then in the middle 1990s, audio began to become an important part of digital media with the mp3 files that could be easily used. Soon music and more was shared online with sites that allowed you to share audio.

Last in the digital media development was video. YouTube definitely made video sharing a hugely popular form of modern media distribution and this is continuing to grow as we speak today. Now with new technology seen in things like the iPhone, this new form of virtual media is available in handheld devices as well, and no doubt this sector is only going to continue to grow in the future.

Now that you understand a bit more about the technology side, you may be wondering how it can help your business. Well businesses are using digital media for marketing more and more today, realising that there is a huge marketing field out there and that it can help to draw in visitors and can even provide better search engine visibility with you.

Text content can be kept updated on your site and helpful content is a great part of good marketing. Expertise in your field can really help your business and get traffic flowing into your business website. Photos, charts, diagrams, and models are always popular online and will help you to get more visibility as well. Audio allows you to use music on pages or to do podcasts for your business. Creating videos is a popular method of digital media marketing today, and videos do very well in search engines.

With the popularity of digital media, it is definitely important that you continue to create and use it for good marketing and business results. Even if you have to hire someone to help out, the benefits will make it worth the money. So knowing about and using digital media is definitely important for a business success today.

CONCLUSION

I don't think there are any rules in life that everyone should stick to anymore. Each to their own I say, and if you agree then you're on the right track to being a confident individual who knows when to say no.

I think one of the big errors people are making right now is thinking that old-style businesses will be obsolete, when actually they will be an important part of this new civilization. Some retail groups are introducing e-commerce and think that the bricks are no longer useful. But they will continue to be important. The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.

 Dr. Manish Srivastava

Assistant Professor

Dept. of Communication Studies