This short paper will describe and discuss the history, development and cultural
significance of a specific technology that is generally considered to be “new media” today.
Your task in this assignment is threefold;
1) Provide a clear description of the technology, answering questions such as: What is it?
What does it do?
Who is it intended for?
Who makes the hardware or software?
2) Provide a brief historical overview of the technology that considers how it was
developed and the conditions under which it came to be popular, answering questions
such as:
What are its precursors?
What controversies has it engendered or been associated with?
What other technologies have been important to its development and use?
Has the emergence of this technology shifted the practice of related or associated
technologies?
3) Provide a discussion of why this technology is considered new media. This discussion
should refer to the broader media and/or technological context your technology is
embedded in. This should draw upon at least two scholarly sources, in addition to
commercial or technical press articles, to make its argument. By “broader media and/or
technological context” I mean a consideration of the related or associated technologies that
work with your chosen technology and are essential to its basic meaning and functionality.
Some Appropriate Contemporary New Media Technologies
Be sure to keep your focus on the technology and not on a specific brand. In fact, thinking
about how particular branded technologies are often implicated in much broader, yet very
specific, commercial ecosystems might be a very good place to start your discussion.
Please note this is NOT a complete list, and you may choose a technology not on this list.
For the purposes of this assignment, please do NOT choose smartphones as your
technology (i.e. NO iPhones, Samsung Galaxy, etc.). Please try to think of something
else
– digital home assistants (e.g. Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s HomePod, Google Assistant) – smart home technology (e.g. Google Nest) and the Internet of Things
– digital health tracking systems (e.g. Fitbit, Apple Watch)
– digital music streaming services (e.g. Spotify or Apple Music) – High speed mobile data services (e.g. LTE, 5G) – home broadband internet services (i.e. ADSL or Google Fiber)
– consumer (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive) OR commercial (e.g. Akamai, Amazon) “cloud”
storage services
– mobile digital videocameras or DSLRs
– console video game systems (e.g. Xbox, PS4) or portable game systems (e.g. PSP,
NintendoDS)
– VR technology (e.g. Oculus Rift)
– Bitcoin, blockchain technology and digital currencies
– e-readers (e.g. Kindle, Kobo Reader, etc.)