Innovations in writing for new media

Innovations in the world of new media seem to be happening all of the time. Just take our class’ presentation of new media tools two weeks ago – wow!  Ten totally new and completely unique content creation tools! 

These tools highlighted some of the most interesting aspects of digital media that make the task of writing for new media a new challenge that will require writers to expand upon (but not abandon) the techniques used to write using traditional media.  These new aspects that will require innovations in writing techniques include the differences in the ways people read using new media, the differences in the reader-writer relationships in new media and the new ways that meaning is created with new media. 

New methods of reading

One of the most significant differences in the way that new media texts are read in comparison with traditional texts is that new media texts are no longer read and processed in a linear fashion.  As we’ve discussed on multiple occasions, techniques such as scanning, hyperlinking and utilizing multimodality are becoming the new norm when it comes to reading in a new media setting and linear front to back, top to bottom reading is taking a back seat.

Numerous new content creation tools reflect these new norms, including many of the tools presented in class, such as Prezi, HubPages and Storify.  I believe that Prezi is exhibits these new methods of reading the best.  It allows people to present their message in a non-linear, non-specifically-structured fashion that complements the ways in which people read new media texts, thus making it easier for the reader to process the ideas being presented.  This is highly innovative, because instead of adapting traditional methods of presenting content to the new methods of reading, Prezi has totally revamped the system in which ideas can be presented.  Instead of attempting to adapt the old content creation tools, Prezi has created a new one that, in my opinion, is much better suited to today’s new media readers. 

New reader-writer relationships

A second new aspect of digital media that has changed the way we read and write is the closer, sometimes blurred, relationship between the readers and the writers of new media texts.  In fact, I believe that this has become a defining feature of new media.  It is difficult to find a new media tool that does not have some version of a comment box or that does not allow readers to respond or react to content in some manner. 

Although nearly all of the new content creation tools presented in class feature a closer relationship between the content creator and the content receiver, Storify, WizIQ, Nico NicoDouga, Weibo and 500PX exemplify this new relationship. They are each based on the idea that while content may be king, the content creator is no longer.  When using these tools, the reader has the ability to not only intake information but also to input information for others to read, including the original content creator.  In this way, these tools allow both the reader to be the writer and the writer to be the reader virtually whenever they choose. 

New ways of creating meaning

The final aspect of new media that is forcing a change in the ways we create content is the new manners in which we are able to create meaning in our messages.  In many new media settings, users can now create meaning multimodally, using text, images, sound and video all at once if we so choose.  No longer are we confined to black and white text in a book or to simple photos in a photo album; now we can tell a story or present an argument or teach a class using all of these tools and more all at once.  This new ability has forced us to rethink the tools we use to create our content and to create new ones where necessary.  Every single tool we discussed in class reflects this important aspect of new media. 

Because the ways in which new media texts are read and written and the meanings that can be created within them have evolved, so have the tools that are used to create them had to adapt.  Now as users of new media content creation tools, it is our turn to adapt and to begin to use these new tools when we write in new media contexts.