In May, plugincinema attended the world's largest computer games event; E3, held in Los Angeles. Whilst there we checked out various workshops that were being offered. They ranged in subject matter from 'How to markiet the new niche market of value-prioced games' to 'Why networked media matters to gamers', a very interesting lecture by Jim Banister, author of 'Word of Mouse: The New Age of Networked Media'.
Media in the Networked AgeThe talk addressed the classification of media. This formed a part of a wider analysis of how, and where, the new-media form of network technology, games and so on, fit into a traditional view of the media. To examine the issue, it was suggested that a classification system would be helpful. In this case the talk looked at the Linnaean System, the classification method developed by Carolus Linnaeus in the mid 1700s. This system organises biological species according to a hierarchy based on shared observable physical characteristics. This grouping breaks down (according to Wikipedia), "Kingdoms were divided into classes and they, in turn, into orders, families, genera (singular: genus), and species (singular: species)." Using these ideas the talk then applied this 'observable physical characteristics' to media.
First he divided media (which, after all, simply means the plural of medium, meaning the matter used to transport something) into natural and manufactured media. Concentrating on manufactured media he then added additional layers of classification into the mix. Before long the following system began to emerge: | Kingdom | Natural (e.g. air, water) | Manufactured (built by humans) | | Class | - | Communications | | Order | - | Static
(e.g. Print such as newspapers) | Dynamic
(variable media such as games or web media - this is where Network Media lives!) | |
He pointed to the 'Dynamic Media' section on his classification system and noted that this was where all media was ultimately headed– that all communications media is going to become both digital and networked. In this new world the code that powers media is equally as important as the content that exists upon it.
the media world. This new literacy consisted of seeing what types of media were active in the following areas:
1. Content – Felt by the senses.
2. Community – Connecting people to each other.
3. Commerce – the method of making money.
4. Code – the system that powers the new media forms.
In this new code, networked media hits all four of these aspects, while non-networked media hits only a few. For example; while TV has content it does not have community. In contrast, a website can have all four, as it has content, community via systems such as message boards, commerce by online shop links and code that powers it. He noted that, in contrast to many media institutions, the audiences often have no trouble navigating these four aspects.
Value Chain The traditional value chain (i.e. the process of adding commercial vale) of media is:
· Production
· Distribution
· Marketing (to point of the transaction)
· Vending/Exhibition (and exchange of value, money for media)
· Consumption
 In traditional media, consumers are treated as simply being the tail end of a consumption hierarchy. In network media the consumer is climbing up this value chain – so now the audience takes the additional roles of, say producer by blogging their own ideas, and in the process the consumer evolves into consumer 2.0, the hierarchy is dissolved and the value chain morphs into a network…
Traditional media seems to have trouble with this change, but newer forms of media such as games, being already more dynamic and technology based, are far more comfortable with it. In the diagram above we see the positioning of the TV/Film, computer games and Network media (e.g. internet, wireless) at each point of a triangle. The central point of the triangle is the audience space. They exist here, as they are cross-media consumers. It is the battle to control this audience space that will shape the way media evolves in the network age.Further information
Spectrum Media (home of Jim Banister)
http://www.spectrummedia.com/
Blog review from another of Jim Banister’s talks
http://evelynrodriguez.typepad.com/crossroads_dispatches/2004/10/networked_media.html
Carolus Linnaeus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolus_Linnaeus
E3 Insider Website
http://www.e3insider.com/ |
