“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.
- Malcolm X
Who is in agreement with Malcolm X on this point? If you do agree with him on this point let me give you some information that is a bit more recent. Are you ready? Regardless here it is... WE ARE THE MEDIA. I'll give you some time to let it sink in... WE ARE THE MEDIA! Each and everyone of us, yourself included. This is called the information age for a reason.
me⋅di⋅a [mee-dee-uh] the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely
How often do you depend on radio, tv, or newspapers to hear the latest song, watch a movie, or keep informed? Not nearly as much as you used to if you think about it. You can choose many news outlets from across the world to cover any story from many points of view. You can skip a trip to the store and download new songs from your favorite artists from your pc or visit a social networking music section (BP Music of course). You can scan blogs or videos of newscasts from most nations including the good ol' USA. The skills you gain tricking out your pages and groups or communicating with those on your friend listings or editing your photos to fit your artistic vision... what is all of that if not becoming a part of disseminating and presenting information?
It is no longer solely the domain of the major networks and media companies what information we will have or not have. It is no longer truthful to believe we are held captive by images placed before us. The internet and our use of it has liberated us from being merely consumers of media to actually participants and creators of the media we ingest. With the availability and low cost of webcams, cellphones with cameras, printers, video recorders, digital cameras, music production programs, I-phones, MP3 players and so many other things we take for granted that did not exist a mere 20, 10, 5 years ago.
new media - definition: any interactive media, esp. electronic mass media combined with computers; also, this combination as a profession
What do you think of when you hear the term new media? Video sites like YouTube? Social communities like MySpace, Facebook, and BlackPlanet? Search engines like Google? Email accounts like Yahoo? What do all of these things have in common? The fact that they only work based on the members who participate and communicate on them. We are all the new media.
We decide what is popular. We forge the trends that companies follow because they only give us what they think we are interested in or they can not compete in this new era. If you dont like the state of the music industry today, then it is our fault for our spending habits of yesterday. If you do not like the way we are portrayed in the movies, then it is our fault for the movies we viewed and the ones we did NOT support yesterday. If you do not like the government we have then it is our fault for being complacent, apathetic, uninvolved, and non-vocal by the people we voted in or allowed to remain in office. It requires very little to exist as a member in our community. It requires much more to be a citizen invested in the present and future well being of our communities. This rings true if you are talking about BlackPlanet, your local neighborhood, state, country, and ultimately the world.
How do you plan to use your voice as a citizen in the new media?
