New Media Scavenger Hunt!!!

What is New Media? Plenty of definitions out there, but I truly feel New Media is the feeling of now; a visual representation of the way in which our society views technological advances. I would argue that as time moves, so does the current status of society and its perception of art and collaborative communication. As technology advances, new methods are developed to express this collaborative communication. New Media is just that; means of expressing collaborative communication through any given paradigm of technology.

New Media is basically expressed through the term innovation. Most state that innovation is presenting something new to this world; as such, it makes sense that New Media is an essence of Innovation; however, it is specifically related to technological innovation regarding communication and collaboration. Creativity is obviously a factor of both of these terms, but this term in itself is too difficult to convey in one essay, so I will simply state that Innovation and an understanding of the current social paradigm are both requirements for a well represented piece of New Media.

My favorite form of New Media in Indianapolis is actually a project several professors at IUPUI are currently working on for Citizens Gas. They are developing a flash based game to educate children on gas safety. The project has wonderfully designed characters and imaginative worlds all based around different parts; earth, city, etc.

Who did it?

Citizens Gas, contracted by IUPUI professors

How did they do it?

Flash game with illustrations and concept art from Mat Powers and Prof. Ludwig

For whom did they do it?

Citizens Gas Corporation and the children of Indiana. An educational tool used to teach gas safety.

How might you be able to use what you learned about this innovative use of new media to help you when doing your final project?

I suppose the main thing I learned from this project is it is all about collaboration and communication. The target audience is the main goal from any project, and our final in this class is no different. Because of this, I am beginning to think my original final project idea is somewhat unfair to our class because it is more of a journey within myself rather than relevant to our class. I want to keep the theme, but I want it to be something that conveys innovation and imagination which can be used for something beneficial in our classroom. More information to come...

Other forms of New Media in Indianapolis:

1. Flash-based video game companies; see Corey's post

2. Three Dimension video game companies; several pioneer companies exist in this realm in Indianapolis, although the profile of these games is rather small and does not seem to appeal to a national market; hopefully things will change.

3. http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/ - The art of the blog has always been a pioneer in New Media, and it is only that much sweeter when it is combined with the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

4. Last but not least; who can forget the Capstone Presentations at IUPUI! This is a major new media event of our city, and I truly believe it will be a core founder of an established New Media industry in Indianapolis; students and interest will surely make or break whether Indianapolis will become a major player in the new media industry.