Why is Digital Media Important?

The creation of digital media has empowered the masses. Now the average Joe has a voice. From the amateur video producer to the teenage rock band playing in mom and dad’s garage, your computer can be the conduit that helps you find your voice. Choosing to use the technology and to get your voice heard is really up to you. Do you have an interesting point of view and want to share it with the world? You can create a blog in less than 10 minutes for free and presto! you’ve become the publisher, editor, and senior writer of your very own online newspaper column. Do you consider yourself a funny person? Tell a few jokes, videotape them, upload to YouTube or Google Video and voila! You have just produced, published, and distributed your very own comedy show. Digital media has made this possible. Say you like to quilt but don’t know a lot of people who do in your neighborhood? No problem. You can start your own quilting group online and soon enough you may have a hundred people from all over the world talking about quilting. Is it possible? You bet. That’s the power of digital media. But with great power comes great responsibility. Seems like I’ve heard that before. That responsibility can not be taken lightly. Whether you’re a business looking to communicate with your customer or G.Q. Citizen wanting to find the best place to buy clothes, we need to understand the impact of digital media from it’s production to it’s distribution.

Key Terms to Understand

Digital Media

electronic media primarily based on the binary numeral system like digital audio, digital video, and other digital content that can be created, referenced, and distributed by digital information processing machines.

Blog

a website regularly maintained, usually by one individual, who contributes commentary, event descriptions, graphics, and video usually in reverse chronological order

Podcast

digital audio or video media distributed over the internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and computers.

Social Media

a broad term used to define the activities that use technology to generate social interaction