Principles

So Manovich uses large words that confuse me, but I think I got the gist of what makes up new media. By following his principles, we will learn why homestarrunner.com is considered new media (despite not posting anything in a couple of years.

The first principle of new media is called numerical representation. This means in some form the media can be depicted in numbers. As is common with most things in computers, the computer code of the media helps it fit this. In the case of homestarrunner.com, the website is stored in code, recalled from said code, and made viewable because my computer understands said code. But what is even more is that this code can be changed, which affects the actual website and maybe even videos themselves. By manipulating the code and not the actual media, the numerical representation is changing, but that changes the media, too. I think that because of that, it could be argued that while a computer interprets the ones and zeros into content we understand, it could also mean that the code is the media and the media is the interpretation of the code according to the computer. It's like what Dr. Pepper was saying about different web browsers and how they “see” websites differently. Most people may not see what the computer “sees,” but what the computer thinks what the code is supposed to mean based on its “sense” of web browsers. Well, I think this is enough meta for me, so next subject.

Modularity means that a piece of media can be broken down into smaller pieces of the same style or type. In the instance of homestarrunner.com, each page follows the same format of the whole: there is the small flash player that runs all the videos and links the separate pages—used for the separate videos—into a whole site. This means that each page, or module (see what I did there?), is exactly the same set up as the whole. This allows for a comfort and expectation to come upon the viewer; the view will see the similar pages if brought there through a link and associate it with the site as a whole.

Automation means what is sounds like it means: that the media can do things without human involvement. It does not need authorization from its author in order to run. An intro video would be just like this. When you get on a website, the video starts without any direction from you or from its creator. The program itself runs without any help from humans. It is thus automatized (while not a word, would be a good way to explain turning people into cyborgs).

Variability is the idea that new media can be customizable—it can be a different experience for you than for other people. It could even be different when you engage it multiple times. The video game Skyrim comes to mind. It starts out vaguely the same, but that's about it. You create your own character from different species, use different skills, and you even level up differently. This can work not just between people, but between restarts. This customizable makes the game varied. This is one of the reasons why MMO's are so popular. They can be customized to make new group experiences that can be repeated but in different ways.

Speaking of transitions, this level of customization in video games is almost transcoding. Transcoding is the interaction between old and new media. It's like the cut scenes from some of the Resident Evil games. Cut scenes are little short movies that people watch to explain why they are doing what they are doing in video games. For the Resident Evil series, it's why you are running around killing zombies. So, they're just little movies. But the creators of the games took it a step further. When something drastic is about to happen, they have the player push certain buttons in order to survive the cut scene. This forces the player to become once again that they are playing a game, not just watching a movie.

As far as which of these principles is the most important, I believe that it is variability. By being able to change the experience for each and every user, you create a standard that must be met by others as well as yourself. People begin to expect that applications, games, and maybe eventually movies must be tailored to fit them specifically. This goes beyond anything most people have come to expect since interchangeable parts were invented. The idea that the parts fit in different spots for different people could only be done by new media. Bam! Chew on that metaphor for a while.