New Media

 Applications on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod are one of the newest media outlets. In a matter of minutes, applications containing information regarding movie times, music, the weather, and even cocktail recipes can be downloaded on to a small device that can be brought anywhere. There are hundreds of applications available currently, and more are being made every day. They are very useful to many companies for advertising purposes and as another way to sell their product. For example, Glamour magazine is now an iPad application that readers can download and bring wherever they go. This media outlet will continue to expand as more companies create applications.

Wikipedia is another new media. Rather than go to the library and see stacks upon stacks of volumes that compose a single encyclopedia, researchers can easily find what they are looking for by typing their subject into a search box. Paper encyclopedias are only as up to date as their published date, while Wikipedia can evolve with the times. The only downside to Wikipedia is that anyone, and I mean ANYONE can update it as they please and put on false information. I couldn't tell you if people do this because they find it amusing or just downright ignorant, but either way it occurs to the extent that teachers don't accept it as a legitimate source.

Digital books are also going very mainstream. From textbooks to novels, paper books are being converted into their digital counterparts. On the iPad, there is a digital library that resembles a bookshelf. You pick what book you would like to read and flip the pages by sliding your finger across the screen. You can bookmark pages, make notes, and easily go back to the table of contents. Even the hassle of finding your page by flipping through it is eliminated. Although I hope people aren't lazy to the extent that that components of books bothered them, at least the weight of a 700 page novel is compressed. And you can carry many books around at once! The convienience of these new digital media outlets are overwhelming!