@ohheyitshonor
Skype is a popular application which allows uses to connect with others over video chat through video streaming and voice calls. As of last year, there were 31 Million users on Skype spending an average of over 100 minutes a month using the application’s services (statisticsbrain.com). This program is the epitome of what author Lev Manovich believes a new media object is. Though this object came after his book ” The Language of New Media” it fits the 10 points which he suggests are involved in defining these new digital medias. For example, the author argues that new media must have numerical representations, as Skype does because the application runs off of the computer’s connection to the internet. He also states that in order to be digital, a media such as Skype must satisfy modularity, which he defines ad the “fractal structure of media” (page 51.) Skype does this through it’s video streaming and use of pixels simultaneously with sound to create a larger image and projection. It also follows Manovich’s third digital media requirement: automation. At it’s core, Skype’s messaging services through all mediums is automated and powered by the computer generation the modularity also depends on. Variability is another digitally driven aspect of this media, especially because Skype has had 6 different versions of the application release, and has expanded their messaging system into multiple mediums, as stated before. the mediums include instant messaging, voice messaging, and video messaging all encompassed within this media, giving people ample ways to communicate messages using this media form. Finally, Manovich talks about transcoding and how technologies become infused into our culture and into what’s happening, as seen through Skype’s expansion. Skype, and instant chatting services have all become a main part of culture, and the main channel in which communication happens. If there’s world news to be heard, people will know about it sooner than ever thanks to Skype as the ever present, instant connection with others worlds away. In this way, Skype as a digital media has changed our culture and society in its purpose as a communication device. Overall, Skype has proven itself to be a prominent digital media player in today’s world.