New Media and Technology in a Global Information Age: Multi-Platform Vertical Integrations and Acquisitions in the Global Media Spectrum

Abstract

Information pervades our lives now. A tweet or a comment takes us to a world of information that advances in any field, though initially brings confusion and criticism, plays an important role in initiating changes in the mundane life. Alberts and Papps (1997) who considered change and complexity as the two main factors of information change, posited that success of any community or society largely depend on the ability to adapt on real time to complex and dynamic situations, which in turn will be the major characteristics of an information society.What really counts here is the demarcation of a tweet, a comment or a posting on any online social forums with a piece of information. The explosion of the new media concepts and platforms evidently retorts this concern that any networked public has the potential to distribute information that makes this world in its entirety an information society, i.e. a society driven by information. This is an advancement of social communication, a public communication or talk that primarily was nonmediated and personal, but now becoming mediated participatory activities in social networking sites and discussion forums.A connected and wired/wireless world, the so called Information Society has its own impact on almost all sectors of human endeavor -education, politics, culture, entertainment and social life. Several postulates have aroused since the inception of information society at the wake of globalization. For some, globalization in an information age results in the homogenization of the world, but for some it creates a further diversification of culture and politics. Thomas Friedman in his book The World is Flat opines that every individual gets equal opportunity and hence geographical, cultural and political divisions become gradually blurred. According to him such a homogenous world is possible by the inception of technological up-gradations like fiber-optic cable and the increased personalized communication gadgets including personal computer and smart mobile phones. He termed this period as globalization 3.0, which according to him is the third phase of globalization-the first two being globalization 1.0 (globalization by countries/stat) and globalization 2.0 (by multinational and corporate). Despite gross criticism from across the world on this concept of a networked and swift world, new media technology and the new information dissemination has altered all sectors of human life. This new form of social organization through information and technology places new opportunities and challenges, a new vision, a new system that can be positive or negative.The definition of media has expanded and become lot more ambiguous giving more scope to Marshall McLuhan's illustrious phrase 'medium is the message'. Whether it is television or newspaper, the definition is no longer based on its physical presence as a distinct piece of medium, but as a medium that can be delivered through internet or mobile phone. Such a cross-media delivery of information (multi-platform) blurs the bounda...