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Digital media

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

Digital media (as opposed to analog media) usually refers to electronic media that work on digital codes. Today, computing is primarily based on the binary numeral system. In this case digital refers to the discrete states of "0" and "1" for representing arbitrary data. Computers are machines that (usually) interpret binary digital data as information and thus represent the predominating class of digital information processing machines. Digital media ("Formats for presenting information" according to ) like digital audio, digital video and other digital "content" can be created, referred to and distributed via digital information processing machines. Digital media represents a profound change from previous (analog) media.

Digital data is per se independent of its interpretation (hence representation). An arbitrary sequence of digital code like "0100 0001" might be interpreted as the decimal number 65, the hexadecimal number 41 or the glyph "A". See also: ASCII, Code.

Florida's digital media industry association, Digital Media Alliance Florida, defines digital media as "the creative convergence of digital arts, science, technology and business for human expression, communication, social interaction and education".

History

The history of digital starts with the development of the number 0 (see 0 (number)) by the Babylonians about 2000BC. Early use of something like zero by the Indian scholar Pingala (circa 5th-2nd century BC), implied at first glance by his use of binary numbers, is only the modern binary representation using 0 and 1 applied to Pingala's binary system, which used short and long syllables (the latter equal in length to two short syllables), making it similar to Morse code.[5][6] Nevertheless, he and other Indian scholars at the time used the Sanskrit word śūnya (the origin of the word zero after a series of transliterations and a literal translation) to refer to zero or void.[7]. Around 1620, Francis Bacon researches the first binary alphabet for representing numbers and alphabetic characters. The intended use was to establish secret communication for e.g. cities under siege and armies abroad. Leibniz was the first mathematician to develop calculations in the binary system. According to some sources, John Napier had developed binary calculations even earlier. Yet, it remains to Leibniz to first think about automating calculations using the newly developed binary arithmetics. Around 1830, [Carl Friedrich Gauss] first electrifies binary information in his telegraphy experiments. He replaces "1" with "+" and "0" with "-" and thus translates binary information into electric currents.

There is a rich history of non-binary digital media and computers.

Electronic Business Media

Main article: Electronic Business Media.
According to Schmid, media can basically be defined as follows: They are enablers of interaction, i.e. they allow for exchange, particularly the communicative exchange between agents. Such interaction enablers can be structured into three main components:

First, a physical component (C-Component) allows for the actual interaction of physical agents. This component can also be referred to as carrier medium or channel system. Second, a logical component (L-Component) comprises a common “language”, i.e. symbols used for the communication between agents and their semantics. Without such a common understanding, the exchange of data is possible (with the help of the C-Component), but not the exchange of knowledge. Third, an organizational component (O-Component) defines a structural organization of agents, their roles, rules which impact the agents’ behaviour as well as the process-oriented organization of agents’ interactions.

Together, these basic three components have been identified to constitute various kinds of media. Among others, it is appropriate to describe electronic media such as those deployed to support cross-organizational collaboration. Based on these components which already represent a first, scientific approach to modelling, understanding and reorganizing media, a layer/ phase reference model has been introduced as well.

The Media Reference Model (MRM) comprises four different layers (which all represent dedicated views on media) and structures the use of media into four sequential phases. Similar to the emerging field of software engineering in the software context, the MRM aims to provide a comprehensive, coherent and systematic framework for the description and analysis of various media.

The Community View (first layer) thereby accounts for the set of interacting agents, the organization of the given agents’ population, i.e. the specific roles of involved stakeholders, the situations in which they act as well as the objects with which they deal. Summing up, it models the structure of the social community sphere in a situation-dependent, but static fashion. The Process View (Implementation Aspects) deals with the modelling of the process-oriented organization of agents and can also be referred to as "Interaction Programming". It is also called implementation view as it connects the needs of the community with the means provided by the carrier medium and thus implements the "community-plot" on the basis of the carrier medium. The Service View (Transaction View) models the services provided by the carrier medium which can be used in the different interaction steps to reach the respective interactions’ goals. The Infrastructure View models the production system, which creates the services provided by the service view, i.e. in the case of electronic media the actual underlying information technology.

The above discussed three major components can seamlessly be integrated into the MRM: The upper two views (Community Aspects and Implementation Aspects) represent the organizational component (O-Component) which accounts for the structural as well as process-oriented organization. The lower two layers are mapped to the physical component (C-Component) which focuses on the creation and provision of services. Last, the logical component (L-Component) concerns all four layers as it ensures that interaction of agents is based on a common understanding of exchanged symbols.

Digital and analog data

Main article: Analog-to-digital converter.
The transformation of an Analog signal to Digital information via an Analog-to-digital converter is called sampling. According to information theory, sampling is a reduction of information. Most digital media are based on translating analog data into digital data and vice-versa (see digital recording, digital video, television versus digital television).

Working with digital media

Main article: digital signal processing.
As opposed to analog data, digital data is in many cases easier to manipulate, and the end result can be reproduced indefinitely without any loss of quality. Mathematical operations can be applied to arbitrary digital information regardless of its interpretation (you can add "2" to the data "65" and interpret the result either as the hexadecimal number "43" or the letter "C"). Thus, it is possible to use e.g. the same compression operation onto a text file or an image file or a sound file. The foundations of operation on digital information are described in digital signal processing.

Examples of digital media

The following list of digital media is based on a rather technical view of the term media. Other views might lead to different lists.

Digital art

Comic book artists in the past would generally sketch a drawing in pencil before going over the drawing again with India ink, using pens and Winsor-Newton brushes. Magazine illustrators often worked with India ink, acrylics or oils. Currently, an increasing number of artists are now creating digital artwork.

The list of digital artists continues to lengthen:

See also

References

  • Coy, Wolfgang (2005): Analog/Digital. In: Warnke, Martin et al. (2005): Hyperkult II - Zur Ortsbestimmung analoger und digitaler Medien (in German), Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, ISBN 3-89942-274-0
  • Nelson, Ted (1990): Literary Machines, Sausalito: Mindful Press.
  • Pflüger, Jörg (2005): Wo die Quantität in Qualität umschlägt. In: Warnke, Martin et al. (2005): Hyperkult II - Zur Ortsbestimmung analoger und digitaler Medien (in German), Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, ISBN 3-89942-274-0
  • Schmid, Beat F. ; Schmid-Isler, Salome: Konzepte von Beat F. Schmid 1997-2003. Ein Überblick, 2004.- URL http://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/Publikationen/9118
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