The New Media Technologies : Overview and Research Framework

The so-called new media technologies - often referred to as Web 2.0 - encompass a wide variety of web-related communication technologies, such as blogs, wikis, online social networking, virtual worlds and other social media forms. First, we present several views or perspectives that may be used to answer the question, what is new media? Then we examine and review five critical characteristics of the new media technolgies - the Five C's: communication, collaboration, community, creativity, and convergence. Finally, we look at some of the uses and applications of new media in a selection of disciplines. This overview provides a much needed framework for scholars and educators who wish to learn from and contribute to this field of study