New Media Variability

Manovich states that new media has five different forms, numerical representation, modularity, automation, variability and transcoding. As each of these form play a developing role of new media has a vast variety of new content, which can be accessed almost anywhere by consumers, this content can be altered accurately more that several times.

"A new media object is not something fixed once and for all but can exist in different, potentially infinite, versions."(Manovich, 2002, p56).

With the impact of new media focusing on variability, this gives rise to individuals to create their own versions of media objects. However this is often created by using a computer format, whereas old media involved a "human creator" from industries that could make copies of the original, although it would be an exact duplicate, whereas different consumers would have their own versions.

"Numerous copies could be run off from the master"(Manovich, 2002, p56).

Modularity can be linked with variability without this process, consumers wouldn't be able to store any media text. This is done by the breaking  down of pixels that are then recalled when an image comes onto the screen.

"Variability would also will not be possible without modularity"(Manovich, 2002, p56).

As consumers connect onto the internet there are often various items that will appear that will appeal that will appeal to their interests, as they browse through the platform the computer takes note of where they are throughout the search online. As the computer can then start to identify the content that is appropriate for the individual, where everyone's online media experience is different.

"The information about the user can be used by a computer program to automatically customize the media composition"(Manovich, 2002, p57).

This can also be seen as software updates are generated automated, by checking the internet for updates to software that maybe located on their computer. These can be all done without the user having to give too much input, an example would be editing software Photoshop, as the late program or feature update are improved.

Bibliography
Manovich, Lev, 2002, The Language of New Media,(Cambridge, Mass, :London MIT Press)

Critical response to Manovich’s principles of New Media ‘Numerical Representation’ and ‘Modularity'

Worth noticing in Manovich’s chapter on principles of New media are the sections ‘Numerical Representation’ and ‘Modularity’. This principles are correctly stated as being important elements of New Media. In the first section, the author states that the process of digitization involves making real life data, which is continuous, into discrete data. These discrete units, however, are not the units of meaning. The case is rather that they first have to form a interpretable concept as a whole by relying on each other and therefore, they do not affect the viewer separately (Manovich, 2002, pp. 49-50). With this comes the principle of modularity, where the author explains that all these separate elements, together combined into the large-scale object, have their own identity and are independent of one another (Manovich, 2002, pp. 51-52).
This might inhere some sort of contradiction. Although all of these units might seem independent, it could be more useful to say that they are related to each other to create a meaningful superstructure. Taking out one of the items would break the logical whole, and the meaning would change. As a consequence, this means that deleting ‘atoms’ of the new media object would interrupt the cultural and the overall meaning of the message provided by this specific new media, which then too has a significant consequence on the way the message would have influenced the society in which it is created. The influence of the medium happens in the extension of a specific meaning, which is created by the specific parts all working together to be meaningful in some sort of specific way. Take for example a photograph, consisting of pixels as being the units. With just a few pixels, taking out one of the ‘atoms’ or manipulating them in some sort of way does change the way people will interpret the photograph. One may be able to separate or interchange the units, but it will impact the meaning of the message.

Bibliography
Manovich, L. (2002). The language of New Media. MIT Press. 

New Media - Modularity & Variability

For many people, the term "New Media" is used as an umbrella term to denote the technological progress which has occurred in society over the last few decades. For media theorist Lev Manovich, however, this popular consensus is "too limiting" (2001, pp. 19), so he decided to outline what exactly is meant by new media by determining five main principles to serve as a kind of check-list to which all new media forms should conform. These characteristics include "numerical representation, modularity, automation, variability and transcoding" (2001, pp. 27-48), and for me two of these characteristics, modularity and variability, seem to be more closely linked than the others, and it is the relationship between these two that I will now try to explain.

As Manovich writes, modularity is the term used to describe the "fractal structure of new media" (2001, pp. 30). What he means by this is that a new media object consists of separate, independent elements, which are in turn made up of even smaller, independent elements and so on, right down to the smallest "atoms", for example the World Wide Web. As Manovich goes on to describe, it "consists of numerous Web pages, each in turn consisting of separate media elements (which can be) accessed on their own" (2001, pp. 31). We can therefore safely say that, because of the example given and the fact it coheres to the principle of modularity, the World Wide Web can be described as a new media object.

Bearing this in mind, we can understand what is meant when we are introduced to the term variability. As described by Manovich "a new media object is not something fixed, but something that can exist in potentially infinite versions" (2001, pp. 38). This potential for multiple different versions of a media object existing is down to the fact that, because media elements are independent and therefore maintain their own identities, they can be assembled into numerous sequences, allowing for such variability in multiplicity to occur.

Manovich, L. (2001) The Language of New Media (Cambridge, Mass. : London MIT Press)