Five Principles of New Media

In Chapter 1 of The Language of New Media, Lev Manovich lays out his five principles of new media.

1. Numerical Representation New media objects, whether created on computers or converted from analog formats, are made up of digital code. Any new media object can be described, as well as changed or manipulated, using a mathematical function. New media objects are programmable. In stark contrast to old media, new media objects can be described in some kind of unit and be changed at the level of that unit by the code the object is made of (such as pixels for images).

2. Modularity New media objects are made separate pieces which maintain their identity after the piece is complete and can be changed after the piece has been made. The World Wide Web as a whole is also modular, with many separate objects that are easy to change.

3. Automation Computers can automatically create images, layouts, etc. Websites create themselves based on the user's hardware and internet browser. Artificial Intelligence can interact with humans, many people are familiar with chatting with a bot. One that I am familiar with is Cleverbot.

4. Variability New media objects aren't fixed. Such objects are never complete and can exist in nearly infinite versions. One person can take a photo and post it online, then another can download it and edit it in some way and post it, and so on.

5. Transcoding New media objects can be changed or translated into another format. A cultural thing (story, art) becomes a technical thing. An old story or myth (Snow White) can be typed and adapted into a script (Snow White and the Huntsman), then recorded, either on film or digitally and sent to theaters, then made available for download or DVD.