New Media Ecosystems

An Interactive Timeline for Mapping the Communication Environment

This digital platform is developed from the resources used in Safak Dikmen’s PhD thesis that focus on communication technologies and internet based television broadcasting. The aim is to educe and map the complicated relationship between advancements in television broadcasting, communication and computer technologies along with the related scientific debates from 1950 until now. Within this frame, a digital timeline was designed including the historical evaluation of the last 70 years of media ecosystem using online and multimedia sources. This new media platform can be defined as a web documentary; all contents are obtained from various sources such as online databases, video and photography sharing platforms and open e-book collection. It should be emphasized that this platform is not entitled as “media ecosystem” but as “new media ecosystem”; since it reveals divers “new” ecosystems formed in their own time according to period’s advancement in technology. Various factors lead the formation of this platform. First, written sources such as PhD thesis, other written documents; book or static graphics with no interaction specificity lack describing this complicated structure. Another trigger for designing this platform is the need for enabling a native language (Turkish) written thesis, naturally structured (restricted) in a specific thesis format into an easily accessible global platform in English. Secondly, development of different technologies is merged by diverse and contrasting factors forming a complex system. Mapping this environment through the academic debates of the communication technologies lead the analysis of this structure even more difficult. Therefore, in order to visualise this vast and multilayered progress of the new media ecosystem, a web based open access digital platform is designed. The last important drive for this platform is the debate of media studies 2.0, initiated in 2007 and lasted for six years with all the proceedings in the following years. David Gauntlett and William Merrin fused this debate as; “In order to understand the latest communication technologies and follow studies in new media; constant update and development of communication studies with new perspectives and research methodologies are required”. Even after ten years from these debates, internet based multimedia platforms as novel mapping of evolving new media ecosystem, especially for studies in academic area, are still not common. I would like to underline the fact that this platform was created as an experimental project. All information regarding the progress and networks could not be included; since all the progress and relations in communication technologies are rapidly evolving in a dynamic environment, yet it could easily be expanded in future. Therefore, major proceedings and important facts were included and highlighted. Please use contact form for all comments, critics and your contributions; as this new media documentary is an ongoing open project.