New Media as a Cyborgian Encounter

Technology has become such a massive part of our everyday lives that it's hard to imagine a world without it. As Stiegler said:
"The human invents himself in the technical by inventing the tool-by becoming exteriorised technologically" (Stiegler in Shaw, 2008, p.81). 
Technology allows people to communicate, create and distribute, however to do this, people need to buy it. New Media allows different methods of consumption-for example, previously it was necessary to go to the cinema or buy a DVD to see a film or watch a program on a set night at a set time; it is now possible to watch it from your sofa without having to go out or, for the likes of Netflix with a monthly subscription, pay for each film. This does impact the social element of going to the cinema with other people and defeats the water cooler idea as there is no need to wait till the next day to talk about it. Instead, there are social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and forum boards or blogs (Pintrest, Reddit, Tumblr, Blogger)  for discussing media while it is still on the TV. 
Twitter during the Alan Carr: Chatty Man chat show, can be used to tweet about the show with the hash tag #AlanCarrShow, which brings a community of people together while the show is on. People with a smartphone or tablet can then get a running commentary on what is happening so that they will be up to date. Without this technology, they would be behind on the latest news and would be unable to socialise with people who have watched the show. 
With regards to social media, the ability to "like" pages of musicians, TV characters, actors/actresses, films etc. on Facebook and have it appear on the Newsfeed allows us to access any new information about the subject. For example Thor: The Dark World is out in cinemas today, but on the Amazon Facebook page, they are advertising the DVD and Blu-Ray which won't be for about 6 months. This gives the impression that it is a massively successful film if the advertisements are suggesting a pre-order. The user is then redirected to the Amazon page where the Blu-ray/DVD is posted, as well as having access to reviews to find out more information about it. After purchasing, you can then "share" the purchase on Facebook with others-which let's others know that the user purchased this, and it's worth shouting about. The idea that we need to know every little thing about a product or film comes hand in hand with New Media and the ability to use multiple devices at the same time.

 "We are, in effect, constantly 'plugged in' to the technology through which this information is disseminated while we employ increasingly elaborate technological solutions to keep ahead of the game" (Shaw, 2008, p.86)




Bibliography

Shaw, D. (2008) Technoculture: The Key Concepts; Oxford Berg Press

Amazon Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=875943229119808&set=a.444830632231072.85944.136154403098698&type=1&theater date accessed- 30/10/13

Thor:The Dark World-http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981115/ date accessed 30/10/13