New Media
The term "new media" generally refers to works that are digitally composed (i.e. on a computer screen) rather than analog (i.e. book form); though there are obvoius exceptions to this rule, House of Leaves being an example, new media is usually conveyed through an electronic interface.
New media is often associated with digital works such as blogs, videos, video games, or other forms of interactive entertainment. Furthermore, it can also be something as simple as using an older existing media (such as a novel/book), and presenting it in way that does not conform to traditional/typical styles of writing.
Furthermore, the term "new" is defined as something initially being made or becoming fresh. Some examples of new media could very well just be a reinterpretation of old media except in a new way. For example, KateModern demonstrates a relatively familiar paradigm of a recurring series of episodes, much like a typical television show, except that the filmed action is presented in blog format, inviting user interaction and community discussion.
New media is often subject to subjective criticism, based entirely off the perception of an individual mindset. In general, new media is often associated with digital forms of media such as television and the internet; these new forms of media are essentially in their infancy, thus they are not taken quite as seriously as other, archaic older media such as the novel or ancient texts. It bears mentioning that in the early stages of written stories, the term novel referred to something that was new. At the time, this new and novel form of storytelling was not viewed as a legitimate form of media, and was often criticized in a similar way that new media today is criticized. Examples of similarities between the two upstarts include illegitimacy of the information that was written and constant worries of corrupting the social standards of youths. Over time, the novel has risen to become one of our main sources of literature which has granted the novel important and solid social standing. Moreover, the issues plaguing new media today are nothing new, and are indicative of the possibility that new media (blogs, online video, video games, etc.) could very well be a legitimate way to convey truth, beauty, and virtue, just as novels are now considered to do.
Many itterations of new media use the familiar formats of the internet, this is appropriate in an entertainment society where stars such as Tila Tequila and Anjelah Johnson have founded their fame using the conventions of the web.
(Dave: This is a really good start to the tension of New Media, basic assumption that it is only computers, while hinting at the idea that all media have been new (i.e. papyrus was at one point new. Perhaps explain this debate a bit more, and refine this writing to reflect more "scholarly prose.)
New Media "the future?"
From cave painting to the internet, communications have always been changing to newer and faster forms of media and will always change. Take time out of the equation and there is no "new media" only newest media, this combined with our present "newest" form of media ( the internet) which trascends space and time creates a transparent outlook on the future of medias.