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Digital media – A changing technological landscape

by Casey Schmidt  |  December 2, 2019

3 min. read
Electrical firing across a grid.

Digital media is opening up exciting and different opportunities for all types of people. If you’re interested in the ways digital media is progressing, this article is for you. So, what is digital media? Here’s a brief description, as well as some helpful examples.

What is digital media?

Digital media is any type of media content that is enabled for machine-accessible arrangements. It can be stored, edited and accessed on different digital devices. It’s a combination of content and tech, where in order to create exciting new digital media products, different types of technological skills are required.

Different types of digital media

Not all media is created equally. In fact, when it comes to digital media, there are some drastically different media types. For example, if another company chose to create an article based on your specific company without any incentive (exchange of favors, monetary payment, etc.), this is a type of earned media. This type of digital media is often the most rewarding because it came about with any sacrifice on your end. It’s also the most rare.

A radio transmitter emitting waves.
There are a lot of different media types.

Another type of digital media is content you create or publish on your own with self-resources. This could be a blog post or an article on your social media. This is called owned media and it’s a great way for companies to dictate the type of media and messages they put out. It also gives them a chance to show their expertise and authority on subjects.

The final type of digital media is similar to earned media, in that someone else creates the content about your company some of the time. However, this time it’s an incentivized creation. This is called paid media and it involves buying digital space to promote your company through things like advertisements.

A house with digital representations.
Paid media allows companies to buy digital space.

Some examples

The above groups were the different types of media a company could conceivably face. The following examples, however, are concrete examples of actual digital media elements. This will give you a good idea of what kind of things digital media entails.

Images

This pertains to all pictures that are used digitally in any way, shape or form. Often times we view different image file types in a digital format exclusively our entire lives, despite the original format being non-digital. For example, it’s possible that a lot of people today know the Mona Lisa painting only through digital representations.

A drawn version of the Mona Lisa painting.
A lot of paintings are seen exclusively in digital formats.

Audio

Any type of music or sound file on a computer or cloud system are digital media. These types of files are usually either in some kind of compressed or reduced form in order to server users as conveniently as possible.

Video

Any type of video that is recorded or logged onto a computer system is digital media. There’s a wide variety of video files in circulation now, especially with the growing presence of movies shot on everyday mobile devices.

Digital media benefits

In a time of massive digital expansion, it’s often understood that the social aspect of society suffers. Though this is true in some ways, there are other ways in which it’s actually strengthened. That is to say digital media bolsters social synergy. It connects people through numerous different digital venues to share opinions, projects and advance ideas.

A digital city of binary numbers.
Digital media increases social representation.

Another important benefit of digital media is the productivity increases it promotes. It changes how team members complete work due to the availability of potential resources and information. It also increases the types of jobs available to the average person in job markets.

Remember that benefits and types of digital media are subject to massive change at any time. That’s part of the digital experience in general – constant change and improvement. Be ready to evolve with the changes so you don’t fall behind.