The Language of New Media by Lev Manovich got me to think about the true value of new media and what new media essentially is in my opinion. In his work he breaks new media into five different "forms" Internet,websites,computer multimedia,computer games,DVDs and CD's. When I think of the Internet I think of a tree with infinite branches sprouting from one another which is probably the reason Internet is sometimes referred to as the world wide web. The Internet is much like the universe to me in that it expands further than I care to comprehend and I have no idea of everything that I may find. But how is the Internet considered new media? I like to think of the fact that because of its infinitely expanding nature more and more information is becoming easily accessible. I am the type of person who believes that one could lean all he ever wanted to know with a few key strokes and some dedication. Next is websites which if we were to think of the Internet as an ever expanding tree or the universe websites would be the leaves or planets. I see websites as a way of taking all the wanted or unwanted information and organizing it providing for users with the ability to know what they are looking for, but that is an obvious thing for me to say. Why are they considered new media? Well, there was a time when the written word overthrew the power of speech thereby claiming a time for itself to be considered new media. Now with all of our technological advances the use of the printing press is becoming obsolete in many ways. Next I am going to talk about video games because I personally feel very strongly about their role in new media. For me video games are more than something you do on a weekend with your friends that your mother tells you will rot your brain. Video games are modern art. Not only that but the production of a video game encompasses hours upon hours spent working by many different types of artists. You essentially have moving paintings or drawings that are voiced by actors, have music composed by musicians, stories written, etc. I feel movies could fit into this category as well, well not all movies depending on your personal opinion but my point is that yes separately the arts are celebrated and appreciated but only in video games and some films do really all arts come together to make something beautiful, and that is something that I as an artist can truly appreciate. Personally I have always wanted to be a voice actor in a video game, kids movie, or television show and being the type of person who grew up with all three it is something that just calls to me.