So far our discussions have produced the logical conclusion that New Media is an uprising body exerting considerable influence over our world. But New Media is made up of so much more than its grasp, its influence, or its mouldability by others – it is also a body made of millions of employees who live their lives everyday within New Media. In a report prepared on the industry, Rosalind Gill found many workers described their jobs as cool, informal, flexible, creative, or innovative (2005). However she also found workers in the New Media industry are underpaid, work long hours, and have difficulty imagining their future careers (Gill, 2005).
JessicaLousieHowe said in her week 4 blog that ‘we really are living a media life’. Is it possible employment within New Media is just another way in which we want media in our lives, another way in which we have been sucked into the glossy image? Dr Leong displayed a newer addition to the New Media workforce this week – a virtual assistant. (Leong, 2011) The idea that people have jobs creating technology that eliminates jobs seems ludicrous - but the latest gadgets now have a compulsive desirability attached to them.
The New Media worker might be the coolest kid on the block, might make millions in wily free advertising, might have over 1000 friends on Facebook – but they might also be out of a job come next paycheck.
Gill, R. (2007). Informality is the New Black. In Technobohemians or the new Cybertariat? New Media work in Amsterdam a decade after the web. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures: 24-30 & 38-43.
Leong, S. 2011. “KCB206 New Media: Internet, Self, and Beyond Week 7 Lecture Notes” accessed 14/4/11
