What is Multimedia?
Some famous viewpoints to consider:
"Multimedia? As far as I'm concerned, it's reading with the radio on!"
— Rory Bremner
"The medium is the message."
— Marshall MacLuhan
And a dictionary definition:
multimedia
SYLLABICATION: mul·ti·me·di·a
ADJECTIVE: 1. Of or relating to the combined use of several media: a multimedia installation at the art gallery. 2. Computer Science Of or relating to an application that can combine text, graphics, full-motion video, and sound into an intergrated package.
PLURAL NOUN: (used with a sing. verb) 1. The combined use of media, such as movies, music, lighting, CD-ROMs, and the Internet, as for education or entertainment. 2. The combined use of media, such as television, radio, print, and the Internet, as for advertising or publicity.
— The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
The term "multimedia"
The popular term, "multimedia", was coined by the press in the early 1990's. It's used to describe a convergence of digital and analog technologies in the fields of entertainment, publishing, communications, marketing, advertising, and even commerce. It's a concatenation of "multi", meaning "many", and "media", which is the plural of "medium". (So it means lots and lots of whatever a medium is...) Nowadays the trendier term is the equally ambiguous "new media".
The computer science term for the class of software applications that are interactive (non-linear) and that include digital assets like images and sound is "hypermedia". "Hyper" means "above" or "beyond".
But what is a medium? What is media?
Again a definition:
medium
SYLLABICATION: me·di·um
NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. me·di·a (-d-) or me·di·ums
1. Something, such as an intermediate course of action, that occupies a position or represents a condition midway between extremes. 2. An intervening substance through which something else is transmitted or carried on. 3. An agency by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or transferred: The train was the usual medium of transportation in those days. 4. Inflected forms: pl. media a. A means of mass communication, such as newpapers, magazines, radio, or television. b. media (used with a sing. or pl. verb) The group of journalists and others who constitute the communications industry and profession. 5. Inflected forms: pl. media Computer Science An object or device, such as a disk, on which data is stored. 6. Inflected forms: pl. mediums A person thought to have the power to communicate with the spirits of the dead or with agents of another world or dimension. Also called psychic.— The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
A medium is that thing in the middle
So, a medium is an entity through which something else passes. For example, a spirtual medium is a conduit from the dead to the living. An artistic medium (painting, sculpture) is a vehicle for the ideas of the artist. The "mass media" are channels of communication and information. Medium refers to something inbetween. The middle of the road is a median. To get in the middle of a dispute is to mediate. The Mediaeval Ages are also called the Middle Ages.
A Systemic Approach to Multimedia
To understand what a medium is you must also understand source and destination.
To think about the middle you have to consider the extremes.Think about something
that travels between two points. It needs energy to make its journey. Let's
call that energy the stimulus. We've already established that what it
travels across or through is the medium. At the end of its journey is
something that absorbs or receives that energy. Let's call the destination the
receptor. An example might be touching a hot stove, the sensation traveling
through the nerves, and the brain receiving an alert.
We now have a simple flow that looks like this:
STIMULUS >> MEDIUM >> RECEPTOR
This model describes the many different interpretations of "multimedia":
ARTIST'S IDEA >> MEDIUM >> AUDIENCE
SERVER >> NETWORK >> CLIENT
SIGNAL >> CONDUIT >> RECEIVER
The Properties of Stimulus, Medium, and Receptor
The stimulus (energy) that begins the process can be either strong or weak.
For example, a broadcast signal can be either weak or strong depending on the
power of the transmitter (or the distance of the receiver). A server can have
a lot of processing capacity or very little. Metaphorically, an artist can either
have a clear and focused idea or a foggy notion.
A medium is evaluated by its conductivity.
Copper wire is a good conductor of electricity, for example. Glass fiber transmits
fiberoptic information, but does not conduct electrical voltage. Sound travels
better through solid objects than air. A network can have either ample or narrow
bandwidth. A best-selling book may be a flop at the box office.
The level of sensitivity is the defining characteristic of the receptor.
For example, if the receiver on your radio is tuned to the wrong channel, it
won't matter how strong the broadcast signal is. If the client only has a 10mbps
bus, it won't matter that you can feed him at 100mbps. And if the audience wants
hip-hop and the program is folk rock...
The Weakest Link in the Chain
The efficiency of the system is only as good as the weakest link in the chain. The components operate in synergy. Optimizing the system requires an increase in the capacity or precision of all three elements. For example, greater throughput on a server will be mitigated by narrow bandwidth. Broadcasting on the wrong channel will miss the intended audience, no matter how strong the signal.
Understanding Media
Every era brings its own technological advances to the means of communication. Papyrus scrolls replace clay tablets, the printing press is invented, satellite signals encircle the globe. Every age also has its developments in the means of expression, from painting to photography to holography. Every avenue of distribution and every means of expression imposes its own constraints on the information conveyed. The information is altered, filtered, and fragmented by its conveyance. This is what Marshall MacLuhan meant by "the medium is the message".
For more information about the role of media in society, watch the PBS Frontline documentary, "The Persuaders":
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/