Media are the means or tools utilized to transfer and store data or information. In colloquial use the term denotes the components of the mass communications media systems, including print media, broadcast, the multimedia, and television. All of these forms of media have evolved through the medium of the World Wide Web. The advancement of the Internet has led to the emergence of many new media forms and, in turn, new types of media-such as blogs, podcasts, discussion forums, audio/video podcasts, video sites, social networks, photo galleries, and the social news site.
Traditionally, the term media was used to refer to the means of communication used by kings, nobles, aristocrats, and clergymen. In modern times, it is used to describe any sort of electronic media. The earliest and most well-known form of media were the printed books that served as a medium of public expression. But the evolution of this media did not end with books. It took several decades for television, radio, film, and the emerging information technologies to develop and reach the level of popularity that they have at present.
The development of the newspaper and the development of the telephone brought major changes to the world of mass communication. In newspapers, entertainment news was largely ignored. It served primarily as a platform for the writing and printing of articles related to current events. As the demands for more substantial news increased, the role of newspapers in the daily life of a country became a decided dissimilarity from the one it has assumed today.
The first few decades of newspaper publishing saw a significant decline in the number of newspapers being published throughout the world. This trend was attributed to the rise of many countries’ interest in television news and the lack of interest in print media among many countries. However, the situation has drastically changed as the growing importance of the internet as a source of information has encouraged the development of many countries’ first internet companies. As a result, many countries are now enjoying a healthy growth in their online communities, which in turn is widely seen as another contributing factor to the increase in the popularity of the media.
Social media are fast becoming one of the most popular communication channels in the world today. As more people log on to Facebook every single day, it has been considered as the most popular social media channel by various researchers. The website has seen a considerable rise in its monthly active users since its introduction into the Facebook family. To date, it has gained almost 500 million users in the US alone. Although Facebook’s revenue is still relatively low as compared to other search engine traffic and social media traffic, it is gradually expanding its ways to make up for the lost revenue as well.
To date, a lot of efforts have been made to improve the quality of this medium, while also making it more accessible to users in a wider range of countries. Apart from providing a platform where businesses can showcase their products and services to the public, Facebook and many other internet companies have also introduced several new features and options that allow users to interact more actively with each other. These days, a lot of companies and individuals use Facebook to connect with old and new friends, create new relationships, learn about different events happening around the world, find employment and communicate with customers, among many other things.