Interactive media refers to media products that consumers can interact with across an array of platforms. For a piece of media to qualify as interactive, the program’s outputs should depend on the user’s inputs and be affected by them also.
This type of media can be presented across platforms such as TVs, mobile phones, tablets, game consoles, ATMs and many more. There are endless types of interactive media services – their most basic forms being games, text, moving image, audio etc. Interactive media has revolutionised the way in which we interact with the world and each other, as it is readily available at a moments notice.
Here are some examples of interactive media that I have collected:
Interactive media can have many purposes. For instance, news apps would be used to inform, Youtube is mainly used for entertainment or educational purposes and websites like the Urban Dictionary allow users to participate in collaboratively putting together an arsenal of modern language for others to learn from.
Depending on the media product being made, the equipment and resources used will change throughout the design cycle.
For instance, to make the BBC News app, you would need to work on idea development and research the area of interest to gather relevant information in the pre-production stage. This features things such as the desired target audience and how to appeal, what other news apps they might be competing against and how to overtake them or even budgeting and how the money would need to be used in the project as well as where BBC could implement money-making features within the app to make it sustainable.
During production, staff will have needed to design the app, its functions and layout to bring the idea to life. Software such as the Adobe Suite programs Adobe Illustrator and Adobe XD could be used to create graphics and draft the layouts for the app.
Legal Terms used in Interactive Media
> Terms and Conditions – standard terms and conditions make users aware of their rights and obligations when using a product. This is made aware to users to ensure that they know what is expected of the service in any instance and what is expected of the user in turn.
> Data Protection and Privacy Laws – the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) is designed to ensure that the use of personal data from users by companies is regulated.
> Cookies – these are files that are stored on a device’s browser by websites. These cookies are used for various things linked to advertisements and tailored marketing.
Jasmine Cooper 