TRANSFORMATION OF THE MEDIA FROM TRADITIONAL MEDIA TO NEW MEDIA

The article is devoted to the process of transformation of mass media. It was caused by social progress and transition of society to a new level. The concept of information society of the 20th century and active development of information technologies in the 21st century are analyzed. The author considers the Internet as a new communication channel with a key role of online media. Options of classification of online media are given in the article and the advantages of network media distinguishing them from traditional ones are described. The author studies the new information and communication environment in detail and New Media in a revolutionary way as a phenomenon of the 21st century. In relation to this the concept of content created by users User Generated Content is considered. Here the authors give examples of successful projects proving the fact that due to the Internet, people acquired the right to express their views, to be heard and to have an opportunity to carry out a role of journalists, creating and distributing information. There are no professional producers of content and its passive consumers any longer, and an increasing number of people are getting involved voluntarily into various projects which are socially significant and not that much. Describing the concept of cognitive surplus, the author pays special attention to successful foreign projects of New Media, considering the way they appeared, developed and the features they have. Such global projects as encyclopedias Nupedia and Wikipedia, the platform for creating interactive maps Ushahidi, the video hosting YouTube, social networks MySpace and Facebook, and also their analogs in Russia, could not exist if only one company was engaged in creating their content. It is an undoubted breakthrough, and its consequences so far are too early to foresee.