I am a university student and one of the assignements was to (a) present one of the new mediums, (b) analyze it in context of typical charactersitics of new medium and (c) discus its social role (or something like that. The work is not perfect (English is my second language), but I still managed to get an A. Sorry If I got anything wrong or was to judgmental. I hope you will enjoy it.

Introduction:
Newgrounds.com is the biggest and most popular flash portal in the world. Approximately half a million users visit this website every day. There are nearly two million registered users and about 163 flash submissions daily. Unlike some other entertainment portals it enables an enormous amount of interaction which helps to shape the portal and creates a loyal community. Newgrounds is the first fully automated flash website which controls submission and a rating system. The traffic generated by this website not only made it possible to store enormous amount of data, but allowed high profile artists to earn a living by sharing free content. Newgrounds.com appeared several times in mainstream media on various occasions. It was the first to host the second most viral internet video in the world ("numa, numa dance") gathering more then 15 millions views. It also appeared due to published controversial content like "Torture Chamber" or violent animation published by Jeff Weise, the person later responsible for Red Lake School massacre . Regardless of controversy, newgrounds.com, as it will be demonstrated later, embodies most of the characteristics of new media.
Concerning the construction of this portal, there can be distinguished three virtual spaces. The main element of this website is the flash portal publicising and setting in ranking all (not "blamed") flash submissions sent to newgrounds. All of the submissions may be viewed and reviewed by users. Secondly, there is "private space" which consists of users' profile sites with represent shared information. Such data as age, gender and profession can be found there ; plus summary of all his contributions and achievements. Finally there are commune areas like blogs and forums where users can participate in discussions or simply share information he/she likes to share.
Categorization of Newgrounds is quite problematic. It is a publisher of flash animation and also it facilitates fans of those animations. Therefore, according to Boling, Bichelmeyer, Squire and Kirkley , newgrounds could be categorized as "All motivation" website, due to its dependence on users generated traffic and content. According to Shneiderman, newgrounds slips somewhere between "entertainment" and "publishing" genre. Fleming's categorization would need to place newgrounds between community, entertainment and perhaps identity type of websites . It is also undeniably "share and discussion site" according to Deuze categorization. However, all of those categorizations seem to be vague and not fully adequate to the discussed entity. In its simplest, newgrounds is hybrid of entertainment and community site in which publishing plays a primary role. The social role of this website has been consciously developed in order to generate regular traffic and to have all the submissions under control. As it will be later stressed, newgrounds public has characteristics of fandom enabling different level of users' involvement.

Digitality
According to Martin Lister et. al digitality of new media manifests itself in four peculiar characteristics: user has a specific amount of flexibility concerning transferred data; the data can be transferred at very high speed; the information is compressed into very small spaces; plus the information is often dematerialized. All of the mentioned characteristics have implication to Newgrounds.com. Users of this flash portal may edit, remove and add some content. Newgrounds.com is an internet website and like most of other websites can be accessed quickly from all over the globe (partly thanks to data compression). Finally, most of the information, including the Newgrounds framework, has no reference in reality. It is particularly evident in case of sharing flash animation which by the nature of this medium only exists in digital form.
Due to its controversial content and space for contribution, newgrounds mainly draws the attention of a teenage, male audience. Such audience is highly likely to experiment with their new identities and explore all the possibilities they will be given. Bearing that in mind, newgrounds has been designed to enable easy identification of contributor, assure no manipulation of submitted information and easily accessible database of all users.
However, the potential risk may come from individuals to whom the rules do not apply: newgrounds staff and hackers. Both have nearly omnipotent power in the realm of newgrounds. Submissions might be removed without a trace, conversations changed and users records violated. Although alarming, it is worth bearing in mind the fact that newgrounds is a company, its goal is to create traffic and consequently gain advertisers revenue. The above mentioned machinations could damage the reputation and reduce the traffic. Also, it is very unlikely that hacker attack could be driven by motive of theft . Nevertheless, if driven by urge to vandalize, a lot of potentially unreasonable damage could be done.

Hypertextuality:
In its simplest hypertext is "text which includes link or-shortcuts to other documents allowing the reader to jump from one text to related text" . However, the implication of mass use of this technology alters the way in which the text is read. It allows the user to read the text in non-lineal fashion by giving freedom of which part is going to be read. Newgrounds.com depends very much on hypertexts, as it allows swift exploration of massive and diverse content. It allows users by simple clicking either find interesting flash submission, learn about the artist or read comments on forums or bloggs. To enhance navigation hyperlinks often are accompanied by easily distinguishable hyperlink icons.
One of the main concerns about hypertextuallity is users' unknowing where the links can direct to. This may lead to giving selected information to the user, as a result manipulating his or her opinion. However, Newgrounds has no intention in forming users opinion on selected topic . Instead it concentrates on storing and easy navigation between animations and in that sense it does an excellent job. Nevertheless, users thanks to hyperlinks can learn selectively which has major impact on any sort of discussions and reviews. Often the same point is made over and over again because users do not read whole discussions or all reviews, but instead focus on first few and few last posts.

Automation:
As it was already mentioned, in order to organize the enormous amount of data published every day, Newgrounds depends on automatic processes. In fact the clever framework of this flash portal is one of the explanations why it became such huge success. Because newgrounds is the first automated flash portal it allowed the processing of huge amounts of data which users were authorized to publish. Plus, it sorted those publications so the next potential user will have higher chances to come across the best flash submissions.
Although, the automatic process keep everything in order this system is not flawless. Firstly, it reduces the means of expression of users who could positively contribute on newgrounds by not allowing them to act beyond stiff framework (for example by writing their own software). Secondly, it does not make judgments, instead it depends on users' assessment. Therefore, quite often very vulgar or unsophisticated submissions are being rewarded for their high score.

Interactivity:
Newgrounds unlike many other flash related websites has a very clever way of enhancing involvement in the portal activates, creating a sense of community and consequently forming a stable audience. The main and original element of this process is a voting system which allows users to boost or lower the score of watched flash. The voter is rewarded with "experience points" which multiplies users votes. For example, a new user's vote can be worth a quarter of experienced users vote. Plus, voters score can be additionally boost by reviewing the latest submissions by determining either the flash submission is worth or not entering the portal. Just like in RPG games, this voting system quickly gives users a feeling of being rewarded and empowered for his or her actions . This system helped create regular audience among teenage male users who are accustomed with such scheme. Furthermore, it boosts the activity by promoting competitiveness among users. For example, users not only can increase their voting power but also are given privileges and better avatar on forum discussion, clearly signifying the users' status .
Furthermore, there are other, more commonly used forms of contributing. Besides simple vote, users can write reviews, blogs or share their views on forums. However, because there is such overwhelming amount of teenage users, there is vast amount of poor information shared. Most of flash reviews tend to use binary scheme of reviewing by voting minimum or maximum. Many written text is limited to one or two sentences with repetitive, cliché phrases such as "good game" or "it's boring". Furthermore, most of blogs is terribly trivial and often has no narrative.
Because contributing on forums requires reading other users' opinion and expressing ideas in long sentences, forums draw more sophisticated audience. Of course, it depends on the topic, but most constructively involved users take part on forums. Topics of discussions stretch from world-views to complete triviality. Understandably there is huge emphasize on flash animation related topics.

Virtuality / Hypermediacy:
Virtuality is perhaps the least applicable feature of new media for Newgrounds. This term mostly applies to artificial environments which simulate reality, for example MMO RPGs like World of Warcraft. However, as Martin Lister et al. puts it virtual reality may mean: "the space where participants in on line communication feel themselves to be" or as Rucker et al. puts it: "where you are when you're talking on the phone" . In this context virtuality is about creating an artificial environment in which users can interact. Although, this environment may resemble some of the elements of reality (for example, some newgrounds' hyperlinks are represented as buttons), the user is fully aware where he physically is. However, he or she is involved in what is happening "there", in the virtual sphere, rather where the individual physically is. Conversely, this understanding overlaps virtuality with a feature called hypermediacy.
That kind of interactivity mostly relates to exploring the complexity of hyperlinks net. According to Bolter & Grusin: "hypermediacy offers a heterogeneous space, in which representation is conceived of not as a window on the world, but rather as 'windowed' itself" In other words hyperlinking enables creation of notion that it is not simple reading of the text but rather about exploring it. Newgrounds thanks to its transparent construction enhance such exploration.
Creation of such virtual environments is problematic on many level. One of them is possibility to retreat from real life by moving to cyberspace. As it will be later argued, newgrounds provides user with tools to communicate, although developing strong social bonds is unlikely. Far more probable is that newgrounds can provide a refuge from real life in the same way as television does by offering entertainment. Navigating through this environment, users can watch thousands of different flash animation instead in participating in real life activities.

Immediacy:
Finally, the last characteristic, of new media is the notion of losing awareness that the message is mediated at all. This is mostly achieved through creating unified visual space which Newgrounds.com has. The user visiting newgrounds will have a notion that website is one whole and not the set of hyperlinks out of which every single one of them comes from a different source. There is no way of telling from where the information comes from, or what way did it have to come through to reach its destination. Also, there is impossible to track from where outside influences come from, such as advertisements. The unfortunate consequence of this characteristic is users helplessness in determining who is messaging to him or her and how to communicate back.

Discussion:
New media is raising much concern about the role which it plays in post-modern society. According to technological determinists, technology is a driving force in human history and therefore, the advent of new media plays a major role in how the world is perceived . Indeed, the proliferation of internet and CMC raised a lot of discussion about what is community. One of the most serious concerns is its role in fragmentation of the society. According to Steven David Bell : "Debate split between those who argue that cyberspace re-enchants community (...) on the one hand, and on the other those who argue that online community is damaging RL community, by encouraging a withdrawal from 'real life.". This paper will briefly outline what role in this discussion plays newgrounds.com.. As it will be argued, this website enables communication with people who share the same passions. However, the flow of information is hindered by the framework of newgrounds, consequently impacting the community.
Newgrounds.com is a fan community website. According to Henry Jenkins fandom expresses itself through: watching and re-watched the text; learning to read and analyze the text; trying to influence creators by expressing their feeling about the product; making various tributes; and finally, creating alternative communities. Although, placed in virtual space newgrounds.com enables exactly the same activities. Reviewing the system allow users to both give feedback on the flash animation and to learn how other read the same text. Tributes to flash series or flash artists can be encountered. Finally users can share their views with other users on forums. Armature flash animators' community would be unlikely to exists in such shape in real life, but thanks to internet they were able to socialize around such niche subject .
The main idea of fandom is to unite with people who share the same interest on a specific subject. Comparing this fandom to other studied fan, cyber communities like soap opera viewers (studied by Steven G. Jones 1998) and Star Trek fans (analyzed by Gauntlett 2004) there is one major difference. Newgrounds does not relate specifically to mainstream products like TV programs. Instead it is both community of fans and creators, both publishing and criticising at the same virtual space. Fans are often depicted as "obsessive loser, lacking ties to the real world" and fandom is perceived as "danger, abnormality and silliness, in which fans engage in secret lives without any purpose" . The mentioned lack of direct relation to mainstream product can create an impression that such stereotypical role newgrounds and its user has. However, as it will be proved, such type of relations is highly unlikely.
Conversely to the stereotype, Pullen (2000) claimed that fan communities has become less about alienation from the mainstream. Instead it has been absorbed by it. "It seems as though the Web has mainstreamed fandom, allowing more viewers to participate in activities usually reserved for alternate communities interested in marginal text;(...) On the internet, it seems as though everyone is a fan, and nearly everything is worth fan adulation" . In other words, this kind of disintegration into fan communities can be both regarded as differentiation from others and become a part of ever more pluralistic mainstream.
Moreover, many sociologists describe shift from class society into consumer culture. This change manifests itself through individuals' expression through means of consumption. Becoming member of fandom may be one of those means. On the other hand, some academics believe that findings of Tönnies about diminishing bonds in big cities are symbol and/or symptoms of cultural shift into post-modern society. As David Bell puts it: "Cities have become too big, too fractured, too scary- and Internet offers a safe space to build new communities in". Rising need for community and fandom relation may be used to (at least partially) satisfy those needs. As Henry Jerkins claims: "Fandom provides an opportunity to live in and through a set of symbols that are expressive of ones aspirations rather then reality" . Despite those trends, there are some aspect's of newgrounds which limits the proliferation of such community. Mainly, due to, limitation of forms of communication the common practice (for most of users) is limited to voting and reviewing.
Firstly, it is doubtful that newgrounds provides users with alternative to real life social activity (for most of viewers). The most serious technical hindrance is the fact that communication is text based and asynhronic what may get in the way of users' expression. The communication between users is either limited to sending PMs which are nothing more that newgrounds version of e-mails, or by commenting on each others' profiles. All of those methods are poor substitutes to live discussion. However, this may change as the staff of this portal are developing a chat rooms which hopefully will enable more vivid communication and developing stronger bonds between newgrounds fans.
Secondly, many users may choose to concentrate on flash consumption and production without creating strong interpersonal bonds. According to David Bell : "A group whose participants remain highly task or-topic orientated might choose not to develop socially" and exactly the same scenario can be observed on newgrounds. Also, mere size of the community can become an obstacle in creating strong bonds. The findings of Tönnies proved that to large associations can reduce depth of the interactions as it is impossible to relate to everyone within the community . Newgrounds made attempts to give users opportunity to join clubs, in order to enable creation of closer relations within the community. However, at current shape it has no implications on how the text is explored, as it is limited to declaring individual's preferences on forums. Due to those shortcomings newgrounds community appears to be homogeneous and its common practice is in most cases limited to reviewing and voting.
To sum up, Newgrounds.com may be one of the examples of how cyber culture fragmentize the society. On one hand, becoming a fan allows to distance the viewer from others and find a new means for expression via consumption. On the other hand, fandom does not necessarily ostracize user from the mainstream, but rather pluralizing it. There may be strong relationship developed through newgrounds. However, it is very unlikely at current shape. Due to its underdevelopment in particular sections newgrounds dramatically limits proliferation of its cyber community. Improvement of those sections could advance the integration of flash fans and would generate valuable traffic. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that thanks to new media people from around the world could integrate and regularly produce amateur animations for their sheer enjoyment.

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