History of the term “Multimedia”

The term “multimedia” was coined by Bob Goldstein (later ‘Bobb Goldsteinn’) to promote the July 1966 opening of his “LightWorks at L’Oursin” show at Southampton, Long Island.

Multimedia can have a number of definitions, include,

Multimedia means that computer information can be represented through audio, video, and animation in addition to traditional media (i.e., graphics drawings, images, text ).

A good general definition is:

Multimedia is the field concerned with the computer-controlled integration of text, graphics, drawings, still and moving images (Video), animation, audio, and any other media where every type of information can be represented, stored, transmitted and processed digitally.

A Multimedia Application is an Application which uses a collection of multiple media sources e.g. text, graphics, images, sound/audio, animation and/or video.

Hypermedia can be considered as one of the multimedia applications.

Multimedia is simply multiple forms of media integrated together. Media can be text, graphics, audio, animation, video, data, etc. An example of multimedia is a web page on the topic of Mozart that has text regarding the composer along with an audio file of some of his music and can even include a video of his music being played in a hall.

Besides multiple types of media being integrated with one another, multimedia can also stand for interactive types of media such as video games CD ROMs that teach a foreign language, or an information Kiosk at a subway terminal. Other terms that are sometimes used for multimedia include hypermedia and rich media.

The term Multimedia is said to date back to 1965 and was used to describe a show by the Exploding Plastic Inevitable. The show included a performance that integrated music, cinema, special lighting and human performance. Today, the word multimedia is used quite frequently, from DVD’s to CD ROMs to even a magazine that includes text and pictures.
Multimedia Applications

Multimedia has become a huge force in American culture, industry and education. Practically any type of information we receive can be categorized as multimedia, from television, to magazines, to web pages, to movies, multimedia is a tremendous force in both informing the American public and entertaining us.

Advertising is perhaps one of the biggest industry’s that use multimedia to send their message to the masses. Where one type of media, let’s say radio or text can be a great way to promote an item, using multimedia techniques can significantly make an item being advertised better received by the masses and in many cases with greater results.

Multimedia in Education has been extremely effective in teaching individuals a wide range of subjects. The human brain learns using many senses such as sight and hearing. While a lecture can be extremely informative, a lecture that integrates pictures or video images can help an individual learn and retain information much more effectively. Using interactive CD ROM’s can be extremely effective in teaching students a wide variety of disciplines, most notably foreign language and music.

Another definition from wikipedia

Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun (a medium with multiple content forms) or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which only use traditional forms of printed or hand-produced material. Multimedia includes a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactivity content forms.
Read more:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia