One can never be too sure about whether or not media’s “intrinsic properties” are being fully utilized or not but again, in this day and age, I think we as a society are very close fully unlocking the full potential of the New media. We as a species are always evolving and many new things emerge due to that change and technology also evolves along with us. Technology is changed based on our needs just like everything else. But even with this change same principals are still utilized but newer technology is made to fit our needs better and in a more convenient way. HD and 3D films are a great example for this. 3D films have changed our whole experience with movies and going to the theater. But it still uses the same principals of filmmaking and is shot pretty much the same way. Another way film making has evolved is that a few years ago film was shot on actual film but now everything can be filmed on digital cameras which has changed the format of it but the concept remains the same. So film reels are being replaced by memory cards and digital cameras and film “data” is being saved on computers instead of film reels which is a lot more convenient to handle and manage. Technology usually gets upgraded nothing really goes entirely obsolete same principals are applied but just the method of doing something is changed based on what the society needs. As the generations change many new things emerge and with that old technology is replaced with something that is much more useful.
So to answer the question “What needs to evolve in order for new media to utilize it’s “intrinsic properties:” society, the medium/technology, or both?” I think it’s quite simple really and the answer is, All of the above. We as a society are always evolving and with that technology/medium changes and evolves to fit our need. So has the media reached it full potential? Perhaps not, or maybe it has. I personally like to think that we’re still evolving as a society and as new technologies emerge our interaction with the world changes along with it so one can never be sure whether or not the intrinsic properties are fully being utilized or not.
