Discord: New Media Evolved?

I chose my research topic Discord: New Media Evolved because, for me and many other avid users on the internet, Discord is a very common app. While not the first internet communication app, Discord combines a number of different kinds of new media while being easier to use and run. I will analyze this growth and development. Over the years, it has incorporated its chat rooms with direct messaging, calls and video sharing. The result? In only a few short years, Discord has grown to have hundreds of millions of users, millions of servers and has grown past its initial audience of gamers. Today, there are servers for many communities surrounding hobbies, fandoms, music interests, and internet personalities such as streamers. Some servers are small groups of friends while others are social hubs of thousands of users. I will also be assessing its impact, it has led to many people to be able to connect with others. But has also lead to easier illicit activity. While it still is somewhat unknown in mainstream new media, it has the potential to be one of, if not the leading new media platform.