ABSTRACT
The focus of this study is on the growing multimedia industry located in a geographic region known as the ‘Silicon Alley’ of New York. As noted by Fuchs and Wolf (1997), multimedia is usually defined in technical terms. In this sense, it signifies a combination of a variety of media (at least three of the following: text, graphics, moving pictures, audio, etc.) available in a digitized format that can be accessed interactively. We consider multimedia to be a networking technology. Our definition is geared toward the end product of a potential multimedia value chain or value network in which a variety of actors can be present. These actors include, among others, network operators (for online multimedia), hardware producers (servers, computers, etc.), the media industry, service providers, content providers, software producers and the entertainment industry.
