A-ha from week 3's reading

At first when reading chapters 2 and 3 of "Media Technology & Society" I was quite bored and was wondering what the point was. Did I really need to be going through the details of the invention of the telephone? After reading Postman's "Informing Ourselves to Death," I began to understand the point of the reading assignment. When considering new technology and and its impact on society it is important to understand that the development and intent for that technology may be a far cry from the way it is used. One example given was the invention of the mechanical clock by monks for the use of worship, and then societies using the clock to make capitalism possible. There are key forces in society driving the development and adoption of technology, some being government, politics, military, science and business.

In terms of Internet Use and Gratification, I think it is an incredible tool for businesses trying to find the right segment to advertise to. The way I could see myself using this concept in my paper in the social sense in that it lends itself to creating a segmented populations. On the business side, it allows new avenues for advertising to a very specific group instead of having to try and please a wider audience.

The Medium is the Message (Group #2)

In The Medium is the Message by Marshall McLuhan, I expected much less progressive content because it was written in the 1960s. I did not anticipate so many of his thoughts and points to be so applicable today. I suppose I shouldn’t be so shocked, as my comments in earlier classes and blogs have been that no technology is “new” but just a build upon earlier technologies and ideas. If that is true then it would make sense for the same issues and points to have the same roots as those we experience today.

The major take-away for me from the reading was the examination of not just media, but the way media changes how we experience the world. The technology is not just changing the technological sphere of our world, but the social, cultural spheres as well. It’s about looking more deeply into the impact, and the real root of the medium without being blinded by the content the medium is projecting. At the base of all of this is information, how the medium moves it, uses it, and what that means to us.

Another key point is not putting limitations on mediums. If we are to examine something, a phone line for example, and only look at its sole use, or what it was designed to do, we could be missing out on all of the other ways it could be utilized. As we all know, a phone line has many uses beyond having a conversation with a person on the other end. It transfers information to computers, fax machines, etc, etc. It moves information in multiple ways and has had a huge impact on technology, our social sphere, and how our communities have developed.

Supplemental Reading:
http://www2.scedu.unibo.it/roversi/SocioNet/114601.pdf