What is the Meaning of the Medium is the Message?

“The medium is the message,” I’ve heard many times this semester. But I never really understood what it meant until I stumbled upon Mark Federman’s explanation. He explains that this famous quote infers that we as society tends to focus on the obvious and miss out on the subtle changes in our structural affairs. The “message” is the change of pace , the invention or innovation that is introduced to human affairs.  For example, the underlying message in a newscast is not the news itself, but the change in public attitudes towards crime. Also Federman explains that the “medium” is an extension of ourselves; which in turn enables us to do more than we can physically achieve. Similar to how wheels of a car is an extension of our feet; which basically we see a change in transportation occurring.  “The medium is the message” tells us that noticing the change in societal grounds indicate a presence of a new message, which is the effect of the new medium. And because we are so distracted by the content of the medium, we are blinded by the potential effects of its message.

Queen of New Media: Perez Hilton

With his oversize persona, Mario Laveindera, aka, Perez Hilton realised way back in 2004 that it was easier to become a famous blogger instead of a famous actor. His first account was with Blogger, which soon evolved into a hot pink  Perezhilton.com. Th e celebrity gossip site is known for its enormous amount of traffic and many lawsuits from a variety of hoto agencies. But back in 2004, little the old media know that today Perez would be recognized and become a very important figure in Hollywood because of his celeb-hound blog.  Perez is today a gatekeeper which who bringsforth a special kiind of influence in todyas media. For example, after posting a track by an unknown artists  Eric Hutchinson, fans rushed to Itunes and downloaded the album, then three months Hutchinson was signed to Warner Music.

Blog Culture Ripping up Book for Outsourcing Services and Technology Media Industry

Because of the sudden growth of the blog culture, it is radically changing the ways we are used to having media delivered to us.  Suddenly, opinionated experts have access to the industry which they never had before. Because we can constantly be updated with news, for once we can be a part of the debate.  Basically, blogging provides a medium for experts, analysts, academics, consultants, marketers and practitioners t convey their views of the industry, therefore creating a diversification of information being distributed.

Death of Film Criticism

Article highlighting the shift in “power” from the classic  “professorial lecturer” with superior knowledge who critics films and the industry versus the online average Joe and his opinion. A prime example is Harry Knowles vs. Siskel and Ebert; a blogger who shares a devoted passion for films who states basically taking away credibility from Siskel and Ebert who are notoriously know as “elite critics.” The blogspere has initiated the democratization of public opinion. Fan bloggers are “more independent, honest and in sync with the mass audience.” As well, as they get their info 1^st and out to the world in a matter of seconds.

Memory Bytes: Dematerialization of media (p.200)

Author Lisa Gitelman makes an analogy where the telegraph is the old connection between point to point communication and point to point travel. Today’s digital technologies allows communication to be virtually freed information limited of its physicality: i.e. books, pages and files.  Moments of media transition when things seem particularly dependent and far from inevitable and natural. Also this leads to perceptual semiotic patterns, technological forums, social practice, economic structure, legal construction defining the particular medium dominant media system remains unsettled.

Forbes: Blogs Move in On Old Media Territory

According to this online article, blogging is a simple process of publishing and distribution of words. Anyone with internet can share their thoughts with the world within seconds and at virtually no cost. The blogsphere draws on a wider range of media, spanning text, image, audio, video and software applications. As a consequence, media is becoming more and more open, collaborative and participatory.  This impacts the speed of information that is now being distributed uncommonly faster, and none the less causes a problem for gate keepers such as newspapers, television shows and the radio.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/13/blogs-print-newspapers-magazine-business-media-oxford_2.html

A Bloggers Blog: Exploring the Definition of a Medium

In this research paper the authors explain that the relationship between bloggers and journalist are complicated. Journalist feel strongly intimidated by today’s bloggers ability quickly cover new material. However,  on the other hand, journalist also snub bloggers because of their lack of credibility for their sources and their lack to respect the code of neutrality.  Journalist identified bloggers view their practice as journalism and their blog as their journalist publication. It was also noted that this new emergence of blogs created a rift between practice and medium to the forefront.

YouTube: State of the Internet

Fun facts:

1. 1.73 billion people are connected to the internet around the world

2.26 million blogs on the world wide web

The Decline of the Music Industry

In the past couple of years, the record industry “has plunged into a historic decline.” Today major labels are struggling to reinvent their business models in the face of widespread piracy, consumers growing preference for low profit margin. However, in the article record executives seem to understand that their problem is structural: the internet has become the most influential technological shift for the business since the 1920’s. It was also mentioned in the article that it was in 2001-2003 where the period was crucial for the music industry; “peer-to-peer” file sharing became a popular trend, and also a period where “music went front real value in peoples mind to music having no economic value, just emotional value.” Some say the music industry brought this upon themselves, “record companies waited almost two years after Napster’s July 2nd, 2001, shutdown before licensing a user-friendly legal alternative to unauthorized file-sharing services: Apple’s iTunes Music Store.” However, recent studies have shown that there has been an increase in music listeners. “Consumers have bought more than 100 million iPods since November 2001 introduction […] and the touring business is thriving.” So basically, the brings forth the idea that if the interest is there, how do we turn that into money.

The Record Industry Decline from RollingStone Magazine

In the past couple of years, the record industry “has plunged into a historic decline.” Today major labels are struggling to reinvent their business models in the face of widespread piracy, consumers growing preference for low profit margin. However, in the article record executives seem to understand that their problem is structural: the internet has become the most influential technological shift for the business since the 1920’s.  It was also mentioned in the article that it was in 2001-2003 where the period was crucial for the music industry; “peer-to-peer” file sharing became a popular trend, and also a period where “music went front real value  in peoples mind to music having no economic value, just emotional value.” Some say the music industry brought this upon themselves, “record companies waited almost two years after Napster’s July 2^nd, 2001, shutdown before licensing a user-friendly legal  alternative to unauthorized file-sharing services: Apple’s iTunes Music Store.”   However, recent studies have shown that there has been an increase in music listeners.  “Consumers have bought more than 100 million iPods since November 2001 introduction […] and the touring business is thriving.”  So basically, the brings forth the idea that if the interest is there, how do we turn that into money.