Media as Message

This is a 10-minute post.

Over the last several years I’ve delved deeper and deeper in to the nature of online interaction; how we engage with one another; how we develop, nurture and sustain relationships, and the implications this has on our realities as people and as human beings. I’ve explored as many different tools as I can get my hands on and immersed myself in as many modes, mediums and environments as I can possibly experience – all the while doing as much as I can to try and connect with others.

It’s been both a fascinating experience and a personally gratifying one. But just tonight though I was brought to wonder what is it that makes these relationships develop in the ways they do. As the now famous saying goes: “the medium is the message.” What does that mean exactly.

To be honest at this point in time I’m not exactly sure, but I do know that media – particularly in the way Michael Wesch describes it – plays a direct and highly influential role on the nature of relationships that we as people are able to engage in.

For example, in this post I will be presenting exactly the same content through three different means – text, audio and video. The message within the content therefore remains unchanged, however the impact of the message, and how it is perceived by others, is undoubtedly different.

It’s the nature of the differences that I’m the most curious about right now. Not simply from the standpoint of knowing which medium is the most effective to achieve a desired outcome, but the motives that influence these outcomes to take place in the first place.

I’m quite interested in hearing the perspective of others on this matter, as it carries significant implications for many levels of online interaction – from social interaction, to learning, to commerce. Perhaps understanding why we react differently to different mediums could foster a keener sense of awareness of ourselves that we might harness to empower ourselves, and our relationships with others. That remains to be seen.

My 10 minutes is up.