Frank Hruska's Trivial Information

The Medium is the Massage is the video the below notes pertain to click here to view the video.

Brief Summary

After reading McLuhan and watching the video trying to understand how he views media is difficult.  The reason he claims that illegally accessing content is because media affects us on a deeper level than we are aware of.  The repeating of the medium is the massage is important as it breaks down how media affects us today.  The mispronunciation is key as it shows us how even though the word is wrong we still get the meaning.  This is a commentary on how certain people learn and retain information based on the form of medium used.  That sometimes the medium is more important than the message.  A great modern example is Twitter started trending that Bill Nye The Science Guy is dead when he was not but due to the message being sent around so much through the medium of Twitter it was believed to be fact until an external source was checked.  We live in a day and age where anyone can go online and type anything they want.  If enough people view it and believe it to be true it does become true in a way.  The line “this is bigger than us” shows how big the digital medium has become.  He states that publication started us on the process of legality of ownership of ideas and changed how a man thought.  Now, the internet allows anyone to have an effect on someone else.  These mediums deliver powerful messages which can be misinterpreted or added to.  The danger in illegally accessing these mediums is the fact that without context these messages lose meaning.  Along with the idea of compartmentalization in which anyone can have a role in creating the medium.  It takes a minimum of three people for a message to work.  The creator must first create media, and then the media must be made accessible, so consumers can access it.  The key point McLuhan is trying to make is media is the message in which he believes the method of delivery is more important that the actual message.  This is seen more and more where internet writers get lazy due to deadlines.  Print media is failing because a newspaper is 24 hours behind at a minimum.  Whereas internet writers scramble to piece together an article as soon as an event happens.  The fact is the print writer is properly more qualified to write but the internet writer has a better medium allowing his message to be stronger.  Limited people in my generation still read the newspaper as we all have access to Google.  If news happens I want it now which is what leads to illegal downloading also.  Why drive out to the store when a person can download it go to work and have it ready when they get home all while saving money.  The problem is the internet is still relatively new and operates under a form of Marshall Law.  The federal government has been trying to regulate the internet for years and has failed at almost every attempt.  This is because the medium is stronger than the message.

Questions With Discussion 

Do you believe the medium is more important than the message?

I disagree with his McLuhan’s assertion that the medium is more important than the message.  It is about understanding your audience.  To say the medium is the message is to dismiss the power of your message.  Mediums should be used to enhance and distribute your message not be the only message.  Too often ad campaigns fail because they want to use a new medium rather than focus on their message.  You can see this where news commenters use slang that they are obviously unfamiliar with which kills their message.  I laugh every time I see a news caster in his sixties say “follow us on Twitter” as it is obvious he has no idea how important following them on Twitter actually is.  It is important to understand your message then apply the right medium.

Do you believe technological mediums are killing messages?

I do believe this to an extent.  As now it seems more important to get a short message to a bunch of people.  The reason for this is we live in a world with free information.  Media producers just need to get the word out and hope everyone jumps on their phone or pc to learn more.  The message is still there but it is changing.  Before the message was what sold your product not the medium.  Now, the medium is used to let people know about your product then use the web to make a decision.

Has Free Information Led To A No Man’s Land?

I use the term no man’s land to describe the internet as that is what it embodies.  The simple fact that I can create a virtual avatar or representation of myself online that differs from who I am has never been seen before.  Now, if someone says something and I don’t know it Google does.  The access to illegal downloading has also led to this problem.  That with illegal downloading the question of have you heard the new album, seen the newest movie, read the latest book is all minutes away online.  This access to “free” information has led to many legal battles as the ethics are argued over the benefits.  When civilization first formed a set of rules was needed to keep people in line.  The internet can be viewed as a new civilization where the laws are still being hashed out.

Experience With Discussion

I am all too familiar with copy right law due to me writing for an SEO company.  There are a lot of things which you cannot say or do due to regulations.  There is also an extensive list of rules and regulations which pertain to formatting.  The problem with this is a lot of times I will write and then have to edit or find new information because my source is copy righted.  This can get complicated and tedious.  Fair use is a word we bounce around all too much because finding reliable fair use information is critical to my job.  All it takes is one lawsuit and an SEO company can go under.

The Above Image is Only A Small Amount of the Digital Mediums Available

Works Cited

McLuhan, Marshall. “The Medium Is the Massage Part 1 – Marshall McLuhan, Quentin Fiore & Jerome Agel 1967.” YouTube. YouTube, 31 Jan. 2010. Web. Sept. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8YYM_7KUpw>.

McLuhan, Marshall. “The Medium Is the Message.” N.p., n.d. Web. Sept. 2012. <https://www.blackboard.odu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-3150326-dt-content-rid-351374_2/courses/201210_FALL_ENGL307T_22761/McLuhan-MediumMessage.pdf>.