LESSON 2:
MEDIA THEORIES: UNDERSTANDING THE NEW
MEDIA
According to new media forecaster Paul Saffo, we
learn from experience that our short human
memories are all too often confuses surprise with
speed. According to him when it comes to
emerging technologies, he finds that the slowness
of change is the rule rather than the exception.
Most ideas take much longer to become “overnight
successes” than anyone is ever prepared to admit.
“You should never mistake a clear view for a short
distance. It’s that sense of standing on a ridge,
looking out across a great forest at a distant
mountain goal. The peak is so close it seems you
could reach out and touch it. That is, until you get
in among the trees and start beating your way
towards the mountain”.
What do you think is
the reason why life
feels so much more
rapid today?
Mediamorphosis
Mediamorphosis is the second theory in Media by
Roger Fidler which states that mediamorphosis is not so
much a theory as it is a unified way of thinking about the
technological evolution of communication media. Instead
of studying each form separately, it encourages us to
examine all forms as members of an interdependent
system, and to note the similarities and relationships that
exist among past, present, and emerging forms.
The metamorphosis principle, as well as several
other key principles of mediamorphosis, derive
from three concepts — coevolution, convergence,
and complexity.
Coevolution
All forms of communication are, as we see are
tightly woven into the fabric of the human
communication system and cannot exist
independently from one another in our culture. As
each new form emerges and develops, it
influences, over time and to varying degrees, the
development of every other existing form.
Convergence
In 1979, when Nicholas Negroponte began
popularizing the concept in his lecture
Convergence
Audiences were often astonished by Negroponte’s revelation
that “all communication technologies are suffering a joint
metamorphosis, which can only be understood properly if
treated as a single subject.” To illustrate this concept,
Negroponte drew three overlapping circles labeled
“broadcast and motion picture industry,” “computer industry,”
and “print and publishing industry.” Since then, the notion
that these industries are coming together to create new
forms of communication has shaped much of the thinking
about the future of mass media and human communications.
Complexity
Chaos is an essential component of change. Without it, the
universe would be a dead place and life would be impossible.
Out of chaos comes the new ideas that transform and vitalize
systems. Chaos Theory is the notion that seemingly
insignificant events or slight initial change within a chaotic
systems, such as the weather and the economy, can trigger
cascades of escalating, unpredictable occurrences that
ultimately lead to consequential or catastrophic events. In this
context, complexity refers to the events that take place
within certain apparently chaotic systems.
Fidler identifies six principles of
Mediamorphosis:
Coevolution and Change or Die all media forms exist, evolve
together in an expanding, complex, and
coexistence adaptive system.
Explains that new media emerge
Metamorphosis gradually from older forms
Explains that media propagate dominant traits
Propagation from older forms and are passed and spread
to the new media.
Fidler identifies six principles of
Mediamorphosis:
Is where the old media continues to adapt and
Survival evolve to survive in accordance to the
changing conditions of time rather than to die.
Opportunity and New media are not widely adopted on the
need merits of a technology alone.
New media technologies always take longer
Delayed adoption than expected to become commercial
successes.
There are three great Mediamorphosis
theories in human communication
Development of “broadcast” forms of storytelling and
1.Spoken language ritual performances. Leads to social group formation and
complex problem solving skills
Ushered in the development of portable
2.Written Language documents, mechanical printing, and mass
media.
This allows communication through technology or
3.Digital Language machines between humans. Technology extends human
interactions widespread throughout the world.
