WEEK 2 "The History of Communication Technologies"

Hi, this week we had a look at the history of communication technologies through these two timelines: Some Dates in the History of Cultural Technologies  and The History of Communication.

By exploring these timelines, I was amazed by how fast our method of communication has developed. I noticed that in the old day’s communication technologies were often characterized by its main purpose for example, photography, radio, television, telephones etc. Therefore, nowadays new communication technologies have combined many devices to create new tools with more than one purpose. The convergence of new communication technologies allows the users to access different means via one device. Examples of technologies that are converging could be the new smartphones. As in the early days we would use mobile phones to call or text each other but today we also use our phones to take photos, listen to music, access the Internet and even use them as maps.This major development may have various benefits for its convenience. Therefore, keeping up with the latest communication technologies might be a challenge for many people.

However, it's not only the technology devices that are changing. Think about the languages that we use to communicate in our modern society. Words such as LOL, OMG, BTW, IDK and many more have become common in texting and social media platforms as it shortens the words or sentences. Emojis are also a popular way of expressing our emotions through a combination of symbols, used in texting or chats. The popularity of emojis has also recently appeared in many famous music videos such as Katy Perry’s single Roar. 

This style of communicating may seem very new but in fact, the smiley face or :-) was first used by Scott Fahlman in 1982. The emoticon was originally posed on Carnegie Mellon University computerscience general board. This was the original message on the board:

19-Sep-82 11:44 Scott E Fahlman :-)From: Scott E Fahlman <Fahlman at Cmu-20c> I propose that the following character sequence for joke markers: :-) Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to markthings that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use :-( 

By looking back to the history of communication technology, there seems to be nothing that is impossible to for our next generation. :-)

WEEK 1 "The medium is the message"

Our society has been bombarded with various inventions of new communication technologies, that all share a common purpose to communicate and transfer messages. We continually see new creations of devices such as, the Internet, smart phones, applications, and social media.  Furthermore, we also see older devices develop to survive this significant change across the few years such as, TV on demand or even newspapers and magazines adapting their mediums from print to online.  This transformation impacts on companies to keep up and be ahead in renovating future communication technology devices. However it’s our society who is demanding for these changes.

Thus, this concept of the medium change was never a surprise for Marshall McLuhan. In 1964, McLuhan claimed that he always viewed the medium “in the sense of a growing medium, like the fertile potting soil into which a seed is planted, or the agar in a Petri dish”. In 2013, McLuhan’s theory proves to be real, as today’s inventions and ideas seem to be unexpected from what you would ever imagine to be created five years ago.  

McLuhan’s most famous quote “the medium is the message” also indicates to us about the effects that these mediums have on us. McLuhan once explained his concept by using a light bulb as a metaphor of the medium.  A light bulb contains no content in itself. Therefore, the light bulb creates a large effect on our society as it enables us to read at night, it can be used as a spotlight in a sports stadium, or used while a doctor is proceeding an operation to a patient etc.  The various mediums in our society all have a significant impact on our society not only by transferring a message but it also effects on us to define or change our attitudes and actions. For example, a political campaign that we see on television may affect us to decide on whom to vote for. Or a pop music video that we see on YouTube can perhaps create a new culture or trend in our society. McLuhan’s concept of “the medium is the message” reinforces us to think and reflect about the change and the importance of these communication technologies on our society.

Reference What is the Meaning of The Medium is the Message? by Mark Federman