Part 1:
What were two points from this week's reading that stood out to you as particularly important and interesting?
Why so?
Two points from the week 4 reading that stood out to me the most were about media's form and content and Marshall McLuhan.
The first is about media's form and content. The weekly reading shows the importance and close relationship between the form and content of media in the current context. The form of the media, also known as the medium, is the means of the message delivery system to bring the advertising message to the target audience. Media such as TV, Radio, Print, Outdoor, and Internet are the tools to convey advertising messages to the public (Mohd Aqib Aslam). Including content, style, and structure. In addition, the text also mentions hot and cool media. The construction of a media product depends on the style and content of the product and the intended audience, the place, the context, and the time in which the product is created produced, distributed, and consumed. and read by the audience.
Next is Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian media educator, and theorist whose aphorism “the medium is the message” (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2022). and the strong influence of television, computers, and other disseminating electronic devices in shaping human and social thinking and thinking styles. From the content of the text, Marshall McLuhan said “media form is most important”. Through this week's reading, it is possible to understand the importance of media and know more about how they operate in such communication. In particular, the means of expression is going to impact the meaning of the expression.
Part 2:
What are hot and cool media?
Media such as print media, photographs, radio, and movies are considered hot media and they are "high resolution" because they are rich in sensory data. It usually doesn't leave too much information to be filled in or completed by the audience. While cool media are media such as speech, cartoons, phones, and televisions, they are "low resolution" because they provide less sensory data. So ask for more participation or 'complete' by the audience. Any hot medium allows for less participation than a cool one. (Marshall McLuhan, 1964).
In your own words, what does “technological determinism” mean?
A reductionist thesis called technological determinism seeks to establish a causal connection between technology and the character of civilization. It makes an attempt to elucidate who or what may be in charge of human affairs. The hypothesis queries the extent to which technology influences on human mind or behavior.
Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams famously disagreed about the power of media technology to shape society. What were their positions? Who do you agree with more?
Raymond Williams was an author, academic, cultural theorist, literary critic, public intellectual socialist, and a leading figure of the New Left. His writings on politics, culture, media and literature contributed to the Marxist critique of culture and art. (RWS Secretary Phil O'Brien, 2018). Both McLuhan and William have made great contributions to the media industry and especially each of their points of view gives different conceptions and opinions about the importance of the media and power of the media. communication technology in shaping society. But both must agree that communication technology will change the world. While technological determinism is the mainstay of McLuhan's theory, Raymond Williams argues that the effects of communication technologies are culturally and socially constructed based on how they are used. In McLuhan's view, technology, or in other words a new form of media is an expansion and development of human capacity, thus it plays an important role in shaping society and culture. In contrast, Raymond argues that focusing on technology will remove social conditions and institutions. Therefore, the medium does not operate on its own but is controlled by powerful individuals to send messages to the audience (Durham & Kellner, 2009).
In my opinion, I agree more with Marshall McLuhan's view. In the context of digital media and the internet, McLuhan and William's frameworks provide insight into the adoption and use of communication technologies. Modern organizations operate in an environment characterized by the widespread use of the internet and especially digital media (Strate, 2017). For example, customer behavior has evolved rapidly because most customers prefer to buy products online rather than in physical stores. Therefore, organizational policies should focus on developing structures that facilitate interaction with customers using modern technology. William argues that the society that shapes technology is highly applicable in such an environment.
In the context of today's rapid development of digital and the internet, McLuhan shows us the benefits of adopting and using communication technologies. He offers hot and cold views to describe media and its effect on audiences (Marshall McLuhan, 1964). Moreover, we can see that well-known medium such as Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter, help modern organizations to broadcast marketing information. Regardless of the content, organizations have full discretion when it comes to using a medium for better communication. For example, Facebook has nearly 3 billion users to interact with a global audience (Number of monthly active Facebook users worldwide as of 3rd quarter 2022, 2022), and communicators can easily convey messages or products to a wider audience, especially in a business environment. Therefore, I agree with Marshall McLuhan's point.
References:
Canadian educator, 17 July 2022, viewed 28 November 2022.
Mediaknite website, Media forms, viewed 28 November 2022.
Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, 1964, viewed 28 November 2022.
MASS COMMUNICATION, Technological Determinism, 2016, viewed 28 November 2022.
T. Editors of Encyclopaedia, Marshall McLuhan
RWS Secretary Phil O’Brien, About Raymond Williams 2018, viewed 28 November 2022.
Rosana Pinotti, Media & Cultural Studies, 2006,
James Taylor, Theories of Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams Perspective of Media, 2022, viewed 28 November 2022.
