G325: Media In The Online Age

Technological Determinism
The introduction of new media technologies have significantly changed the ways
in which audience consume and interactive with media texts. This process is
known as Technological or Media Determinism. The term 'Technological
Determinism' was apparently coined by the American sociologist and
economist ◄Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929).

According to Daniel Chandler►:

The technological determinist view is a technology-led theory of

social change: technology is seen as 'the prime mover' in history…
this is known as a 'technology-push' theory rather than a
'demand-pull' theory. According to technological determinists,
particular technical developments, communications technologies or
media, or, most broadly, technology in general are the sole or
prime...causes of changes in society, and technology is seen as the
fundamental condition underlying the pattern of social organization.

Technological determinists...say that technologies such as writing or print or television

or the computer 'changed society'. In its most extreme form, the entire form of society
is seen as being determined by technology: new technologies transform society at
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every level, including institutions, social interaction and individuals .

Technological Determinism, PCs and The Internet

Of all technologies, the one that has changed the world the most in the last 100 years is the
computer. Home computers, in particular, are significantly changing the lives of many people
in the Western World in many different ways.

In terms of media, Personal Computers (PCs), through the process of technological

convergence, are rapidly becoming the Soverign Provider for most forms of media
entertainment, whilst also allowing audiences who were previously ‘passive’ to become
media producers in their own right.

Marshall McLuhan: The Medium Is The Message

The medium is the message is a phrase coined by Marshall McLuhan► in
his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964). It refers to the
idea that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a
relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived.
McLuhan proposes that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role
not only by the content delivered over the medium, but also by the
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characteristics of the medium itself .

This theory is especially relevant to the Internet and the World Wide Web. The fact that
audiences can now become producers, or can swap content at will challenges traditional
hegemonic structures.

1
CHANDLER, D. (2001). Technology-Led Theories, Technological or Media Determinism,
The Media And Communications Site [Online], Aberystwyth University, Available at:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/tecdet/tdet02.html, [Last Accessed: 15/03/10]
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_message

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 G325: Media In The Online Age
Technological Convergence
Traditionally all entertainment and communication technologies, such as television, radio,
music systems, telephones, personal computers etc., have all been separate systems. These
systems, however, are beginning to Converge.

According to P.J. Fourie►, in this context the term Convergence:

…is used in the sense of the coming together of information and

communication technologies, especially the merging of
telecommunications and traditional media technologies, to create
new ways of producing, distributing and using knowledge, information
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and entertainment .

Technological Convergence, PCs and The Internet

In terms of the uses home PCs and the
Internet are put to a pattern of convergence
and displacement is emerging. The
◄multimedia home PC is increasingly
becoming a ‘one-stop’ centre for a diverse
range of social and media activities and in so
doing displaces a range of old media (such
as TV, radio, newspapers, magazines,
record labels etc.) from their position as
‘sovereign providers’.

An Internet connected multimedia home PC can be used for a huge variety of media activities
including (but not limited to) the following:

• Game playing: Either in the form of DVDs, or on-line, e.g. MMORPGs.

• Watching/downloading/streaming video: watching DVD/Blu-Rays, downloading or
streaming movies (e.g. iTunes), watching television (VoD/streaming, e.g. BBC
iPlayer), video sites such as YouTube, etc. Illegally downloading/streaming from sites
such as Pirate Bay.
• Downloading/streaming music: legally (from sites such as iTunes or Spotify) or
pirated (from sites such as Limewire).
• Sharing music/video/games/software: usually (but not necessarily) illegally via
Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing networks (e.g. Limewire, Pirate Bay etc.), IM,
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi etc.
• Digital Photography: creating and manipulating images using software such as
Abobe Photoshop and sharing them via sites such as Photobucket or Flickr.
• Digital Video: creating and manipulating video using software such as Abobe
Premiere and uploading it to the Web using sites such as YouTube or P2P sites.
Creating Mashups, Machinima etc.
• Music composition, editing, recording and distribution: using software such as
Garage Band or Audacity as well as blogs, MySpace, websites, iTunes, Spotify etc.
• Communication/Socialising: via Web 1.0 applications such as fax, email, WebCam,
chat rooms, bulletin boards, etc. or via Web 2.0 applications such as Social
Networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Bebo etc.), blogs (Blogger, Posterous etc.),
Micro-blogging (Twitter), Podcasting, Video (YouTube) or by creating your own
website.
• Desktop Publishing: Creating your own newspaper, magazine, fanzine etc. either to
be published as a physical product or to be published online.
• e-commerce: i.e. home shopping for media products, e.g. DVDs, CDs, etc.

3 FOURIE, P. J. Media Studies: Institutions, Theories, And Issues. Volume 1, Juta & Co.,
P.114

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Technological Convergence and Mobile Phones
In recent years all of activities that were traditionally confined to
desktop PC have now become available on mobile devices such as
Mobile phones.

Phones, such as ◄Apple’s iPhone, are no longer merely

communications devices. Instead they have converged with other
devices such as cameras, PDAs, digital music players, PCs etc. to
become multimedia communication and entertainment devices.
Indeed, mobile phones are now the principle way in which most
people access the Internet.