Chapter 1 of Sam Han's book is titled, of all things, Technomedia! (You can click on the link to lead you to a web version of the book. It's not a complete version, but more extensive than what I have provided on D2L.). Cool huh? Google books is awesome!
The chapter starts out by describing something near and dear to the hearts of quite a few folks: The gap distance between the "have's" and "have-not's". Page 2 offers a good quote: "On top of concerns such as AIDS, poverty, and political unrest, postcoloniality, it seems, necessarily involved a technological oppression, taking form in a structured lag. Hence, for those for whom the promise of globalization had yet to be realized, new media technologies became an integral part of not only the discourse of modernization, but of global justice."
Can the internet really have such a powerful presence? If you have been reading the news lately, and I know you have because of the requirement of one of our discussion questions, the internet and programs contained within, have helped start revolutions. Not just 'virtual' revolutions, but real, tangible revolutions! Libya ring a bell? Page 2 goes onto say, "The Internet, specifically, brought glimpses of hope for global democratization, in the form of a "true" public sphere that would circumvent traditional political channels. By facilitating more efficient communication among the citizens of the world usually laden with failures of bureaucracy, the usual stoppages characteristic of bureaucratic institutions could be circumvented." Wow, just wow! The power of technology never ceases to amaze me. I will leave you to ponder this idea.
We are then brought back down to earth a little on page 3, where it states, "Nevertheless, the liberal dream of progress espoused by Friedman and other did nothing but rearticulate the false hopes of modernity under the guise of technological advancement." But don't lose all hope yet. :) Read a bit further down: "Against such optimism, I see the power of information technologies and new media as challenges to these notions altogether." Isn't that what this is all about? Challenging ideas? New thought? Expanding our knowledge? Bridging the gap between the have's and have not's? Or the folks who have access and those that don't? Page three goes on to say, "The Internet not only acts as a forum to disperse knowledge but transforms it, hauling into question the certainty of what constitutes knowledge as such." Yes, yes and yes!
Page 4 starts out by reinforcing ideas we covered at the beginning of the semester: McLuhan!!! "...the content of one medium always involves another." (Don't skip over the box about McLuhand on Page 5). The Medium IS the Message. Enough said!
One thing to pay attention to is the explanation of Hot and Cold Media. This idea was briefly brought up in the McLuhand piece, but it did not expand much on the idea too much. Some students have been confused about hot and cold media in the past, but the book provides some good insight, as does the link I provided.
After the discussion about McLuhan, and a discussion about how "specific media are not tied down to a corresponding technology", the chapter moves into a history of media. There are three eras:
1). Mechanical
2). Electric
3). Broadcast
While this information is review because we have already covered a chapter in media history, it's a great thing to be able to read the history from another authors perspective. Especially where Han asserts that we are on the verge of a fourth era: Virtual! Of course, this book was written in 2008. How much has changed since that time? Quite a bit! If you read further in the book, provided you are interested in purchasing the book (which I recommend if you are at all interested in new media), it discusses a great many things including censorship in other countries, space and time as common place, and a plethora of other ideas. Great read!
I will not recount all three areas of history that Han covers, but be sure to read through it. As mentioned previously, it includes some repetitive information (repetition helps with retention of information, right?) but it also brings up some other great ideas and relationships we have not previously covered.
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I have. If you are interested in the book, it's not incredibly expensive and a great read if you have the time. Of course, this is coming from a communication and new media geek, but I recommend it nonetheless.
Thanks for letting me geek out about yet another reading.
The Blogging Prof.
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