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Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.17,0:00:13.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I received a couple of requests to say something \Nabout ‘new media’.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.27,0:00:15.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There is of course a lot to say about this,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.27,0:00:20.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but for now I want to limit myself to a quick \Ndiscussion on new media theory.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.43,0:00:23.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before we continue, could you think about some \Nold media?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.63,0:00:28.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just note the first ones that pop up in your mind.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.67,0:00:35.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And now, some new media. I asked this \Nquestion in many classrooms.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.07,0:00:39.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And usually my students mention mobile phones, \Nthe internet, tablets or blu-ray discs
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.00,0:00:42.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as new media.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.69,0:00:48.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Old media that are mentioned \Nare the newspaper, books, television and radio.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.78,0:00:53.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take a few seconds to think about why you \Nconsider this medium old and the other new.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.17,0:00:57.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is the definition of a new medium?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.47,0:01:01.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,While you are thinking about this, I want to \Nshare with you the following,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.23,0:01:03.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,typical quote, from a scholar:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.50,0:01:08.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“[The new medium] will create forgetfulness in \Nthe learners' souls,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.83,0:01:11.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they will not use their memories (…).
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.97,0:01:16.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Learners] will be hearers of many things and \Nwill have learned nothing;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.90,0:01:21.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they will appear to be omniscient and will \Ngenerally know nothing;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.90,0:01:28.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they will be tiresome company, having the show \Nof wisdom without the reality.”
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.63,0:01:33.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What medium do you think this critical scholar \Nhad in mind? The internet?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.57,0:01:37.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You often hear people say things like this about \Nthe internet.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.83,0:01:43.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this quote is actually about the written word \Nby the famous philosopher Plato.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.57,0:01:49.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Plato wrote these critical notions on the written \Nword around 360 Before Christ.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.90,0:01:55.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are many historical quotes very similar to \Nthis one referring to other media
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.70,0:01:57.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that were new at one time in history,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.70,0:02:00.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like the first printed books in the Late Middle \NAges,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.73,0:02:06.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the new phenomenon of the popular newspaper \Npress in the nineteenth century,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.50,0:02:10.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,radio in the early and television in the late \Ntwentieth century.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.70,0:02:14.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The point I’m trying to make is this:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.23,0:02:20.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s important to realize that all media were new \Nat one time or another.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.33,0:02:24.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because it’s easy to fall into the trap of only \Nseeing our current new media,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.50,0:02:28.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,internet, mobile media and such, as new.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.33,0:02:35.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This trap has led some scholars to come up \Nwith very specific definitions of new media,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.17,0:02:41.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,claiming that new media are always interactive, \Npromote user participation, et cetera.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.10,0:02:43.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But is this useful?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.37,0:02:48.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Basically what we are seeing here is new media \Ntheory built around specific
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.67,0:02:50.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and only current examples,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.87,0:02:57.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like the internet or mobile media. These types of \Ntheories explain what’s happening right now,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.30,0:03:01.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but you can’t really use them to explain the \Nphenomenon of new media in general.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.60,0:03:05.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These theories, built around the new media of \Ntoday,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.80,0:03:09.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hardly fit the situation where the written word \Nwas introduced
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.27,0:03:14.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the book printing revolution changed the face \Nof Europe.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.83,0:03:19.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Also, in designing theories to fit current \Nexamples lies another danger,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.63,0:03:23.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it’s very probable that these theories \Nbecome outdated as soon
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.20,0:03:26.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a new new medium arises.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.67,0:03:32.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Therefore, many scholars argue against the \Npractice of creating new media theories
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.20,0:03:35.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to fit current examples.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.37,0:03:41.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The influential Marshall McLuhan gave a great \Nexample when he proposed his own theories on \Nnew media,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.60,0:03:46.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not by dwelling on modern-day examples, but \Nby skipping back and forth through time,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.97,0:03:54.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,showing in fact that his theories apply in all of \Nthese historical and modern situations.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.83,0:04:00.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of his main observations was in fact that all \Nof these media revolutions throughout history
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.27,0:04:03.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were always caused by a new technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.90,0:04:07.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This perspective is called technology \Ndeterminism,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.30,0:04:11.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because important shifts in human development \Nare, in the end,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.53,0:04:18.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,attributed to innovations in technology. The \Nprinting revolution was made possible by
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.06,0:04:21.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Gutenberg’s innovation of the printing press.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.53,0:04:27.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The internet was made possible because \Ncomputer networks were developed. Et cetera.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.50,0:04:33.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another important conclusion of McLuhan was \Nthat all of these shifts in the media landscapes
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.20,0:04:36.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had huge effects in society:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.73,0:04:40.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The printing revolution led to the Renaissance \Nand Enlightenment.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.03,0:04:46.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The rise of the internet has heralded a modern \Ndigital information age.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.27,0:04:49.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Other scholars have followed in the footsteps of \NMcLuhan,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.57,0:04:53.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though they don’t always agree with his \Nviews,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.43,0:04:58.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they too strive to formulate theories and \Ndefinitions on New Media
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.30,0:05:04.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that capture the entirety of the new media \Nphenomenon, and not only current examples.