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Thursday, December 03, 2009
Why is technology important? Dave Winer posted one answer to "Why is technology important?". It is an important question. Technology is a human artifact like media, innovations, language, processes, tools, clothing and any other "extensions of the physical human body - or the mind." So I will answer the question: "Why are artifacts important?" Artifacts are important because they impact our culture, our way of life. They have four effects: enhance, obsolesces, retrieves and reverses as described in McLuhan's Laws of Media. For example, automobiles enhance our privacy and travel, obsolesces horse and buggy, retrieves quests and reverses into traffic jams. You may have a different perception which is another reason why it is important to study technology and other artifacts. You can use this model to study any artifact and thus our culture. Labels: Laws of Media, McLuhan permalink ( Thursday, December 03, 2009 ) Ray 0 comments links to this postThursday, September 17, 2009 New New Media New book from author of Digital McLuhan. New new way to promote the textbook. Is a textbook new new media? javascript:void(0) Labels: McLuhan permalink ( Thursday, September 17, 2009 ) Ray 0 comments links to this postTuesday, May 19, 2009 User Experience Design and McLuhan In looking to explain User Experience Design I started thinking about McLuhan's statement that "The Medium is the Message." He was explaining, for example, that the car was not just about the car but the entire "environment" that it took to support the car: gas stations, oil companies, rubber plantations, auto unions, etc. In looking at a picture of a car you don't see the entire environment. The message is bigger than the product itself; it is the environment the product requires. User Experience Design is about looking at this entire environment when creating a new artifact. In fact creating a new product may including creating a substantial part of the supporting environment. The user does not use the new product or technology in a vacuum but within a larger context. For example, a picture of an iPod does not show you iTunes, the iTunes store or the Apple Store with the Genius Bar. Good design looks at the entire environment. Because McLuhan's Laws of Media apply within this environment, a good designer would benefit from studying them. Simply, User Experience Design has made a discipline out of the "The Message" of a new product. permalink ( Tuesday, May 19, 2009 ) Ray 0 comments links to this post |
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