[Air-l] Internet as medium with different sub-media or channels?

[Christopher J. Richter]

To state the obvious, whether considering "'real' communication between embodied individuals," or the ostensible communication between embodied and non-embodied beings, or even oil paint as medium of expression, the key commonality is the "between," specifically, that which (or s/he who) mediates.  Granted the term "mediate" is itself open to varying interpretations, but it emphasizes process.

In this sense, to the degree that each of the different applications mediates in different ways, enables and constrains different aspects of communication, you should consider them different media, as Anders suggests.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that the internet taken broadly shouldn't be considered as a medium at all, but a domain or infrastructure for various media.  But as Anders also suggests, since "media" and "medium" are already invested with other meanings it might be most practical to use another term altogether, genre, mode, even application.  

>From another perspective, whether medium or mediate, the more I think about it the more the terms imply a conceptualization of communication as something that can be more or less direct--a sort of sender-receiver model, with communication somehow changed, for better or worse, depending on mode and amount of mediation.  This makes sense, but at the same time, what does it really mean, if the level or amount of mediation doesn't correspond necessarily to degree of ambiguity--physical touch, as relatively direct communication can be more ambiguous than a TV message or a web page; a television message can mislead, but so can the spoken word.  All communication seems mediated through the intersection of physical perception, culture and psychology . . . ? I'm not quite sure where this line of reasoning leads, but in any case, these latter reflections are probably of no im-mediate help to you, Michaël!


Christopher J Richter, PhD
Assoc. Prof. & Chair, Communication Studies
Hollins University
P.O. Box 9652
Roanoke, VA 24020

Tel. 5403626358
Fax 5403626286
e-mail crichter at hollins.edu
www.hollins.edu


-----Original Message-----
From: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Alex Halavais
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 11:26 AM
To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
Subject: Re: [Air-l] Internet as medium with different sub-media or channels?

Ulla:
> A fifth meaning for the word "medium" is "person who can talk to ghosts and otherwise
> dead people." This meaning doesn't really pertain to what most of us are studying...

In "Speaking into the Air," John Durham Peters takes this
idea--angelic communication and communion with the dead--as the
starting point for thinking about what we do when we (fail to)
communicate. If "real" communication is between embodied individuals,
it seems that most of us study ghosts in some form.

But I'm pretty sure that's not what your students mean :).
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