Is medium the message?

I believe that the medium is not as important as its content. The Internet illustrates how different media and formats can lead to very different types of messages and communication. For instance, Twitter limits messages to 140 characters, but provides a quick way to send a message to a group of people (called followers). It allows followers to feel connected to the sender of the message. Even though the content is short and often seems trivial, Twitter is extremely popular because it allows short, convenient messages to be exchanged. This leads to a different kind of content and communications.

Traditionally, I think television is a cool medium in that people want to relax when they watch. It is not interactive and people often want a passive experience. It is already visually rich and full of information, so people don’t need to be as aggressive in communicating (for example, compared to talk radio). However, it seems to be changing. With so many other choices for communication and entertainment (cable, satellite, Internet – email, videos, social networking etc., cell phone/text messaging), it seems that many television channels are becoming more provocative. Reality television is often designed to shock the viewer. Also, talk shows on cable news seem are becoming more provocative like talk radio.