practical mediology 1

Introduction to Media Management

8. Practical Mediology 1

Kenji Saito <[email protected]>

SFC ∆N214

Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University

Fall 2010

Introduction to Media Management: Practical Mediology 1 – p.1/61

“Technology is neither good nor bad, nor evenneutral. Technology is one part of the complex ofrelationships that people form with each other andthe world around them; it simply cannot beunderstood outside of that concept.”

— Samuel Collins


Mediology (Oct/25,27, Nov/1)

DAY 1Discuss what changes and problems arise when a newmedium (new technology) is cast into a society

Practice: Draw a media tetrad (assignment for everyone to draw another)Reading:M. McLuhan, “The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man”M. McLuhan, “Laws of Media: The New Science”P.F. Drucker, “Management: Tasks Responsibilities Practices”

DAY 2Discuss who would react how if a new medium is cast into asociety based on a hypothetical example, and find out whatproblems would arise

Text: B. Sterling, “Maneki Neko”

DAY 3

Debate on the issues with respect to a new hypotheticalmedium from DAY 2 in the form of a simulated public hearing


What is a medium anyway?

What are ‘media’ in ‘Graduate School of Media Design’?


What is a Medium?

Any extension of ourselves

– M. McLuhan “Understanding Media”

I think that we may call anything existing between twopersons a ‘medium’

– Kazuhiko Hachiya

⇒ In this class, a medium is defined as follows:Any artifact, technology or being among people


What is a Medium?

Any extension of ourselves

– M. McLuhan “Understanding Media”

I think that we may call anything existing between twopersons a ‘medium’

– Kazuhiko Hachiya

⇒ In this class, a medium is defined as follows:Any artifact, technology or being among peopleEx. automobile, IP, HTTP, HTML, blog, industrialsociety, air


Today’s Agenda

“LAWS OF MEDIA”

“THE GUTENBERG GALAXY”

THE REVERSED GALAXY– Changes Caused by Digital Media

Managing Civilizations

Subject of Discussion and Assignment


“LAWS OF MEDIA”

Marshall and Eric McLuhan, “Laws of Media”

Introduces a tool to think about media

Tetrad (group of four)

Enhances, Obsolesces, Retrieves, Reverses into


Tetrad (of Media Effects)

‘What general, verifiable statements can be madeabout all media?’ We are surprised to find only four,here posed as questions:

What does it enhance or intensify?

What does it render obsolete or displace?

What does it retrieve that was previously obsolesced?

What does it produce or become when pressed to anextreme?

– M. & E. McLuhan “LAWS OF MEDIA”

Questions that can be asked about any mediaWhat are the side effects of the medium?

A tool to realize what have not been realized


Ex. Tetrad for Automobiles

Human mobility

Privacy

Traffic jam

Traffic accidents

ENH REVRET OBS

Freedom ofmovement

Personal space

Horses, horsecarriages and relatedindustries

Urban living space


Enhancement

What does the artefact enhance or intensify or makepossible or accelerate?


For example, automobilesEnhance mobility of humanMake mobile private space possible


Obsolescence

If some aspect of a situation is enlarged orenhanced, simultaneously the old condition orunenhanced situation is displaced thereby

What is pushed aside or obsolesced by the new‘organ’?


For example, automobilesMake horses, horse carriages and relatedindustries obsoleteMake urban living space obsolete (birth ofsuburbs)


Retrieval

What recurrence or retrieval of earlier actions orservices is brought into play simultaneously by thenew form?

What older, previously obsolesced ground is broughtback and inheres in the new form?


For example, automobilesRetrieve freedom of movement by one’s own willRetrieve personal space


Reversal

When pushed to the limits of its potential, the newform will tend to reverse what had been its originalcharacteristics

What is the reversal potential of the new form?


New technology produces new accidents

– Paul Virilio

⇒ Let’s also consider accidents as reversal

For example, automobilesWeaken mobility and privacy with traffic jamTake away mobility and privacy with trafficaccidents


Ex. Tetrad for Automobiles

Human mobility

Privacy

Traffic jam

Traffic accidents

ENH REVRET OBS

Freedom ofmovement

Personal space

Horses, horsecarriages and relatedindustries

Urban living space


Today’s Agenda

“LAWS OF MEDIA”







Marshall McLuhan, “The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of

Typographic Man”

The invention and its impacts


Gutenberg’s Typographical Printer

Johannes Gutenberg1398? ∼ 1468?

Invented typography inaround 1445, combiningvarious existingtechnologies of the time

Hinted by a wine-pressGutenberg Typographical Printer


Gutenberg Bible

180 copies were made onpaper and papyrus inabout five years startingfrom 1450

48 copies remain

The copies are owned byKeio University, British Li-brary, etc. Gutenberg Bible (Keio)

Genesis Exodus


Meaning of This Invention

The invention of typography confirmed and extendedthe new visual stress of applied knowledge, providingthe first uniformly repeatable commodity, the firstassembly-line, and the first mass-production.

– M. McLuhan “THE GUTENBERG GALAXY”


From Manuscripts to Printing

ManuscriptsRare resourcesContent and formats are inhomogeneous andinconsistentIdentity of text is not certain, no clarification ofquotes, mosaic-likeViewpoints are not fixed

PrintingMass-produceableConsistently written and formattedTexts are identically copiedViewpoints are fixed


Tetrad for Typography

Homogeneous andnumerous copies

Fixed points of view

Digital media

ENH REVRET OBS

Renaissance Manuscripts

Books as audio media


The Gutenberg Galaxy

Birth of ‘authors’

Establishment of scientificmethods

Acceleration of nationalism

Preparation for birth of movingimage

Establishment of differencebetween complete andincomplete materials

Establishment of individualism

Monotonization of mass culture:

⇒ Prepared the industrial society


Birth of ‘Authors’

Identity of texts was not guaranteed before printingEach manuscript possibly had different usage ofcommas, plural/singular forms, etc.

The invention of printing did away with many of thetechnical causes of anonymity, while at the sametime the movement of the Renaissance created newideas of literary fame and intellectual property. . . .

Authorship before print was in a large degree thebuilding of a mosaic



Establishment of Scientific Methods

Scientific methods, i.e.Building up hypotheses and conductingexperiments with consistent viewpoints, andRecording the achievements in the form ofpapers, so that others can reproduce the resultsor utilize them for economy of thought,

were not possible before fixation of viewpoints andthe technology to make exact copies of the papers

The assembly line of movable types made possible aproduct that was uniform and as repeatable as ascientific experiment.



Acceleration of Nationalism

Beginning of collective national consciousness

Visualization and unification of ethnic languagesBirth of mass mediaPropaganda with (moving) images

. . . there is a mystery about nationalism. It neverexisted before the Renaissance, . . . The answer . . . isin the efficacy of the printed word in first visualizingthe vernacular and then creating that homogeneousmode of association which permits modern industry,markets, and the visual enjoyment of national status.



Preparation for Birth of Moving Image

. . . [Cinema] is a consistent series of static shots or“fixed points of view” in homogeneous relationship.


. . . the image viewed by each audience isunmistakably the image caught by the eye of thecamera, regardless of the positions of their seats. . .

– P. Virilio “GUERRE ET CINÉMA I”


Separation of Complete and Incomplete Materials

The printed version is the complete one, clearlydistinguished from manuscripts being worked on

But in the days before the invention of printing thisdistinction would not by any means be so apparent.Nor could it be determined so easily by otherswhether any particular piece written in the deadauthor’s handwriting was of his own composition or acopy made by him of somebody else’s work.



Establishment of Individualism

Reading before printing was a group activity

It has transformed itself into a personal actPortable knowledgeEqual accesses to knowledge

The portability of the book, like that of theeasel-painting, added much to the new cult ofindividualism.



Monotonization of Mass Culture

To make publishing a successful business, massprinting of popular and selling books was necessary

Birth of gate keepersMedia decide the possibility for a specificinformation to be accessible

Mechansim for information transfer with centricforces

Popular information only can be wide-spread


Infiltration of Typographical Culture

For the first 50∼100 years, typography was regardedjust as a convenient technique

For making manuscripts without handwritingPrinted materials maintained the old format ofmanuscripts

Until more than two centuries after printing nobodydiscovered how to maintain a single tone or attitudethroughout a prose composition.



Today’s Agenda

“LAWS OF MEDIA”






THE REVERSED GALAXY – Changes Caused by Digital

Media

What are the impacts of digital media?


Tetrad for Typography

Homogeneous andnumerous copies

Fixed points of view

Digital media

ENH REVRET OBS

Renaissance Manuscripts

Books as audio media


Let’s Draw a Tetrad

Draw a tetrad for digital mediaEnhancement

What does it enhance or intensify?

ObsolescenceWhat does it render obsolete or displace?

RetrievalWhat does it retrieve that was previously obsolesced?

ReversalWhat does it produce or become when pressed to anextreme?

If it looks difficult, think of something concrete suchas blogs, Wikipedia or Twitter


The Gutenberg Galaxy

Birth of ‘authors’

Establishment of scientificmethods

Acceleration of nationalism

Preparation for birth of movingimage

Establishment of differencebetween complete andincomplete materials

Establishment of individualism

Monotonization of mass culture:

⇒ Prepared the industrial society


The Reversed Gutenberg Galaxy

Death of “authors”

Reconsidering scientific methods

Acceleration of Earth-scale view

Everyone becomes a film director

Indistinguishable complete andincomplete materials

Promotion of collaboration

Diversification of culturalphenomena:

⇒ Prepared what comes next to theindustrial society


History of Social Changes



Agriculturalization (more than 15,000 years ago)



Agriculturalization (more than 15,000 years ago)Transition from hunting/collecting/fishing to agricultural society




Industrialization (18∼19th century)




Industrialization (18∼19th century)Transition from agricultural to industrial society





Upcoming shift (21st century)





Upcoming shift (21st century)Industrial society will terminate before your retirement






Transition from industrial to ??? society






Transition from industrial to creative society?






Transition from industrial to creative society?↑ Sorry, type mismatch






Transition from industrial to creative society?↑ Sorry, type mismatch

Changes in how we share knowledge prepare forsocietal changes

But we need to take a look at this from energy pointof view Introduction to Media Management: Practical Mediology 1 – p.37/61

Peak Oil/Coal/Uranium. . .

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5177

Peak Oil

The point in time when themaximum rate of globalpetroleum extraction is reached,after which the rate ofproduction enters terminaldecline (Wikipedia)

After that, economy must slowdown

We have already entered the era ofpeak oil

Moreover, all major energy sourceswill reach their production peak bythe end of the first half of this century

Civilizations as we know today willterminate before you retire


http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5177

A Big Picture — of Human Civilizations

Solar Energy

Humanosphere

Natural Reproduction

Heat

Mostly oil as its stock in the 20th cent.

Redirection ofEnergy Flow

Sun is the dominant sourceof energy in the atmosphereof Earth

Human makeshumanosphere on Earth,utilizing the redirected energyflow

As results, heat andwaste are produced



Solar Energy

Humanosphere

GenerateNatural Reproduction

Heat


Information Flow





We control energy flow togenerate information flow



Solar Energy

Humanosphere

Generate

Control

Natural Reproduction

Heat


Information Flow





We control energy flow togenerate information flow

That information flow controlsenergy flow, causing everyproblem


Today’s Agenda

“LAWS OF MEDIA”







To share a viewpoint

NEO IN WONDERLAND — A Tale of Money That Changed

Our Future

Reading Drucker from a Viewpoint of a Manager of Human

Civilizations

As an introduction to the theme


NEO IN WONDERLAND

A sci-fi monetary fantasy

Existence of technology tochange monetary economycompletely

P2P money that isconsistent withmaterial/energycirculation on Earth

Free English translation

http://grsj.jp/neo.pdf(CC-BY-SA 3.0)


http://grsj.jp/neo.pdf

Why Science Fiction?

SF (science fiction) isA literary or cinematic genre in which fantasy,typically based on speculative scientificdiscoveries or developments, environmentalchanges, . . ., forms part of the plot or background.— American Heritage

Fictions with existing technology are just realEx. A medical drama such as “ER”

In a sci-fi story, unknown technology creates a dramaEx1. Nanomachine medicationEx2. Autopsy Imaging

Designing new media and cast them into a society= Living a near-future science fiction for real


Reading Drucker from a Viewpoint of a Manager of HumanCivilizations

P.F. Drucker, “Management: Tasks Responsibilities Practices”


Motivation

Reading “If a female

student manager of a high

school baseball team read

Drucker’s “Management””


Motivation





Made people realize that

the book can be applied to

any organization


Motivation





Made people realize that

the book can be applied to

any organization

This art of management

must be applicable to the

whole civilization!


To read Drucker from a viewpoint of managing civilizations

Business, Enterprise → Civilization

Entrepreneurship → Our Research

Society → Earth

Economy → Circulation of Energy and Materials


Drucker says (on Purpose of Business)

To know what a business is, we have to start with itspurpose

Its purpose must lie outside of the business itself

In fact, it must lie in society, since businessenterprise is an organ of society

There is only one valid definition of businesspurpose: to create a customer


Drucker says (on Customers and Definition of Business)

“Who is the customer?” is the first and the crucialquestion in defining business purpose and businessmission

It is not an easy, let alone an obvious question

How it is answered determines, in large measure,how the business defines itself






The customer of a civilization is Nature, and for themost part Biosphere






The customer of a civilization is Nature, and for themost part Biosphere

To be productive is, for example, to maintain andenhance Biodiversity

Services that Nature provides for human (annually US$33T) worth nearlydouble of the world’s GDP altogether


Drucker says (on Two Functions of Business)

There will always be, one can assume, a need forsome selling

But the aim of marketing is to make sellingsuperfluous

The aim of marketing is to know and understand thecustomer so well that the product or service fits himand sells itself

The second function of a business is,. . ., innovationIntroduction to Media Management: Practical Mediology 1 – p.49/61

Drucker says (on Two Functions of Business)

There will always be, one can assume, a need forsome selling

But the aim of marketing is to make sellingsuperfluous

The aim of marketing is to know and understand thecustomer so well that the product or service fits himand sells itself

Selling → Development

Marketing → Natural ScienceTo sell → Utilization of resources (bring human apparatus into Nature)

Ex. Use parachute instead of reverse the engine if there’s atmosphere

The second function of a business is,. . ., innovationIntroduction to Media Management: Practical Mediology 1 – p.49/61

Drucker says (on Innovation)

Innovation is not science or technology, but value

Innovation is not something that takes place insidean organization but is a change outside

The measure of innovation is impact on theenvironment


Drucker says (on Innovation)

Innovation is not science or technology, but value

Innovation is not something that takes place insidean organization but is a change outside

The measure of innovation is impact on theenvironment

Innovation of civilization is a change outside (=Earthly environment)

To think positively of our influences over Nature


Drucker says (on Survival of Business)

The social dimension is a survival dimension

An enterprise exists in society and the economy

Within an institution one always tends to assume thatthe institution exists by itself in a vacuum

And managers inevitably look at their businessfrom the inside

But the business enterprise is a creature of societyand the economy

Society or the economy can put any business out ofexistence overnight


Drucker says (on Strategic Planning)

Another, even more compelling, reason whyforecasting is not strategic planning is thatforecasting attempts to find the most probable courseof events or, at best, a range of probabilities

But the entrepreneurial problem is the unique eventthat will change the possibilities


Drucker says (on Structures)

Strategy –that is, the answers to the questions,“What is our business? What should it be? What willit be?” determines the purpose of structure

Answering those questions determines the keyactivities in a given business or service institution

Effective structure is the design that makes these keyactivities capable of functioning and of performance


Structure with Earth Scale Operating System

Present

Hardware

Applications

Users

OS

Human

Economy

Financial System

Human

Human Economy

Earth-Scale OS

Earth and BiodiversityEarth and Biodiversity

Near Future

Exploitation

Poor People, Nature, Life Forms and Children

Benefitsin Return

Marketing andInnovation


Today’s Agenda

“LAWS OF MEDIA”






Subject of Discussion

Network gift economyfrom Bruce Sterling’s “Maneki Neko”

“We computer cops have names for your kind of people.Digital panarchies. [snip]. . .You’re a tax evader! You’re livingthrough kickbacks! And bribes! And influence peddling! Andall kinds of corrupt off-thebooks transactions! [snip] Well, yournetwork gift economy is undermining the lawful, governmentapproved, regulated economy!”

“Well,” Tsuyoshi said gently, “maybe my economy is betterthan your economy.”


Maneki Neko

“Maneki Neko” is one of many gift economy networks

Terminal devices direct people for mutual aids

Sometimes, direction is made to help non-members

Members know one another with common gestures

In the case of “Maneki Neko”, a catpaw gesture

An assistant federal prosecutor from Providence,Rhode Island, USA bagged hardware from asoftware pirate

Attacks began by “Maneki Neko” whose network was

partially damaged by the act

But it turns out to be another direction for a meeting


Further Settings for the Sake of Discussion

How did the gift economy started?A group of freesoftware including A.I. was castinto the open global sensor network environment

The A.I. network began to use human beings as actuatorsfor optimization by the metrics of happiness

The group of freesoftware has been maintainedby volunteers

The first author was an anonymous programmer


Assignment for Everyone

1. Draw a media tetrad for the network gift economyJust enumerate items for ENH, RET, OBS and REV

2. Enumerate who (or what organizations) wouldreact from what points of view if the network gifteconomy is cast into our society

At least 3 instances

3. Assuming that the U.S. congress will hold a publichearing on the matter of handling network gifteconomy (surficially on the matter of a missing assistant federal prosecutor of

Rhode Island), enumerate with reasons 3 parties thecongress would call as witnesses


How to Submit

Send an e-mail message to [email protected]

Subject: media management

Write your name, student # and your answers in themail body (no attachments necessary)

Be concise!

Deadline: Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 03:00 JST


See you on Wednesday!
