Networks of Remediation July 11, 2011

Networks of Remediation  Each [medium] participates in a network of technical, social, and economic contexts; this network constitutes the medium as a technology” (65).

Networks of Remediation  A medium in our culture can never operate in isolation, because it must enter into relationships of respect and rivalry with other media” (65).

What is a Medium?

For Bolter and Grusin, a “medium” is “that which remediates.” However, for them, a medium “can never operate in isolation” (65).

The Material and Economic Dimensions of Remediation

Material/Economic Dimensions  Each new medium has to find its economic place by replacing or supplementing what is already available... economic success, can come only by convincing consumers that the new medium improves on the experience of the older ones” (68).

The Social Dimension

“The appeal to authenticity of experience is what brings the logics of immediacy and hypermediacy together. This appeal is socially constructed...[w]hat seems immediate to one group is highly mediated to another” (71).

Two Senses of Immediacy

Epistemological Epistemological

Two Senses of Immediacy Epistemological Epistemological “...immediacy is transparency: the absence of mediation or representation” (70) “...the notion that a medium could erase itself and leave the viewer in the presence of the objects represented” (70)

Two Senses of Immediacy Epistemological Epistemological Psychological Psychological

Two Senses of Immediacy Epistemological Epistemological Psychological Psychological “...names the viewer’s feeling that the medium has disappeared and the objects are present to him, a feeling that his experience is therefore authentic.”(70)

Two Senses of Hypermediacy Epistemological Epistemological

Two Senses of Hypermediacy Epistemological Epistemological “...hypermediacy is opacity—the fact that knowledge of the world comes to us through media. The viewer acknowledges that she is in the presence of a medium...”(71)

Two Senses of Hypermediacy Epistemological Epistemological Psychological Psychological

Two Senses of Hypermediacy Epistemological Epistemological Psychological Psychological “...the experience that she has in and of the presence of media; it is the insistence that the experience of the medium is itself an experience of the real”(71)

Facebook Let’s go back to Facebook and let’s figure out why it is so successful...

Now, your turn: You will be placed into a group. Each group will be assigned to an aspiring social media site. Your job will be to complete these tasks:

Now, your turn: 1) In a few paragraphs (or more), rhetorically analyze the website, using as many of our keywords as you can. What is this site explicitly persuading? What is it implicitly arguing? How does the site employ image and text? Is it effective?

Now, your turn: 2) Next, examine the website and develop a genealogy of remediation. From this list, determine whether each in this list would represent a relationship of "respect" or "rivalry" to your social media site. (A list is fine here)

Now, your turn: 3)Determine what the website's target audience(s) are. Be very specific here—consider age, race(s), sex, class etc. but also what sort of social life you can assume the website is targeting.

Now, your turn: 3)Determine what the website's target audience(s) are. Be very specific here—consider age, race(s), sex, class etc. but also what sort of social life you can assume the website is targeting.

Now, your turn: 4)Finally, using this demographic knowledge, your group will play the role of marketers to do two things: first, you must come up with a pitch (including a slogan) that will honestly persuade consumers (ie. your audience) that "the new medium improves on the experience of older ones" (you'll have to tell us what those older ones are) ; second, you must develop a list of ways in which to "spread the content over as many markets as possible" in order to popularize your product (68). How could you remediate your product to boost its popularity?

Now, your turn: 1) In a few paragraphs (or more), rhetorically analyze the website, using as many of our keywords as you can. What is this site explicitly persuading? What is it implicitly arguing? How does the site employ image and text? Is it effective? 2) Next, examine the website and develop a genealogy of remediation. From this list, determine whether each in this list would represent a relationship of "respect" or "rivalry" to your social media site. (A list is fine here) 3)Determine what the website's target audience(s) are. Be very specific here—consider age, race(s), sex, class etc. but also what sort of social life you can assume the website is targeting. 4)Finally, using this demographic knowledge, your group will play the role of marketers to do two things: first, you must come up with a pitch (including a slogan) that will honestly persuade consumers (ie. your audience) that "the new medium improves on the experience of older ones" (you'll have to tell us what those older ones are) ; second, you must develop a list of ways in which to "spread the content over as many markets as possible" in order to popularize your product (68). How could you remediate your product to boost its popularity?

Weekly Project Three Preview For this Weekly Project, each group will share a rough, but substantially complete, chapter from their Project One Assignment during an in-class Editing Workshop. In order to prepare for this Workshop, your group needs to focus on developing/selecting what material you would like to submit. Todays Project One Group Meeting should focus on this.

Networks of Remediation July 11, 2011