LARGE-Scale Patterns in Global Communication & Culture. Harold Adams Innis The Development and Evolution of Global Media & Communication

Transcription

1 LARGE-Scale Patterns in Global Communication & Culture Harold Adams Innis The Development and Evolution of Global Media & Communication

2 Harold Innis ( ) Background Global Communication Scholar Canadian Social Historian--really a sociologist/economist A non-conformist scholar interdisciplinary The University of Chicago, School of Sociology (under Lewis Mumford, Robert Park, George Herbert Meade economics combined with symbolic interactionalism) Completed his PhD. at the University of Chicago in 2 years. Innis dissertation focused on the history of TECHNOLOGY. Specifically, the impact of the railway (as a technology) in creating Canadian Society (economics, culture, communication). A structuralist. He looked at the underlying structures (foundational pillars) that shaped culture. One of the original "founders" of GLOBAL Media and Communication as an academic discipline. Innis Marshall McLuhan American/European Media, Comm, Cultural Studies, etc Books by Innis: Minerva s Owl (1938) Looks at how the mass print media made culture a sellable commodity. The Bias of Communication (1950) Empire and Communications (1952) A World History of Communication (unpublished 1,200 pages long) FOUNDATIONAL ARGUMENT#1: Media & Communication Techniques and Technologies serve as one of the most culturally transformative (and under-examined) forces of historical change for ALL cultures. FOUNDATIONAL ARGUMENT #2: If you want to truly understand the transformation of human society and civilizations ON A GLOBAL SCALE, then you must examine the (1) ECOLOGY/MIX of media technologies, (2) the BIASES that they instill, and (3) intended and UN-intended consequences.

3 The TRANSFORMATIVE POWER of Media and Communication TECHNIQUES & TECHNOLOGIES across cultures Key Idea/Argument: Our media techniques & technologies constantly FILTER & SHAPE both our INFORMATIONAL DIETS and our BEHAVIORAL LIVES in largely invisible ways. 1. Normalization most mainstream media devices become quickly normalized. That is the more they are used or promoted, the more they appear normal, common-place, and largely UNQUESTIONED. 2. HABITUAL MEDIA USE Invisibility a. We are largely UNCONSCIOUS of our media consuming habits! b. People DO NOT tend to earnestly question their communication devices, habits, or the people who control such devices or media technologies. c. MEDIA INFLUENCE often goes unnoticed by the general populace at both an individual level and a mass level. 3. HABITS OF MIND INFORMATION CONFIRMATION BIAS: People tend to rely on sources of information which simply confirm what they already believe. We tend to create information bubbles. This tends to lead to conservative HABITS OF MIND.

4 Filter Bubbles What is it? How do they operate? Eli Parser Filter Bubbles

5 Large-scale Media Change

6 Media Change: Network TV News

7 News consumption patterns across media platforms

8 Literacy Rates Worldwide

9 BROWSER DOMINANCE 2009

10 BROWSER DOMINANCE 2014 Desktop, Tablet, Console

11 Mobile Browser Dominance 2014

12 Most Visited Web site/country

13 lobal Social Networks

14 E-Readers 2014

15 Samsung Smart Spy TVS Link:

16 Corporate Fitness Trackers Businesses in Taiwan tackles weight

17 Apple Sex? Reproductive Apps and Privacy

18 Getting Chipped Chip Implants in Sweden

19 Can you see the light?

20 I want to talk to Barbie!

21 The Bionic Eye Preliminary Bionic Eye

22 Key Idea: Symbolic Ecology/Environments Humans are hard-wired for symbol/meaning making. The Ecology of Symbols We live in a Petri Dish of evolving symbols/systems. Audience Studies Using the tools of sociology and anthropology to study how people are REALLY using media

23 Key Idea: Media Mix Fusion-Combination People s MEDIA USE MIX can be radically different from one country to another!

24 MEDIA USE - CORRELATIONS Strong/Direct Correlation between INCOME and media use. Strong/Direct Correlation between RURAL-URBAN and media use. Strong/Direct Correlation between GENDER and media use. Strong/Direct Correlation between Intelligence- Education (perspective) and media use.

25 Key Idea: Media Mix Fusion-Combination

26 Innis Key Idea: Knowledge MONOPOLIES Every culture or nation develops an elite set of KNOWLEDGE MONOPOLIES which have tremendous power over the information flows of a culture. Knowledge Monopolies = A small group of people who have learned the SKILLS and have the ECONOMIC clout necessary to use and gain EXCLUSIVE CONTROL over the development and evolution of a society's dominant communication or information technologies. Agenda Setting: Those knowledge monopolies continually try to shape at least three areas in your life: What you do with your time What kinds of information you do or don t receive (filters), and HOW you think about events, people, places, time itself. Culture Creators/Shapers: Knowledge Monopolies are the primary creators and communicators of culture as a product. They tell us about what our culture is and then sell us the products/ideas associated with that cultural notion. CURRENT KNOWLEDGE MONOPOLIES? WORLD S LARGEST CORPORATIONS

27 World s Largest Media Corporations

28 Who Runs the Internet Anyway? (And why it is NOT culturally neutral) 1. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN): A private nonprofit corporation in Marina del Rey, California. It took over the management of the internet from the U.S. Government (DoD) in ICANN manages the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS) and correct IP addresses. 2. U.S. Dept of Commerce (DOC) gives ICANN the limited right to make policy for the internet. 3. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF): An international organization with an open membership policy that has several working groups. Each working group concentrates on a specific topic, such as Internet security. Collectively, these working groups try to maintain the Internet's architecture and stability. 4. The Internet Architecture Board (IAB): An IETF committee, the IAB's mission is to oversee the design of Internet protocols and standards. 5. Upstream internet providers: UUNETLevel 3,Verizon,AT&T,qwest,Sprint,IBM ICANN Board Members:

29 Top 5 Computer Vendors 2015 Manufacturer/Market Share 1. Lenovo 19.7% 2. HP 19.2% 3. Dell 13.6% 4. Asus 7.3% 5. Apple 7.2% 6. Acer Inc. 7.0% 7. Others 26.9%

30 Global Smartphone Market Samsung Korean Apple- U.S. Huawei- Chinese Xiaomi-Chinese Lenovo-Chinese

31 Computers Only 7 Computer manufacturers make 95% of ALL the world s computers. Quanta (Taiwan) 33% of all laptops Apple Inc., Compaq, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett- Packard,[2] Alienware, Amazon.com, Casper[disambiguation needed], Cisco, Fujitsu, Gericom, Lenovo, LG, Maxdata, MPC, Research In Motion, Sharp Corporation, Siemens AG, Sony, Sun Microsystems, Toshiba, and Vizio FoxConn Electronics

32 Key Idea: Dominant Media TECHNOLOGIES (DMTs) within a Society Every culture, nation, or empire relies upon a small set of DOMINANT MEDIA Techniques and/or INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES (DMTS) through which essential elements of information are communicated to that culture. The Dominant Media/Information TECHNOLOGY (DMT) = Is one that the majority of people in a society uses or relies upon regularly to stay connected to their culture. The DMT is the media source that the MAJOR messages (political, economic, social) must conform to in order to reach a critical portion of a society's mass audience. The DMTs are the MAJOR culture PRODUCERS in a society. (Identity, Knowledge, Fashion, Politics, etc.) Cultural/Political/Economic POWER. Those who control and/or best manipulate a DMT are the groups which control informational power in a society. The DMT can vary widely between cultures (Japan vs. Mali) and within cultures (Urban vs. Rural). Competition vs. Change-There is a constant competition between media forms going on all of the time in every society over which will deliver important information to the masses. However. the DMT in a culture does NOT shift very quickly.

33 WORLD Television: Most Watched TV Ceremony: Michael Jackson s funeral (July 2009) was seen by 2.5 to 3 billion people worldwide. Sports: The 2010 & 2014 FIFA World Cup Final = 1.75~2.0 billion people worldwide. Sports: The 2008 Olympic Games China= up to 4.7 billion individual viewers (70% of World s Population) News: The rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners in 2010 = 1 billion people worldwide & 2015 Cricket World Cup= India vs. Pakistan = 1 Billion households in 182 countries. Festival: China Central Television = mil for Spring Festival Gala and Xinwen Lianbo

34 The Globalization of Music Top 10 Music Videos on YouTube Wiz Khalifa, See You Again (ft. Charlie Puth) Total views: 1,166,000, Maroon 5, Sugar Total views: 872,000, Ellie Goulding, Love Me Like You Do Total views: 809,000, Major Lazer & DJ Snake, Lean On (ft. MØ) Total views: 794,000, Taylor Swift, Bad Blood (ft. Kendrick Lamar) Total views: 634,000, David Guetta, Hey Mama (ft. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha and Afrojack) Total views: 458,000, Sia, Elastic Heart Total views: 450,000, Fifth Harmony, Worth It (ft. Kid Ink) Total views: 422,000, Adele, Hello ->Total views: 414,000, Silentó, Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) Total views: 410,000,000

35 Most Watched MV of all Time Video name [A] ARTIST Views (billions) as of February 11, 2016 Upload date 1. "Gangnam Style" [7] Psy July 15, "Blank Space" [8] Taylor Swift November 10, "See You Again" [9] Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth April 6, "Uptown Funk" [10] Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars November 19, "Shake It Off" [11] Taylor Swift August 18, "Baby" [12] Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris February 19, "Bailando" [13] Enrique Iglesias featuring Descemer Bueno and Gente De Zona April 11, "Dark Horse" [14] Katy Perry featuring Juicy J February 20, "All About That Bass" [15] Meghan Trainor June 11, "Roar" [16] Katy Perry September 5, "Wheels On The Bus" [17] LittleBabyBum August 9, "Hello" [18] Adele October 22, 2015

36 Bieber Fusion

37 Ukraine: Bypassing Officialdom Students use YouTube to Spread messages

38 Arab Satellite TV Boom

39 Netflix in 190 Countries

40 Instagram TV?