Looking at the title of the book, I felt that this book was going to be a tough one to read. But, the language used by the author Robert Logan is extremely easy to understand. The main focus of these initial chapters is on how each medium has evolved and extended itself over time right from the pre-verbal or nonverbal mimetic communication to orality, literacy, electric mass media and the current digital interact media or 'new media'. Logan has very clearly explained how each medium has enhanced, obsolesced, retrieved and reversed one or the other feature/characteristic of its precursor medium. The tools of Laws of Media (LOM) on page 39 helped me clear all the theoretic clutter in my mind and I could identify examples for each of them. The other important highlight of these chapters was the 14 characteristics of the new media, some of which could also be applied to the electric mass media. Most of the characteristics are very basic and which everyone is aware of not necessarily consciously. Like computer today is not just a computer, but it is also used as a TV, iPod, cellular phone and so on. Unlike electric mass media like television, today's digital medium is not passive. It is highly cognitive and interactive. Convergence is one another important characteristic that was prevalent in the former media forms as wells as the current new forms. Like instant messages (IM) and emails are the convergence of internet and post service of the past. The new media characteristics are not independent of each other. Some of them converge with each other resulting into a new media that we experience today.
Overall I felt it was quite an informative and an interesting read. Most importantly it wasn't difficult to comprehend like some of Marshall McLuhan's work.
Overall I felt it was quite an informative and an interesting read. Most importantly it wasn't difficult to comprehend like some of Marshall McLuhan's work.
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