"The network is the message"...what does it all mean?

Marshall McCluhan explained (I believe in his book Communication and Empire) that the medium through which a specific message is displayed (i.e. in a letter, in a book, face-to-face communication, over the telephone etc.) controls the meaning of that message. This makes sense, if you think about it, because there are other factors that control understand of a message besides the specific words. The medium through which the message is communicated determines how the receiver interprets and understands that message as they take into account context, body language, tone, presentation, etc. Now that we understand this concept we can take it one step further to apply it to what Castells is talking about when he says "the network is the message" (1). Networks determine how we get and decode messages. It is another medium through which to communicate. However, it is not simply a static medium like those we have used in the past. The networks almost living, breathing organisms in and of themselves (even though I know, I know they don't exist without humans to join them but just bear with me on this for a minute) as they affects the way people interact and socialize. New social structures and communication practices arise from being involved in different networks and this then shapes the way people understand various messages. Take, for example, Facebook. Facebook has completely changed the way people keep in touch over long distances, communicate with friends, and display themselves to the world. It is a social network that has changed what is socially acceptable to showcase about yourself, how you can meet people, and the very way people talk to each other. If you don't have Facebook, you are missing out on key socializing opportunities. In this sense, the network is the message as it shapes meaning and defines who we are as a society and an individual and this is the major change seen from the digital revolution.

Discussion Questions for Castell's Readings

1.) In the prologue to his text, Castells states that "core economic, social, political, and cultural activities throughout the planet are being structure by and around the internet..." (2). I always assume that everyone has internet access, or at the very least has a computer but as I step outside of my white-bread, middle-class upbringing I realize that this is far from true. What are the consequences, as we become so dependent on this technology, of going without it? Is there a world where a person growing up "online" can be treated as the same as someone completely unfamiliar with the concept? Is the internet a way of bringing the world together, or simply another way to keep us painfully divided?


(side note-it is interesting to consider that the ARPANET was created by the department of defense. No one is really addressing this but I can't help but wonder if this was something that was done confidentially. It probably was, because I'm sure our government like to hide as much then as it does now. But as I think about this I can't help but wonder what kind of technologies they are coming up with now and not telling us about. Just a little observation I thought I would share)

2.)It is interesting to note that the internet was not created in one distinct amount of time by a small group of scientists and then released to the masses. It was a steady collaboration between many unconnected individuals that slowly built upon each other to become the internet we have today. Are there any other technological developments that progressed this way? Or has it always been that the great inventions of the past are attributed to one person in one finite amount of time? What effect does how the internet created have on how it is used today?

3.)As a college student it is fascinating to read that students close to my age played a very big role in the creation of the internet. It is like watching the Olympics and seeing "16 year-olds" (I put it in quotes because lest we not forget about the Chinese gymnastics team that was full of girls that couldn't possibly be older than 12...but that is clearly very far from my point I apologize) and feeling like I am past my prime and will never amount to nothing. To think that these students worked so closely with professors from Harvad, MIT, UCLA, and Berkeley to create such an invaluable tool is astonishing. I can't help but wonder, do we have people around us doing the same thing? If so, where do I find them to give them a hearty hand shake and a "keep up the good work"? But more importantly, how did the marriage of government, scientific organizations, and students work to make the internet what it is today? And how different would it be if AT&T had been a little more financially adventurous and purchased the internet when it had the chance?

About Me

My name is Natalie Jacobs and I am currently a junior studying Advertising/Public Relations at Loyola University of Chicago. I am an Illinois transplant born and raised in San Diego, California. I chose to come to Chicago to experience college in a big city. I wanted the opportunity to discover myself in a place where no one knew who I was. I think that is the only true way to become who you are meant to be...if you start over with a clean slate.

So I left and I never looked back (okay that's not completely true...I get a little nostalgic every year when the first frost hits as I imagine my family and friends still lying on a warm, sunny beach in the middle of January…this is hardly an exaggeration my mom said it was 70 degrees yesterday…but that could be because of climate change…but I digress). The friends I have made here have become my family. I think it is necessary, when so far from home, to create such tight bonds with people because otherwise the loneliness would be too much to bear. Through three years of living and learning on my own in the big city, I have become the person I think I was always meant to be. Cheesy at it is, it is more true than anything I have ever known.

This semester I am working to balance fifteen credit hours in school, a three-day-a-week, 8-hour-a-day internship, roommates, and a boyfriend. And I just turned 21 so making time to drink is pretty much a requirement (I can say that now and not be worried about it because I’m legal…finally…but I suppose I still run the risk of sounding like an alcoholic…but I’m not, I promise). So that leaves little time to sleep and less time to sit down and relax. But I like to be busy; it forces me to be more productive.

As far as any other biographical insights I can offer…I draw a blank. I don’t have any burning passions to ramble on about. I love fashion, but I’m too poor to afford all the beautiful things I see people wear around the city so talking about it like it’s my one true love is more than a little depressing. I love art, but I’m not good enough to make it and don’t have enough time in my day to appreciate it (except as I scurry through the streets and occasionally get a glimpse of a beautiful new building or a naked tree perfectly positioned against the skyline as the sunsets). I would like to travel, but again, I’m too poor for that at the moment (and I suspect by the time I can afford it I will be so consumed by my 9 to 5 that I won’t be able to escape to enjoy an exotic vacation). The only one thing I can say I positively love more than anything in life is a loud, uninhibited, genuine laugh that comes straight from deep inside and doesn’t stop until you can’t breathe. That’s the only way to know you are truly alive.