Media; The most important ecology of all
Last week I described the notion of a Media Ecology and the difficulty that is face when defining such a term. This week I aim to delve deeper into the complex practicality of media ecologies.
Melissa Deitz (2010) stresses the importance and effectiveness of the current media ecology, with the example of wikileaks. The revealing of such a large quantity of documents would not have been effective had it not been for social media networks, online news outlets and specifically designed websites. This network allowed for society to access, receive and send the data.
The acceptance of who holds the power within the ecology needs to be addressed in order to ensure that all revenues within the system can prosper.
Another look at the connection between natural ecologies and that of the media comes from Thomas Rawlings which rectifies that an ecology is “all about the relationship of energy” (Rawlings, 2011). Within the media world this can be seen in the relationship between internet sites that are in direct or indirect competition. The balance that these unities embody will all for a natural flow of information and ultimately survival.
Neil Postman outlines that a major difference between the natural environment and that which is in the media environment are that the entities in the media world are implicit and informal. He urges that to accept such an entity we need to forgo the idea that media technologies are merely a machine and rather a growing environment.
In order to appreciate and get the most out of any environment, we as humans must understand the web of interaction that it has developed and work within it and not against it. The media environment shapes the way the world interacts and develops, by feeding off the energy of the resources available; through such an ecology humans can grow as a society.
References
What is Media Ecology? Media Ecology Association. [ONLINE] http://www.media-ecology.org/media_ecology/index.html [Accessed 8 March 2012]
Rawlings, Thomas (2011) ‘Games as a happening, as a service (Notes from my talk at Goldsmiths), A great Becoming http://agreatbecoming.com/2011/02/03/games-as-a-happening-as-a-service-notes-from-my-talk-at-goldsmiths/ [Accessed 15 March 2012]
Deitz, Milissa (2010) ‘The New Media Ecolgy’ On Line Opinion: Australia’s e-journal of social and political debate. [ONLINE] http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=11410&page=1 [Acessed 15 March 2012]
Accessed through What is Media Ecology? —Neil Postman, “The Reformed English Curriculum.” in A.C. Eurich, ed., High School 1980: The Shape of the Future in American Secondary Education (1970). (accessed 15/3/2012)
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