A
technology that simply cannot be ignored when examining the issue of technology
impacting the work and training of communicators is the Internet. If one were
so inclined to make a distinction, a division between human history could be
distinguished by pointing to the time before the Internet’s existence and the
period after it became widely used. It is a simple truth that the Internet has
radically altered not only the field of communication but also civilization.
James (2014) delves into this issue when writing:
Each new medium brings with it a revolution which results in major changes in culture and in the organization of society. The culture of our times influences the media of tomorrow. No medium exists in a vacuum. The need for instant communication, instant results and fast food reveals a culture that wants to get the most out of life in the quickest possible time frame using the fastest means available. Add this phenomenon to the technological inventions of the preceding generation (such as the newspaper, radio, television, etc.), and this provides the seed bed for the invention of a new medium relevant for the times. The Internet, like every communication medium, is both a cause and effect of the times we live in. It was caused by the complex circumstances of modern times and, as an effect, it is impacting post-modern lives. (p. 154)
Kristen
Lamb (2013) simplifies this point when stating that “With every change in
technology, humans changed, too” (p. 6). The Internet has changed modernized
humans, therefore communication professionals have had to change as well.
The interesting element about the
Internet is that it is not a static technology. It continues to become faster,
more powerful, and more versatile with each passing year. The many technologies
that are Internet dependent also continues to evolve. Therefore, the Internet,
and all that entails, is perhaps the single most transformational element in
the communication field. Its nature and existence will continue to force
communication professionals to change how they work and train. Evaluating the
impact of the Internet is like evaluating the impact of technologies like the
printing press, aerial flight, and gun powder. Similar to these technologies,
the impact of the Internet is so enormous that the only way to examine its
affect is to envision a world without its existence. There is a vast difference between a world restricted to snail mail and a work culture that takes email for granted (Warning vulgar language in this humorous hyperlink).
There is a difference between advertising on a seldom seen newspaper ad and
having one’s own webpage. There is a difference between a mobile phone that is only a phone and a smart phone where a massive amount of communication takes place and yet the ‘phone’ feature is rarely used (Warning vulgar language in this humorous hyperlink). So many of the
men that got lost because they refused to ask for directions would still be
lost without their access to Internet powered GPS. In short, a world without
widespread Internet would be the world of the 80’s. A world that nearly all of
humanity’s ancestry is accustomed to, a paradigm that is not so far away time
wise, and yet a world that might as well be alien to those of us that take the
Internet for granted today. Michio Kaku, a world renowned scientist, often explains that when scientists examine space for extraterrestrial life they look for Type I, Type II, and Type III civilizations.
As he describes it, Type I civilizations have learned to harness the power of a
planet, for example they can completely control the ground and weather. Type II
civilizations are stellar, their power needs surpass that which can be gained
from a planet, and thus they obtain their power directly from a star. Type III
civilizations utilize the power of an entire galaxy. Earth’s civilization is a Type
0 civilization. However, as Michio Kaku states, the Internet is a Type I
technology (as cited in RazorRiot77, 2008). The point is clear, the impact of
the Internet is so enormous that its very existence forces a reclassification
of the human species. There is a difference between distinguishing humanity on
Earthly terms, such as belonging to the Iron or Bronze Age, and classifying
humanity in Galactic terms. The printing press was the first major vehicle for
moving humanity out of the age of ignorance. It is fitting that a communication
technology may just be the catalyst that brings Earthlings to the stars.
Comedy
Central [Screen name]. Key & peele:
Text message confusion [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naleynXS7yo
James,
J. (2014). The internet and the google
age: Prospects and perils. Perth: Research Publishing.
Lamb,
K. (2013). Rise of the machines: Human
authors in a digital world. Austin: WANA International.
Lol
Flix [Screen name]. (2012, November 29). Collin
moulton “explain the post office to an 8 year old” lolflix. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY7OHYnKzqs
RazorRiot77
[Screen name]. (2008, October 1). Michio
kaku 3 types of civilizations [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GooNhOIMY0
Toria [Artist]. (2014, January
15). Internet [Image]. Retrieved from
http://www.livescience.com/42604-who-invented-the-internet.html
Mobile Technology: This Changes Everything
There is no denying the fact that mobile technology has changed the work of communicators and influenced their training.
An enormous portion of the consumer base frequently use their mobile device.
This relatively new technology has forced the redirection of the field of
communication. Azzaro, et. al, say this best when writing, “With an on-the-go
worldwide consumer population, marketers are increasingly turning to mobile
communication devices for new ways to deliver brand messages to prospective
consumers” (Azzaro, Barnes, Schultz, & Schultz, 2015, p. 270). Obviously,
the fact that mobile devices are widely used, and they are almost constantly
kept on the consumer’s person, makes mobile devices an important technology for
communicators to focus their attention upon. Many professional communicators
are in the business of selling a product or service. Therefore, communicators
must learn how to fully utilize the targeting capability that mobile technology
provides. Blakeman (2015) explores this point when writing:
Mobile’s highly targetable reach makes it
more effective and efficient than traditional advertising methods. . . .
Targeted consumers who have opted in to receive advertising can be reached
wherever they are with a message that will interest them. Mobile delivers a
diverse array of advertising, promotional, and entertainment options . . . This
targeted, instantaneous, relatively inexpensive and measurable vehicle can
reach the target at the point of sale or assist with purchase by announcing
nearby sales and delivering coupons. It can send, receive, inform, and
personalize a message. By incorporating mobile advertising into the media mix,
a product or service can be cross-promoted and more competitive. (p. 203)
Targeting
consumers is vastly different than the communication strategies of old where
blanket statements, designed to have maximum affect, were used. This technology
has made it possible for communicators to study a specific consumer and
articulate a message that best suits his or her interests. This ability to
communicate to individuals in a manner that is best suited for them increases
the probability that the communicator will be viewed in a positive light.
Carney and Lymer (2015) delve deeper into this point when writing:
The ability to customize and personalize
the information and messaging adds value to the user and helps reduce the
negative association many people have with receiving unwanted messages in their
personal accounts. The social media element of mobile communication is also an
asset; a viral effect can develop when users forward messages to others who
were not in the initial target group for the messaging, thus widening exposure
and potential clients. (p. 123)
Adashi
Media [Screen name]. (2012, December 21). Mobile
devices are driving the web: Important marketing statistics from google
[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l57mIg2mTDQ
Azzaro,
M., Barnes, B., Schultz, D., & Schultz, H. (2015). Building customer-brand relationships. New York: Routledge.
Blakeman,
R. (2015). Advertising campaign design:
Just the essentials. New York: Routledge.
Carney,
W., & Lymer, L. (2015). Fundamentals
of public relations and marketing communications in canada. Alberta:
University of Alberta Publishing.
Hathaway, S. [Photographer]. (2011, September
22). Mobile technology [Image].
Retrieved from https://thebullrun.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/ftf%E2%80%99s-latest-special-report-mobile-technology/
Marketable
Mobile [Screen name]. (2011, July 3). Smartphone:
Google mobile marketing stats [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzmQm-hRgTg
Social Media: Let's Talk About It
Social media has drastically changed
the work and training of professional communicators. Fuchs (2015) clarifies
this when writing:
Facebook and social media are used in more
and more companies and organizations for advertising, public relations,
customer relations, and internal communication. The result is a convergence of
labour so that knowledge workers have to take on additional tasks and become in
addition to their regular profession also social media professionals. (p. 109)
In
the past, communicators were allowed to specialize in specific facets of the
communication field. Today, most communicators have a job that entails two
duties. One job is the one they consider to be their primary focus. The other
job is maintaining their social media responsibility. For example, authors may
consider their job to be writing books, but the job cannot be sustained if the
authors neglect the ‘author’s platform’ which is upheld primarily through
social media. Being adequately trained in proper social media work and work
ethic is especially important because it is an important medium that must be
tirelessly maintained. Seargeant and Tagg (2014) write, “In the literature on
the topic in Western contexts, notions of the ‘always-on’ culture and ‘constant
connection’ have been much discussed, and today’s children and young people are
referred to as the ‘constant contact generation’” (p. 187). The youth is a
substantial portion of the consumer market. Considering that a growing number
of people are spending a huge portion of their time on social media means that
communicators must not only frequently work on their social media endeavors,
they must also remain current on the latest trends and social media
communication techniques.
There is a substantial impact of
social media in the field of communication. Dijick (2013) points out one vital
element when writing:
In
other words, in the past it was relatively easy for a professional communicator
to differentiate between ‘work time’ and ‘personal time’. Due to the demands of
social media being ‘on and off of the clock’ are not so easily determined. This
point is actually very meaningful. A professional communicator can, and
sometime must, be doing their job not only when he or she is at the office, but
also when she or he is in bed gearing up to go to sleep. As a creature designed
to follow circadian rhythms the acknowledgement that specific timetables are
being blurred can have a substantial impact on society at large. On one end of
the spectrum social media makes it possible for important and far reaching
communication works to be accomplished. On the other end of the spectrum is the
concern that the most important elements that define our species will be
altered or confused. As Lipschultz (2014) puts it, “In the context of social
media communication, there is an ongoing fear that virtual spaces confuse
reality, representing myth and ritual as truth (p. 42)”. Philosophers and gurus
tend to agree that the notion of impermeable parameters are an illusion. In
other words, everything is connected, and some philosophers even make the claim
that everything is ultimately ‘One’. However, the human species is likely a
relatively young species, and our youthful brain tends to struggle when
analyzing concepts that fall outside of the realm of boundaries. A person only
needs to study the accounts of the countless near-death-experiencers to peek
into an experience that falls beyond the ability of grey matter to comprehend.
In other words, until real evolution and wide scale social and personal
enlightenment occurs humanity needs boundaries to coherently function. By
blending things that should be kept separate into one, before both society and
the person is fully spiritually and logically ‘ready’, more harm than good
happens. Put another way, imagine what would have happened if we somehow
traversed time and gave the warmonger cultures of ancient times both the
nuclear devices and the training on how to active them. The time travelers
could even have taken the time to tell the ancients why they should not use
them. However, with such destructive tools in unready hands one must wonder if humanity
would still be the same today. The point is that answering the question of
whether or not the impact of social media is a good thing or not is not a
simple one. When analyzing it from the short term perspective it is very easy
to spot its many attributes. However, when seeing how quickly it is altering the youth in arguably negative ways,
and then compounding those changes across the many future generations one can
legitimately worry how this communication technology will impact our species as
a whole. Considering that social media is a reality that will not be stopped
all one really needs to do is sit and wait to see if such a technology is a
good or bad thing. In the meantime, a communicator must learn to use it
effectively if he or she is to remain a professional communicator.
Dijick,
J. (2013). The culture of connectivity: A
critical history of social media. New York: Oxford University Press USA.
Fuchs, C. (2015). Culture and economy in the age of social
media. New York: Routledge.
James,
J. (2014). The internet and the google
age: Prospects and perils. Perth: Research Publishing.
Lipschultz,
J. (2014). Social media communication:
Concepts, practices, data, law and ethics. New York: Routledge.
Offerpop [Photographer]. (2014,
March 14). Social media [Image].
Retrieved from https://www.offerpop.com/resources/blog/ever-evolving-social-media-marketing-landscape/
Seargeant,
P., & Tagg, C. (2014). The language
of social media: Identity and community on the internet. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Team
Coco [Screen name]. Louis c.k. hates cell
phones [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HbYScltf1c
Ted
[Screen name]. Sherry turkle: Connected,
but alone [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4
Mining for Data
Society’s
expectations of mass media are largely influenced by the capability of those
creating mass media. For example, if the only medium for art in the world were
crayons no one would expect art created by paint. Expectations are linked
directly to history. Data mining is a technology that uses historical data to
create tomorrow’s results. The data mining firm SAS (2016) defines data mining
as being the following:
Data
mining is the process of finding anomalies, patterns and correlations within
large data sets to predict outcomes. Using a broad range of techniques, you can
use this information to increase revenues, cut costs, improve customer
relationships, reduce risks and more. (para. 1)
Data
mining is a technology that has drastically altered the field of mass
communication, and as a result altered society’s expectations of mass media. There
are various ways of demonstrating the role that data mining has played in
shaping society’s expectations of mass media. First, data mining generates a
great deal of profit that makes much of today’s mass media possible. For
example, Facebook is a mass media power house that is fundamentally supported
by principles associated with data mining. As Poh (2016) writes, “It’s also
funny how we all know that Facebook collects data about
us and possibly share that information to third parties organizations” (para.
4). So, without data mining in existence there would be no Facebook as we know
it today. In other words, data mining is a technology that has altered the
expectations of mass media by creating the social media that is beginning to
play a substantial role in defining our culture. Secondly, data mining makes it
possible for communication professionals to meet the expectations of society. As
Finlay (2014) writes, “Being able to trawl the internet, server logs, social network
sites, tweets, and so on to find out who is talking about what, or what people’s
friends and family are buying has immense value over and above the very small
amount you would otherwise know about people” (p. 48). The communication
professional’s ability to know what the target audience is doing, craving, and
expecting makes it possible for the communication professional to meet those
expectations. In other words, the creators of mass media must use data mining
to uncover the key information that the target audience revealed about themselves
in the recent past to deliver future products that are consumed. Mass media
would look very different if the creators did not know the specifics of what
the target audience was expecting. Granted, mass media can and does offer
content that society at large consumes. However, it is the media that meets
society’s expectations that go viral. Third, data mining makes it possible for
communication professionals to target individuals. Offering attention to the
individual is necessary because society is in actuality a collection of
individuals. This lens resembles the differences and similarities of the study
of macro versus micro economics. Both are different. Yet, both are very similar
because they use common economic principles to articulate the field of economics.
Data mining makes it possible for mass media to be tailored specifically to the
individual. As pointed out before, there is an enormous portion of mass media
that is geared towards the macro so as to effectively capture as large of a
swath of society as possible. However, as anyone who has spent a considerable
amount of time surfing the web will know, there are elements of mass media that
are designed to meet the needs and desires of the individual. One can reach an
understanding why such targeted communication tactics are used after realizing
that the results are arguably beneficial for all those involved in the delivery
and consumption of mass media. As Bloomberg (2014) points out, “the pace of
innovation in big data-driven targeting technology is advancing unabated. There
is so much noise in today’s omnichannel world that anything a marketer can do
to get your attention is welcome – and furthermore, the more information they
can collect about you, the better” (para. 9). Using data mining tactics to
reach the individual is clearly beneficial to those involved in the delivery
aspect of mass media. One can see this by examining why advertisers employ this
targeted marketing tactic. Ve Interactive (2015) writes, “stud[ies] showed that
targeted display advertisements were twice as effective as generic ones. In our
own display campaigns, we have seen an even bigger increase in conversion rate
for Ve’s targeted advertising campaigns – up to two-thirds better. This
practice will be even more effective in the future” (para 3). The technologies
associated with data mining have been in existence for a fair amount of time.
However, the sheer quantity of data makes it difficult for all of the data to
be effectively and efficiently utilized. As Ve Interactive points out, the fact
that targeted marketing is so useful makes it so technologies will be
re-engineered to make data mining as effective as possible. In other words,
mass media communication tactics that involve data mining will only become more
prolific as time continues. Data mining technologies are also useful for the
targeted individual. Due to data mining technologies individuals can receive
aspects of mass media that are tailored to their particular interests and
concerns. This means that an individual’s expectations can function as a filter
for mass media. For example, if a person has absolutely no interest in foreign
affairs, but is greatly concerned about the United States’ stock market, data
mining technologies can make it so the individual is primarily offered aspects
of mass media that delve into the domestic financial system. Again, society
involves the collection of individuals. When individuals continually receive
tailored mass media their expectations of mass media become radically different
than they were in the past when carpet communication tactics were utilized.
There
are two ways to examine how data mining technology has influenced social
culture. The first way is discussed above. This perspective reveals that much
of social culture has come to appreciate the use of data mining because of the
surface benefits. After all, time is the only real resource that anyone has.
Much of social culture appreciates the time saving qualities that data mining
tactics produce. However, the second way was not previously discussed. There is
a growing number of people within social culture that are both afraid and
disgusted by data mining technology. These people are influenced by the expression
“If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product” which
helps to articulate how many mass media firms such as Facebook perceive the
average patron (DeWitt, 2015, para. 19). Doctorow clarifies this point when
stating:
Facebook’s story is that we trade privacy for access to its service . . . But it’s clearthat none of us really know what we’re trading. People are really bad at pricingout the future value of today’s privacy disclosure. … It’s nothing like anyother marketplace. … In a market, buyers and sellers bargain. In Facebook’s‘market,’ it gets to treat your private data as an all-you-can-eat buffet and help itself to whatever it wants. (as cited in Chideya, 2015, para. 8)
Those
members of society that do not enjoy the use of data mining technologies are
aware of the link between the use of mass media vehicles and the intrusive surveillance
state. For example, there is a significant connection between Facebook and the National
Security Agency (NSA). Facebook’s business model is based primarily in the
gathering, storing, and retroactive utilization of user data. Facebook has
massive data retention centers that can store exabytes of data (Miller, 2015).
While this quantity of data storage is enormous it is dwarfed by the amount of
data that the NSA stores. For example, one of the NSA’s data storage centers is
in Bluffdale Utah. This facility is over one million square feet, requires
60,000 tons of electronic cooling equipment, and can store at least a yottabyte
of data (Anderson, 2015). Julian Assange has been thoroughly exposed to the
operations of many covert organizations. Assange makes the bold statement that:
Facebook
is the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented. Here we have
the world’s most comprehensive database about people: their relationships,
their names, their addresses, their locations and their communications with
each other, their relatives – all sitting within the United States, all
accessible to US intelligence. (as cited in Lee, 2014, p. 12)
The NSA
takes advantage of Facebook’s data collection practices. Lyon (2015) explains
why this is the case when writing:
Social media and state surveillance seemed destined to form an alliance from the earliest days of Facebook. They used similar methods, and agencies such as the NSA would take advantage of just the kinds of data already being collected and analyzed by social media companies. (p 79)
Therefore,
while there is a side of social culture that appreciates the use of data mining
technologies there is another side of social culture where the influence of
data mining is producing a different reaction. This latter side of culture is
becoming increasingly fearful about what mass media is consumed as well as what
is personally communicated. Put another way, while the majority of social
culture is enjoying the data mining tactics those that are aware of the
implications of such widespread use of this transformative technology are
unsettled. In other words, it cannot be articulated how social culture is
influenced by data mining technology because the perceptions and understandings
of social culture is split on this particular issue. Still, it is obvious that
data mining technologies have a great deal of power in influencing society and
altering society’s expectations of mass media.
References
Anderson,
M. (2015, April 8). Utah data center critical to help the nsa ‘eliminate all
private communications’, says snowden journalist. The Stack. Retrieved from https://thestack.com/security/2015/04/08/utah-data-centre-critical-to-help-the-nsa-eliminate-all-private-communications-says-snowden-journalist/
Bloomberg,
J. (2014, December 3). The big data marketing creepiness factor. Innovation Insights. Retrieved from http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/the-big-data-marketing-creepiness-factor#axzz3zT1B9HGS
Chideya, F.
(2015, September 17). The facebook of the future has privacy implications
today. The Intercept. Retrieved from
https://theintercept.com/2015/09/17/facebook/
Data
mining: What it is and why it matters. (2016). SAS. Retrieved from http://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/analytics/data-mining.html?
DeWitt, P.
(2015, July 8). Apple, ad blockers and the decline of the mobile web. Fortune. Retrieved from
http://fortune.com/2015/07/08/apple-ad-block-ios/
Finlay, S.
(2014). Predictive analytics, data mining
and big data: Myths, misconceptions and methods. New York, Palgrave
Macmillan.
Miller, R.
(2015, June 30). Inside facebook’s blu-ray cold storage data center. Data Center Frontier. Retrieved from
http://datacenterfrontier.com/inside-facebooks-blu-ray-cold-storage-data-center/
Lee, N.
(2014). Facebook nation: Total information
awareness. Tujunga: Springer.
Lyon, D.
(2015). Surveillance after snowden. Cambridge: John Wiley &
Sons.
Poh, M.
(2016). Facebook and your privacy: Why it matters. Hongkiat. Retrieved from http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/facebook-privacy-matters/
Times Jobs. (2014, July 17). Data mining [Image]. Retrieved from http://content.timesjobs.com/data-mining-specialist-will-lead-demand-bpo-sector/
Ve
Interactive. (2015, March 12). Target smarter: Using customer data to create
targeted marketing campaigns. Ve.
Retrieved from http://www.veinteractive.com/us/blog/target-smarter-using-customer-data-to-create-targeted-marketing-campaigns/
The Power of Computing Power
The technologies
that have facilitated the increase in processing power have drastically altered
society’s expectations of mass media, influenced social culture, and changed
the work of communicators. Prior to the prolific use of computers communication
professionals worked largely through print, audio, and relatively simplistic
forms of visual graphics. Society accepted this mode of communication because
no alternatives to mass media existed during that time. Eventually, the
computer came into wide spread use. The internet existed at that time, but it
was used almost exclusively by universities and military based organizations. However,
access to a computer’s processor allowed communication professionals to
generate works that more effectively reached the target audience. During this
time society was beginning to see far more sophisticated forms of
communication. For example, instead of billboards that were created by a
talented visual artist the new billboards demonstrated graphic designs that
could only be created with the aid of a computer’s processor. Put another way,
society’s expectations of mass media evolved closely alongside the capability
of the computer’s processor. Both communication professionals and society at
large came to recognize that with the constant increase of computer processing
power that Moore’s Law was indeed accurate. Crick (2016) explains Moore’s Law
when writing:
Moore’s Law states that transistors per square inch have doubled about every two years since microchips were invented, thus increasing processing speed, and this trend will continue into the future. The user’s Internet experience is heavilyinfluenced by the power of the computer (i.e., how many transistors are presenton the computer chips). Simply put, the larger the number of transistors, themore powerful the software can be and the faster that software functions. (p.10)
Communication
professionals can have all of the creativity and ingenuity humanly possible.
However, such skills and talents are only useful in the real world if the tools
exist to create an actual product. For example, if we were to isolate the most
talented computer graphic design artist working in mass media today and flung
her back in time to work during the Renaissance era her immense skills would be
entirely wasted. Simply put, the capability of the communication professional
is linked directly to the computer’s processing power. Yes, ever increasing
sophistication in software plays a substantial role in a communication
professional’s ability to create and deliver the mass media that society
expects. However, software is only as useful as the processor that runs it. Furseth
and Cuthbertson (2016) elaborates on this point when writing:
The rapid
increase in recent years in computer processing power allied to the increased
speed and ubiquity of communication networks offers a myriad of possibilities
for service innovation, whether it is based on complex algorithms tailoring the
service to the individual customer, the timely delivery of relevant information
or the mobility and accessibility of that information. (p. 25)
When one
considers the connection between the steady increase of computing power, the
rise of internet use, and functionality it is easy to see how the computer’s
processor plays a vital role in affecting the communication professional’s work
and society’s expectations of mass media as a whole. For example, just 40 years
ago society would have no difficulty coping with mass media that did not offer
communication tactics that rely on a strong computer processor. However, if
today’s society was suddenly inserted into a world with very weak or no
processors there would be mass riots.
References
Crick, M.
(2016). Power, surveillance, and culture
in youtube’s digital sphere. Hershey: IGI Global.
Finn Sims
Films [Username]. (2013, December 2). What
is moore’s law? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqKtVX5D-bw
Furseth,
I. & Cuthbertson, R. (2016, January 7). Innovation
in a consumer society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
PSD.
(2011, February 6). Modern computer chip [Image].
Retrieved from http://www.psdgraphics.com/psd-icons/computer-processor-cpu-icon-psd/
TheEllenShow
[Username]. (2014, September 19). Ellen
introduces kids to the technology of yesterday [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CMS9xnBRkc
Consuming Mass Media with Binary
Code
A technology that has radically altered the work of communicators
and influenced the training they need as well as altered society’s expectations
of mass media are the technologies associated with electronic monetary systems.
During the majority of the communication based industries’ existence payments
were made in a tangible form of currency. Services and products were purchased
chiefly through forms of physical cash. In a time when the world population was
smaller, there were less products and services to sell, and store hours were
rigid this manner of payment was sufficient. However, society at large no
longer operates within this paradigm. Communication professionals strive to
effectively reach audiences across many time zones and geographical locations.
Simply put, paying for products and services through a tangible system is too
inefficient for the economic system at large to sustain itself. Fortunately,
technology has brought forth a solution that allows the form of Capitalism
within which our culture exists to smoothly operate. The ability to shop
online, pay in brick-and-mortar stores, and pay employees without ever lifting
a pen or opening a wallet have made it possible for the communication field to
grow. Bons (2015) writes, “Electronic
payment systems have accelerated the transfer of money considerably and
payments are – depending on the scheme – feasible in real time” (p. 167). Our
current economic system is based upon growth. In other words, there are no two
directions within our economic system. It is either growing or dying, there is
no third direction. This ‘acceleration’ has made it so that many more
communication professionals could be employed than could be under the previous
payment paradigm. Obviously, the more communication professionals are employed
the more genres of communication professions can exist. Therefore, society’s
expectations of mass media are continuously altered because there are more
communication professionals working to create the various genres within mass
media. For example, there are communication professions that explore only the
visual side of communication. Just as there are separate communication fields
in the visual and audio aspects of communication. Granted, such similar fields
of expertise existed during the time when the tangible payment system was the
norm. However, those communication professionals in the past did not get nearly
as involved in their particular aspect of communication as communication
professionals do today. As a result of the electronically based monetary system
society has come to expect a great deal from mass media. Today’s Hollywood
movies serve as a good example. When one watches the ten minutes of credits at
the end of major feature movies one sees a very long list of highly specialized
employees. If the electronic monetary system did not exist the number of
employees that worked on the movie would be about 15% and those individuals’
skills would be more generalized. However, due to the ability to access and
distribute huge quantities of funds both quickly and easily makes it possible
for communication professionals to be hired for highly niche duties. Therefore,
this form of fiat currency makes it so that society has access to enormously
complex and expensive movies. These expectations would not exist if such feats
were not made possible via the economic capability. An interesting reality is
that we currently exist in a fiat currency system. As Shoup (1998) writes:
There are
three properties common to fiat currency: (1) The currency is intrinsically
worthless. It is a piece of paper with a number on it [for example]. (2) It is
unbacked. It carries no promise of redemption for anything other than another
piece of paper. (3) It is virtually costless to produce, or at least whatever
it is exchanged for is worth more than the production cost of the currency.
Also, the cost to produce 10 unites of fiat currency is the same as the cost to
produce 100 units-the only difference is the number printed on it. (p. 48)
Therefore,
fiat currency is essentially a faith based payment system. Its intrinsic value
is less than that of air. This is especially true today because the vast
majority of America’s fiat currency exists in digital form. Meaning that what is commonly misinterpreted as ‘money’ is nothing more than the result of a banker punching the number keys on a
computer keyboard and then pushing enter. In other words, the economic paradigm
under which our economic system exists is based entirely on an illusion. Once
upon a time the American currency was backed by gold. During that time the
dollar was not a fiat currency. However, those days are long gone. Today,
services are rendered and mass media products are bought and sold through the
trading of a currency that is ultimately worth less than a piece of toilet
paper. Amazingly though, almost the entirety of those participating in the
economic system do not grasp this reality. If everyone understood this, as well
as the other economic realities, the system under which we exist would crumble.
As Henry Ford stated, “It is well enough that the people of the nation do not
understand our banking and monetary system, for it they did, I believe there
would be a revolution before tomorrow morning” (as cited by Shilingford, 2010,
p. 153). Interestingly, today’s banking and monetary system would appear to be
merciful, logical, and tolerable in comparison to the monetary and banking
system to which Henry Ford was referring. The point that needs to be reiterated
is that this economic system is founded solidly in illusion. In order for that
illusion to continue the masses need to be swayed to continue believing it. The
technologies that make the electronic monetary system possible are critical
components to keeping the illusion intact. Put another way, without the
illusion the distorted form of Capitalism within which we currently exist would
cease to be. Communication professionals would need to find a different way to
spend their time and energy if this system ceased to exist. Put directly, society’s
expectations of mass media would be drastically different without the
electronic monetary system in place because there would be far fewer
communication professionals generating the mass media and less ‘money’ to be
used to consume the mass media. Simply put, this financial system makes mass
media possible. With this monetary system in place society is permitted to have
continuous changes in its expectations of mass media. Without this monetary
system in place the very notion of what constitutes mass media would be
radically different. A major reason for this would be that the word ‘mass’ in
mass media would be altered because such a contemporary scale could not take
place with far fewer communication professionals working to create and share
the media. However, the illusion that is the monetary system continues to be
widely accepted. As a result the many facets of the communication industry
endure and grow. Communication professionals continue to train in their
respective fields so as to rake in as much of the fiat currency as they
possibly can. Such a feat is only possible with the existence of electronic
fiat currency. It might serve to clarify this matter by pointing out that when
one includes derivatives there is well over a quadrillion dollars currently in
existence in the world. According to Sue Chang (2016) “There is $1.2 quadrillion
invested in derivatives alone” (para. 1). This is such a large number that the
brain struggles to fully grasp it. Here is a graphic that will help.
While this
graphic is very helpful there is a problem with it. Due to the nature of
derivatives no one knows for certain how large it really is. However, this
graphic was made back in 2012 when the size of derivatives was both lower and
drastically under accessed. In other words, the final image represents far less
than 25% of the dollars that are actually in existence. Keep in mind that there
are a thousand trillions in one quadrillion. When trying to isolate technology
that impacts the communication profession, altered society’s expectations of
mass media, and influenced social culture it may seem at first to be unrelated
to discuss the technology that makes today’s monetary system possible.
Hopefully, the point has been made that a non-digitally based monetary paradigm
would not sustain the economic system within which mass media depends upon to
exist. The electronic monetary system is the mortar that holds the stack of
cards that we call our economic system together. Without it these systems
remaining in existence society would expect very little of mass media and social
culture would not be influenced on such a large scale.
References
Bons, R.
(2015). The international encyclopedia of
digital communication and society. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Chang, S.
(2016, January 29). Here’s all the money in the world, in one chart. Market Watch. Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-how-much-money-exists-in-the-entire-world-in-one-chart-2015-12-18
Demon-ocracy.
(2012). Derivatives: The unregulated global casino for banks. Demonocracy. Retrieved from http://demonocracy.info/infographics/usa/derivatives/bank_exposure.html
Mike
Maloney [Username]. (2013, February 26). Money vs currency: Hidden secrets of
money [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyV0OfU3-FU
Morgan, J.
[Photographer]. (2011, March 12). Monopoly
money [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/aidanmorgan/5589184944
Shoup, G.
(1998). Currency risk management: A
handbook for financial managers, brokers, and their consultants. Chicago:
Glenlake Publishing Company.
Shilingford,
R. (2010). The history of the world’s
greatest entrepreneurs: Biographies of success. London: History of the
Worlds Great.
Wile, R. (2013, March 28). Monopoly money and currency color [Image]. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-fed-monopoly-money-image-2013-3
Solutions: Do WE Really Want Them?
There is no easy solution to
improving the Internet, social media, mobile technology, cpu power, data
mining, and currency. These topics cover a vast range of territory ranging from
social mobility, culture, education, and economics. Therefore, altering how the
Internet, social media, mobile technology, cpu power, data mining, and currency
operate and function within society would drastically alter the social
paradigm. For example, as of right now the Internet is relatively ‘free’. However, there
are international laws included in the secretive TTP, TISA, and TTIP that will
limit that freedom if they are passed. Considering that the 'powers that be' are
strongly pushing the passing of these laws that essentially bypass democracy
for the sake of corporate profits it is likely that the form of the Internet
that we currently have access to will shift. Social media is used for both good
and bad purposes. As the profits increase the bad elements of social media
become increasingly dominant. Mobile technology has far reaching benefits,
however the negatives of this technology are just as far reaching. For example, the devices are constructed
by what is essentially slave labor, and this technology is used to severely
diminish freedom through spying technologies. The increase in cpu power
can eventually bring forth artificial intelligence, which may greatly benefit
our world. Or, it could completely undo all human progress. There are many legitimate
and evidence based fears that a sentient computer system could wreak tremendous
harm. Ignoring this possibility is naive. Data mining can be used to give
people what they want when they want. Or, it can be used to make ‘free will’ a
mere illusion. Currency can be used, and is used, to enslave. All of these
technologies can and do cause great harm to humanity. However, they have the
potential to bring forth tremendous good.
When
proposing ways to improve the technologies a question arises. How far are we
willing to go? Is it acceptable for us to go back to a true capitalistic
system, rather than the farce of free market economy within which we currently
find ourselves? Is it acceptable for us to put freedom and liberty further up
the hierarchy than fear and obedience? If the answers to these questions is ‘yes’
then true improvements can be made. However, making shifts to our culture to
possess these features in reality, rather than in illusion, will change everything.
The point is simple. The mentioned technologies will improve everything if they
are built, used, and shared in the spirit of freedom and peace. It really is
not that difficult. All we need to do is decide that a living, healthy, and
educated child and mother is better than the scattered remnants of the
children and mothers that our bombs help to decorate the world’s diverse
landscapes with. That feeding the hungry and the desperate is more important
than lining the pockets of the obscenely wealthy. All we need to do is decide
what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong’ and build a system that enforces the
resulting ideology. When this is done the technologies that are created and
used will bring forth enlightenment, prosperity, and tranquility. However, if
we continue down the path we are on this wonderful Blue Island that currently
houses a potentially glorious species will cast us aside, tally us up as
another failed attempt, and if the plains aren’t filled with nuclear mist try
again to create a species bent towards peace and empathy. Technology is only
part of the answer. Having ideologies based in goodness to guide its use are
where the real solutions are to be found.
References
Kopczynski,
P. (2014, July 13). Whistleblower: Nsa stores 80% of all phone calls, not just
metadata: Fully audio. RT. Retrieved from
https://www.rt.com/news/172284-nsa-stores-calls-audio/
Milojicic, Zlatko [Photographer].
(2013, October 31). A child begging
[Image]. Retrieved from http://thephotographicangle.co.uk/competitions/an-unseen-world-p-29/
Tharoor,
I. (2014, November 12). The haunting poetry of a chinese factory worker who
committed suicide. The Washington Post. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/12/the-haunting-poetry-of-a-chinese-factory-worker-who-committed-suicide/
