Choose your medium wisely; it IS your message

The medium is the message. I first heard these words in a college communications class. They sounded like nonsense to me then. Back then we were focused on radio, TV, film and print as media and as a young journalism student, all of them paled in comparison to my all-important message.

But Marshall McLuhan proved to be a visionary in many regards and his idea that the medium we choose is more important than the message we wish to convey seems even truer in today’s world of cell phones, texting, iPods and the world wide web. The world is continuing to change at a dizzying pace and much of that change is being driven by technological advances in our media.

My friend who’s on the local school board says we’re looking at a time in the not distant future when schools as we know them will cease to exist. Most learning will be done on the Internet and children will occasionally meet at predetermined times and places to take part in collaborative learning. Employment is determined less and less by where one lives and as we’ve seen, our ability to network and process information has exploded with the advent of social media. All of these drastic changes are happening because of changes in media, NOT because of a particular message.

NOWISM, AIG & TRADITIONAL CONFERENCES

In a recent post, trendwatching.com coined the term “nowism” to define the need for everything that is right now/current/real time. It’s the latest trend to come into being because of media; in this case Twitter and real-time search engines. Business will have to tap into this “global brain” to remain viable, the post says. Those who won’t or can’t adapt face a “painful, lifeless future.”

The AIG public relations debacle coupled with the worst recession in modern history, forced the events industry to look for new, budget conscious ways to produce events. Advancements in technology have again offered helpful solutions, this time in the form of virtual events, webinars and teleconferencing. But clients continue to list “meeting new people” as the main benefit of attending an event.

Some are saying the days of the “traditional” conference with keynote speaker and breakout rooms are numbered. There’s a trend toward attendee collaboration and participation and often this involves social media. More and more people want to engage and are less satisfied with passive learning.

MEDIA AFFECT HOW WE PROCESS INFORMATION

Now more than ever, it’s important to consider the medium that we choose to convey our message. Twitter streams, on-line communities, power point lectures, workshops, video multi-image presentations, sound systems, handouts, pdf files and promotional gifts all engage attendees in different ways. Different media require different kinds of cognitive organization. Therefore, changes in the way the public receives messages affects how the message is processed.

As McLuhan said, “[I]fa new technology extends one or more of our senses outside us into the social world, then new ratios among all of our senses will occur in that particular culture. It is comparable to what happens when a new note is added to a melody. And when the sense ratios alter in any culture then what had appeared lucid before may suddenly become opaque and what had been vague or opaque will become translucent.”

To make sure the message is crystal clear we need to take into account much more than trends and budgets when choosing a medium. We need to ask lots of questions. How are attendees getting most of their information? How fast do they usually get it? Are they passive receivers of information or do they learn best in an active mode? Is a linear aproach best? Do they need more visuals? What makes them zone out? What keeps them engaged? Do they learn best individually or in groups?

HOW DOES YOUR GLOBAL VILLAGE GROW?

With the advent of electronic media, McLuhan predicted the trend away from segmentation in society and toward what he termed a “global village.” “(T)he world has become a computer, an electronic brain, ” he said in the early 1960’s. In 2009, it seems, this “brain” is hopped up on energy drinks. We in the events industry, have an opportunity to help guide it, but only if we can capture its attention. Let’s not miss our chance by choosing the wrong medium.