Interpretations of Interactive Media: A Chronology

Inventions, Their Reception, and Planning for the Future

Cory Morrison

Contents:

SECTION I: THE BIRTH OF INTERNET …page 1

SECTION II: COMMUNICATION INVENTIONS AND THE PUBLIC RESPONSE …page 4

SECTION III: WEB 3.0 AND CYBERSPACE …page 6

SECTION IV: FUTURE INVENTIONS AND WHAT THEY MEAN ...page 8

SECTION V: FUTURES …page 9

SECTION VI: THE FLOW OF INFORMATION TO THE BRIEF …page 11

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1 Denotes a topic relative to advertising

SECTION I: THE BIRTH OF INTERNET

Advance Research Project Agency (ARPA)

The ARPA was a program created by President Eisenhower in 1958 to ensure growth in technology. ARPA members researched computer networking under the leadership of J.C.R. Licklider. Another member, Paul Baran, believed a successful network was one whose users were interconnected1. Before shutting down in 1990, ARPA went online in 1969 as ARPANET.

E-mail

The first electronic mail delivery from one computer to another was made in 1972 under supervision of Ray Tomlinson.

Ethernet

Ethernet was developed by Robert Metcalfe in 1976 and allowed for faster transmission (via cable). This would lead to global connection and data sharing when information from the U.S. was sent to Europe.

Internet Research Task Force/Internet Engineering Task Force (IRTF & IETF)

The IRTF and IETF are responsible for ensuring that the Internet betters itself as it grows and as demand for it grows.

The World-Wide Web

The World-Wide Web as coined and created by Tim Berners-Lee 1990 after he wrote the first html code. A common misconception is that the World-Wide Web and the Internet are the same thing. However, the World-Wide Web gives users access to specific documents of information that are hyperlinked to each other, of which a user must use a web browser program on their computer to access. Using the Internet, users can do many things such as send electronic mail and share files, but cannot access information on the web.

A Quick Look at Internet Growth

Time it took to get 50 million users:

Radio: 38 years Television: 13 years Internet: 4 years

From 1995 to 2009, the Internet’s user base increased from 19 million to 1.6 billion.

Emoticons

Kevin MacKenzie created the idea of “emoticons,” smiley face representations of emotions. MacKenzie was discouraged that e-mail lacked a sense of realness2.

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Other Milestones in Internet History

June 1987: The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) was created. It is still the standard image format on the Internet.

April 1989: MP3 files are created as the standard web-based music format.

February 1994: Yahoo! is created and becomes the world’s largest search engine until Google surpassed it.

July 1995: Amazon was born, allowing consumers to purchase most anything new or used over the internet, which in turn sparked the “shop at home” era.

June 1996: ICQ, the first instant messaging program, was created. This allowed people to communicate in a way they never had before: directly, immediately, and inaudibly all at once.

December 1996: Flash was founded. Many sites are created with Flash today, and over 80% of computers are pre-installed with Flash playing software.

June 1999: Napster, the infamous free file-sharing program, was born. Its primary use was to illegally traffic music from person-to-person. Although it was shut down in 2001, it transformed the music industry and sparked the idea of (legal) music downloading. Apple would later take this concept and apply it to their program “iTunes.”

August 1999: Blogger, a social media site in which users were encouraged to log anything they wanted to say for others to read, was launched. Many users “blog” as a way of expressing their first amendment rights.

April 2003: Apple launched the iTunes Store, which allowed users to buy their music online.

February 2005: Social media site YouTube was born, allowing anyone to upload video to its ever-growing database of media.

Analysis of Section I:

The growth of the Internet is staggering, and completely surpassed any major development in technology that came before it. It is hard to imagine that steady careers in interactive media and design did not spark until the advent of the Internet. However, based on the growth rate of the Internet, it is also hard to imagine a more appropriate time for it to have done so. Paul Baran was right about the types of networks and their interconnectivity attributes. The “distributed” network is the best network for dissemination of information to and between the most people.

It is also interesting to consider that the Internet itself is a piece of interactive technology. Within it, though, come even more ways for its users to interact with the world. With the advent of YouTube and Blogger, for example, users are weaving a layer of interactivity within an interactive platform.

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Relevance of Section I to the Advertising Industry: 1The “distributed” networking system is crucial for any advertising campaign to flourish. With such a network, audiences (targeted and not targeted) communicate with each other by word of mouth, a perfect illustration of the network’s blueprint. Therefore, creating an advertisement or campaign that stimulates conversation and reaches more people than projected is one goal of advertising professionals. This is especially true with viral marketing and advertising, as they rely completely on the audience to shape the success and direction of a campaign. 2One thing advertisers have to overcome is what is referred to as “clutter.” The number of commercial messages we are (allegedly) exposed to daily ranges anywhere from 3,000 to 50,000. Regardless of what that number actually is, we are constantly getting information thrown at us. Breaking through the clutter is one of the hardest things an advertiser has to do. Like MacKenzie said, it is messages like these that we see as meaningless, and thus discard.

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SECTION II: COMMUNICATION INVENTIONS AND THE PUBLIC RESPONSE

The Three Processes in Technological Innovation

There are three key leaps between conception and implementation of a new technological invention. The first is the innovation itself, which encompasses the vision, theories, concepts, and trial and error data collection for something groundbreaking. After the idea is set, it must be commercialized and marketed as a valuable life enhancement. Last come the nuances of rights and regulations to ensure protection for the inventor, the invention, and its users.

Standardization

Standardization is most likely viewed from the business perspective as a bad thing, but from the consumer perspective, it is simple logic. The cheapest, most efficient way to do the task a consumer wants it to do is the most appealing. What is interesting, though, is that standardization can create unofficial monopolies. Google and Apple are perfect examples of this, as both companies almost completely control certain aspects of their industry.

The Telegraph

When Samuel Morse sent the first electronic message across a wire in 1844, many people believe it would open global communication and thus be a basis for peace. It allowed messages to be sent immediately to a recipient, which in theory is still a common way we communicate. The Federal Communications Commission would eventually regulate the telegraph industry starting in 1934.

The Telephone

Antonio Meucci invented the telephone in 1849 but Alexander Graham Bell won the patent battle. Like the telegraph, people believed it would create peace, as well as decrease loneliness, change marketing, and promote privacy1.

The Radio

The wireless version of the telegraph, or radio, was invented by Guglielmo Marconi in the late 1800s, but really came to fruition in 1919. Radio quickly became more than an outlet for news. Churches, universities, and even President Roosevelt used it.

The Television

Philo Taylor Farnsworth’s “image dissector” would set the path for the debut of his more sophisticated invention, the television, in 1933. After its initial hype, many skeptics believed that Americans would lose interest in television because families would not have time for it.

Communication ‘Verb’iage

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According to Internet activist John Perry Barlow, the Internet promotes a business world that is dominated by verbs. What he means by this is the notion that words like do, make, create, innovate, grow, expand, etc. are good business words and that the Internet fosters this somewhat exploratory vision for companies to have.

Analysis of Section II:

What is interesting about the conclusion of the three steps of technological innovation is that it is the start of an implementation process that is shaped primarily by public reception. If an invention has value, it will be well received and grow quickly. The things that do not matter to the public are the three steps before it reaches them. So much time and energy goes into an idea, but it is seldom recognized or cared about2.

With each of the inventions from this section came an overwhelming response of awe from the public. Many of these concepts were likely never even imagined by most people. Like them, there are few of us today that have any idea what the next communication breakthrough could be.

Relevance of Section II to the Advertising Industry: 1It is somewhat ironic that privacy was something believed to be enhanced with the advent of the telephone, because as aforementioned, marketing would change via telephone as well. Many people view telemarketing as an invasion of privacy. 2The creative process in advertising is a long one. It is difficult to comprehend that the ads with the most obvious messages are sometimes the ones that took the longest to conceptualize. Clutter is relevant here too because with all the messages we are exposed to, we do not care about how they were created. Advertisers do not get their due credit for the time they spend on advertisements that are seldom viewed for longer than ten seconds.

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SECTION III: WEB 3.0 AND CYBERSPACE

The Three Facets of 3.0

When we use Web 2.0, we indirectly ask the computer our questions. When Web 3.0 debuts, we will be able to directly ask the same questions. The first facet of Web 3.0 is that it speaks our language. When we ask it a question, it knows what we are asking. Second, it also knows us- our likes, tastes, favorites, etc1. Lastly, to answer our questions as best as possible, Web 3.0 will have a larger reach of information from which to pull. Web 3.0 basically prevents the user from having to scan a list of topical results, and allows them to get results quicker by being more straightforward with an English-speaking computer.

The Layers of Interactive Design

Interactive designer Mark Rettig believes that there are five principles that encompass interactive design: information (about the user), experience (relevant life experiences), strategy (the goal), interface (how people are getting information), and interaction (how people interact with what gives them information) 2.

Analysis of Section III:

Web 3.0 will allow much more ease of use, as it will return information more efficiently than ever before. People often do not know how to search for things because they do not know the best way to phrase something in a search bar. With Web 3.0, that will not be a problem because the computer can understand the questions users have.

Relevance of Section III to the Advertising Industry: 1If the Internet “knows” its users, brands are going to have to work extra hard to know their audiences. This will create the need for more intimate and long-lasting relationships that brands will depend on to create brand loyalty. If someone searches for a nearby car dealership, then Ford, for example, would want its name to pop up on the results page first. If Web 3.0 knows us, however, Ford has their work cut out for them to instill trust in its audiences before Web 3.0 starts to “get to know them.” 2The five principles of interactive design outlined by Mark Rettig are very similar to the creative process of advertising. You must know your audience and the experiences they have had both in life and with your brand. Once you know whom you are targeting in your ads, you form a strategy statement that serves as the underlying objective to the whole campaign. Lastly, advertisers choose a medium in which they deliver their message. Through careful monitoring, especially if it is new to them, they learn how their target interacts with the medium they chose.

Also mentioned in Section III were facts about online advertising. More advertisers are using money typically spent on television for online use. It is estimated that by 2011, 14 percent of advertising in the world will be online. Cyberspace creates very different consumer behavior patterns. It is like a version of “Second Life” in itself, allowing consumers to do a test run before purchasing a product. They can read product reviews,

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watch demonstrational videos, or even preview an incomplete version of a product or service before actually buying it. What is interesting, though, is that these consumers can do this all right before the purchase. Shopping in an actual store does not give consumers that luxury. One thing that is appealing to advertisers about online ads is that many people spend more time online than on other mediums, so the chance they are exposed to what you want them to see is higher. Then, Amazon somewhat serves as an outsourced depot for consumer action, and therefore works (indirectly) with advertisers. Consumers see the ads, then shop on Amazon. Companies can make a great deal of money from Amazon, especially since it carries such a vast array of products.

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SECTION IV: FUTURE INVENTIONS AND WHAT THEY MEAN

Multi-tasking

Jonathan Spira, who works for a research firm called Basex, believes that multitasking is impossible because if someone is doing multiple things at once, what they are actually doing is shifting their attention back and forth, and therefore not concentrating on more than one thing at a time. There is also a notion of what is referred to as “continuous partial attention1.” This is like multitasking in theory, but really refers to how one activity gets the majority of the attention.

Miscellaneous Messaging Mediums

The conventional magazine print, television commercial, radio spot, and billboards of many years simply do not account for the number of messages people are exposed to daily2. They are still heavy in circulation, but other outlets are popular too. These can range from a men’s urinal to sidewalk chalk.

Analysis of Section IV:

It has to be somewhat relieving for people working in communications to hear Spira’s beliefs, as that would certainly make their job easier. However, even if multitasking does not exist, that still does not change the fact that we ignore most of what we see. It is as if we were multitasking with divided attention.

To truly understand what it means to be interactive, you really have to pay attention to your surroundings. Interactive media professionals know this and use “non-traditional” media as a platform for something new.

Relevance of Section IV to the Advertising Industry: 1Radio provides a good example of continuous partial attention. When radio was first invented, many people left it on for hours at a time while they were working on things around the house. With the radio on in the background, they were likely to hear advertisements. What is important to note about partial attention is that a lot of it deals with the subconscious. People can be receptive to things when they do not realize it. Critics of the advertising industry might say that all advertising is like this, or “subliminal.” Not only do advertisers have to overcome people’s seemingly innate dislike for advertising, but they also have to overcome this partial attention notion as well. It is a barrier for all interactive media professionals, regardless of if advertising if involved. 2Viral marketing has grown a lot in the past few years. A good viral campaign can also grow quickly. Probably the most famous of recent viral campaigns came from cyclist Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong bracelets. One neat thing to consider is that the Livestrong campaign gained fame not only from word of mouth, but also from people observing other people. They noticed yellow bracelets on their friends, family, or strangers, and it made them curious. Therefore, in order to be a good interactive professional, you have to be aware of what is going on around you. By doing so, you may also get ideas for ways to communicate your message with people.

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SECTION V: FUTURES

Foresight

When examining opportunities that may exist in the future, it is imperative to have foresight. In its simplest form, foresight is used to determine what impact a new idea will have on the world at large and the individual. Foresight is most effective when everyone examining the future has the same information1. It can be used as a strategic tool not to predict the future, but to expose plausibility of things. It can also be used as a tactical tool to create short-term strategies, and can guide people early on toward the next big innovation. The more people know, the higher the chance they will make the decisions you want them to2.

Understanding the Present

There are five ways to understand the present in order to assess future possibilities. First, assess trends that exist. Second, from these trends observe more specific behavioral patterns and the chronology of a trend. Third, examine why a trend and the behavioral patterns within it exist. Fourth, observe the catalyst that keeps a trend going or will pave its future path. Fifth, collect data that explains the present and assesses the future. As you go through these steps, your observations move from quantitative to qualitative.

Inspiration and Engagement

In the face of change, good company leaders understand that any change in core values by the organization may cause a shift of customer base. In order to engage new audiences and maintain existing ones, an organization should build social capital by working with people involved in the organization internally and externally3. A good way to do this is to define and or enhance the organization’s direction, values, excitement, teamwork, and accountability4. Do so in an exciting way, avoiding the conventional and safe route.

Sponsors

As aforementioned, it is good to break away from the safe route when change is necessary. Many companies, however, use public figures to vouch for their new directions. Doing so can backfire if the public loses respect for this person5.

Analysis of Section V:

This section deals a lot with examination of the present in order to better evaluate the future. In its simplest form, this type of examination can be compared to a SWOT analysis, which assesses an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Proper understanding of many facets of society at large is also important. To better know where the future can take us, we have to understand what is happening now. Always keep in mind that if your audience is not informed, it will not react in any way. Keep external people abreast of the changes your organization is making and intends to make.

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Relevance of Section V to the Advertising Industry: 1The importance of an advertising agency’s internal communication is great. If the account planners do not fully relay the information they have gathered on the environment, the target audience, and social trends to the creative team, the agency’s departments are working on two different levels. 2Decisions are based on what people know. With advertising, though, there is more to it than that. People make decisions, some subconsciously, on what they feel. A customer that feels safe with a brand is one that has brand loyalty, a principle almost as important to a company as its revenue. 3Advertisements subconsciously voice a brand’s core values. A good ad promotes not only the aspect of the brand it is illustrating, but the brand itself. It is important to remember this because while an advertising campaign can be successful, it does not mean consumers are aligning their values with that of the brand. 4The process above is exactly what happens in the pitch process of the advertising industry. An advertising company expresses these five things in their pitch in a creative presentation to bring their client on board with an idea. 5Using a spokesman for an ad can greatly enhance its credibility and reach. However, choosing someone who the public loses respect for hurts the brand he or she is vouching for. Therefore, it is important to avoid “putting all your eggs in one basket.” From an agency standpoint, this means that it is not a good idea to focus your attention on one client. If that client leaves, which happens often (even when things are going well), agencies are usually forced to lay off large groups of employees.

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SECTION VI: THE FLOW OF INFORMATION TO THE BRIEF

Aim High/Realistically with Strategy

Aim for what is possible, but be careful not to aim toward what could be plausible, as that is a gamble.

Adapting to Change

There are two ways to embrace change. The first is to anticipate it in order to be prepared. The second is to create a strategic plan that will not limit mobility toward a new plan when the time comes to change.

The Brief

The brief is a presentation of facts and ideas from one group to another so that everyone has the same information when moving an organization forward. Briefs cover a lot of material, but perhaps most important are the answers to what around us is changing and why that is important. They may also incorporate market response and wild cards. Wild cards are the unexpected variances of a trend that are impossible to fully account for1.

The ECA Antidote

The ECA antidote strives to convert feelings of fear, uncertainty, and doubt when presented with change to feelings of excitement, challenge, and achievement2.

Horizon Scanning vs. Strategic Thinking

Horizon scanning aims to determine how the future will be different, while strategic thinking aims to determine what about that future should be the focal point in the moving forward process and what should be done about it.

Ways of Seeing

Perhaps the most beneficial way to look at something is to consider what you cannot actually see up front. Once you discover the presence of such a thing, you are likely to better understand how and why a phenomenon is the way it is. It can also lead to discovering a new way of doing things.

The Butterfly Effect

The butterfly effect is the notion that one small action can influence the big picture. Because this has truth to it, it is impossible to predict the future3. The flapping of the butterfly’s wings is inevitable and will alter the direction of the future just when you thought it was set.

Analysis of Section VI:

The best strategies are ones that do not try to do too much. However, they are also more than what is expected4. Finding that common ground is difficult in any field, but it especially is in communications because it is a very interactive field.

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Since both external and internal communication is important when changing an organization, it may be a beneficial to expose the brief to others. Doing so can bring back a great deal of relevant responses to what an organization has already thought through before the actual implementation.

Relevance of Section VI to the Advertising Industry: 1Wild cards are important to advertisers because everyone sees things differently. Statistics of an audience are merely statistics. They may not explain why on any given day a consumer who usually purchases Tide suddenly purchased All. Facts and figures only go so far to explain the behavioral science of trends and audiences within them. 2Nike is a perfect example of the ECA antidote. Its slogan Just Do It is a direct command to its audience telling them to face their fears and doubts. The brand identity Nike has gained over the years is staggering. It incorporates personal integrity in every aspect, and it almost seems like the ECA antidote was written to explain how Nike targets new audiences and transforms their lives. 3The butterfly effect is a viral marketer’s dream. It is a way for viral campaigns to catch on and cover more ground. Speaking from a word of mouth perspective, the butterfly effect is similar to the notion of “six degrees of separation,” which theorizes that everyone on the planet is interconnected through at least one out of every six people. When an audience shapes the future of a campaign, like in viral marketing, this kind of “ripple effect” is what spreads it and makes viral marketing what it is. 4The kind of thinkers that the advertising industry strives to obtain is typically labeled as “creative” thinkers. While this is valid, it is merely half of what is required. Advertisers must also be logical, or realistic thinkers. That is the reason that an award-winning ad for creativity may not have always yielded the best results.