Marshall McLuhan’s famous phrase “the media is the message” changes the way I see certain aspects of technology. JD Applen discusses McLuhan’s concept in a chapter of his book “Old Media, New Media, and Knowledge.” Yet after reading Gillespie’s “The Politics of ‘Platforms,’” I have expanded my thoughts. I sort of put the two together in a sense that some (not all) platforms are media. Gillespie dives deep into the vast variety of meanings for platforms. But I would like to challenge the fusion of these two concepts. If the media is the message, what does that say about platforms?
To begin, I would like to clear something up. McLuhan – and Applen – both give excellent examples as to how the medium in which people deliver a message is more important than the message itself. Not all of these media are necessarily “platforms” (unless you consider lightbulbs to be one). On the other hand, however, platforms have physical and literal meanings as well as metaphorical ones. Sure, we use physical and digital forms of communication, such as in-person events versus social media. Yet one metaphorical example of a “platform” is the personal “voice” through digital or in-person media. Not all media are platforms, but all platforms are media.
One example to fuse both of these concepts together is Instagram. So many Instagram users speak their voice on their accounts. Therefore, Instagram has made a wildly massive impact on our technological culture, by not only being a popular medium for intercommunication, but a platform for voices. If we think of physical platforms, such as stages and train platforms, how have they impacted our culture? The stage has progressed the use of communication through theatre, musical acts and other performance arts. We are told to “stand back from the yellow line” while waiting for a train. The literal ground we stand on waiting for the train is there to guide us between different tracks.
A challenge I have is to think of any platform and attempt to apply it to McLuhan’s famous quote. If you can do that, then consider that platform a medium.
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