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Content in Context
» Thursday 1 May 2008 | 4:30 pm
» Hanna's Lounge, 1392 Water Street
An informal afternoon hour showcasing the people and ideas featured in Okanagan Arts. Join us as publisher Robert MacDonald provides insight into how the brave new media world will impact writers, artists, businesses and communities
» This is a free event. Refreshments will be available at a modest cost.
» Seating is limited, please reserve yours HERE
Sponsored by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Books, UBCO-FCCS, and in support of Project Literacy Kelowna
The Brave New Media World
Marshall McLuhan popularized the phrase "the medium is the message" and speculated wildly on the different ways we learn about the world from print and digital media. He made a distinction between "hot" and "cool" media that attracted a great deal of public attention. He associated hot (high-resolution) media with the industrial age. By their nature, he argued, hot media leave less room for contemplation, individual involvement, and interpretation.
"Although digital media was in its infancy during McLuhan's time, the increasing influence of such cool (high-interactivity) media is hard to ignore, and is re-shaping the media landscape in a fundamental way." says Robert MacDonald, who will be speaking May 1st at 4:30 p.m. at Hanna's Lounge on Water Street in the third of the Okanagan Institute's four-part series on design - Content in Context.
"What does it mean to be a publisher? This was a fairly simple question to answer little more than a decade ago. But now with print on demand, weblogs, wikis and other easy-to-use publishing tools that make it easy for millions worldwide to express themselves online it's a question with very fuzzy answers at times," MacDonald states.
In this presentation MacDonald continues his exploration of the new world order for creative individuals who want to deliver their messages to the public, and especially those who want to take advantage of the digital tools available now, and those that are likely to emerge over the coming years.
A recent study by the Pew Foundation gathered an interesting picture as to what kinds of people are generating content online and why. The study found that the major reason most people use Facebook, weblogs and other tools is to have a creative outlet, with fewer than 10 percent citing making money as a motivation. In other words, for most people just the joy of publishing is enough to motivate them to give it a try. We're creative beings by design, for the most part, destined to shape our thoughts and feelings into personal publishing artifacts for the world to discover. The study also shows that many people want to have a platform as well as a creative outlet, in order to motivate other people to action or to influence their thinking.
Although individually the influence of these "amateur" publishers is relatively insignificant -- averaging as they do about twenty-four unique individuals experiencing their pages and posts - in sum the nation of people within this circle of influence would be the fourth largest in the world. The enormous potential of this communications medium in the hands of people who want to influence others poses both opportunities and challenges to both new publishers and society as a whole. For traditional publishers, the influence and attention gained by these millions of micro-audiences has the potential to dilute greatly both the attention and the influence that other sources of opinion and insight offer.
More specifically, this presentation will present a menu of ways in which creative individuals, businesses and even communities can establish their own media "brands" and exploit all the powerful new and old publishing technologies that are available to them.
Robert MacDonald was the Director of the Publishing Workshops at the University of Toronto and the Banff Centre for fifteen years. He was a founder of the Canadian Periodical Publishers Association and the Graphic Arts in the Public Service Foundation. He is both the publisher and designer of Okanagan Arts and Okanagan Home magazines, and the Director of the Okanagan Institute.
Content in Context is a free event, and takes place at Hanna's Lounge. It's presented by the Okanagan Institute in association with Wheat King Publishing.
Express is sponsored by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Books, UBCO Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, and supports the work of Project Literacy Kelowna.
Okanagan Insitute at Hanna's Lounge A hearty feast of lectures, presentations, workshops and showcases celebrating our culture and community. Produced by the Okanagan institute in association with Wheat King Publishing magazines: Okanagan Arts and Okanagan Home.
Expresss is a cultural tonic that refreshes the mind. Join us at Hanna's Lounge after work on Thursdays for a free hour of stimulation that will get your synapses tingling with new ideas and fresh images. Designed for inquiring minds looking for, among other things, the wild blue yonder.
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