Is the medium sending a message?

Communication theorist Marshall McLuhan wrote that “The message is the medium” meaning that the means by which we receive information can affect us more than the information itself. If this is in fact the case, should we be concerned with the medium that brings bits into a community. As Internet service providers like AOL merge with content firms like Time Warner, corporate incentives rise to turn the Internet into more of a one-way pipe of consumption, rather than a medium where anyone can publish, and information is open. Should we not then try for a more open or non-commercial medium, or system of accessing information? If the pipes are more than just pipes, especially on the local level, then perhaps systems like freenets or local cooperative ISPs can have a better impact for community development. Since they are closer to the community, they can better serve needs of both users and (often limited) infrastructure.

Allan Friedman
January, 2002