Today, in the lecture, I used some contemporary examples to think about how media technologies can be analysed through technological deterministic, cultural materialistic, and poststructuralist lenses.

Aaron Dickinson Sachs in a media res article talks about how Netflix would be analysed from a technological determinist perspective.

Reference: Dickinson Sachs, Aaron. “Watching Netflix — Critical Commons.” Video. In Media Res: A Media Commons Project. N.p., 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Internet censorship is a good example to see how cultural forces impact the implementation, format, and content of technologies. North Korea is a country where Internet use is at it’s lowest. Matthew Sparks and Tong-Hyung Kim and Youkyung Lee talk about how the Internet functions in North Korea as a result certain governmental forces.

References: Kim, Tong-Hyung, and Youkyung Lee. “Look At How Bizarre North Korea’s ‘Internet’ Is.” Business Insider. N.p., 23 Dec. 2014. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

Sparkes, Matthew. “Internet in North Korea: Everything You Need to Know.” The Telegraph 23 Dec. 2014. www.telegraph.co.uk. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

A poststructuralist perspective sees the complexity within technologies and how we use them. There are innumerable ways in which technologies and cultures interact. For instance, something as simple as the introduction of Facebook reactions to Facebook sees numerous functions. It allows me to react to content in a way that is closer to my human emotions, yet also large marketing opportunities for companies to understand how people feel about their products.

References: Stinson, Liz. “Facebook Reactions, the Totally Redesigned Like Button, Is Here” Wired. N.p., 24 Feb. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Ganeshan, Susan. “What Facebook ‘Reactions’ Will Mean for Savvy Marketers.” Ad Age. N.p., 14 Oct. 2015. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.