A short walk from campus led the group and I to Melbourne Central; both the shopping centre and train station possessed an abundance of media, a hub for all things advertisement, which in turn presented itself as an easy target for our task. Media is everywhere, especially at the one place where advertisement rules all: a shopping centre. One thing caught my attention, as much as something of the like can in a society where the commercialisation of historic landmarks is nothing far from the norm:

“Shot Tower Museum
Entry via R.M. Williams”

Of course, I have no idea how long this has been here, whether there are other entries, whether it is on task or even counts as ‘media’, or if it is just an overtly paranoid observation taken during a task where the aim seemed to be to critically survey the idea of advertisement media: but I viewed this flag as another example of the new integration between our regular, everyday lives and the idea of media as an ecology. An inescapable unification, one that doesn’t necessarily need to be escaped from, but is spreading in an all-encompassing manner which molds the way in which we exist as human beings in today’s day, and is expanding in a rapid and camouflaged motion.

Other things we noticed included:

UP HIGH

• Digital billboard advertising everything from Usain Bolt (he sprinted down a running track and smashed through 3D text so my guess is he’s doing something for shoes) to the latest Samsung Galaxy Gear
• A long, draping Myer flag (if I remember correctly it featured a model??? someone confirm)

MID-GROUND

• Storefront advertisements in nearly every shop
  • The Nike store sported a looping video of a new pair of shoes (pictured)
  • An exuberance of sale posters
• Many on-ground billboards featured an element of interactivity: from Fanta bubbling popping games to QR codes plastered on the frames

BACKGROUND

• Depending on the product they were selling, or the mood they were creating many stores intensified their attention to lighting (pictured)
  • Bright white/blue LEDs for electronics stores such as Samsung and Telstra, as opposed to:
  • Warm reds for HOYTS Cinema, and:
  • Easy-to-digest, welcoming lights exhibited in most retail stores

In searching for “ALL types of mediated communication including how many times you interact with your smartphone”, I also found that I slipped my beloved phone a whopping TWO times to interact with it in ways other than to snap a quick pic (both times conscious of the fact that I was committing treason against myself and my investigation). Funny pictures of dogs were observed on both accounts.

At this point I still can’t answer the question as to what media actually is, but I’m almost certain in the fact that it is everywhere.