Characteristics of Media: An Introduction

Davis Foulger
Brooklyn College and Montclair State University
May 10, 2005

Based on work done at Oswego State University in 2001-2003

The following is an early version of the work I am currently doing in documenting the characteristics of a large variety of media. The intent is to compare those media using a fairly large set of characteristics. This version encompasses more than 180 variables. Those variables can be combined into a range of theoretically meaningful interaction effects. These variables have been organized, for the purpose of the current narrative, into meaningful clusters. These meaningfulness of these clusters, their relationship to the communication process, and to a lesser extent their relationship to each other can be summarized in the following statement of the act of communicating:

Creators and performers,
often with the help of other participants,
including the commercial marketplace,
use language,
interfaces,
and other generalized mediators
to produce,
perform,
store
and transmit
messages
to message consumers

whose feedback and replys may be observable

through a set of available return channels.

It is tempting to try to arrainge these various groups of media activity into conventional models of the communication process. Indeed, several of these of these groupings, including creator/performers (senders), consumers/audiences (receivers), transmission, feedback, and messages, are standard components of the classic active, interactive, and transactive communication models. A complete accounting of the describable elements of media does not readily yield to such linear formations, however, and the statement above, with its fourteen bulleted and highlighted elements, is the closest we will come here to providing an organizing model for the characteristics of media. Fifteen clusters of media characteristics will be offered here, organized into categories using the one sentence informal model as follows:

Informal Model Cluster of Characteristics
Creators and performers,
Creator/Performer Characteristics
often with the help of other participants,

Characteristic Participants and Generalized Participant Characteristics

including the commercial marketplace,
Marketplace Activities
use language,
Generic Message Modalities
interfaces,
Characteristic Interface Elements
and other generalized mediators
Generalized Mediators
to produce,
Production Characteristics
perform,
Performance Characteristics
store
Storage Characteristics
and transmit
Transmission Characteristics
messages
Message Characteristics
to message consumers
Consumer/Audience Characteristics

whose feedback and replys may be observable

Feedback Characteristics
through a set of available return channels.
Generic Feedback Modalities

While this simple model nicely summarizes the factors of message production and their relationship to one another during the communication process, it is only intended to introduce this appendices organization of the characteristics of media. These clusters of media characteristics will be presented according to a somewhat different model which can be expressed via parallel, but not entirely equivalent statments::

Participants
People
use modalities,
use language
extended by mediators,
and media
to exchange messages.
to communicate

This parallel informal model expresses a hierachy of message enablement. It starts with the people who create, consume, and otherwise participate in the production of messages.. They are able to do so because they possess expressive modalities through which they can create signals, shaped within the conventions of language, and reception modalities through which they receive and consume those signals. These modalities are extended, in most media, through a variety of artificial mediators which give their signals and language wings, allowing them to traverse vast distances and long periods of time. In sum, these elements enable the exchange of messages.

This is, in all respects, a remarkable hierarchy of invention, and one that feeds back upon itself at every layer. Modalities are inherent to people, much as they are in any living thing that is capable of observation and manipulation of its environment. Even plants have been observed, when under attack by insects, creating signals which caused other plants to engage in defensive activities. We would not normally call such signally across compatable modalities communication. At most we would probably label this activity an automatic programming, encoded in DNA, whose expression has been selected through natural selection because of it has survival value for the species. Still, such signals represent a starting point. Compatible modalities are the foundation on which organisms build their ability to communicate, and that fundamental capability has reached its known zenith in our ability to manipulate our extended modalities, based on our intentions, the create messages. We may come by our modalities naturally, but we invent the ways in which we use them, and thereby create language. Our fundamental modalities may be a part of our bodies, but we invent the ways in which we extend them, and thereby create media. Our modalities may be little more than generators and receivers of signals, but we are able to use our language and media to invent messages, and thereby create both relationships and ourselves.

We will follow this hierachy of relationships as we explore the characteristics of media that can be found at its varied layers, and the interactions they enable, as follows:

Informal Model Cluster of Characteristics
Participants
  • Characteristic Participants
  • Consumer/Audience Characteristics
  • Creator/Performer Characteristics
  • Generalized Participant Characteristics

use modalities,

  • Generic Message Modalities
  • Generic Feedback Modalities
extended by mediators,
  • Generalized Mediators
  • Characteristic Interface Elements
  • Transmission Characteristics
  • Feedback Characteristics
  • Marketplace Activities
to exchange messages.
  • Production Characteristics
  • Performance Characteristics
  • Message Characteristics

 

Neither these clusters nor the collection of variables that will be included in each cluster should be considered complete. It is possible to envision other generic clusters of media characteritics, some of which are already represented by characteristics that are currently associated with the above clusters, including:

It should be possible, moreover, to add additional useful variables to the clusters that are offered here, and we offer no assertion of either the completeness or adequacy of those offered other that to say its all we've been able to usefully operationalize so far. The collection do date does, however, represent a considerable enhancement relative to previous attempts at listing the characteristics of media, including the original list of 12 variables, offered in Foulger (1990), that is the starting point for this collection. This is a list in progress. Most of the variables offered here have already been applied to a wide variety of media. Some are newly added and have not been used to characterize media as yet. These media have been documented in italics.

Characteristics: The Message in the Medium

The characteristics of media determine, in broad terms, the kinds of things that a medium will be good at and the kinds of messages that will be constructed within it. This makes characteristics, and the comparisons among media that they enable, an invaluable guide to understanding the capabilities of a medium, the media it will most directly compete with, the things that the medium is likely to be used for, its prospects for success, and the ways in which a medium might be evolved and differentiated from its competitors. It is useful to think of characteristics as the abstracted "possibilities" associated with a particular set of mediators and their organization. How many people can experience a message in a given medium? How fast can a message flow from its creator to its audience? How rapidly can feedback flow back? Do people travel to messages, messages to people, or both? How many modalities are associated with messages? These are just a few of the hundreds of characteristics which can be unambiguously described for any medium. Media characteristics can be generally organized into a few broad categories, including the characteristics associated with production, performance, user interfaces, participants (including audiences), messages, feedback, transmission, storage, and commonly occurring mediators. Interestingly, and perhaps not surprisingly, mediators often vary together such that they can be reduced to a relatively small number of meaningful dimensions. The most important of these dimensions, bandwidth, dynamism, and interactiveness, form a "media space" in which media can be usefully clustered and compared. The characteristics of media, as we will see in coming chapters, help to determine the things we use a medium to accomplish and the way we construct messages in the medium. Indeed, it can be asserted that characteristics are the first of several levels of the message in the medium that McLuhan referred to in his famous quote and book title: "The Medium is the Message".

Participants

There are a mix of roles that are normally associated with any medium of communication. This role mix may, as it does for face-to-face communication, simply entail participants, with every participant able to freely create and consume messages. This role mix may, as it does in public speaking, entail an audience and a small selection of presenters, and no one else. It may be somewhat more complex, as is the case when a messenger carries a message, with a message creator, a message recipient, and a third party messenger who actually transport the message from the creator to the recipient. It may be much more complex, as is the case for books, where a writer normally submits a book to a publisher who, if they decide to publish it, processes the book through editors, proofreaders, art departments, legal departments, marketing departments, layout departments, printers, transportation systems, wholesalers and retailers before the book can be obtained and read by a consumer. Other complex media entail a variety of other characteristic roles, including actor, producer, director, cameraman, editor, censor, and many others.

Characteristic Participants

It is possible to abstract these forms of participation in media into what may be as few as nine generic roles, including those of creator, consumer, publisher/producer, distributor/carrier, selector, production staff, retailer, advertiser, and regulator. These roles are meant to be considered as abstractions of the responsibilities associated with the role name. Publisher and producer, for instance, are distinct names used in different media for what is substantially the same function, that of pulling together, organizing, coordinating, and motivating the resources required to enable and support the creation, performance, and production of a message or set of messages. It is likely that other names have been, are, and will be used as we attempt to capture the concept of a "performance executive" for other media. The same can be said for each of the generic roles documented here. Each name used is intended to be applied flexibly; more as a metaphor for the kind of role the name represents than as a statement of the specific set of functions, responsibilities, or activities that role represents in any specific medium.

It is presumed here that all media include some measure of both message creators and consumers (even when these roles are realized in a combined creator/consumer or participant role). As one cannot differentiate media based on these roles, they are not included in this cluster.. The remaining seven generic roles, including publisher/producer, distributor/carrier, selector, production staff, retailer, advertiser, and regulator, are included. They have been supplemented, moreover, with a set of less generic roles. Most of these additional roles, including director, editor, transcriber recorder, reproducer, and content integrator, specifically break out of the generic production staff role. One, performer, splits out message performance from the message creation role. The characteristics of performers will later be considered in combination with the characteristics of creators.

It should be noted that these roles are not mutually exclusive. Just as the role of creator can be either distinct from, and combined with, the role of consumer, so other roles can exist in some

Characteristic Participants
publprod publishers/producers

Is the generic role of publisher/producer normally associated with this medium? Specifically, are there normally people associated with the medium who take organizational responsibility for organizing, managing, and funding the process of producing and/or publishing content. The nature of this production/publishing role can and does vary by medium, as does the name applied. Indeed, some media may use entirely different names to describe people whose role is to find and/or provide the financing and organization required in order to enable the creation, manufacturing, promotion, and/or distribution of content. In some cases the role of publisher/producer is a very limited one in which a person or group decides to publish or produce a specific piece of content (a play or movie, for which this variation is fairly common, or a book). In other cases the role will be an expansive one in which an organization builds a business on its publication or production of many content instances (e.g. a publishing house, a movie studio, a television network, etc). In this latter case it is not unusual to see a layering of the role of publisher/producer, with the larger organization desigating a set of executive producers or series editors who organize a series of related content instances and a more local set of producers or editors that take responsibility for one or a few content instances at a time. Namings can be confusing here, especially in publishing, where an editors role may be akin to executive producer, selector, or production staff depending on the exact nature of their responsibilities. The roles associated with namings in theatre, film, and broadcasting are, in general, cleaner in their divisions of responsibilities. Coded as yes (1) where the generic role of publisher or producer is normally associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.

  investors Is the generic role of investor normally associated with this medium? Specifically, are there people whose sole or primary relationship to a medium is to provide the capital necessarily to produce content and/or distribute or enable the distribution of content. Coded as yes (1) where investors typically play a role in enabling the production and/or distribution of content and no (0) otherwise.
distcarr distributors/carriers

Is the generic role of distributor/carrier normally associated with this medium? Specifically, are there normally people and/or organizations associated with the medium who take responsibility for transmitting, transporting, sorting, storing, distributing, and/or delivering messages without, in general, specific regard for the specific content carried. These distributors/carriers exist in a variety of forms, ranging from individual messengers and independent truck drivers through long distance telephone companies, internet network service providers, overnight shipping companies, wholesale distributors, and postal systems, among others. Coded as yes (1) where the generic role of distributor or carrier is normally associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.

selector selectors

Is the generic role of selector normally associated with this medium? Specifically, are there buyers, content acquisition specialists, editors, phone screens, reviewers, or other selectors of message content who select content for publication, performance, or other variant of delivery through the medium. Such selection will, in general, reflect the editorial goals, preferences, and guidelines of specific instances of the medium. The issues associated with these goals, guidelines and preferences will include, in varying degree according to the medium and instance, such things as subject matter, entertainment value, fulfillment of submission requirements, and quality of content. This rooting of selection in instance-specific editorial policy is important to defining this generic role, as selection is specifically not about censorship, which seeks to prevent specific kinds of content from being selected for any instance within a medium or set of media. So long as every instance of a medium has a unique editorial policy based on the needs of the specific market niche it addresses, it can be reasonably presumed that all content has a potential home somewhere. Coded as yes (1) where the generic role of selector is normally associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.

  performers Is the differentiated generic role of performer normally associated with this medium? Specifically, are there people normally associated with this medium whose principle role is to perform message content that has been created by others. This does not mean that a performer does not play a creative role. The performer often can and will exercise some level of creativity in interpreting content for an audience and/or in enhancing the performance with improvised additions. The existance of the role does, however, imply a formal bifurcation of the roles of creator and performer, with the creative role composing all or most of the message and the performer enacting the message for consumption. The role of performer is common in dynamic art media like movies, theatre, and musical performance and broadcast media like television and radio. It is not normally associated with a wide variety of other media, including books, letters, newspapers, talk radio, and face-to face interaction, among others. The names that is probably most prototypically associated with the role of performer is actor, but depending on the medium, such names as musician, dancer, and broadcaster may apply. Coded as yes (1) where there is a formal performance role, distinct from the message creation role, associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.

prodstaf

production staff

Is the generic role of production staff member normally associated with this medium? Specifically, are there people and/or organizations normally associated with the medium who play an intermediate role in the production and packaging of messages. Many specific roles fall within this generic role, including cameraman, engineer, proofreader, pasteup, typographer, special effects, printer, etc. People in these roles share, in common, a very limited relationship to the creation and performance of messages. A cameraman may well exercise creativity in getting a particular shot during the shooting of a movie or a television show, but their specific role is not to create the message, but rather to capture it for immediate or subsequent editing, selection, storage, and/or transmission. Coded as yes (1) where the generic role of production staff member is normally associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.

directed directors Are performances and/or productions within this medium normally directed? Specifically, are there people associated with this medium who have specifical responsibility for guiding and coordinating performers and other production staff in their coordinated effort to interpret content for an audience. Other names that can be associated with the role of director can, depending on the medium, include, conductor, choreographer, managing editor, judge, moderator, and chairperson, among many others. Note that the role of director is clearly distinct from that of publisher/producer. Where a publisher/producer is concerned with organizing all of the details of a production, including preproduction issues like content selection and postproduction issues like duplication and distribution, a director is generally only responsible for coordinating the performance to its completion. That completion may take the form of an actual performance, a finished newspaper ready for layout and printing, director's cut film, a successfully completed meeting or proceeding, or other completed and integrated content. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium are normally directed and no (0) otherwise.
  transcribers/recorders Is there a formal transcription or recording role associated with the medium? Specifically, are there people and/or organizations normally associated with the medium who play an intermediate role in capturing a performance to a recording medium such that it can be stored for later use (e.g. viewing, reference, editing, reproduction, etc). Names associated with this role, in various media, include stenographer, court reporter, cameraman, and recording engineer. It should be noted here that "meeting minutes" should not be regarded as a transcript or recording unless they contain the full text of the meeting. Coded as yes (1) where there normally is a formal transcription/recording role associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.
edited editors Are performances normally edited by a third party during the normal course of content production within the medium. Specifically, are there people associated with the medium who have specific responsibility for editing content after it has been created by the author, writer, or other creator of content. The purposes associated with such editing can be varied, and include such issues as meeting content length objectives, managing content to meet editorial guidelines, correcting errors, and even combining parallel or related messages obtained from multiple sources into a single message. Scaled as yes (1) where content editing is normally associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.
content checkers Is there a content checking role normally associated with the medium? Specifically, are there people associated with the medium whose specific responsibilities relate to checking content for correctness. Specific names for this content checking roles include proofreader and fact checker. While content checkers frequently have little role in the creation, direction, editing, transcription, selection, or performance of content, they do frequently have veto power, within the scope of a media instances editorial policy, over the final publication/distribution of content. Scaled as yes (1) where content checking is normally associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.
  content integrators Is there a content integration role associated with the medium? Specifically, are there people and/or organizations associated with the medium who play an intermediate role in combining diverse content into a cohesive whole. Names for people who play this role in various media include layout, paste-up, and film editor. One can be sure there are many more. Note that the role of content integrator differs from that of editor even where the editors role is creating a single message out of multiple parallel message (see the description of editor). The content integrators role is to turn a content from a variety of sources into a finished composite performance (e.g. a publishable edition of a newspaper or a duplicable cut of a film) after the performance has been completed. The role of the editor would normally precede this role. In some cases the finished product of an editors effort will be a performance that can be content integrated into a final integrated edition. In other cases, the role of the editor will occur between initial creation and performance. Content integration always occurs after performance. Coded as yes (1) where there normally is a formal content integration role associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.
  reproducers Is there a formal content manufacturing role associated with the medium? Specifically, are there people and/or organizations normally associated with the medium who play an intermediate role in manufacturing copies of a stored performance. A name normally associated with this role, publishing media, is printer. The name duplicator is more normally associated with film. Other names probably apply in other media. Coded as yes (1) where there normally is a formal reproduction role associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.
  help desk Is there a help desk or other consumer assistance role associated with the medium? Consumer assistance roles in various media include telephone operators and technical support personnel, among others. Coded as yes (1) where there normally is a help desk role associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.
retailer retailers

Is the generic role of retailer normally associated with this medium? Specifically, are there people and/or organizations who sell access to the medium and/or its content directly to participants in the medium, whether those participants act as net receivers of messages or a interactants within the medium. A variety of forms of retailing fall within this generic role, including those associated with ticket sales, equipment sales, subscription sales, network access charges, advertizing sales, and direct sales of publications, copies of performances, and other manufactured content representations. Coded as yes (1) where the generic role of retailer is normally associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.

advertis advertisers Is the generic role of advertizer normally associated with the medium? Specifically, are there people normally associated with the medium who provide and pay for advertizing content that is presented in the course of normal use of the medium. The relationship of this advertizing to other content within specific media is likely to vary considerably. Indeed, there may be generic differences in the nature of advertizing content and presention between different instances in the same medium. Indeed, in some cases (public television, programs at school plays) the advertizers may not even be formally identified as advertisers, but as funders, sponsors, or grant sources. Advertizing will be viewed generally here. Hence to the extent that a person or enterprise stands to get business as a result of exposure of its name within the content of the medium, and such exposure is contingent on payments or other services, it will be regarded as advertizing for the purposes of this variable. Coded as yes (1) where the generic role of advertizer is normally associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.
critics

Is the role of critic normally associated with this medium. The critic or critical role acts specifically to critique and evaluate content within the medium. While critics sometimes create content for use within the medium they critque and evaluate, it will often be the case that the critiques and other evaluations they make of content within the medium will be distributed within another medium. Coded as yes (1) where the generic role of critic is normally associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.

regulato regulators

Is the generic role of regulator normally associated with this medium? Specifically, are there people, agencies, or organizations normally associated with the medium who act in a regulatory capacity relative to the medium. The nature of such agencies can vary, but would certainly include agencies like:

  • the Federal Communication Commission which allocate and enforce restrictions on the use of radio frequency bandwidth under U.S. Law
  • voluntary organizations like the Motion Picture Assocation of America, through which the film and broadcast industries self-regulate in providing ratings of movie and television shows
  • and agencies that enforce formal censorship of content. An example might be found in the post World War II Allied "Civil Censorship Office", which censored a wide range of information in Japan between 1945 and 1949.

Coded as yes (1) where the generic role of regulator is normally associated with a medium and no (0) otherwise.

Media can almost certainly be characterised as to the occurance of other, less generic roles as well. Most of these more specific roles will be well defined subsets of these generic roles. This will be particularly true of the generic role of production staff, even given the number of production roles that have already been specifically identified. In some cases these roles are simply so specific to specific media that they cannot be used productively in identified commonality among media. It can be expected, however, that other generic production roles will be identified. Indeed, it may be useful to identify specific roles associated with billing, accounts receivable, and accounting, equipment manufacture, equipment repair, and equipment engineering. Many of these roles may be reasonably captured as interaction effects between these and other characteristics of media, however. Some specific production staff roles, for instance, will be identified in the interaction of the production staff characteristic with specific user interface or transmission technologies (e.g. camera, microphones, prerecorded elements, printing, etc) or with specific performance or production activities. A number of the specific retail roles may be identified in the interaction of retailers with various marketplace activities. Variations in regulator roles can be broken out in interactions with variables like censorship (censors).

Consumer/Audience Characteristics

All communication media include some variant of consumer of messages. The consumer may be a reader, viewer, a listener, an audience, a participant or any one of a dozen other namings of people that describe modes of message consumption. There are a range of characteristics of consumers and audiences that vary meaningfully across different media .These characteristics include a number of audience size measures, including the number of people who can, at the same place and time, view a performance, the number of people who, regardless of place, see a performance at the same time, and the overall number of people that can view a particular production. They also describe some key attributes of consumer/audience behavior: Can the audience be anonymous? Is the audience a part of the performance? Does the audience typically travel to the message? Do consumers initiate and/or close a session of message reception? These variables and others give us a generic view of consumers of messages that varies across media.

Consumer/Audience Characteristics (13)
audsize overall audience size

How many people can a message that is transmitted via this medium reach in normal use? The question here is not one of average audience size or of maximum possible audience size, but of the normal audience size that might be associated with with the largest instances. Scaled logarithmically as follows: ones (1), tens (2), hundreds (3), thousands (4), tens of thousands, (5), hundreds of thousands (6), millions (7), and so on.

A member of the original set of 12 media characteristics. Another related member of the original 12, potential audience size, measured how large an audience a medium might reach under optimal conditions. This correlated so strongly with reality that it has been excluded from this new data set.

tmsyncgr time synchronous group size How many people, operating at the same moment in time, can a given performance simultaneously reach in the course of normal use of a medium. For media that deliver scheduled one time broadcast performances (live news broadcasts, for instance), time synchronous group size can equal overall audience size. For media that distributed manufactured reproductions of a message, this number will generally be much smaller. Scaled logarithmically as follows: ones (1), tens (2), hundreds (3), thousands (4), tens of thousands, (5), hundreds of thousands (6), millions (7), and so on.
propgrsz propinquitous viewing group size How many people, operating in the same relatively propinquitous space, can a given performance instance reach at once in the course of normal use of a medium. The question is not one of average propinquitous group size or maximum possible propinquitous group size, but of the normal propinquitous group that might be associated with the largest instances. Scaled logarithmically as follows: ones (1), tens (2), hundreds (3), thousands (4), tens of thousands, (5), hundreds of thousands (6), millions (7), and so on. It can be expected that very few media can support propinquitous group sizes higher than tens of thousands.
partofper part of performance Is the audience a part of the performance. Performance, in this case, is the performance of a message, and being a part of the performance generally implies some level of interactiveness, with messages, feedback, and/or responses helping to shape the performance. Scaled as yes (1) if the audience is a part of the performance and no (0) otherwise.
consprep consumer preparation Do audience members typically need to prepare, in advance, in order to participate in the medium. Examples of such preparation might include buying tickets for a play, setting up a board to play a game, setting up a video game console, buying or renting a movie or video game, etc. The variable is intended to measure the advanced planning and preparation that some media impose even on receivers of messages. This should not include trivial preparations such as turning on a TV or changing a channel. Neither should it include optional preparations such as grabbing a beverage from the refrigerator before sitting down in front of the TV or looking up the evenings television listings in the newspaper. Mere travel should not be regarded as an issue of consumer preparation either. Indeed, traveling to a message is covered by other variables. Consumer preparation should, rather, be restricted to measuring those preparations that are necessary to participate to normal participation in the medium. Scored as yes (1) where consumer preparation is typically necessary to participation in a medium and no (0) otherwise.
reccontr reciever control Does the consumer/audience normally have a substantial level of control over the message consumption within the medium? Specifically, can consumer/audience not only control what messages they expose themselves to within the context of a medium, but when and under what conditions they do so. Scored as yes (1) where the message consumer normally has a substantial level of control over message consumption and no (0) otherwise.
conclose consumer initiates Does the consumer of messages normally initiate the session in which the message is consumed? Specifically, is the consumers decision to consume the message the starting point for the process of message consumption. Scored as yes (1) where the consumer initiates message consumption and no (0) otherwise.
conclose consumer closes Does the consumer of messages normally end the session in which the message is consumed? Specifically, is the consumers decision to end consumption of the message the starting point for ending the process of message consumption. Scored as yes (1) where the consumer ends message consumption and no (0) otherwise.
coniopen consumption independent of opening For media in which messages, message series, or performances entail formal ritual openings, is it possible to participate in the medium without participating in the openings? Coded as yes (1) where it is possible to participate in a medium without participating in its opening rituals and no (0) otherwise.
coniclos consumption independent of closing For media in which messages, message series, or performances entail formal ritual closings, is it possible to participate in the medium without participating in the closings? Coded as yes (1) where it is possible to participate in a medium without participating in its closing rituals and no (0) otherwise.
audanony audience anonymity Can audience members conceal their identities from other participants in the medium without lying? Note that this is not a question of absolute anonymity, but rather of reasonable anonymity. If a person can reasonably expect that, in their use of a medium, that it will require substantial effort to discover that they viewed any particular message or performance, the medium can be regarded as anonymous. Scaled as yes (1) where it is possible for an audience member to be anonymous when participating in the medium (1) and no (0) otherwise.
distcens distribution/access censorship Can consumers/audiences be deprived of their ability to view a performance through distribution/access censorship. Specifically, is the medium structured such that consumers can be denied access to specific content through constraints placed on means of content distribution or access. Scaled as yes (1) where access to performances in a medium can be censored through constraints on distribution or access and no (0) otherwise.
trav2mes audience travels to message Does the audience travel to the message. It should be noted, in encoding this and other "travel" variables, that the message always does some of the job of traveling to the target, and target always does some of the job of traveling to the message. The question is one of scale. Some media (buildings and monuments, for example, exist on a scale such that the audience almost always must travel to the message. For other media, including movies and art, marketing practice generally dictates that a large and diverse audience travel to the message (a theater or museum). Scaled as yes (1) where the audience travels to the location where the message is delivered and no (0) otherwise. In combination with "message travels to audience", one of the original twelve variables.

While most of the consumer/audience variables will prove interesting in various interaction effects, only one obviously warrants immediate comment. The interaction of consumer initiates and consumer closes results in a consumer control interaction variable. Where the consumer both initiates and closes message consumption, the consumer can be regarded as being fully in control of their message consumption.

Creator/Performer Characteristics?

All communication media include some variant of creator of messages, a role that immediately bifurcates into the potentially seperate roles of creator and performer. The creator may be a writer, composer, director, designer, or journalist, among many potential namings. The performer may be an actor, musician, newscaster, reporter, dancer, messenger, or fulfill any of dozens or other named performance role. In many media the creator and performer will be the same person. In some cases this creator/performer will be more a participant than a performer. There are many possible variations in the combination of creator, performer, and consumer of messages, and different media will normally support some one of these combinations in preference to the others. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate the creator of messages of messages from performers. It is sometimes easy. This should be expected. All performances entail some level of creation. All creations entail some level of performance. Hence while it may be desireable to seperate creator characteristics from performer characteristics, it is also entirely reasonable to view them as a single cluster of related characteristics.

The characteristics of creator/performers documented here include questions of performer anonymity, copyright ownership, censorship, normal performance behavior, and creator/performer control of message consumption.

Performer Characteristics (10)

copyownr copyright ownership Can professionals working within a medium reasonably expect that the content they create or perform is subject to copyright protection. For creative professionals, can they expect that they or the organization for which they are working will be able to assert copyright ownership for content they create within the medium. For performers and other professionals, can they reasonably expect that they will be required to respect copyright ownership, most typically with a payment to the copyright owner or a designated representative of the copyright owner. For musical recordings, for instance, an individual would typically respect the copyright owner by purchasing a copy of the recording from a retail sales representative (a music store) while a radio station would pay a fee to an artists performance royalty representative like ASCAP or BMI. Coded as yes (1) where copyright ownership can normally be asserted within a medium and no (0) otherwise.
creacens creator/performer access censorship Can censorship in this medium take the form of denying creators and/or performers access to the medium. Specifically, is the medium structured such that creators and/or performers can, within the scope of the medium's normal operation, be prevented from performing or otherwise transmitting messages within the medium. Coded as yes (1) where creators and/or performers of messages can be denied access to the medium and no (0) otherwise.
creatcon creator control Does the creator/performer normally have a substantial level of control over the message consumption within the medium? Specifically, can the creator/performer control not only the content of their message, but also exercise a substantial level of control over who receives it when. Scored as yes (1) where the creator/performer normally has a substantial level of control over message consumption and no (0) otherwise.
creinits creator initiates Does the creator of messages normally initiate the session in which the message is consumed? Specifically, is the creator or performers decision to consume the message the starting point for the process of message consumption. Scored as yes (1) where the creator/performer initiates message consumption and no (0) otherwise.
creclose creator closes Does the creator of messages normally end the session in which the message is consumed? Specifically, is the creator or performers decision to end consumption of the message the starting point for ending the process of message consumption. Scored as yes (1) where the creator/performer ends message consumption and no (0) otherwise.

crerspnd

creator responds Does the creator/performer of messages normally respond to feedback within the medium? Specifically, can the receipt of feedback, during the course of a performance or production, be expected to have an effect on the performance or production. The level of response may be overt (acknowledging applause or at least waiting for it to abate before continuing) to subtle (adapting the performance to the pattern of audience reaction). Delayed response (changing the next performance on the basis of feedback in a previous performance is borderline relative to this variable. If the audience of the subsequent performance would normally be the same as the audience of the previous performance it is reasonable to assert that the performer is responding to feedback. Where the audience would normally be expected to be different, the performance may change, but the change cannot be reasonably viewed as a response. Scored as yes (1) where the creator/performer responds to feedback over the course of a performance or production and no (0) otherwise.
creinter creator interacts Does the creator/performer normally interact with consumers/audiences within the medium? Specifically, does the creator/performer respond to messages created by consumers/audiences during the course of their performance. This generally entails engaging in overt message exchange with the consumers/audiences, with the range of interaction varying from asking consumers/audience members questions and extracting detailed answers that become the basis for subsequent performance to acting both as a consumer and creator, as would normally be the case in face-to-face interaction. Scored as yes (1) where the creator/performer interacts with consumer/creators over the course of a performance or production and no (0) otherwise.
perfanon performer anonymity

Can a performer, working in a typical instance of the medium, who wishes to remain anonymous do so without lying or expending any special effort. Note that this is not a question of absolute anonymity, but rather of reasonable anonymity. If a person can reasonably expect that, in their use of a medium, that it will require substantial effort to discover their otherwise unrevealed identity, the medium can be regarded as anonymous. Scaled as yes (1) where it is possible for an audience member to be anonymous when participating in the medium (1) and no (0) otherwise.

travperf performer travels to audience Does the performer of the message travel to the audience? This implies that the performer and audience are relatively propinquitous, and usually implies a live performance. Scaled as yes (1) where the performer has to travel to the audience in order to deliver a message or participate in a performance and no (0) otherwise.

One of the more interesting set of interaction effects emerging from this cluster are those concerned with control of message consumption. There are a variety of potential combinations of consumer initiates (from the consumer/audience cluster), consumer closes, creator initiates, and creator closes. The junction of these four variables appears to provide a summary view of a key set of differences in media. In interpersonal media, for instance, initiation and closing are typically a mutually negotiated decision of the creator and consumer. In broadcast media, initiation is typically the decision of the consumer, but closing decisions can be made by either the creator (at the end of a show) or the consumer (who can change channels or turn off the show at any time). Initiation and closing decisions in both publishing and film and art media are entirely in the hands of the consumer. In telephonic media, the creator generally initiates sessions but closings are negotiated between the consumer and creator. In correspondence media, the creator initiates and the consumer closes. Other patterns may obtain as well, and each pattern can be captured in a specific interaction variable.

The intersection of the consumer/audience cluster with this cluster set up several additional interactions. A fully anonymous medium, for instances, would support both consumer/audience anonymity and creator/perfomer anonymity. A medium that entails both consumer travel and performaner travel will most often entail live performance in an exhibition facility.

Generalized Participant Characteristics

There are a small number of participant characteristics which are fairly general across generic roles. Among these are professional status, the existance of professional ethical standards, and the possibility of specific role combinations like "all consumers are also creators". These are documented in this cluster, and would normally be analyzed in combination with other clusters of media characteristics, including specific the characteristic participants, consumer/audience characteristics, and creator/performer characteristics.

Generalized Participant Characteristics (3)

alconcre

all consumers are also creators Do all consumers of messages within the medium also create messages within the medium? Coded as yes (1) where all consumers of messages within the medium also create messages and no (0) otherwise.
professn professionals

Does the medium typically employ professionals in support of the medium in any capacity. Professionals are, by definition, paid for their work in support of the medium. This variable doesn't ask what they do. It only asks if any typically exist for a given medium. While almost any of the generic roles documented within the category "characteristic participants" would normally be professionals, one cannot score this variable as an interaction effect of those roles, if only because a medium may also have professional creator/performers. Scored as yes (1) where a medium typically entails professionals in any capacity and no (0) otherwise.

profeths professional ethical standards Are professionals working within this medium typically expected to observe a formal ethical standard or code of conduct. Such standards may be encoded by any of several primary sources and be subject to any of a variety of levels of enforcement. Sources of such formal ethical standards may include media organizations (newspapers, publishers, broadcast networks, membership organizations (voluntary or otherwise) that media organizations or media professionals belong to, or even governmental agencies. There may be no enforcement standards at all, punishments handed out through the government's criminal justice system, or any of a variety of informal sanctions ranging from expulsion from a voluntary membership organization through public embarrassment via publicity of the misdeed to informal and formal blacklisting. What is key is that the ethical standard be one that is specifically encoded to cover professionals within a specific medium or set of media. General laws or tort that cover behavior in all media should not be considered evidence of a professional ethical standard. The mere existance, for instance, of laws or tort that allow people or organizations to sue for libel cannot be regarded as evidence of a professional ethical standard within a given medium. Coded as yes (1) where professionals associated with a medium are typically subject to professional ethical standards and no (0) otherwise.

One obviously interesting set of interaction effects that are set up by this cluster look at the extent to which the various characteristic participants in a medium are professionals. It should certainly be possible to create various measures of professional and volunteer role behavior in media by building various interactions of professional status with these generic roles.

Modalities

Human modalities, in general, reflect human sensory abilities. We speak and we hear. We gesture and we see. We touch and we feel. We emit pheromones and we smell and taste. There is a general presumption, associated with any communication, that modalities be compatible. If we talk and another person cannot hear, we cannot communicate with them directly via the modality of sound. If we gesture and another cannot see, we cannot communicate with them directly via the modality of sight. The same is true, of course, for other senses, but sight and sound are the principle modalities used in most human communication.

Note, however, that this is only true for sight and sound (or any other modality) when we limit ourselves to using the modality "directly". Indirection is a valuable tool when applied to our communication. Indeed, many media involve the conversion of content from one modality to another. Writing, at least in phonetic languages like English, is quite literally a conversion of sound to sight, of phonic sequence to a representative series of characters that make a word. Theatre, movies, music, and other performance media frequently make the opposite translation, from script or manuscript to performance. Some new media enable these and other conversions in real and/or near real time on a highly automated basis. The only indication of these automated translations of modality here will be found in documentation of the varied specializations of sight and sound (spoken language, orientation, non-verbal communication, writing, music, static and dynamic non-verbal signs). These form, in effect, distinct sub-modalities. It may be that, as media continue to develop around new computer-mediated modes of automated translation, that better indications will be necessary.

For the most part, the modalities documented here are bidirectional. They are used for constructing messages. They are used for creating feedback, sometimes in the form of messages. The feedback modalities associated with a medium sometimes match its message modalities, but they often do not. As a result, most of the modalities associated with transmission will also be associated with feedback.

Generic Message Modalities

Messages, whether transmitted, stored, or both, are created and received using a limited range of human modalities. Human communication media are generally indifferent to the specific language that people use. The generic characteristics of television, radio, face-to-face communication, the telephone, e-mail, and instant messenger remain essentially the same whether the language used is English, French, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, German, Hebrew, Korean, Arabic, Italian or Inuit. The capabilities of a medium are substantially affected, however, by the range of modalities through which people can communicate while using the medium. The addition of video makes the experience of broadcast television different than the experience of broadcast radio. The existance of a full range of human modalities makes the experience of face-to-face interaction different than the experience of the telephone, and the availability of the audio channel makes a telephone call different than an instant messenger session.

The characteristics documented with generic message modalities describe the full range of known human modalities, including sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. They also cover a range of specific variations on sight and sound to which varying levels of linguistic pattern can be attributed. These include spoken and written language, music, audio non-verbal signs, orientation, and visible static and dynamic non-verbal signs.

Message Language Characteristics (12)
audio audio Do messages in this medium normally occur in the audio channel. Scaled yes (1) if audio is normally used in the construction of messages in the medium and no (0) otherwise. As "sound", a component of "Bandwidth", one of the original set of 12 media characteristics.
spoklang spoken language

Does this medium allow for the transmission of the spoken word or its written equivalent. If verbal bandwidth is available for a given form of communication via either the sound or written channel, this characteristic is coded as a yes (1). If not, it is coded as a no (0).

As "Verbal Bandwidth", one of the original set of 12 media characteristics.

audnover audio nonverbal signs

Does audio in the medium normally entail only nonverbal expression. Scaled yes (1) if nonverbal expression is the predominant form of audio feedback in the medium and no (0) otherwise. A component of "nonverbal bandwidth" in the original set of 12 media characteristics.

music music Does audio in the medium normally include music. Scaled yes (1) if music is normally transmitted as a message or message component in the medium and no (0) otherwise.
visual visual Is visual content normally an element of the message transmitted in this medium. Scaled yes (1) if visual content is normal in the medium and no (0) otherwise. As "sight", an element of "bandwidth", one of the original set of 12 media characteristics.
writlang written language

Is written language normally an element of the content in this medium. Scaled yes (1) if written content is normally used as an element of messages transmitted in a given medium and no (0) otherwise. As "written", an element of "bandwidth", one of the original set of 12 media characteristics.

dynvisnv dynamic visual nonverbal signs

Does immediate nonverbal visual feedback occur in this medium? Such feedback will generally take the form of gestures and expressions, enacted during the performance of the message, that is visible to the audience, viewer, or other message recipient as the message is viewed. Scaled as yes (1) if such dynamic visual nonverbal feedback occurs normally within a medium and no (0) otherwise. A component of "nonverbal bandwidth" in the original set of 12 media characteristics.

stavisnv static visual nonverbal signs

Do stored or otherwise non-dynamic forms of nonverbal signs normally in this medium? Such feedback will generally take the form of pictures, decorations, scenery, costumes, or non-textual visual aids that are visible during the viewing of a message. Scaled as yes (1) if such dynamic visual nonverbal feedback occurs normally within a medium and no (0) otherwise. A component of "nonverbal bandwidth in the original set of 12 media characteristics.

orienta orientation (direction/pitch/yaw/roll) Messages can take the form of, or be inferred from, variations in personal orientation. Is the speaker turned toward the listener or not? If not, are they turned away from the listener, oriented partially toward the listener, etc.? Are they leaning toward or away from the listener? Such variations can contribute to a listeners understanding of the message, and the speaker. Scaled yes (1) where message content can be inferred from variations in personal orientation and no (0) otherwise.
tactile tactile Do messages in this medium normally entail use of tactile content. Note that such feedback is generally only possible in media that have relatively high levels of propinquity. Scaled yes (1) if tactile content is a normal element of message production in the medium and no (0) otherwise. As "touch", an element of "bandwidth", one of the original set of 12 media characteristics.
olafacto olafactory Do messages in this medium normally include olafactory content. Olafactory content (messaging via smell) might be regarded as controversial, and it should certainly be regarded as unusual and not necessarily a function of conscious control. It can be reasonably argued, however, that it plays a role in some "high propinquity" media like "intimacy". Scaled yes (1) if olafactory content is possible within the medium and no (0) otherwise. As "taste/smell", an element of "bandwidth", one of the original set of 12 media characteristics.
taste taste Do messages in this medium normally include content that would normally be observed or received via taste. Messaging via taste might be regarded as controversial, and it should certainly be regarded as unusual and not necessarily a function of conscious control. It can be reasonably argued, however, that it plays a role in some "high propinquity" media like "intimacy". Scaled yes (1) if taste content is possible within the medium and no (0) otherwise. As "taste/smell", an element of "bandwidth", one of the original set of 12 media characteristics.

It can be expected that there are a variety of interesting interaction effects associated with the generic message modalities, including interactions of audio and visual with each other (e.g. audio-visual), measures of overall bandwidth (the bandwidth measure in the original set of 12 media characteristics was actually the sum of seven generic message modalities as documented above), and interactions of specific modalities with characteristics of storage and transmission. One will currently find few audio or non-written video media that support random access, indexing, or bookmarks, but the number of such media will grow. Thus the interaction of non-verbal audio and video with these storage measures should reveal important things about the evolution of computer-based media.

Generic Feedback Modalities

Feedback also depends on a variety of generic modalities. These modalities can be, and in some media (face-to-face interaction and telephone interaction) are, fully symmetric with message modalities. Indeed, in some media, all feedback flows as distinct and asynchronously transmitted messages (letters, e-mail, computer conferencing, and instant messenger, for instance). Feedback modalities can also be, and frequently are, highly asymmetric with message modalities. A theatrical performance that entails spoken language, limited use of written language, orientation, and a full-range of non-verbal signs (audio, and both static and dynamic visual) will frequently have immediate feedback that is limited to audio non-verbal signs. A live television show that accepts a limited number of telephone calls and e-mails will also use a full range of modalities, but will only accept feedback in the form of spoken or (not and) written language. A newspaper filled with written language and static non-verbal signs will frequently only accept feedback in the for of letters (written language) or phone calls (spoken langauge).

Feedback Language Characteristics (12)
fbkaudio audio Does feedback in this medium normally occur in the audio channel. Scaled yes (1) if audio feedback is normal in the medium and no (0) otherwise.
fspolang spoken language Does this medium allow for the transmission of the spoken word or its written equivalent. If verbal bandwidth is available for a given form of communication via either the sound or written channel, this characteristic is coded as a yes (1). If not, it is coded as a no (0).
faudnonv audio non-verbal signs Does audio feedback in the medium normally entail only non-verbal expression. Scaled yes (1) if non-verbal expression is the predominant form of audio feedback in the medium and no (0) otherwise.
applause applause Is audience applause a normal and expected component of performances? Coded yes (1) if applause or other standardized and immediate non-linguistic feedback is a normal and expected part of a performance.
fbvisual visual Does feedback in this medium normally occur in the visual channel. Scaled yes (1) if visual feedback is normal in the medium and no (0) otherwise.
fwrtlang written language Is written language normally an element of feedback in this medium. Scaled yes (1) if written content is normally used as an element of feedback in a given medium and no (0) otherwise.
fdynvsnv dynamic visual non-verbal signs Does immediate non-verbal visual feedback occur in this medium? Such feedback will generally take the form of gestures and expressions, enacted during the performance of the message, that is visible to the performer as they deliver or perform the message. Scaled as yes (1) if such dynamic visual non-verbal feedback occurs normally within a medium and no (0) otherwise.
fstvisnv static visual non-verbal signs Do stored or otherwise non-dynamic forms of non-verbal feedback normally in this medium? Such feedback will generally take the form of pictures, decorations, scenery, costumes, or non-textual visual aids that are visible during as feedback to a message. Scaled as yes (1) if such dynamic visual non-verbal feedback occurs normally within a medium and no (0) otherwise.
forienta orientation (direction/pitch/yaw/roll) Feedback can take the form of, or be inferred from, variations in personal orientation. Is the listener turned toward the speaker or not? If not, are they turned away from the speaker, oriented partially toward the speaker, etc? Are they leaning toward or away from the speaker? Such variations provide clues to the reaction of the listener towards the message, and the speaker. Scaled yes (1) where feedback can be inferred from variations in personal orientation and no (0) otherwise.
ftactile tactile Does feedback in this medium normally occur in the tactile channel. Note that such feedback is generally only possible in media that have relatively high levels of propinquity. Scaled yes (1) if tactile feedback is normal in the medium and no (0) otherwise.
folefact olafactory Does feedback in this medium normally occur in the olafactory channel. Olafactory feedback (feedback via smell) might be regarded as controversial, and it should certainly be regarded as unusual and not necessarily a function of conscious control. It can be reasonably argued, however, that it plays a role in some "high propinquity" media like "intimacy". Scaled yes (1) if olafactory feedback is possible within the medium and no (0) otherwise.
ftaste taste Does feedback in this medium normally occur in the taste channel. Feedback via taste might be regarded as controversial, and it should certainly be regarded as unusual and not necessarily a function of conscious control. It can be reasonably argued, however, that it plays a role in some "high propinquity" media like "intimacy". Scaled yes (1) if feedback in the taste modality is possible within the medium and no (0) otherwise.

The possibility of symmetry makes the range of generic feedback modalities almost identical to the range of generic message modalities. The probability of asymmetries makes for a variety of what may be theoretically interesting interaction variables in combination with each other and the various generic message modalities. A feedback bandwidth variable might sum the number of modalities available for feedback. A modality gap variable might track the difference in the number of modalities available for message and feedback. A symmetry of modality variable might sum the interactions of the message and feedback modalities (taste by ttaste + tactile by ftactile + ...).

Mediators

A mediator (Foulger, 1990) is a component of a human communication medium. While every medium of communication entails mediators of, some mediators sufficiently inevitable or, at least, so tightly tied to our modalities that they aren't worth evaluating. Face-to-face communication depends on air and molecular vibration to enable sound and reflected units of light to enable sight. It isn't completely accurate to say "no air, no sound". It is possible to "hear" subvocalizations and "feel" the vibrations that sound makes in solids. It is even possible to hear vibrations carried in water. For most media these exceptions are an irrelevance, however. While it is true that, from a practical perspective, there is no sound in a vacuum, it is also true that the mediation of air is completely inobvious to someone who is talking. Air simply enables sound. Its role is not a matter of human invention. The same is true of sight. "No light, no sight" comes with no obvious exceptions, but light is also not a function of human innovation, but rather just a precondition of sight. From a measurement perspective the unexceptional roles of light and air makes them a matter of indifference to media.

There are a broad array of other components from which communication systems are built. These systems components can vary substantially from one medium to the next. While both use of paper and ink, letters differ radically from books in terms of length, readership, delivery times, addressing, and many other characteristics. While both use the identical physical mediators, broadcast radio differs radically from Citizens Band radio in almost all of its essentials. What is different, in these media, is not the mediators, but the way those mediators are assembled. Much as you can build a car or a castle from the same collection of Legos, so very different media (broadcast radio and citizens band radio, for instance) can be built with the same mediators. Many of the characteristics of media are a product of the mediators with which a medium is built and the way in which those mediators are put together. Some mediators, because of their recurrance across a range of media, can also be usefully viewed as characteristics (or at least characteristic) of media such that media can be usefully compared according to the presence or absense of a particular characteristic. Other mediators, because they only occur in a small number of media (postage stamps, for instance) or because they are associated with most or all media (e.g. light and air), cannot usefully differentiate or be used to compare media.

The range of mediators for which media can be usefully compared generally fall into one of several broad categories. These categories, which include transmission, storage, interfaces, and market forces, are very high level, and reflect the kind of broad categories one finds in communication models like the Claude Shannon's original model of the communication process in his classic 1948 articles on "The Mathematical Theory of Communication":

Claude Shannon's Model of the Communication Process from the "Mathematical Theory of Communication"


Today one would almost certainly draw more complicated models of the communication process. While the exact nature of the model would vary depending on its purpose, the model would will often include, in addition to creators (sources), consumers (destinations), messages, and transmission, such constructs as feedback, interfaces, and storage. These are the kinds of broad categories that are being used to organize characteristic mediators here. There are other broad categories of mediator that are not specifically documented as mediators here. These categories of mediators are already captured, to a large extent, in our documentation of characteristic participants, modalities, and performance, production, and message characteristics. It may be useful to, at some point, consider adding additional categories of mediators. Automated mediators, which should become increasingly common as a function of the continuing deployment of new and enhanced computer-based media, are a likely future addition.

We will start our discussion, however, with a small set of "generalized" mediators that don't fit cleanly into any of these categories.

Generalized Mediators

Some mediators are difficult to classify into broad categories simply because they fit in more than one. Such is the case for the generalized mediators identified here, which, at least in terms of their effects, are powerful and highly flexible technologies that can be used in a wide variety of ways. We have, thus far, identified only two mediators that have this kind of power and flexibility: paper and computers.

Reduced to its fundamentals, paper is a highly portable storage format. The same is true, to a lesser extent, of its historical analogs, including parchment and papyrus. Paper-based media can be stored, with proper care, for hundreds of years. It is also easily transported (transmitted) on either a point to point (postal systems) or "broadcast" (books, newspapers, and other publications) basis. Paper can be manufactured in varying qualities (ranging from newsprint to fine stationary and acid-free drawing paper) and remanufactured in a variety of formats, including, among many others, stationary, envelopes, pamplets, notebook paper, newspapers, and bound books. Paper can be used to create individual documents (notes, letters, papers, and diaries) or to manufacture documents in bulk (pamplets, brochures, books and newspapers). As a result, paper is the basis for a wide range of distinct human communication media, including correspondence media, art media, publication media, and even specialized variants of face-to-face interactive media..

Computer-based media are, if anything, even more flexible, enabling an broader range of storage and transmission options. Computers operating over networks enable a broad range of new media, including electronic mail, instant messaging, web hypermedia, computer conferencing, collaborative composition, and more that provide a range of synchronous, near-synchronous, and asynchronous communication and interaction. Computers operating in conjunction with high speed printers enable a range of new and enhanced paper-based media, including mass-manufactured personalized publications and correspondence. Most interestingly, computers provide a broad pallete of capabilities that enable the automated filtering, translation, and restructuring of messages. As a result computers have the potential to enable an even broader range of human communication media than paper has.

It can be argued that there are other mediators that, given the right circumstances, and similarly flexible in enabling a variety of media. Radio or light waves, transmitted into space, will persist indefinately, eventually carrying our broadcast messages to other stars. From this perspective it is possible to view radio waves as both a transmission and a storage medium, as the message is preserved in them across both space and time. While storage may be a valuable side-effect of such transmissions, it remains the case that the storage occurs as a function of infinate transmission to somewhere else, that this continuing storage remains unavailable to practical human observation in this world, and that the possible residents of any intercepting star system will only have one chance to view any given broadcast of any given performance of any given message. Hence it remains the case that radio waves are fundamentally useful as a means of transmission rather than as a generalized mediator.

Here is a quick overview of the generalized mediators we have been identified so far:

Generalized Mediators (2)
paper paper or analogue Does the medium necessarily entail the use of paper or a paper-analog (e.g. papyrus, parchment, or other lightweight, malleable, and portable materials that can be written or otherwise scribed). These characteristics of paper have made it useful and effective as a mediator that supports both storage and a transmission, thus enabling a broad array of media that enable messages to span space and/or time. Coded as yes (1) where a medium necessarily entails the use of paper or a paper analog and no (0) otherwise.
computer computer Does the medium necessarily entail the use of a computer. Computers have a wide variety of capabilities that enable the storage, transmission, and automated filtering of messages, thus enabling a broad array of media that enable messages to span space and time, sometimes morphing in predictable ways in the process, Coded as yes (1) where a medium necessarily entails the use of a computer and no (0) otherwise.

While it can be expected that other variables may usefully interact with "paper" and "computer", documentation of such interaction variables will be deferred, with a single exception, to other the discussion of other clusters, to which they may be more obviously appropriate. The single exception is, of course, the interaction of computers and paper, in which differing constructions of the interaction variable can reveal potentially interesting groupings of media . A growing range of traditional paper-based media now make substantial use of computer technology as an aid in the production process. An AND interaction of these variables would reveal such media. There is also an array of media which depend on neither paper nor computers. These media can be selected out using a NOR interaction (e.g. NOT paper by NOT computer). Other interactions (computer only or paper only media) can also be constructed.

It should be noted, in this regard, that at least some media change over time. A description of the mediators associated with the production of newspapers in 1960 would not include computers as a typical mediator. A similar description in the year 2000 would be remiss in not including computers as an unbiquitous and necessary element of newspaper production. Such changes should not be anticipated in all media. Face-to-face interaction has not been substantially affected by the availability of paper or paper analogs in well over 2000 years, and it has yet to be substantially impacted by computers either. Indeed, any computer-mediated modification of what might otherwise be regarded as face-to-face interaction would almost certainly be regarded as a new medium rather than as a change to the traditional face-to-face interaction medium.

Interface Characteristics

Interfaces are media compoents which enable participants to create message content for, receive message content from, and otherwise control the operation of, a medium of communication. While interfaces have traditionally been overlooked as an essential part of the communication process, there is a long history of human factors research in the engineering of human communication systems that has only grown in importance with computer-mediated communication systems.and a growing interesting in the human factors of computer-mediated system user interfaces.

An array of different interface elements, including stylus, microphones, speakers, cameras, keypads, monitors, and on/off switches, are described here. Each is a consituent of a variety of different communication media. There are media which entail none of these elements, media that encompass nearly all, and a range of other media that use a a selection of these interface elements.

This cluster also includes generalized characteristics of media interfaces like asymmetric controls, portable production interfaces, and the propinquity of production/performance interfaces.

Interface Characteristics (17)
stylus entails stylus or analog Does performance of some normal function in the medium (usually message composition) entail use of a stylus or stylus analog (e.g. pencil, pen, brush, etc)? Stylus and their analogs are generally used to create characters or pictures on a substrate (clay, papyrus, parchment, paper, canvas, drawing tablet, handheld computer, etc). Coded as yes (1) where a stylus or stylus analog is used for some normal function in the medium and no (0) otherwise.
summons interruptive summons signal Does the medium normally entail some kind of interruptive signal that indicates the arrival of a message, a proposed initiation of conversation, or other event? Classic examples of an interruptive signal is a telephone ringing, a buzzer indicating the beginning or end of a class, the opening door sound that indicates the virtual arrival of a buddy in instant messenger "space", and AOL's classic e-mail arrival greeting "You've got mail". Coded as yes (1) where a medium entails an interruptive summons signal and no (0) otherwise.
onswitch entails "on/off" switch Does the medium normally entail an on/off switch that allows users to "turn off" (or "turn on" their participation in the medium)? Telephones do not normally have on/off switches, but radios, including C.B. and Family Radios, do. Coded as yes (1) where a medium entails an on/off switch and no (0) otherwise.
volucont entails volume control

Does the medium normally entail a volume control that allows users to modulate the volume associated with a medium? Volume controls, to the extent they exist at all, may be scattered across several locations within a medium or be localized to a single device. There will usually only be one centrally located and message creator controlled volume control associated with a public address system. Radio and Television broadcasting, by contrast, include volume controls at both the transmitter (controlled by the radio or television station) and the receiver (controlled by the listener). Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails one or more volume controls and no (0) otherwise.

I may be reasonable to treat volume control somewhat metaphorically, as volume can have multiple meanings, including loadness and amount. Practically speaking, volume is an informal measure of how far a message can travel and, by extension, how many people it can reach. Hence, insofar as a printing press can be adjusted to print more or less copies of a publication, that adjustment might be regarded as a volume control. Where such controls are formalized, as they are on a copy machine, one can reasonably speak of a publication medium having a volume control as a part of its user interface. Where such controls are informal, as in a publishers decision to print more copies of a newspaper because of a compelling story that will sell more copies than normal, it probably is not reasonable to describe a medium as have a volume control.

channsel entails channel selector Does the medium normally entail use of at least one switch that enables the selection of discrete channels of (potential) content. The existance of a channel selector implies the existance of multiple parallel and discrete channels in a medium. The existance of a channel selector at one end of a connection almost always implies the existance of a compatible channel selector at the other end of the connection. Hence a broadcast radio station selects a frequency to broadcast on at its end and listeners who want to hear that station set their radio receivers to the same frequency in order to receive the broadcast. Other prototypic examples of channel selectors include television, which like broadcast radio allows selection from multiple broadcast channels within multiple frequency bands, and C.B. and Family Radio, which enable interactive communication over comparatively shorter distances over a large number of specific channels. The key, in each of these exemplars, is the physical existance of a channel control. Media that use multiple channels, but select them automatically and/or transparently to the user do not entail a channel selector in the sense that is being used here. Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails one or more channel selectors and no (0) otherwise.
keypad entails keypad or analog Does the medium normally entail the use of a keypad, keyboard, or other digital data entry device? Keyboards and keypads provide a generalized data entry capability that can be substituted for a stylus and other control interface elements. While commonplace in computer devices, keyboards and keypads can be found in a variety of other device variants, including typewriters, teletypes, and remote controls.
micropho entails microphone or analog Does the medium normally entail use of at least one microphone or similar sound capture and translation device. A microphone acts, in general, to convert sound waves to electrical waves, thus enabling storage, electronic processing, enhancement, and/or transmission of sound. Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails one or more microphones or microphone analog devices and no (0) otherwise.
speaker entails speaker or analog Does the medium normally entail use of at least one speaker or similar sound translation and reproduction device. A speaker acts, in general, to convert electrical signals into sound waves, thus enabling people to hear sounds that have been processed, enhanced, and/or transmitted electrically. Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails one or more speakers or speaker analog devices and no (0) otherwise.
camera entails camera or analog Does the medium normally entail the use of a camera or other image capture and translation device. A camera acts, in general, to convert light images to either emulsions or electronical signals, thus enabling storage, electronic processing, enhancement, and/or transmission of images. Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails one or more cameras or camera analog devices and no (0) otherwise.
display entails display system Does the medium normally entail the use of a video display or analog image/text display device. It is a characteristic of display devices, in general, that there is little or no content that is inherent to the display device. Display devices enable the viewing of variable content in the same way that speakers enable hearing variable content. Whether that content varies linearly, as it does on television, or under intelligent control, as it does in a computer, the content displayed changes over time. Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails one or more video displays and no (0) otherwise.
elintman electronic interface manager Does the medium include electronic user interface elements that allow control of activity within the medium. These controls may enable the addressing of messages, as with telephone dialers, the initiation of activities, as with the start button on copiers and the send button on fax machines, and many other activities. Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails one or more video displays and no (0) otherwise.
intrprop propinquity of production/performance interfaces Does the medium entail the use of user interfacein which message production and message performance are co-located. This will almost always be the case where the creator and performance of the message are the same person, and will often not be the case where a message is created by someone other than the performer or where message creation happens in one format (e.g. a script or manuscript) while message performance happens in another (e.g. a theatrical or musical performance). Coded as yes (1) where messages are produced and performed through the same interfaces and no (0) otherwise.
portperf portable performance interface

Are all of the interface elements required to do a performance within this medium portable (e.g. it is possible to do a performance "on the road" without any concerns about the need for centralized or otherwise non-portable performance interfaces)? This is a conceptually complicated variable in that it entails questions of the existance of interface elements, their portability, and their applicability within a performance context. Coded as yes (1) where a medium entails a performance interface that is portable and applicable within the context of a performance and no (0) otherwise.

This variable is problematic in practice, and may need to be eliminated, broke into constiuents, or reconceptualized, perhaps as an interaction variable. At minimum, the current codings should be reviewed.

portprod portable production interface

Are all of the interface elements required to manage a production within this medium portable (e.g. it is possible to do a production "on the road" without any concerns about the need for centralized or otherwise non-portable production interfaces)? This is a conceptually complicated variable in that it entails questions of the existance of interface elements, their portability, and their applicability within a production context, where a production can be regarded as a series of related performances (e.g. performances of the same content within the same medium by the same performers). Coded as yes (1) where a medium entails a performance interface that is portable and applicable within the context of a performance and no (0) otherwise.

This variable is problematic in practice, and may need to be eliminated, broke into constiuents, or reconceptualized, perhaps as an interaction variable. At minimum, the current codings should be reviewed.

centcont centralized controls Does the medium entail centralized control interfaces? Centralized control interfaces allow a small number of centrally located people to control the transmission and/or content of messages that are delivered to a wider (larger and/or distributed) audience. Coded as yes (1) where a medium entails centralized controls and no (0) otherwise.
diffusec diffused control Does the medium entail distributed control interfaces? Distributed control interfaces allow a range of distributed participants to control the transmission, receipt, and/or content of messages that are delivered to other participants in a medium. Coded as yes (1) where a medium entails distributed controls and no (0) otherwise.
asymcont asymmetric controls To what extent are the controls available participants within a given media different from one another (asymmetric). Controls may be considered asymmetric anytime a message creator, for instance, has capabilities that are unavailable to message receivers or in which a group moderator has capabilities that are unavailable to other participants in the medium. Scored as yes (1) where controls are asymmetric and no (0) otherwise.

There are a range of interaction effects associated with this cluster that may be of theoretical interest. As an example, the interaction of stylus and paper should yield the range of handwritten media, the interaction of stylus and computer might yield a range of artistic computer media, and the interaction of NOT paper, NOT computer, and stylus should primarily yield the small range of media that preceed the application of paper and its analogs to human communication.

Another potentially interesting set of interactions might contrast the use of "compatable" mediators of production and consumption. A medium that entails microphones but not speakers (microphone by NOT speaker) is probably doing some kind of a format conversion as a function of the production process. The same should also be true for media that use cameras but not displays or paper (camera by NOT display by NOT paper). The same conclusions would not follow, however, for media that use speakers but not microphones or displays but not cameras.

Transmission Characteristics

Transmission is the process of transporting messages and other meaningful collections of information across space. Transmission across time can be a side effect of transmission of the distances are large enough or the mechanisms of transmission are slow enough, but in practice this side-effect doesn't matter for in anything but interactive media that use high earth orbit satellites as a carrier.

Transmission has been a staple of communication models since ever since Shannon and Weaver published their "Mathematical Theory of Information", but while transmission is an assumed backdrop to the study of communication, little attention has been paid the range of transmission characteristics and the effect these variations have in creating possibilities for media.

Transmission is enabled through a variety of mediators which entail a range of different characteristics. These include electrical wires and electricity, radio transmitters and radio waves, light emitters and lightwave signals, printing presses, transportation systems, and exhibition facilities. The selection of these transmission vehicles and the way they and other mediators are structured to form a communication system determines a range of other transmission characteristics, including the speed at which transmission occurs, the distance a transmission can normally be expected to traverse, and the extent to which synchronous two way interaction is supported.

Transmission Characteristics (14)
speedmin speed (minimum)

How quickly do messages travel from message creator to message receiver? Measured as the minimum amount of time such transmission can take. This may be immediate, as would be the case for time propinquitous media like face to face interaction, public speaking, the telephone, or instant messaging (chat), but is often made longer by various factors of message production, including editorial processes, publishing processes, rehearsal, production processes, transportation of messages, etc. As the minimum time, is measured from the completion of the first publishable draft to reception of the final message. Scaled (with base 60 logarithms) as immediate (0), seconds (1), minutes (2), hours (2.78), days (3.25), weeks (3.61), months (4.22), years (5), and never (6). Note that years have been rounded to the nearest single digit.

A composite of two members of the original set of 12 media characteristics, "speed" and "theoretical speed". Speed was a measure of typical speed. Theoretical Speed was a measure of how fast a message might travel until absolutely optimum circumstances. In practice, these measures correlated so strong as that they were reconceptualized as minimum speed.

end2edis distance - end to end maximum

How far does a message typically travel in this medium. Scaled logarithmically (using base 12 logarithms; inches are the base measure) as Inches (1), Feet (1.93), Tens of Feet (2.85), Hundreds of Feet (3.78), Miles (4.45), Tens of Miles (5.38), Hundreds of Miles (6.30), and Thousands of Miles (7.23). Larger units can be imagined, but are not, at this writing, useful for human scale communication systems.

Note that by scaling this measure logarithmically, estimation errors are minimized. If a medium estimated at hundreds of miles actually reaches tens of miles or thousands of miles, the error inherent to the estimate is not large. Similarly, if a medium estimated in feet actually reaches inches or tens of feet, the error is not large. The possibility of significant errors in estimates is further minimized in the actual analysis when the variable is standardized.

actvtran active transmission

Does this medium entail an active process of message transmission. It should be noted that many do not. A cave painting is not transmitted through anything. This is not to say that a transmission medium (light and light receptors or eyes) is not required to view a cave painting. It is simply to say that a cave painting, once created, is simply stored, where it is, and anyone who wants to view it is obligated to either travel to the painting or to view a copy in another medium. The effect of the storage may be to transmit the painting through time, but to the extent that we may call such storage "transmission", it is not an active transmission. No part of the transmission through time will necessarily bring the painting to anyone's attention. No necessary element of the medium will deliver the painting or news of the painting to anyone's door. The painting simply exists as a referencable message in a form of long term storage. Cave paintings are the extreme variant of a medium that does not involve active transmission, but there are many media in which transmission, even if it sometimes occurs, is not a necessary element. Scaled as yes (1) where a medium entails active transmission and no (0) otherwise.

synch2wy synchronous two way transmission Does this medium support synchronous two way transmission as a normal element of the medium's operation. Fundamentally, the answer to this question is yes if any two or more participants in the medium can speak at the same time and, at the same time, observe the other person doing so. Broadcast media do not, as a rule, ever support synchronous two way transmission. Face-to-face media almost always do. Prototypic cases near the borderline, include the telephone, which usually supports synchronous two way transmission but does not under some circumstances, and C.B. and Family Radio, in which the radio's speaker turns off when a participant is speaking into their radio. Scaled as yes (1) where a medium supports synchronous two way transmission and no (0) otherwise.
broadcst broadcast? Does the medium entail broadcasting (using radio waves, light, or other long distance broadcast medium) a message such that it can be viewed, heard, or otherwise received by a large, distributed, and usually anonymous audience of listeners or participants. Scaled as yes (1) where a medium entails broadcast transmission and no (0) otherwise.
point2pt point to point? (addressing) Are messages within the medium transmitted to a specific end point such that some form of addressing is required? Scaled as yes (1) where a medium entails point to point delivery and no (0) otherwise.
printing entails printing press or analog Does the medium entail use of a printing press or other manufacturing process to reproduce copies of a message for distribution. Scaled as yes (1) where a medium entails use of a printing press or similar message manufacturing process and no (0) otherwise.
radtrans radio transmitter Does the medium entail the use of a radio transmitter? Scaled as yes (1) where a medium entails use of a radio transmitter and no (0) otherwise.
electran electronic mediation Does the medium entail electronic mediation (e.g. the use of electricity as an intermediate form in which a message is transmitted. Scaled as yes (1) where a medium entails electronic mediation of messages and no (0) otherwise.
wiring wiring or analogue Does transmission within the medium depend on the the use of wiring or some analog carrier of signals.
phystran physical transport? Does the medium entail the physical transportation of messages from one place to another as a part of the transmission process? Scaled as yes (1) where a medium entails physical transport and no (0) otherwise.
postaldl postal delivery system Are messages delivered via a postal delivery system (e.g. a system that, for a fee, transports packages to a specific address)? Scaled as yes (1) where a medium entails a postal delivery system and no (0) otherwise.
retailfa retail facilities Does transmission of messages, or retailing/provision of equipment or other requisites of transmission and reception of messages, normally entail the use of retail facilities. Scaled as yes (1) where the normal operation of a medium entails retailers and no (0) otherwise.
exhibfac exhibition facilities Does transmission or viewing of messages within the medium entail the use of message exhibition facilities (e.g. retail facilities, stadiums, theatres, museums, libraries, etc)? Scaled as yes (1) where the normal operation of a medium entails the use of exhibitions and no (0) otherwise.

A set of theoretically interesting interactions can probably be found in the interaction of such transmission variables as active transmision and synchronous two way transmission with such interface characteristics as portable production and performance interfaces and centralized, diffused, and asymmetric controls.

Feedback Characteristics

Like transmission, feedback has a long history in communication models, with roots that go back to Norbert Weiner, systems theory and the importance of feedback mechanisms to a self-regulating system. The range of feedback variables documented here is fairly small, and includes typical audience feedback time, expected response times in response to feedback, the immediacy of the feedback, and whether or not the feedback is direct to the creator of the message. It should be noted that all of these feedback variables can be considered to be consumer/audience variables insofar as they relate to the characteristics of message consumers or transmission variables to the extent that the relate to the transmission backchannel. They can certainly be sensibly combined with either the audience or transmission variables for the purpose of analysis.

Feedback Characteristics (5)
audfeedt audience feedback time (interactiveness)

How quickly will replies to messages (feedback) typically be received? Note that this time estimate, which is measured from the time the first message is sent, will include both transmission times and the preparation time for the second message. Some media don't entail any formal mechanisms for supporting feedback within the medium itself, but still entail feedback that arrives through the backchannel of another medium (mail and telephone feedback are frequent backchannels), usually with some additional level of capacitance and selection associated with the media instances support organization. Scaled (with base 60 logarithms) as immediate (0), seconds (1), minutes (2), hours (2.78), days (3.25), weeks (3.61), months (4.22), years (5), and never (6). One of the original twelve variables.

immefeed immediate (in message) Is feedback in this medium immediate? This variable can be regarded as a bivariate simplification of the audience feedback time variable. Scaled as yes (1) if feedback is immediate and no (0) otherwise.
mfeedrt min resp to feedback time How quickly can the message creator change their performance and/or message in response to feedback? Note that this time estimate, which is measured from the time the first message is sent, will include both feedback time and reaction and preparation time for the modified or third message. Even media don't entail any formal mechanism for supporting feedback, but use the backchannel of another medium (mail and telephone feedback are frequent backchannels), may be able to adapt their messages to such feedback. Scaled (with base 60 logarithms) as immediate (0), seconds (1), minutes (2), hours (2.78), days (3.25), weeks (3.61), months (4.22), years (5), and never (6).
mxfeedrt max resp to feedback time

How slowly can the message creator change their performance and/or message in response to feedback? Note that this time estimate, which is measured from the time the first message is sent, will include both feedback time and reaction and preparation time for the modified or third message. Even media don't entail any formal mechanism for supporting feedback, but use the backchannel of another medium (mail and telephone feedback are frequent backchannels), may be able to adapt their messages to such feedback. Scaled (with base 60 logarithms) as immediate (0), seconds (1), minutes (2), hours (2.78), days (3.25), weeks (3.61), months (4.22), years (5), and never (6).

It should be noted that feedback is one of the few places in this variable set where minimum and maximum times are more sensible than typical times. This is a product of the huge differences in the feedback times that can be associated with media that have a very constrained or indirect feedback channels.

dir2crtr direct to creator Does the creator of the message receive the feedback directly? There are many cases in which this is not the case, either because feedback goes to someone other than the message creator (e.,g. an actor you receives feedback for the work of the playwright), because the feedback is handled by an intermediary before it reaches the message creator (e.g. an editorial department of a newspaper which receives feedback concerning the work of a reporter or a messenger that receives the reply to a message), or because the message creator has no reasonable expectation of receiving direct feedback at all (e.g. the creator of a sculpture or other work of art that is displayed in a museum, often long after the sculptor is dead). Scaled yes (1) where the creator of a message can reasonably expect direct feedback and no(0) otherwise.

Perhaps the more interesting variables here from the perspective of interaction effects are the immediacy of feedback and the extent to which feedback is direct to the creator. An interaction of the two variables should yield those media which are the most highly interactive. Interactions of these variables with generalized mediator variables like computer and transmission variables like broadcast, wiring, point to point, and radio transmitter might also yield theoretically interesting isolations of groups of media. The interaction of these two variables with the transmission variable active transmission may well replicate the transmission variable synchronous two way transmission.

Storage Characteristics

Storage is, perhaps, the most overlooked structural variable in the field of communication. Models of the communications process, which while no longer central to research in the field, are still a staple of introductory texts, frequently feature such standard features as senders, receivers, messages, transmission, feedback, and noise, but consistently overlook storage. This almost certainly reflects a combination of precedent and the limited use to which the field puts communication models. The precedent is simple enough. Storage was not an element of either the original Claude Shannon model of the communication process on which our communication models are generally based or the early systems theory constructs with which they were initially enhanced. It has been important, in subsequent models, to add feedback (from systems theory) and the idea of transactions, but storage has never been considered important enough to add to models that were viewed as simple heuristics that introduced students to the structure of communications acts. Both Information Theory and Systems Theory have since corrected this oversight. Storage of Information is now a mainstream feature of Systems Theory, and Information Theory has had at least as much influence on storage systems as it has had on transmission systems. Storage rates paragraph one mentions in descriptions of both Information and System theories. Storage remains a backwater in the field of communication, however. This seems strange for several reasons.

First, storage has been one of the principle building blocks of new communication media for most of mankinds history. Indeed, most of the technological and social innovation that has been preserved and built upon over the course of the last 40 millenia or longer has been built on the back of storage-centered human communication media. Cave paintings, clay tablets, monumental structures, inscribed blocks, money, the development of writing, papyrus, parchment, paper, the printing press, newspapers, books, music manuscripts, and plays are all examples of storage-centric mediators and media. Storage mediators play a key role in most identifiable human communications media. Indeed, it is only in the last 200 years that innovations in transmission and reception (electricity, electric wires, speakers, radio waves, microphones, telephone dialers, etc) have enabled the development of new transmission-centric media, including new interactive human communications media.

Second, in the transmission-centric era that Shannon's model was created in, storage was already one of the primary means by which noise was fought. This was not, of course, the case for the telephone interaction that Shannon and Weaver were modeling, but it was certainly true for, among other media telegraph transmission, where the existance of a paper copy at the sending end enabled retransmission on demand and telex transmission, which generally entailed the creation of a stored paper tape copy of the message which, once again, could be automatically retransmitted at need. It is certainly true for many computer-based media, which use checksum information in transmitted packets and request automatic retransmission of packets when packet content doesn't produce the same checksum values. In truth, for most human communications media, storage is far more important to reliable transmission of messages than redundancy is.

Finally, there are communications media, including cave paintings, monumental buildings, museums, and diaries, for which active transmission plays little or no role at all. Messages are simply stored, with people transporting themselves to the messages when and if they feel a need view, read, or otherwise receive them.

One might justify this oversight through a small bit of wordplay. To the extent that storage can be regarded as transmission across time, storage is a form of transmission. As we will see in the characteristics of storage documented here, however, storage really has very little to do with transmission. It lends its own set of essential characteristics to communication media, and needs to be considered on its own as a critical element of human communication media.

Five principle forms of storage have emerged over the course of human history, including human memory, natural materials such as wood, shell, bone, rock, and clay, paper and paper analogues, including parchment and papyrus, photoemulsive storage (chemicals overlaid on paper and other substrates) and electronic storage, including needle based recording media, magnetic storage media such as tape and disk drives, optical storage media including CD-ROM and DVD, and various forms of computer memory, including ROM, RAM, and Flash memories, among others.

Several of these variants are treated as characteristics of various storage media here, as are variables measuring storage persistance and several aspects of storage access, including the ability to bookmark storage locations, randomly access stored content, and access specific stored content from an index.

Storage characterisitics (10)
humemory human memory Does the medium normally depend upon human memory as a storage mechanism? Message persistence may be as short as seconds or (via a series of people who pass the information along before they die) as long as milleniums, but if human memory is the means by which this message persistence is achieved, it can be regarded as a storage mechanism. It is important, however, to note that human memory plays a wide range of roles in human communication, including memory of language, experience, people, context, and the content of a wide range of messages we have received. Message persistence via human memory should be regarded as an intentional act. Hence human memory should be regarded as a storage mechanism where it is intended that a remembered message be remembered for the purposes of recreating the exact message at a later data. Scaled as yes (1) where human memory is used to intentially maintain content across time for eventual reproduction and no (0) otherwise.
papersto entails paper storage Does the medium normally entail the use of paper as a storage mechanism? Message persistence may be as short as seconds or as long as milleniums, but if paper is the means by which this persistence is achieved, paper can be regarded as a storage mechanism. Paper should not be counted as a storage mechanism within a medium if its use is optional, as it would be for many media in which electronic storage is the norm. Scaled as yes (1) where paper is used to maintain content across time and no (0) otherwise.
photosto entails photoemulsive storage Does the medium normally entail the use of photoemulsions (chemicals which, in combination with specific substrates, allow an image to be captured and stored) as a storage mechanism? Message persistence may be as short as seconds or as long as milleniums, but if photoemulsions enable content persistence photoemulsions are can be regarded as a storage mechanism. Scaled as yes (1) where electronic storage is used to maintain content across time and no (0) otherwise.
electsto entails electronic storage Does the medium normally entail electronic storage (which includes all forms of magnetic storage)? Scaled as yes (1) where electronic storage is used to maintain content across time and no (0) otherwise.
bookmark bookmarks possible? Can the medium normally support the use of bookmarks or bookmark analogues such that people can mark specific locations in content for reference or other purposes? The medium need not make any specific provision for the use of bookmarks for bookmarks to be possible. On the other hand, a number of factors mitigate against the use of bookmarks, including storage formats, level of persistance, and the dynamics of use. Scaled as yes (1) where bookmarks are a possibility and no (0) otherwise.
randaccs randomly accessible

Can stored content within the medium be accessed randomly? Scored as yes (1) where content within a medium can be accessed randomly and no (0) otherwise.

Suggested by comments by Doug Brent in discussions on CRTNET.

asynchacc asynchronous access Does the medium enable accessing of messages asynchronously (e.g. does the medium allow messages to be viewed at a different point in time than the messages were performed or created)? Coded as yes (1) where a medium entails enables messages to be accessed asynchronously and no (0) otherwise.
indexing indexed Can the medium normally support indexing of content such that people find content by referencing an index of that content? An index is a sorted or searchable catalog of content based on some attribute of content. The indexable attribute is most often a collection of names and/or key terms, but could just as easily be a set of time stamps, a set of gestures, or a set of recognizable shapes. A number of factors mitigate against the use of indexing, including storage formats, level of persistance, and the dynamics of use. Scaled as yes (1) where bookmarks are a possibility and no (0) otherwise.
perfpers performance persistance How long do performances (as opposed to productions) typically persist in this medium? A performance is a specific instance of content being performed for an audience, viewer, listener, or other collection of message recipients. If a performance is not recorded for storage, as would often be the case for a performance of a play or a concert, the performance persistence would be immediate. If the performance is recorded and retained for later use, its persistence might easily be years. These would be prototypic examples of the word performance. The term must be applied metaphorically, however, to media to which it might not normally be applied, such as books, paintings, instant messaging sessions, and computer conferences. The act of writing and publishing a book can be considered a performance. So can the act of painting a picture, writing and sending an instant message, and making a post to a computer conference. Scaled (with base 60 logarithms) as immediate (0), seconds (1), minutes (2), hours (2.78), days (3.25), weeks (3.61), months (4.22), years (5), and indefinite (6). Note that years have been rounded to the nearest single digit. A reconceptualization of the "persistence" and "theoretical persistence" measures from the original 12 characteristics of media.
prodpers production persistance

How long does production typically persist for a set of performances in this medium? Production could mean a variety of things. In this case, we use it to mean the conjunction of a specific body of content with a specific group of performers such that there are one or more performances of the material. Where there is one, and only one, performance of a specific body of content by a specific group of performers, production persistence will equal performance persistence. Where there are multiple performances of a body of material, and the period over which the performances are given exceed the persistence of any given performance, production performance will exceed performance persistence. Because production persistence can never be less than performance persistence, these two measures of persistence will be correlated. Scaled (with base 60 logarithms) as immediate (0), seconds (1), minutes (2), hours (2.78), days (3.25), weeks (3.61), months (4.22), years (5), and indefinite (6). Note that years have been rounded to the nearest single digit. A reconceptualization of the "persistence" and "theoretical persistence" measures from the original 12 characteristics of media.

There should be theoretically interesting interaction effects associated with these storage characteristics. They remain to be identified.

Marketplace Characteristics

Some systems of communication are effectively free. People come pre-equipped with all or most of what is needed to send and receive messages within such media as intimacy, face-to-face interaction, storytelling, dancing, painting, singing, carving, instrumental music, and sculpture, among others. These communication systems have a history that predates cities, civilization, or its many inventions, including merchants, marketplaces, manufacturing, money, and complex communication systems.

There are many ways in which civilization enables, and is enabled by, new systems of communication. Certainly, the arrival of civilization would not have been possible without the development of systems of communication that used human memory to store information, whether that information was the history of a collective of hunter-gatherers, the collected wisdom of that collective of as concerned various sources of food and the times at which those sources could be exploited, or the specific wisdom maintained and passed on from mother to daughter, from father to son, and from craftsman to apprentice. The agricultural systems that enabled the rise of civilization grew from just such roots in collective human memory and the ability of such memory to retain messages across long spans of time. There is almost certainly an unbroken chain of human memory for the methods of creating and maintaining stone tools and using, creating, and preserving fire that extends over a million years, starting with the homo erectus that used these tools to conquer the world in the first great human diaspora from Africa to the today's most primitive homo sapiens sapiens in Africa and New Guinea.

The arrival of cities and civilization represented, in many ways, the triumph of this growing collective memory. In bringing many people from many tribal collectives together in larger stable collectives, the sum of those tribes collective knowledge was made greater, and the roles associated with such collective memory were transformed. The tribal shaman who occasionally interrupted the normal routine of tribal life to perform tribal rites or minister to the sick became a priest who, supported by a larger community, could spend all their time on religious study and community services. The tribal griot who would, on special occasions, recount some portion of the tribes remembered history became a teacher and scholar who, supported by a larger community, could spend all of their time on learning and teaching. The tribal craftsman who spend some portion of their time creating tools in support of the tribes hunting, gathering, defense, and/or food preparation became a full time craftman, artist, and/or inventor, who, supported by a larger community, could spend more time on perfecting their craft and creating more, more beautiful, and, occasionally, new objects. The trader who, at some risk to personal safety, wandered among tribes engaging in an ongoing barter could become a shopkeeper or merchant who set up shop where a larger community could come to them, or a merchant who carried goods between cities.

Simply put, the transition from hunter-gatherer to farmer to city-dweller enabled a high degree of role specialization. One should not romanticize this transiction too much. Role specialization may well have allowed a cultural elite and middle class to focus more closely on learning, crafts, and the arts, but that specialization was built, through much of our history, on various incarnations of slavery and serfdom within city-states and countries that existed through the fiat of armies and their leadership. For every early priest, teacher, scholar, craftsman, artist, inventor, shopkeeper, or merchant during these times there were all too often several soldiers and perhaps 50 or a hundred slaves or serfs. The new media that are developed and evolved in the early millenia of human civilization are a product of role specialization. All too often, however, they reflect the oppressive martial values that these cultures necessarily subscribed to (if only in of self-defense). Even as we look forward across the millenia to what many would regard as the first truely enlightened democratic civilization, that of 5th century B.C. Athens, we discover a democracy of the elite built on the work of slaves and the military. The monumental architecture of these civilizations, whether we look at the temples of Babylon, the pyramids of Egypt, or the Parthenon of Athens, built to awe and oppress slaves and potential enemies. The march of civilization, from its origins ten millenia ago, to now, has all to often been the march of soldiers whose coordinated actions and tools of war were meant to both conquer and intimidate.

But civilization came with other needs, and specialized roles enabled a level of thought, experiement, and introspection, at least within the elite and middle class, that resulted in many inventions, including new ways to store and transmit messages. The need to distribute shares of a cities stored goods while leaving the goods stored, to provide shares of those goods in the present in return for promises of future payments, and for goods produced to be taxed, necessitated the invention of message storage systems that were, if not more reliable than human memory, more empirical than human memory. Writing evolves, by way of tokens and sealed clay pots of tokens, as a way to record stored value, including both inventories of that which is already stored and promises of future payment. Eventually written lists give way to written stories, written histories, and written laws, and as clay gives way to parchment, and parchment yields to paper, stories, histories, and laws evolve into books, letters, and contracts. These lists, and the value they symbolically represent, are also the starting point for the invention and evolution of money, one of the most abstract systems of human communication, and a key mediator in the evolution of even more complex systems of human communication.

Merchants, marketplaces, manufacturing, and money all play key roles in enabling a wide variety of "civilization-based" media, including books, newspapers, magazines, television, radio, C.B. Radio, postal systems, the telephone, and various computer and network based media. Indeed, many of today's technologically and computer mediated communication systems entail some level of up front investment and which is eventually recovered from end users. Some of these costs (the ones associated with "production" or "publishing", are documented in the "production characteristics" and "characteristic participants" clusters. Others are more directly associated with mediators, and involve such things as the use (via ownership or rental) of media-specific facilities, the requirement that end users obtain and use equipment in order to send and/or receive messages, the retailing of messages, and associated usage charges. These and other marketplace characteristics of media are explored in this cluster.

tmradvrt advertising Is advertizing transmitted in conjunction with or as messages in this medium? Specifically, is advertizing on the medium used to pay, in whole or in part, for the operational costs of the medium. Scaled as yes (1) where advertizing is associated with messages within the medium and no (0) otherwise.
advertized Does this medium typically advertize itself as a way of communicating (e.g. receiving messages, sending messages, exchanging messages, etc). This advertizing could be of specific programming within the medium, of specific uses of the medium, or of the quipment and supplies necessary in order to participate in the medium. This advertizing would most often be in other media, but might be within the medium itself. Scaled as yes (1) where a medium is typically advertized and no (0) otherwise.
tmrequip equipment Does reception of transmissions within this medium require the audience or other receiver of messages to have receiving equipment that would normally be rented or purchased (e.g. a radio, a telephone, a computer, etc) by individual receivers of messages.
tmrfacil facilities Does operation of this medium require dedicated facilities (e.g. office space, theatres, storage facilities, printshops, broadcast equipment facilities, antennas, or other production or performance facilities). Scaled as yes (1) where operation of a medium requires some amount of physical plant and no (0) otherwise.
tmrinvst investment Does operation of this medium require a large up front investment such that most people could not normally afford to start up and operate an instance of the medium. Investment might take the form of a public stock offering, bank or other loan, bond issue, or investment by an individual, partnership, or other organization. Scaled as yes (1) where establishment and operation of an instance of a medium entails a large up front investment and no (0) otherwise.
tmrresel resellers Do retailers, business partners, or other resellers play a role in either distributing content or giving audience members or other participants access to the medium? Scaled as yes (1) where the normal operation of a medium entails the activities of resellers and no (0) otherwise.
tmrusage usage charges Does use of the medium normally entail ongoing usage charges (e.g. subscription costs, ticket costs, monthly billing, etc). Note that this is not just an issue of charging for usage, but is specifically an issue of charging for services on a schedule or other ongoing basis, as would be the case for telephone bills, internet usage fees, or newspaper and magazine descriptions. Consideration of this variable is complicated, at least for internet media, by the specific orientation of the question to media. The fact that one pays internet usage fees does not mean that you are paying those fees for every medium, or even any of the media, that you use via the Internet, so long as you aren't specifically paying for access to that medium. Scaled as yes (1) where a medium's normal operation entails the charging of usage fees and no (0) otherwise.
fmrbehav feedback visible in market behavior Feedback can be inferred from market behavior. Examples might include increased or decreased sales of a product, increased or decreased traffic to a retail outlet, increased or decreased hits on a web site, an increase or decrease in book sales, or increased or decreased newspaper circulation. Scaled yes (1) where market behavior is a usual form of feedback for a medium and no (0) otherwise.
fmrequip feedback equipment Feedback, within a particular medium, requires the use of equipment which, in general, must be purchased or otherwise obtained via market behavior. Examples might include a C.B. Radio Rig, a personal computer, or a telephone. Scaled yes (1) where purchase of equipment in the marketplace can be used as an indirect measure of feedback within a medium and no (0) otherwise.
fmrusage feedback usage charges Feedback, within a particular medium, requires the use of a paid infrastructure. Examples might include a telephone network, the internet, or a postal system. Scaled as yes (1) where purchase of infrastructure services can be used as an indirect measure of feedback within a medium and no (0) otherwise.

There should be theoretically interesting interaction effects associated with these marketplace characteristics. They remain to be identified.

Messages

Performance Characteristics

A performance is a specific instance of content being performed for an audience, viewer, listener, or other message consumer or collection of message recipients. On the surface, this appears to be a relatively simple and straightforward definition, and for many media it is. The application of this definition is clearcut for live theatrical performances, speeches, musical performances, and live television and radio shows, among many others. There is, however, at least some nuance to what constitutes a performance even within these media venues. A performance in any of these media can be regarded as layered, with a "show" representing a serial composite of performances (acts, scenes, skits, short plays, musical compositions, etc). Each of these elements is itself a parallel composite made up of the performances of one or more performers and, in many cases, the audience. Even these performances are often serial composites, with different performers in different roles interacting, one speeech or phrase after another, as the "show" proceeds from beginning to end. Musicians play different parts in different sections under the direction of a conductor. Actors move through various combinations and interactions as the play moves from scene to scene.

This layering of performance is becomes more important as we start to treat the performance construct as one that can be applied to all media. Indeed, we would not normally regard our creative participation in many media, including face-to-face interaction or telephone conversation, as being a performance. Indeed, if we believed that someone we were interacting with in one of these media was "giving a performance", we would often think less of them, and perhaps even avoid interacting with them in the future. It can be useful, however, at least for the purposes of comparing media, to treat such interaction as if it were in fact a set of performances which are both parallel in terms of the flow of both messages and feedback at the same time and serial in terms of the flow of individual messages. The same is true for other media. A newspaper can be usefully considered to be a performance of the days news that is itself a collection of parallel and often unrelated, news stories, editorials, advertizements, classified advertizements, and notices that is serially organized into numbered pages and sections. A letter can be usefully regarded as a single performance by a single individual, but can also be regarded as a part of an ongoing interaction. Books, paintings, sculptures, movies, and prerecorded television shows can all be regarded as singular performances that can be viewed and enjoyed again and again.

It can be useful, in this regard, to differentiate views, copies, performances, and productions.

Performances, copies, and views all occur within the context of productions. A production can entail many performances, a performance many copies, and a copy many viewings. The distribution of these constucts will vary across media. Some media are built around distributing copies of performances. Other media are structured such that copying is at least atypical, and in some cases all but impossible. For some media production, performance and view are effectively the same. For others there will be many viewings of a single performance and many performances as a part of the production. Hence, views, copies, and the number of performances associated with a production all vary considerably from one medium to another and may be an important way of differentiating media. Several measures of performances, copys, and views are offered here.

Other performance related variables documented here a measure performance distance, several measures of the extent to which performances entail live and prerecorded elements, a variable examining performance censorship, some measures of the extent to which transcripts are inherent to the medium, and measures of performance scheduling, rule symmetry, and content and audience size ratings.

Performance Characteristics (26)

perfodis

distance - performance

How far does a performance typically travel in this medium. Specifically, how far does a message typically need to go in its last hop from the viewed performance medium to the message consumer. If the view is of a copy, the distance at issue will be the distance between the message consumer and the media interface or presentation venue, whether it is a page in a newspaper or book, a television set, a stage, or a computer screen. This is obviously very different than the end to end distance considered among the transmission characteristics. Scaled logarithmically (using base 12 logarithms; inches are the base measure) as Inches (1), Feet (1.93), Tens of Feet (2.85), Hundreds of Feet (3.78), Miles (4.45), Tens of Miles (5.38), Hundreds of Miles (6.30), and Thousands of Miles (7.23). Larger units can be imagined, but are not, at this writing, useful for human scale communication systems.

liveperf

live Is the performance live? Specifically, are the performers enacting the performance at the same time that consumers are viewing it. The performance may be entirely prescripted and rehersed, fully improvizational and spontaneous, or anywhere in between. What matters is that the performance and viewing are temporally synchronous. Scaled as yes (1) where a performance is live and no (0) otherwise.
realtdyn real time dynamic Is the performance dynamically changable in real time? Specifically, is it normal, within the performance, to create the performance on the fly, without reference to a preexisting performance script. Performance nuance is not at issue here. An actors decision to play a line sarcastically or ironically does not make a performance real time dynamic. An occasional ad lib that does not change the overall flow of the script would not make a performance real time dynamic. The fundamental idea here is that the performance is invented as it goes along. The line between pre-scripted and real time dynamic remains somewhat fuzzy. It is certainly reasonable to call a medium real time dynamic if the beginning and end of a performance is known but the path in between is an improvization. It is also reasonable to assume that some portion of this improvization will be prescripted or recreated via template. The issue here is not so much that the performance never follows the same path as that the performance is free to follow many paths. Scaled as yes (1) where a performance is real time dynamic and no (0) otherwise.

prereele

prerecorded elements Does a performance in the medium normally included prerecorded elements? Such elements might include recorded music, prerecorded advertizing, station promos, and jingles, sound effects, and many other kinds of prerecorded content. Scaled as yes (1) where a performance in a medium can normally be expected in include prerecorded content and no (0) otherwise.
fulprere fully prerecorded

Is production of performances within a medium such that the performance is fully prerecorded before the message is presented for viewing? Specifically, is all of the presentation and interaction, scripted or otherwise, recorded, stored, and perhaps post-processed before any message consumer or audience has the opportunity to view it. One notes that while movies have long been self-contained and prerecorded, prerecording of all elements associated with silent movies was a comparatively late development. Indeed, instrumental musical scores were normally played live in accompanyment to silent movies right up to their end in the wake of the arrival of "talkies". Scaled as yes (1) where a performance in a medium can normally be expected to be fully prerecorded and no (0) otherwise.

It should be noted here, in particular (although it is true for many characteristics listed here) that normal does not mean always. Television, for example, is normally prerecorded, but there are certainly television shows and even genres of television content that routinely diverge from this norm. Indeed, there are channels whose generic focus (cable news channels, for instance) that present live content with prerecorded elements 24 hours a day. This does not make television cable news channels a different medium of communication nor change television's status as a medium in which content is normally fully prerecorded. It is simply an exception to the norm.

turntkng turn taking Do performances within a medium normally entail some measure of turn taking, with different people presenting content in different times in serial order. This turn taking may or may not be, or even appear to be, interactive. There are media like books, newspapers, and paintings in which turn taking is the exception. There are media like television and face-to-face interaction in which turn taking is the norm. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium normally entails turn taking and no (0) otherwise.
instages in stages Do performances within a medium normally proceed in stages. Plays, for instance, typically proceed through scenes and acts. Books often proceed through a series of chapters. Musical compositions normally proceed through a series of movements. Performances in many media do not normally proceed through a predictable or well demarcated set of stages. Performances in other media do. Scaled as yes (1) where a performance in a medium can normally be expected to proceed thorugh a series of well defined stages and no (0) otherwise.
nattrans natural transcript

Are performances within a medium enacted in a manner that automatically produces a natural transcript? There are clear prerequisites to a medium counting natural transcripts as a characteristic. The first is that the medium be enacted through a storage medium. The second is that messages in the medium arrive serially or have an associated date stamp and, if the medium, moves fast enough, an associated time stamp. A medium retains both this stored content and the serial relationship of this content can be said to produce a natural transcript. This transcript may not be normally be used or even produced as a transcript, but so long as it is normally possible to do so, it can be said that the performance produces a natural transcript. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium are normally enacted such that a natural transcript is produced and no (0) otherwise.

transrev transcript revision in performance Is production of performances within a medium such that transcript revisions can be made while the performance is still underway? Such revision can occur for a variety of reasons and for a variety of purposes. It may occur underneath a natural transcript of viewing web pages as a referenced web page changes even as the web viewing session continues. It may occur underneath a database search as database changes are made even as our search proceeds. Such changes are, in fact, an occasional but inevitable bi-product of highly parallel content, even when that content changes only occasionally. Dynamic transcript need not be an incidental side effect, however. They may, in fact, be done purposely, as when offensive language is overwritten in a live broadcast during a built in broadcast delay interval or when a question is stricken from the record by a judges order during a legal proceeding. Scaled as yes (1) where transcripts of performances in a medium can be revised during the performance and no (0) otherwise.
multperf multiple performances/production Does a production within the medium normally entail multiple performances. Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium normally entail multiple performances and no (0) otherwise.
manyperf many performances/production Does a production within the medium normally entail many performances. Many, in this context, generally implies a number of performances that would normally be measured at least in double digits and usually entails an open ended series of performances. Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium normally entail many performances and no (0) otherwise.
multview multiple views/performance Does a performance within the medium normally entail multiple simultaneous viewings. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium normally entail multiple viewings and no (0) otherwise.

manyview

many views/performance Does a performance within the medium normally entail many simultaneous viewings. Many, in this context, generally implies a number of viewings that would normally be measured at least in triple digits and usually entails an open ended number of viewings. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium normally entail many viewings and no (0) otherwise.
multcopy multiple copies/production Does production of performances within the medium normally entail the creation of multiple copies. Scaled as yes (1) where performance recordings in a medium are reproduced multiple times and no (0) otherwise.
manycopy many copies/production Does production of performances within the medium normally entail the creation of many copies. Many, in this context, generally implies a number of copies that would normally be measured in at least in four digits and usually entails the possibility of an open ended number of copys. Scaled as yes (1) where performance recordings in a medium are reproduced many times and no (0) otherwise.
manyvcpy many views/copy Does playing of performance copys within a medium normally entail many viewings. Many, in this context, generally implies a number of viewings that would normally be measured in at least in double digits and usually entails the possibility of an open ended number of viewings. Scaled as yes (1) where copies of performances in a medium are normally viewed many times and no (0) otherwise.
usroncpy user copy ownership Do consumers of messages within a medium normally own copies of performances that they can view at their own convenience. Copy ownership is normal for performance instances in a large number of media, including newspapers, computer software, music recordings and many others. Scaled as yes (1) where consumers normally own copys of performances within a medium and no (0) otherwise.

paraperf

parallel unrelated component messages Do performances within a medium normally contain parallel unrelated component messages. This would be normal for newspapers, web pages, and a large number of other media in which a performance entails multiple messages, including multiple articles, advertizements, and other forms of content that are performed in parallel (e.g. at the same time, in the same viewable space, etc). Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium normally entail parallel unrelated component messages and no (0) otherwise.
audsizrt audience size ratings Are performances in the medium normally subject to audience size measurements (e.g. Neilson ratings, etc). Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium are normally subject to audience size measurements and no (0) otherwise.
gradsys grading system Are performances in the medium normally subject to grading. That grading can take a variety of forms, ranging from the grading of tests, papers, and other assignments in education-realted media to the evaluations of music, theatrical performances, and movies by critics in newspapers, on television, and on the web. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium are normally subject to grading and no (0) otherwise.
contrats content rating system Are performances in the medium generally classified by a content rating system (the age recommendations for movies maintained by the movie industry, for instance). Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally subject to content ratings and no (0) otherwise.
schedule scheduled? Are performances in a medium normally scheduled such that consumers know or can readily find out when they can view specific content. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium are normally scheduled and no (0) otherwise.
regpeper regular period Are performances in a medium normally repeated on a regular basis over the course of their production. Plays or musical performances are frequently performed on a daily basis over the course of their production. Copies of movies are frequently viewed multiple times a day over the course of their release. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium occur with a regular period over the course of their production and no (0) otherwise.
prschsyn perf/sched synchroy Do performances happen at the same time they are scheduled for viewing? This variable may turn out to simply be the interaction of live performance and scheduled. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium normally happen at a scheduled time and no (0) otherwise.
Ticket Required Does viewing a performance within this medium typically require a ticket that enables admission. This ticket will, in many media, typically be purchased. The function of the ticket is simply to constrain admission into a space that has limited capacity, however, and tickets may be distributed in a number of different ways. Scaled as yes (1) where admission to a performance typically requires a ticket and no (0) otherwise.
Attendence Taken Is attendence normally taken during performances in the medium. Media in which attendence is normally taken include judicial proceedings, deliberative assemblies, and classes. Scaled as yes (1) where attendence is normally taken during performances and no (0) otherwise.
medcontr third party mediator control Can third party mediators, other than the creator/performer and consumer/audience, exercise control over performances in the medium. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium can be controlled by third party mediators and no (0) otherwise.

There should be theoretically interesting interaction effects associated with these marketplace characteristics. They remain to be identified.

Edition Characteristics

Perhaps the problem I'm having in definining production characteristics relate to the issue of editions. I'm not sure. There is a real problem in the concept of production -- the difference between a production and the ongoing process of production. The process of production will encompass many productions. ... something to think about. xxxxx

Production Characteristics

A production is the collection of activities that make a performance or other message production possible. A production xxxxx occurs in the conjunction of a specific body of content with a specific group of performers and/or productionsuch that there are one or more performances of the material. Where there is one, and only one, performance of a specific body of content by a specific group of performers, the only difference between the production and the performance is the preparation associated with enabling the performance. Where there are multiple performances of a body of material, other differences come into play.

Much of the work associated with production benefits from economies of scale. Hence, one frequently finds that those who organize any production organize multiple productions

metaphoric and layered

Production Characteristics (18)
consform consistent format Do different ... Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
constitl consistent title Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
gathinfo gather information Do productions in this medium typically involve gathering information. Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium normally involve gathering information and no (0) otherwise.
edpolicy editorial policy Do productions associated with the medium typically have a formal editorial policy that describes what kinds of content the production focuses on and any special restrictions it places on narrative, creators, performers, and other members of the production staff. Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium normally entail a formal editorial policy and no (0) otherwise.
multstor multiple distinct "stories" per Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
planned planned Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
messmanu message manufacture/printing Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
contregu continuously regular Do performances in a medium occur on a continuously regular basis. Newspapers produce a new performance (edition) every day. Magazines normally produce new performances every week or month. Churches normally produce new services (ritual ceremonies) every week and, in some cases, every day. Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium are normally continuously produced on a regular schedule and no (0) otherwise.
wrapper wrapper/packaging Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
prodfacl production facilities Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
prodcens prod acc censorship Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.

drafts

drafts Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
rehearsl rehersals Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
persrela enables personal relationships Does the medium enable personal relationships between participants? Coded as yes (1) where interaction within the medium is such that personal relationships are enabled and no (0) otherwise.
rulmksyn rule making synchrony Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
scripted scripted Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
structur structured Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
tryouts tryouts/beta test Scaled as yes (1) where productions in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
Performance Cycle Does production within this medium entail a cycle of many performances.

Production cycle?

Message Characteristics

Messages are the end product of all of the things that happen in a medium. Creator/performers make them happen, often with the aid of other participants. Consumer/audiences view, hear, and otherwise receive those messages and provide feedback to them. The messages are enabled by a range of message modalities, responded to in a variety of feedback modalities, and are, as appropriate, stored, transmitted, and interfaced with.

Frequently, the messages that a medium enables have structure and consistent characteristics that in presentation and combination, are distinctive to individual media. These include such issues as the extent to which messages are customized to individuals, entail greetings and leave takings (customized or otherwise), entail formal opening and closing rituals, and entail such minutia as signatures, return addresses, time stamps, and/or date stamps. Some messages travel to their consumers. Others do not. Some messages are readily reproduced. Others are not. Some media routinely time messages or otherwise note the length of messages. Others do not. Some media encourage messages are clearly linear in structure, others mesages that are interactive in structure, and still others encourage non-linear message linking. All of these variations in media practice can be regarded as variations in message characteristics.

Message Characteristics (18)
custindv custom to individual Does the medium allow messages to be customized for each individual recipient. Examples of such customization might include specifically referring to the individual recipient, by name, in the text of the message, or customizing the message to the recipients specific interests or preferences. Coded as yes (1) where a medium allows the customization of messages to the individual message recipient and no (0) otherwise.
datestmp date stamp Does the medium normally entail some form of message or message collection date stamp such that the date on which the message was created or transmitted can be viewed by the message recipient. Examples of such date stamps include the dating of letters, inclusion of date and volume information at the top of newspapers, or the statement of the date at the beginning of news shows on television. Note, however, that while date stamps are normal for a specific genre of television shows (news shows), they are not normal or prevalent for most genre of television shows. Hence while we would consider date stamps as being normal for letters and newspapers, we would not consider them to be normal for television. Coded as yes (1) where messages within a medium normally entail a date stamp and no (0) otherwise.
timestmp time stamp Does the medium normally entail some form of message time stamp such that the time at which the message was created or transmitted can be viewed by the message recipient. Time stamps can be generally regarded as a more restrictive variation on date stamps. It will almost always be the case that, were there is a time stamp, there will also be a date stamp. This may not be the case for all media, however, and the possibility that time stamps are normal must be considered even where date stamps are not normal. Coded as yes (1) where messages within a medium normally entail a date stamp and no (0) otherwise.
greeting entails greetings Does message behavior within the medium normally include some sort of greeting, ritual or otherwise, at the beginning of a message or message series. Classic examples of greetings in media include starting letters with "Dear xxxx" or "To whom it may concern", starting face-to-face conversations with "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon", or initiating a telephone conversation by asking "Hello?" Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails an initial greeting and no (0) otherwise.
leavetak entails leave taking Does message behavior within the medium normally include some sort of leave taking, ritual or otherwise, at the end of a message of a message or message series. Classic examples of leave takings in media include ending letters with "Yours Truly", "Sincerely", or "Love", and a signature, ending face-to-face conversations with "See you later", "Let's Talk again Soon", or some similar forward looking statement, or ending a telephone conversation with "Goodbye" Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails a leave taking at the end of a message or message series and no (0) otherwise.
pergreet personalized greetings Are greetings at the beginning of a message or message series normally customized to the individuals participating in the message or message series. This will most commonly take the form of a reference, by name, to other participants, but may entail specifically customizing other greeting content to the individual, including enquiries about specific family members or recent events. This variable might be regarded as an interaction of "custom to individual" and "entails greetings", and it is likely that this variable would be strongly correlated with such an interaction variable. The existance of customized content within a medium in no way ensures the existance of a customized greeting, however, and it is unlikely that any correlation will be exact. Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails a personalizaed initial greeting and no (0) otherwise.
perleave personalized leave taking Are leave takings at the end of a message or message series normally customized to the individuals participating in the message or message series. As an example, a leave taking might make specific reference to the next time or place at which participants will be together or the extension of best greetings or best wishes to specific family members. This variable might be regarded as an interaction of "custom to individual" and "entails leave taking", and it is likely that this variable would be strongly correlated with such an interaction variable. The existance of customized content within a medium in no way ensures, however, the existance of a customized leave taking. Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails a personalizaed leave taking and no (0) otherwise.
fopenrit formal opening ritual Do messages, message series, or performances within the medium normally include a specific series of messages or other actions, performed in a similar manner from one performance to the next, that formally open or initiates the performance, message, or message series. Note that a "formal opening ritual", as described here, is more formalized than a "greeting" and may not, in fact, entail any of the kinds of language that is associated with greetings in other media. Classic examples of formal opening rituals would include the playing of a theme, the posting of primary credits, including those of the stars, and the posting of the movie or show title, a theme with a voice over of the show title and hosts or players at the beginning of radio shows, an opening procession and invocation at the beginning of church services and weddings, formalized team introductions and the singing of the national anthem at the beginning of sporting events, and the appearance of police and a grand marshall at the beginning a parade. Note that greetings are not necessarily an element of these opening rituals. Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails a formal opening ritual at the beginning of messages, message series, or performances, and no (0) otherwise.
fclosrit formal closing ritual Do messages, message series, or performances within the medium normally include a specific series of messages or other actions, performed in a similar manner from one performance to the next, that formally closes the performance, message, or message series. Note that a "formal closing ritual", as described here, is more formalized than "leave taking" and may not, in fact, entail any of the kinds of language that is associated with leave taking. Classic examples of formal closing rituals would include rolling credits at the end of movies and television shows, playing a closing theme and advertizing the next show at the end of radio and television shows, doing a closing procession and benediction at the end or church services, serialized team cheers and handshakes at the end of sporting events, throwing rice, and tossing a bouquet at the end of weddings, and the appearance of Santa Claus at the end of a Thanksgiving Day parade. Note that leave taking is not necessarily a element of these closing rituals. While it is certainly the case that some television shows ("The Mickey Mouse Club" and "Ozzie and Harriet") and even genres of television show (News programs and variety shows) generally include leave taking as a part of their ritual closings, that many television shows and television genres do not. While, moreover, the content of these rituals can vary substantially across genres within a medium, it can be expected that, within media for which formal closing rituals are normal, that most or all shows or genres will include some form of closing ritual. Coded as yes (1) where a medium normally entails a formal closing ritual at the end of messages, message series, or performances, and no (0) otherwise.
signatur signature Is a message, message series, or performance within a medium normally signed by the sender such that it can be uniquely associated with that individual. Signatures are, in general, a highly conventionalized construct that has specific legal meanings and, in some media and genre, implications. Signing our names to documents using a pen has been the primary form of signature for many centuries. The conventional form of a signature has evolved slowly over time, however, and has evolved somewhat more rapidly of late, with various forms of electronic signature having become meaningful and even taking on legal standing. As legal standing is not necessary to this variable, writing ones name at the bottom of a message (an e-mail, for instance) will be regarded as a signature. As signatures frequently have and imply specific legal standing in a document, however, a formal confirmation of an on-line transaction using a password, pin-number, code, or secure confirmation button will also be regarded as a signature, even if no name is ever formally attached to the document or transaction. Coded as yes (1) where messages within a medium normally entail a signature and no (0) otherwise.
returnad return address Do messages within a given medium normally include a return address such that the recipient can reply directly to the message creator or sender? This return address can take a variety of forms, including a physical mail address, a telephone number, an e-mail address, or other form of address that, if used, could reasonably be expected to result in delivery of a reply to the message sender. Coded as yes (1) where messages within a medium normally a return address and no (0) otherwise.
exactrep exact reproduction possible

Is it possible, using the mediators that are normally associated with a medium, to replay or otherwise reproduce messages or message series exactly as they were initially performed? It is a presumption of this variable that exact reproduction cannot be acheived through a repeat performance, even when everything (the performers, the audience, the scene, etc) associated with the second performance is the same as it was for the first performance. This would necessarily be the case even if the performers acheived the impossible and performed in exactly the same way, down even to the subtlest nuance of gesture, if only because the nuances of the previous performance would already be known to the audience, which would therefore react differently in small ways, including anticipation of action, that would lead them to see differences where none existed. Exact reproduction necessarily presumes a replayable storage capability which audiences know to be capable of message reproduction that is exact within the tolerances of an accepted standard. A book printed on a printing press can be regarded as an exact reproduction so long as all the words in the book are reproduced exactly, even when small details (the exact size and weight of pages, subtleties of the paper's watermark, the amount or darkness of ink used, etc) vary from copy to copy. A music recording can be regarded as an exact reproduction even when some frequency ranges of the original performance are not captured on the recording and there are variations in the ability of replay equipment (stereos, speakers, etc) to fully reproduced the content of the recording. Coded as yes (1) where the ability to exactly reproduce message content is a normal characteristic of a medium, even where that capability is used intermittantly, and no (0) otherwise.

repropos reproduction possible Is it possible, using the mediators that are normally associated with a medium, to reproduce or otherwise approximately recreate messages, message series, or performances? This variable can be regarded as a superset of "exact reproduction" that also counts performances within a production, and even different productions of the same script or score, as reproductions. Coded as yes (1) where a message, message series, or performance can be reproduced, even if the reproduction is an approximation of the original, and no (0) otherwise.
lenmeasr length measured Is the length of a message, message series, or performance within the medium normally measured? This measurement can be in a variety of forms, including length in time, length in pages, or even length in sections or movements. For some media, this measurement will reflect a convention of meeting specific length objectives, as with a radio or television show that must fit within a specified time slot, a newspaper story that must fit within a certain number of column inches, a radio, television, or movie advertizement that has to fit into a specific amount of paid advertizing time, a class that must be taught in a 55 minute time slot, or a book that must hit a certain number of pages (many romance novels, especially older ones, are a consistent 192 pages long). Other measurements will be done for the purpose of enabling scheduling (religious services, meetings, movies, record tracks) referencing (page numbers in books, record tracks), or generic convention (movements in Symphony's, acts in plays, expected sections in academic papers, or expected structural elements of Sonnets. Coded as yes (1) where the length of messages, message series, or performances is normally measured within a medium and no (0) otherwise.
messtimd message timed Are messages timed? This variable is a specific subset of "length measured", but one that focuses strictly on the act of establishing the amount of time that it takes to perform or view a message. Coded as yes (1) where the length of messages, message series, or performances is normally measured within a medium using units of time (e.g. days, hours, minutes, seconds, etc) and no (0) otherwise.
trav2aud message travels to audience The message moves through time (and often space) to the location of the audience. This implies that the creator and receiver are non-propinquitous (not at the same place at the same time. It remains, however, that some messages are created such that the audience needs to travel to the message, others are created such that audiences travel to messages, and still others such that both kinds of travel occur, or neither. Scaled as yes (1) where the message travels to the location of the audience and no (0) otherwise.
linstruc linear structure (d a brent) Do messages, message series, and/or performances within a medium normally have a linear structure? This variable, suggested by Doug Brent in discussions on COMSERVE, is an attempt to capture a key construct suggested by Innis, McLuhan, Ong, and others. It is asserted, in the work of these authors, that written language has, when compared with the orality that preceded the invention of written language, constrained us into using a linear modes of thought. This linearization of thought has, according to various adherents of this perspective, constrained us from using equally valid alternative modes of thought, alienated us, to at least some extent, from the reality of a world that does not usually have well defined beginnings, endings, and predictable structures in between, and prevented us from seeing that a particular beginning can lead down many alternative paths, and frequently does so. A medium can, from this perspective, be regarded as having a linear structure if it has a singular flow from beginning to end without the possibility of alternative emergent structures. Face-to-face interaction would not be considered to have a linear structure, as it can fly off in almost any conversational direction in response to almost any thread of thought that is of mutual interest to the interactants. A religious service, by contrast, would be considered to have a linear structure insofar as it proceeds according to a script from which it is unlikely to diverge. Books, newspapers, magazines, and other publications would be regarded as having linear structure even where they contain a broad array of content that can be viewed randomly or through the following of alternative decision trees. Hypermedia web sites, by contrast, might not be seen as having a linear structure insofar as they are focused on cross-referencing and emergent linkages rather than serial presentation. Coded as yes (1) where the structure and/or presentation of messages within a medium is normally linear and no (0) otherwise.
interstr interactive structure Do messages, message series, and/or performances within a medium normally have an interactive or transactive structure? Specifically, do messages within the medium normally appear to be a series of messages and, mostly, replies to messages in which two or more people engage in a discussion rather than a singular performance. This variable suggests itself as one of several alternatives to "linear structure". In this alternative, which reflects the normal orality of face-to-face interaction, the overall logic of the performance emerges from the intersection of several voices, and it may well be, for any given interaction, that no logic emerges at all. Communication within an interactive structure need not proceed from a clear beginning to a clear end, even where the interaction is bracketed by greetings, leave takings, or other formalized beginnings and ends. Indeed, there may be no logic to the interaction at all beyond its expressiveness and mutuality. This does not mean that there cannot be formal logics and even a linear structure to the interaction. The appearance of interactiveness in no way assures that the interaction will be emergent. Indeed, some of our oldest written documents, including the survivinng Greek Drama and Plato's various dialogs, use interactive structure as a vehicle for making what are otherwise linear presentations. Face-to-face interaction would be considered to be the paradigm case for interactive structure, but movies, plays, television shows, and radio shows all normally entail at least some measure of interactive structure, while technical and reference books, newspapers, magazines, and other publications, including hypermedia web sites would not. Coded as yes (1) where the structure and/or presentation of messages within a medium is normally linear and no (0) otherwise.
Nonlinear Linkages Do messages within this medium generally entail nonlinear linkages (e.g. hyperlinks or other cross references) to other messages. Examples of media that entail such linkages include "the web" (obvious), papers, and scholarly journals. Some genres of book (scholarly texts, textbooks) also normally entail such linkages in the forms of references to other books and articles. A particularly interesting genre of books that contain nonlinear linkages are nature identification books (bird books, rock identification books, tree books, etc). Note, however, that the existance of nonlinear linkages for subset genres within a medium does not make nonlinear linkages normal within the genre. Such is certainly the case for books. Despite the existance of several specific genres of book in which nonlinear linkages are normal, nonlinear linkages are not normal for books in general. Coded as yes (1) where the nonlinear linkages are normal with a medium and no (0) otherwise.
Legal Standing Do messages within the medium normally have legal standing. Examples of media within which messages normally have legal standing include judicial proceedings, deliberative assemblies, and contracts. Note, relative to these examples, that there is no requirement that all or even most messages within the medium have legal standing. All that is required is that it is normally the case that some messages within a medium's performances or productions have legal standing. Coded as yes (1) where at least some messages with in a medium can normally be expected to have legal standing and no (0) otherwise.

Interesting interaction variables include the interaction of consumer travel with either performer travel or message travel. This combination will often result in some need for ticket sales and exhibition facilities while frequently enabling a range of related message activities and even the escalation of the medium to the status of media ecology. The conjunction of these three variables may be interesting in other combinations as well. Indeed, the three characteristics, considered together, may be a strong differentiator of different media clusters

Another theoretically interesting interaction may be found in the interaction of formal greetings and leave taking with the consumer/audience characteristics relating to consumption independent of formal opening or closing. Engagement in formal greetings and leave takings in the context of a medium in which consumption is independent of those activities would, on the surface, seem unnecessary, and isolation of media in which this dynamic occurs may lead to interesting insights concerning the function of greetings and leave taking in such media.

Characteristic Generic Uses

A new category which probably can be presumed to include:

Look in a bookstore or treatise on genre

Can't figure out what I was thinking

rulesync rule synchrony Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
praudsyn synch perf/audit practice Scaled as yes (1) where performances in a medium are normally and no (0) otherwise.
indslfrg individual self-regulation

xxxxx I've got to say. I am completely baffled by this one. What was I thinking?

See formfact