Second Posting to Project McLuhan e-list -- 3/3/95 
 
1. Introduction 
2. "Thank You" 
3. McLuhan Comm. Theory looks at the "Net" 
4. Specific Projections for the Net 95-96 
5. Feb 95 Interview with Nelson Thall (Pres. McLuhan Center) 
6. Marshall Arts Contest Announced! 
7. Our Archive Site! 
8. Boilerplate (repeated with each post) 
 
 
1. Introduction 
 
Actually this second posting was supposed to be a small one, just the
"Marshall Arts" Internet-wide contest info we promised last post. However,
the response to Project McLuhan on the Net was so positive that we decided
to pull out all the stops. We feel certain that our take on the Internet
(below -- item #3) will raise an eyebrow or two! (In an aural-tactile
culture, with a negative visual bias, is that expression still
appropriate?) We are still debugging our list software due to the
exceptionally warm response to this list (1200 requests in 3 weeks) so, if
there are problems, simply send a message to Comm Office, Proj McL at
"mclr@inforamp.net". Some people may receive double postings -- our
"majordomo" teckies are not really sure. Don t fret -- at least no trees
are dying because of it! Also, some of you asked permission to repost this
material. GO AHEAD. ALL COPYRIGHT IS WAIVED. This waiver of copyright meets
the requirements of Compuserve, AOL, Prodigy etc. for reposting. If you
want to share any or all of the Project McLuhan material, do so   as long
as credit is given with the reposting! Reminder -- if you are a new
subscriber, see the final section for who we are, what we are doing, and
subscription contact info. 
 
2. Thank You 
 
To Canadian Internet guru Michael Strangelove for his advice on what we
were doing right...and wrong. It helped! 
  
 
3. McLuhan Comm. Theory looks at the  Net 
 
"Violence is the Hidden Icon of the Internet" 
 
(Work done by Nelson Thall, Dir. of Research. The word "man" is used in the
sense of "mankind," and does not relate to a single sex) 
 
The Internet creates a world-wide synesthesia attributable to instantaneous
diverse media transmission on a global basis. This in turn erodes human
ability to decode in "real time," and retrieves, in the language of McLuhan
Tetrad Analysis, a "virtual" Tower of Babel. Reporters who have done
stories on the degeneration of written speech over the  Net have noticed
this already. Many of the discussion groups on the  Net are in real danger
of becoming "much ado about nothing." Individuals desperate for a locus of
self-expression (and kept from their goal by the invisible effects on
society of unbridled technological change) are finally achieving some form
of expression -- but at what cost? Information is fragmented and murky at
best, unfocused, untimely and unwanted at worst. It is the English language
that suffers most, however. This suffering is itself a form of violence,
one of many, and, as we explain below, violence is unquestionably the
unrecognized Icon of the  Net!  
 
The Internet is the systematic linking and imploding of all computers into
one network. McLuhan theory has repeatedly pointed out that the very names
we use to describe technologies often contain clues about those
technologies on a hidden or "below ground" (gestalt) level. We suggest that
the term "Internet" refers to Inter- KiNETic.  
 
In order to stave off the execution of our individual selves, the
progressive whittling-away of our identities under the influence of
unbridled technology at the curtain-call of this century (and indeed of
this millennium,) we turn to the Internet. The Internet prevents us from
losing our Identity because it retrieves the private autonomous space of
individuality. The Internet enhances our individual identities by involving
us in an exchange (kinetic) that provides a world-view much as the early
navigational compasses did, thereby restoring the trappings of identity and
self-worth. (But only the trappings!) 
 
Kinetic space is the space created by the speedup of our electronic
technologies when we force old computer systems and technologies to implode
upon each other. This is the "kinetic effect" that is "retrieved" (again
using the language of McLuhan's Tetrad Management Theory) by the speed-up
of electric technology. It is culturally visible in subtle ways -- such as
our recent preference for the "sport" of wrestling, as well as an obvious
bias towards other body-contact sports. As we collectively implode upon
each other   back and forth  into the same space -- we become involved in a
form of computer isometrics, the pushing and pulling of our computer
muscles against each other. These are the isometric-kinetic effects of the
Internet at first blush.  
 
Marshall McLuhan pointed out that the effect on our sensory biases of the
discontinuous TV mosaic "mesh" was to stress the senses of tactility and
kinetics. Electronic man, trapped within an arena of simultaneous
information, finds himself increasingly excluded from the older, more
traditional (visual) worlds in which space and reason seemed to be uniform,
connected, and stable. Man now discovers himself habitually caught within
information structures which are simultaneous (tactile), discontinuous
(audile), and dynamic (kinetic). He has been plunged into a new form of
"knowing," far removed from the familiar printed page. Knowledge itself is
being recast and retrieved in "acoustic" form. Much of the confusion of our
present age stems intrinsically from the divergent experience of literate
man, on the one hand, and his new surround-sound of simultaneous (or
acoustic) knowledge on the other. Mankind is torn between the competing
claims of visual and kinesthetic/tactile cultures or structures. Visual
culture is fragmented; tactile culture is integrated. In the West,
electronic technology displaces visual space and retrieves kinetic space in
a new form, as the ground (gestalt) now includes the detritus of alphabetic
civilization.  
 
For example, in every tongue there is a phrase that indicates the feeling
of complete knowledge or mastery while at the same time indicating the
sensory bias of the culture. The English say "I know it like the back of my
hand" (visual). The French say "I know it, je le sais au fond"
(auditory-resonant). The Americans say, "I know it inside out" (kinetic).  
 
The total sensory involvement of visual, auditory, tactile and kinetic
components is always 100%, but the relative importance of the components
will vary from one experience to another. One of the major aspects of the
TV image is that is uses the eye as an ear, so to say, since it is a
resonating kinetic-tactile form of innumerable gaps that have to be filled
in by the viewer. In watching television, our eyes function like our ears.
They never see a picture, just as our ears never hear a word. The eye
receives a few dots of light during each successive millisecond, and sends
these impulses to the brain. It is this open-mesh image that is so entirely
involving, even to the point of occasionally inducing a semi-hypnotic
trance. 
 
The Internet is 'Generation X's' attempt to find its identity by creating
electro-kiNETic space. It is also a new form of intellectual violence as a
quest for identity. As stated above, violence is the hidden icon of the 
Net. It is no coincidence that the Internet was originally fostered by the
military, and then abandoned as its native technology (hard-wires) became
obsolete. As an ex-military technology, it still retains a flavor of
militaristic violence. Messages are "fired off" to one another. Postings
are "killed." Unpopular recruits are "flamed." "Knowbots" and "gobots" do
our bidding. Lists are "blitzed," "spammed," and "targeted." Espionage is
rampant -- enquiries are "cloaked," savvy users use multiple "aliases."
Passwords multiply and reproduce amongst themselves. Take two -- they re
free! Postmasters erect "safeguards" around their mail-lists. An entire
domain (Internet "master address") is dedicated is allowing "anonymity."
Counter-espionage operations abound, using "search and destroy" software
such as Cancelmoose (TM), designed and used to offset unwelcome "overly
aggressive marketing campaigns." The most noble aspiration Internet users
have come up with (so far) is to achieve an unbreakable "encryption
system." In terms of Communication theory, the Internet is a major military
operation by Mass Man to retrieve the private image and the private
identity which computers and data banks have taken away. When our identity
is in danger, we unconsciously conclude that we have a mandate for war. The
Net doesn t need Bill Gates, it needs Wyatt Earp. (Though in all likelihood
it will GET Bill Gates!)  
 
The Internet is also a locus of pure information, and, as McLuhan noted,
when pure information is forced to brush up against pure information, the
results are violent and chaotic. The Internet is a tough town. Women,
children and small animals move out of the way when it walks by.  
 
4. Specific Projections for the Net: 
 
*1. The Internet died "yesterday" and no one was present at the funeral,
much like no one was present at its birth. At the speed of light even
potent new technologies have a very short shelf-life. In 1995, the
marketers of the world have unholstered their formidable weapons and drawn
a bead on the Net. The "once proud and free" Net must now yield to the
collective pressure of corporate marketers determined to demonstrate
"virtual testosterone." Henceforth (by the middle of 95 we say) all new
commercial communication products will "include" access to the Net, thereby
undermining the Net and somehow implying that the parts are now greater
than the whole. This is again violence   violence to logic and common
sense. Of course, this premise is flawed, but the marketers have had more
practice at circulating disinformation than consumers have had uncovering
the truth. 
 
*2. The Net will be held captive like an animal in a zoo, the first of its
kind, a genetic marvel, ultimately forced to mate with other animals so
that the zookeepers can repopulate the jungle in their own image. Expect to
see Net access via cable TV "hardwire" and wireless communication gateways
of all sorts. One day Net access may be included free when you renew your
subscription to GUNS  N AMMO. Net providers should stock up on ulcer
medications -- as new forms of access are offered, prices for basic service
will drop and drop and drop. And drop. 
 
*3. Web pages will reach a peak of popularity then crash & burn. Users will
be unable to suppress a racial memory of a time when computers were
supposed to make information easier to access, not simply fancier.
Hypertext links will ultimately be perceived as only indicative of the
programmer s intrinsic failure to properly arrange information. The more
links you have to travel, you more unhappy you will ultimately be.  
 
*4. Corporate america already has data telling them that the  Net is an
adjunct to other forms of marketing, not a replacement for it. Some refuse
to believe this, having already become victims of Net hype. Those that
"rush in" will get to play the end-game usually reserved for fools,
monopolies, and, of course, governments. 
 
*5. While it has been correctly pointed out that the Net is like the Wild
West, lacking laws, rules, and rest rooms, it is often overlooked that
while the established media cannot (yet) control what is ON the  Net, they
can ultimately control information ABOUT the  Net. The medium is the
message, not the message -- control the medium and you control the content.
The "urban myth" of the 17-year-old who establishes a Web page after he
finishes his homework, and then "takes on" IBM  in the realm of Cyberspace,
where "all electrons are created equal," has only a few more months to play
itself out.   
 
*6. The movie "Dances With Lawyers" is coming to the Net as entrepreneurs
experiment with local gateways to bypass the efficient but expensive phone
hardlines. If, for example, you wanted to send a fax to Melbourne
Australia, how would you feel about using an Internet connection to a local
gateway in Melbourne? No long distance! This same technology is already in
place to provide no-charge LD voice (digitized) and even real-time
pictures! Who will they get to play Lance Ito when the subpoenas are
finally handed out? 
 
5. Interview With Nelson Thall, Dir. Of McLuhan Research 
 
 
PROJ McL: McLuhan in the seventies "probed" (predicted) the current
increase in violence of all kinds. Correct? 
 
THALL: Violence is a characteristic of people who are searching for
identity. When people have lost their identities they become violent.
People who know who they are and are sure of themselves are never violent.
It's the very unsure, the uncertain, the people who have lost their
identity through some massive technological change. These are the violent
ones. When you go out to the frontier you are a nobody. When man goes out
on the frontier he is a nobody. He has lost his identity. He has become
tough. Not in order to "show" who he is but to "find out" who he is. He
simply doesn't know who he is anymore. When you're back "home" you have
recognizable characteristics that gives you a niche. But on the frontier
you're a nobody, you become tough, violent both physically and verbally
(i.e. use slang, teasing, to feel important.) Today the dropout is a person
who has lost his identity and that term includes those who have dropped out
of life as well as the educational system. One of McLuhan s books was
entirely devoted to the idea that in a hi-tech world, life was the
classroom! Violence also means to cross boundaries. "Viole" in French means
to hop over boundaries. "To go beyond yourself." All forms of violence
represent an invasion of some other territory -- not "your" territory.
Going into the other person's territory is itself "violent". Even by using
a cuss word you are endangering and invading someone else's "decorum."
Every "four letter word" is an invasion of somebody. As we said before, in
the extreme, murder is simply a form of violence which, in a society
battered by technology, determines accurately whether or not you (people)
are real. "Murder is an attempt to see if people are real". Even the
Internet, so-called Cyberspace,  is a very violent place! (ED: see above) 
 
PROJ McL: If "advertising is the garment of abundance," as McLuhan said,
what will consumers "wear" in the post-affluent society? Is it correct that
McLuhan in the seventies foresaw both the yuppies and their decline in the
80 s? And, if so, what is the next step likely to be? 
 
THALL: McLuhan has been quoted with the statement that the age of affluence
"officially" ended with the presidency of Jimmy Carter. It just took the
rest of us a while to agree with him! In the post-affluent society
advertising will tend more and more to become "News". When you are selling
needs, not wants, the information needed to achieve those needs becomes
critical. The best advertising of the next decade, the next millennium,
will inform. Period. To an extent, the computer market already reflects
this   here, the magazine readers spend more time digesting the ads than
the stories! Ask them! 
 
PROJ McL:  On the other hand, McLuhan also said that any ad which makes the
consumer "too" aware of the content is self-defeating, i.e., that it is the
nature of advertising to be most effective on the subconscious, not the
conscious. Why? 
 
THALL: Nothing kills the power of an Ad like paying attention to it.
Properly constructed and focused, the Ad is "socially opaque". Its internal
dimensions are concealed. It is precisely contrived to hit just below the
level of critical or conscious attention and resistance. It is only on the
conscious level that the mind differentiates and brings to bear critical
judgment   the last thing any advertiser wishes his product to be exposed
to! We at the Center are working on a "McLuhan Index" to project, in
advance, how effective a given ad might be. The index will measure how
close an ad message come to consciousness -- without giving itself away. 
 
PROJ McL: What is the most disturbing overall trend in advertising these
days? 
 
THALL: That's easy -- "no one at the switch" syndrome. In their scramble
for instant profits, the clients are switching agencies like you and I
switch socks. This leads to a total lack of continuity from campaign to
campaign. You end up with commercial messages that stand for nothing in
particular. Advertisers may think that consumers are not aware of this, but
they are sorely wrong. The brands that emerge from this "clutter," that
form a strong identity and image, will do best overall. For a short time it
seemed that brand equity was dead and gone. Now it s bigger than ever. In
this harsh technological landscape, consumers will flock to a friendly
familiar face! Do you think it is coincidence that today every advertiser
wants to offer the customer a "home page" on the web? 
 
PROJ McL: What do you see as the future of the ad business?  
 
THALL: Consider the domestic car companies in the 70's. They were competing
mightily   with themselves! It was understood that a customer dissatisfied
with GM would buy from Ford, or perhaps even from Chrysler. Names like
Honda, Toyota and Nissan were unknown. The industry was obsessed   with
itself! The ad industry is now back in the same unhappy situation. The
competition in the ad biz involves new technologies and new providers that
did exist until recently. And what the established players don't know about
"the competition" is going to kill them! 
 
PROJ McL: In recent interviews with the press, you have referred to the
"Internet Conundrum." What is it? 
 
THALL: During the primary hi-growth stage of the Cyberspace, the stage we
are in now, enterprises that have been the least efficient with
information, the least "ecological" if you like, will experience the
greatest benefits. Take a  major magazine like Time. They see the Internet
as a wonderful way to unload the "information surplus" that is acquired
when a magazine goes to press, a surplus which is not often reflected in
their final product. The portion of an interview that is never used, for
example. Some would argue that the simple existence of such information
suggests an economic or ecological inefficiency. However, at this point, to
Time, this is a windfall! It is placed on the store-shelf of the Net! We
should all be so lucky!  
 
PROJ McL: Is that why you have said that much of the information currently
on the Internet is of extremely low quality? 
 
THALL: Of course. Quality is relative. You need hi-quality information to
distinguish the lesser stuff. You need black to "see" white. This year it
just isn't there. Years from now, as the market adjusts, this will be much
easier to perceive. 
 
PROJ McL: And does this dearth of hi-quality information explain your prior
comment that individuals like Bill Gates are buying up the rights to
"morning dew?" 
 
THALL: Yes. Even if you have infinite funds and infinite ambition, there
really is not a lot of quality pre-packaged information to choose from. At
this point. As the marginal cost of producing and distributing  hi-quality
information drops -- because of Cyberspace -- that will change
dramatically. Two years from now the entire notion of Cyberspace will be
entirely different, as will its contents.  
 
 
6. Marshall Arts Contest 1995   The electronic Internet-wide Marshall
McLuhan Scholastic Quiz. 
 
Up to 100 possible winners -- those whose entries are selected and who
answer all questions correctly -- will receive a copy of the
privately-produced 1994 Marshall McLuhan CD disk "THE MEDIUM  IS THE
MESSAGE," featuring extracts of actual lectures and seminars given by the
late media guru.  
 
These are the 5 questions that must be completely (but succinctly)
answered: 
 
*1. In the latter portion of his career, Dr. McLuhan published his model of
"tetrad management" as a working synthesis of his prior theories. Did Dr.
McLuhan ever develop a tetrad on the topic of "rivers" as a transportation
medium? If so, where and when? 
 
*2. Is Marshall McLuhan named in James Joyce s "Finnegans Wake"? If so,
where? 
 
*3. Which term did McLuhan first coin -- "global village" or "global
theatre"? When is the specific origin of the remaining term? 
 
*4. According to McLuhan himself, and frequently revealed to his students
in his lectures, when starting any book for the first time, he always
turned first to which specific pages? 
 
*5. The "true" content of any medium is always what? 
 
 
Contest Rules   "Marshall Arts" Contest 1995 
 
1. This contest is sponsored by "Project McLuhan," and co-ordinated by the
Center For Media Sciences, McLuhan Studies Division. The Center For Media
Sciences is a non-profit and charitable body registered in Ontario, Canada.
It is presented in co-operation with the Marshall McLuhan Center For Global
Communications, also a non-profit charitable body registered in both the US
and Canada.  Prizes donated by Time Again Productions. 
2. Void where prohibited by law. In certain jurisdictions winners may be
required by law to answer an additional skill-testing question. No purchase
necessary. 
3. Entry by employees, consultants, associates, volunteers or family of The
Marshall McLuhan Center For Global Communications, or The Center For Media
Sciences, is prohibited. 
4. All entries must be submitted by email to Internet address
"mclr@inforamp.net" by no later than 12/30/95. Internet subject header must
specifically read "Marshall Arts Contest Entry". Body of message must
specify the name, postal address, and phone number of the sender, as well
as a valid return Internet email address (not "BITNET"). Answers should be
concise. Only one entry per  return Internet address is allowed. 
5. In the event of prize availability problems, cash equivalent may be
given. 
6. Addressee is not responsible for problems of electronic transmission,
phone access, or data storage resulting from any cause whatsoever.  
7. Any entrant who violates any of the rules may be permanently barred from
the event. The decision of the judges is final.  
8. For a list of winners, send an email to the address given after Dec. 31,
1995. The subject header must read "Contest Winner List Request".  
9.  One hundred entries will be picked at random after the contest closes.
Of these, all those with the correct answers will be sent by registered
mail a copy of the 1994 CD disk MARSHALL McLUHAN -- THE MEDIUM  IS THE
MESSAGE.  
 
7. Archive Site Announced! 
 
Our web page cum-archive site is in "test" mode. But try it out at
http://www.vyne.com/McLuhan/. Many thanks to Alan Hall and the people at
Quadnet for making this happen! 
 
 
8. Proj McL Boilerplate (repeats each posting) 
 
"Even mud gives the illusion of depth" -- MARSHALL McLUHAN 
 
Copyright is waived on all material as long as credit is given. YOU MAY
REPOST! 
 
You have contacted the Project McLuhan Elist ("McLuhan-List") established
in 1995 by the Center For Media Sciences, McLuhan Research Division, and
the kind co-operation of the Marshall McLuhan Center for Global
Communications, both non-profit bodies with offices in Toronto Canada.     

 
"Project McLuhan" is the result of over a decade of work and preparation to
update and revitalize the work of the late Dr. Marshall McLuhan; to develop
insights and projections involving the interface between culture and
technology for the 1990's -- and beyond. Our resources include the top
McLuhan scholars on the planet, as well as the original McLuhan Archives.
Nelson Thall, former McLuhan archivist for the University of Toronto, is
Director of McLuhan Research For the Center For Media Sciences and
president of the Marshall McLuhan Center For Global Communications. 
 
This is a moderated low-traffic list, with (on average) 1.5 postings a
month. Maybe less. We will undertake to release new material especially for
this list as well as older material provided it was not originally prepared
for private clients. Special emphasis will be paid to marketing,
advertising, communication theory, the effects of unbridled technology on
culture, alternative media, and the use of humour as a focus for social
grievance.  
 
Members of the press please note all our resources are fully available on
the Profnet and Quadnet media support systems.   
 
Please note also that while the public or Internet portion of work mirrors
our private work, it is not a complete reflection of it -- information on
our special programs and  services for corporate or organizational clients,
such as our newsletter The McLuhan Analyst(TM),  as well as the work being
done on The McLuhan Index (TM) (a predictive tool for the ad industry), and
our Advertiser Advocacy Program for corporate marketers,  is available by
sending a fax request on corporate letterhead to 905-764-2669.             
                                 
 
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