Now, before I completely confuse myself by repeating that conglomeration of words a million times in an effort to better understand, let me just get my first thoughts onto paper - yes, the medium is the message - at least part of the message.
Alright, now that I have that statement in front of me to keep me on track I can continue on with where I am going with this.
Medium: the channel which the message is shared through.
Message: the bit of information that you are wanting to share.
With the value placed on appearance nowadays it is easy for me to say that the medium has become part of the message lately. For most technology users the device which they carry around with them isn't just a device, but rather it is a statement about who they are.
Not only does the device being used to share the message send a subtle message, but also the media platform that is used to share the message. Whether it is a blog, Facebook post, picture on Instagram, tweet, a pin on Pinterest or an update to your story on Snapchat it all says something about you.
A blog implies you like to hash out your ideas, share the full story and really enlighten people about how you feel. A tweet implies you just want to keep people up to date about your life, but without all of the juicy details. An Instagram post implies that your experience may have been better than words can describe and that simply writing a paragraph about it on Facebook just won't do the experience justice. Obviously these are all implications and maybe even stereotypes, but it's what a lot of people think about when they look at the platform a message is shared on.
As I wrote this I started to think about the message that my mediums and platforms send. I'm typing a blog post on my MacBook pro while my iPhone sits on the table next to me open to Instagram, but at the same time I have both a Facebook and Twitter tab minimized on my computer. I guess I'm a conglomeration of mediums and platforms, which allows me to personalize each of the messages I send based on the platforms I share it on. I haven't decided yet what my MacBook and iPhone say about me - probably either that I'm a stuck-up, snobby, rich girl -OR- a nerdy girl that values knowledge and learning over spending money on fancy new clothes. I'm hoping the latter, but I can't force people to see me a certain way - their perceptions of me are decided by them.
