Today in the world of new media, user experience is more
worthy than the medium is. Like I considered twitter a more reliable source
than Facebook, if I saw a news on the both mediums, I personally prefer twitter
because it is my experience that leads me to prefer twitter over Facebook.
Although the news on both is same and credible, I will prefer Twitter.
Not only user experience matters, sometimes the medium also
required. For example, in twitter the medium is the message of urgency. The
logistics of twitter are unique. Users are only allowed to use 140 characters
and the medium requires captivating messages in order to draw attention to
readers. As a medium of communication, Twitter is meant to captivate and tap
into our short-term attention spans. It is targeting those individuals who are
too busy to read an entire article, blog or the newspaper. Readers are given
small bits of information with the option to click on a link to read further.
Many people are constantly on the move and need the information quick and
simple.
Another example of LinkedIn, LinkedIn as a medium is used
for business related purposes. For example, promoting a cocktail party would
certainly not be marketed using LinkedIn as a medium to reach your audience. It
is does not matter what we say over LinkedIn as marketers, it is that we are using
LinkedIn to reach a specific audience. On LinkedIn, the medium is the message
of professionalism.
Other example, Websites are another medium most commonly
used by marketers to reach their audience. Marketers use a company’s website to
promote products/services and connect them with the needs of their customers.
Again, it is not the website content that matters, but the medium of the
website itself. Unlike Twitter and LinkedIn, there are no restrictions on the
length of content. Websites can also represent any level of professionalism.
Regardless of what content is used on a website, the websites themselves –
along with blogs – are used as interactive web pages of a company, allowing the
visitors to take a guided tour of what a company represents and provides. On
websites, the medium is the message of presenting the details of your company
to your audience.
Many marketers may interpret McLuhan’s the medium is the
message argument to state that the message is irrelevant altogether; this is
ultimately not the case. What marketers should take from McLuhan’s theory is
that the medium they use is the message they are sending to their customers.
Knowing that Twitter will convey a different message than Linkedin and that
both will convey a different message than a website is ultimately what McLuhan
was reasoning. As a marketer, know your audience and research the best medium
or media in order to reach them. After all, whatever medium you choose will be
the message.
Apart from Medium is the message, who’s saying it is more
important. For example, I watch Shahzeb Khanzada Show and Shahzeb khanzada acts
as an opinion leader to me. If shahzeb would say anything I would believe his
words, despite of which medium he uses.
There is another theory which tells that message is everything,
but I disagree with this theory not always the message matters, it’s the
medium. Most people prefer medium over message. For example, for some people Geo
TV credibility is high for them than ARY. If both channels air news of a blast,
people would believe news that air by GEO, no matter the news (message) is
accurate by both mediums.
In the end it’s only the person’s own perception that
matters. No matter what medium, message person sees.
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