Running head: MEDIA ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY

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Media Ecology and Technology
Robert Cupach
Kent State University

MEDIA ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY

The business world as we know it is advancing at an extremely rapid rate. Technology

and media has started to change the way people think and work. The media and technology
people are exposed to have started to really take an impact on the goods and services people
consume. The mass amount of media exposure can really make or break a company, and the
technology they may possess might be outdated and old dead technology.
So what is media ecology exactly? Media ecology is the study of media environments,
the idea that technology and techniques, modes of information and codes of communication play
a leading role in human affairs (Media Ecology). A simpler way to put this theory is that media
and technology impacts human beings on a daily basis. There is no going back at this point.
Technology and the media are here to stay and are only growing.
Media ecology has gone through multiple transformations over time. Marshall McLuhan
is the man who really built the foundation of the media ecology theory (Griffin). Marshall
McLuhan first started to develop the theory in 1964. As he developed his findings, there were
many others who supported his theory and tried to help him develop it. McLuhan credits three
inventions that really changed the world. These are the phonetic alphabet, printing press, and the
telegraph (Griffin). The three inventions made it possible to produce news and information in lot
faster and larger rates. There are also four basic eras, or epochs as McLuhan called them, that
media ecology can be broken into. These eras are the tribal era, literate era, print era, and
electronic era.

MEDIA ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY

The Tribal era is obviously the first and the most primitive. This era consisted of all oral
history and traditions which means that there was no writing produced or actual written records
of what is said or done. It was a period in time when it was said the ear was the dominant organ
(Griffin). Hearing was much more important and valuable to a person than seeing. A person
needed to be aware of their surroundings. The speed of sound is about 343 m/s and since
everybody hears at the same time, information seemed more immediate (Sound).
The second era described in media ecology was the Literate era. This era could also call
the visual era because people started to really rely on their eyes as a source of gathering
information. If a person missed the information the first time, they could now go back and
reread the information instead of having to listen to it. This era also marked the start of the
phonetic alphabet and hand copied books (Griffin). Information could now be gathered more on
an individual level than a group level. At this time however, reading was still reserved for the
higher class people and people of religious power.
The third era of media ecology was the print era. This era marked the start of the printing
press and movable type (Griffin). This made it easier for mass amounts of information to spread
and new and improved rates. Books began to really take off and libraries began to develop for
these books. Reading and writing was now an open activity to all people not just the higher class
of people. Because of the large amounts of new books being produced, tons of information was
being spread across the world and rapid rates to the people around during this era.

MEDIA ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY

The last era of media ecology theory is the electronic age. This era became big with
computerized communication. Information is now at the peoples fingertips. Spreading
something at a fast pace took a whole new meaning. Instantly people can now receive
information. The global village, a world connected through technology and the internet, is a
term used by Marshall McLuhan to describe what he thought of this new era.
Media ecology has started to deeply impact people and the way they effectively work at
their jobs. One of the biggest impacts media ecology has at my place of work is how people
have now began to be trained. I am an employee at McDonalds and have been for a few years.
When I first started I would have a member of the crew teach us any new information or
specials we may have. It was entirely oral conversation with maybe a little bit of demonstration
from the other worker.
This method I just described is now pretty primitive to what there is now. Crew member
are now trained on a computer with demonstrations done with proper procedures and codes. The
crew member must log in online to make sure that it shows the employee has actually viewed the
video. New employees are now entirely trained online and on a computer. With new
technologies such as Ipods and Ipads, training can now be done outside of the workplace but still
with the login name. When employees are training, a completion percentage is shown so that a
new employee can gauge how they are doing on their training.

MEDIA ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY

Another example of media ecology at McDonalds is the amount of mass advertising they
can do with these new technologies. When a new sandwich or deal comes out, it is marketed and
advertised on billboards, television commercials, radio advertisements, and various other ways.
The media exposure helps the company grow daily. The extremely large amount of media
surrounding McDonalds has molded the company into a worldwide corporation.
Neil Postman also has a very interesting take on media ecology. He says we put the
word media in the front of the word ecology to suggest that we were not simply interested in
media, but in the ways in which the interaction between media and human beings give a culture
its character and, one might say, help a culture to maintain symbolic balance (Postman).
Postman does not believe that humans are completely engulfed in the media, however it is hard
to avoid at times. He also agrees with what McLuhan said about the inventions of the printing
press and movable type. The invention of the moveable type probably never expected to
eventually evolve into the internet. The internet is due all praise that it is given (Postman).
Social media in todays workplace is also a very key component of media ecology. With
the way social media is in society, it is sometimes difficult to avoid conflicts among co-workers
on social media. Good governance and decision-making in other parts of the business spill-over
into Facebook, Tweets, and Connections (Digital). The business world and workplace needs to
be avoided by certain social media cite. There is however certain cite, such as Linkedin that are
available for strictly business purposes (Digital). Linkedin is almost like the Facebook of the

MEDIA ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY

business world and it allows employers to see information about a current or future employee.
Social media can be a very useful tool in the workplace but also dangerous too.
Media ecology is rapidly growing into an important part of the workplace and business
world. The rapid growth of technology is changing the way people work and the media is
changing the way people perceive certain products or ideas. To close I found a quote by
McLuhan that I thought was interesting. He said, The medium is the message. It means the
media affects and changes peoples opinions and society. The new age of business is coming and
media ecology is a theory that will be used more often.

MEDIA ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY

References
"Digital Workplace Group." Digital Workplace Group. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Griffin, Em. A First Look at Communication Theory / Em Griffin. New York: McGraw-Hill, 3)
Postamn, Neil. "The Humanism of Media Ecology." Proceedings of the Media Ecology
Association 1.2000 (2000): n. pag. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.Print.
"The Speed of Sound." The Speed of Sound. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
"What Is Media Ecology?" What Is Media Ecology? N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.