Media Technology - Communication Boon! (A Summary of 4 Technologies - Part 4 of 4)

Telephone Media Technology

While the development of the telephone is, in my opinion, perhaps one with the greatest impact on interpersonal communications, I would not say it is the greatest achievement in media technology. The telephone came about by the need for people to communicate faster and more efficiently. Telephone technology is basically “an instrument which converts sound to electrical impulses of various frequencies, and then back to a tone that sounds like the original voice” (Henderson, n.d.). Telephone technology has developed from units dependent on being linked to each other through miles of cable (i.e. “land lines) and routed through switchboards, to wireless cellular phones dependent on tower receiving and transmitting. There are still applications for land lines and satellite phone services, particularly for business and facsimilie use, however the biggest growth has been in the cell phone market. Telephones have evolved from numbered rotary dials to push buttons, then on to digital touch screens. Today, one’s “smart phone” has replaced numerous gadgets as it has the ability to be not only a phone, but a personal computer, navigator, calculator, alarm clock, encyclopedia research tool, and still photo and movie camera with editing capability, to name just a few applications. Games can be played on phones, often over the internet against other players. Communication with others is not limited to voice interaction, but now people can see each other through real-time video, or they can text (type) in messages to each other and send video or photo files to each other through their phone. Movies can be watched on “smart phones” as well as created. The possibilities seem endless. That said, advertisers have found ways to promote their products through telephone media technology, and it is extremely effective.

Media Technology - Communications Boon! (A Summary of 4 Technologies - Part 3 of 4)

Television Media Technology

          Television media technology has gone through a similar beginning and evolution to radio, albeit a later invention – 1927 (Stephens, n.d.) where moving pictures were coded onto radio waves and then transformed back into pictures. Early broadcasts in the 30s and 40s included news and sporting events, addresses by the President, advertising, and entertainment pieces. Television technology was not as quick, or as easy, to develop as radio technology, and it also had to contend with competition by radio networks. Entertainment programs which incorporated product placement advertising and “plugs” were very popular, as was children’s programming. Advertisers had contracts as sponsors of many of these programs, while in today’s television media there may be product placements in some programming, but advertisers pay handsomely for 15-30 second commercial spots during the hours best suited to their market niche. Entertainment shows have always been popular, as have documentary and news segments. Advertisers have enjoyed having a medium by which they can “enter people’s homes” to promote their products in both a visual and audio format. Television media technology developed to include digital and online formatting where program can be streamed live via satellite internet feeds. The variety and choice of programming is mindboggling. There are still networks which broadcast in traditional ways (through towers by which a television set may pick up a signal through its antenna), but people have options to receive television transmissions via cable, satellite dish, and internet receiver, to name a few.

Media Technology - Communications Boon! (A Summary of 4 Technologies - Part 2 of 4)

Radio Media Technology

          Radio technology originated as the sending of information via electromagnetic energy (i.e. waves) of radio frequency, such as sound. From receiving tubes and analog reception to modern digital formats, radio media technology has evolved and has even added a satellite component. Where radio was once confined to a portable hand crank device or plug-in box speaker with tuning apparatus, it can now be heard beyond the range of radio towers, provided one has an internet connection and a device on which to hear it. The uses of this technology have been diverse through the years, covering such genres as news, education, entertainment, politics, and advertising, to name a few. Again, it was predicted that, with new internet technology, radio technology would fall by the wayside. That has not happened. In fact, total radio listening hours per week have remained stable compared to even five years ago (May, 2013) and many listen to radio through the internet on their computers with providers such as Pandora or Internet Media (radio) player, or through radio “podcasts.”. Satellite radio broadcasters, such as Sirius and XM offer a wide range of subscriber channels along with reception units for vehicles and home use. Radio media technology reaches approximately 92% of consumers aged 12 years or older each week (May, 2013), with digital revenue accounting for approximately 8% of the industry’s total revenue. This seems to indicate that digital revenue will continue to expand, but traditional radio is still a viable and valuable technology.