When Isn’t Media Just Another “Fish” Story?
Enrico
Second-guessing what I’ve just eaten has become second nature. You, too? Usually that uneasy feeling stems from concerns about the source of the food or how it was processed. Rarely do I wonder if the actual name of the food I’ve eaten is somehow a sham. I mean, isn’t a tomato just a tomato? Lettuce lettuce? Hamburger, um, hamburger? And, for our concerns on this blog, when isn’t media media?
The importance of naming, and perhaps the limits of language, is one of the eye-opening points in an excellent article by Paul Greenberg on global aquaculture and the catfish market. When does “catfish” become so unclassifiable that we must resort to calling it, simply,”fish”?
The uneasy feeling and the second-guessing it induces is par for the course in media, too. So, how do we know when the latest news fillet isn’t just a fish story? Luckily we have people like Paul on the fish side, and watchdog groups like Media Matters for America on the news side. Then there is all of us, MediaRights.org folk and others who make media on their own, keeping the idea of an independent media alive.
Late entry: I came across this interesting use of text-messaging today, a convergence of fish facts and media. The Blue Ocean Institute has developed something they call FishPhone. Simply text 30644 with the word “fish” and then the species you are curious about. They use a coded system that relates to their own guide, but the response is virtually immediate. Is there a way this could apply to media?
Comments
Hi Enrico,
Thanks for writing about the fish phone. I work for Mobile Commons, the company that powers the technology behind the fish phone.
There are a lot of ways that text messaging can work with media. One quick example is including a call to action at the end of a documentary - “Text EARTH to 30644”. You can build a list of supporters and initiate calls to congress or do many different things.
I’d love to brainstorm, and tell you more about our technology. Here is our site - mcommons.com. My email is michael@ the above site.
Best,
Mike
Posted on October 14, 2008 10:23 AM by Michael Sabat