Digital Media Artifact: Skype
In today’s technology seeped society we are constantly
looking for more ways to remain connected with people, especially over long
distances. ‘Snail mail’ just doesn’t cut it for most people anymore. We want
instant contact, moment-by-moment updates, and immediate responses. The most widely
used medium for such interaction is the internet. We utilize social networks
such as facebook and twitter to easily get in touch with our loved ones and
have a sense of involvement in their everyday lives. Another such means of
communication is the service Skype. First created in 2003 by Niklas Zennstrom
and Janus Friis, and now owned by Microsoft, this application software allows
users to make phone calls to both mobile phones and landlines, share files –
such as text documents, videos, and pictures - hold videoconferences, send
instant messages and texts, forward or transfer calls, in addition to a variety
of other useful features. Calls and messages between skype users are free, but
features beyond that require various fees with options to pay as you go,
subscribe, or buy the premium package and pay a reasonable monthly fee. (Skype Official Website)
Anyone with
computer and internet access can utilize Skype with relative ease. You can even
forward calls to your phone when you’re out and about without your computer.
Skype is especially great for avid travelers or college students, to help them
keep in touch with people back home – I’m sure the parents love it even more
than we do. I find it fascinating that maintaining some form of instantaneous
contact has become so nearly effortless in our day and age. However, there is
no adequate substitute for real human interaction. Even so, Skype allows people
to keep in touch and up to date with one another in a way that, not too long
ago, was impossible.
Manovich
stated that new media had to meet certain criteria, such as numerical
representation, transcoding, and modularity (p 20). When making a call using
Skype, we begin with an analog voice stream that is picked up by a microphone.
This is then transcoded into a digital format and broken into pieces that will
be sent through the network and put back together on the other side of the call
(Neagu).
During a
videoconference, Skype users can have face-to-face as well as audio
communication. However, are these not merely digitized versions of real,
physical interaction? A simulation? Users are only seeing and hearing representations of their contacts, yet
they accept and treat it as entirely real, thus making it a reality
(Baudrillard).
“All media
are extensions of some human faculty – psychic or physical. The wheel…is an
extension of the foot” (McLuhan pp.26,31,32). We can see this concept played
out in the case of Skype as well. Visuals such as video, documents, pictures and
messages received would be an extension of the eye. Speaking audibly over a
phone call or sending a text message would be considered extensions of the
voice. Hearing audio stream would be an extension of the ear.
Digital
media technology has redefined how we interact with our world. Programs such as
Skype give us the ability to reach across long distances to loved ones. Though
we may be but simulations to one another from a digital standpoint, the
thoughts expressed and the emotions felt are still very much human and very
much real; and I am grateful to live in an era in which this kind of
communication is readily accessible.
Sources:
Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulations.
Manovich, Lev. "Chapter 1 What is new media?"
McLuhan, Marshall. The Medium is the Massage.
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