The attractions of lo-fi technology
Most writers of science fiction have foreseen human communication becoming more sophisticated and realistic. Brave New World has the feelies; 1984 has telescreens; every spaceship seems to have a colossal video wall on which the Emperor Zorquon can appear in Dolby surround sound to threaten the crew with unspeakable things. But more interesting than the media everybody predicted are those nobody did: the text message, twitter.com, the Facebook status update, YouTube. All these are the opposite of the High-Definition experience. They are low-bandwidth, low-effort media — what Malcolm McLaren calls Lo-Fi. And that’s precisely why people like them — for they combine low demands of the message creator with low expectations in the recipient.
More articles from: Rory Sutherland | this section
Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
Advertisement
Rod Liddle says that metropolitan liberal ideology is too deeply ingrained in local councils, social services and the judiciary to be overturned by one panic measure driven by Labour’s sudden fear of the BNP
Cass Sunstein — co-author of the hugely influential Nudge and an adviser to President Obama — unveils his new theory of ‘group polarisation’, and explains why, when like-minded people spend time with each other, their views become not only more confident but more extreme
The acclaimed web theorist, Mark Earls, says that the death of Michael Jackson unleashed the extremes of collective action: mass mourning and sick jokes
In the first of an occasional series of interviews over meals, Deborah Ross talks to Dominic West about The Wire and the challenge to an Old Etonian of playing an American cop
My defining memory of Michael Jackson — vulnerable, brilliant, otherworldly — is of watching him dance to the soundtrack of a movie.
John Kampfner unveils the ignominious truth about Sir John Chilcot’s Iraq inquiry and reveals Peter Mandelson’s demand, when Brown’s future hung in the balance in early June, that the hearings be held in private. Even now Mandelson’s priority is to protect Brand Blair
The big story of the European elections was the failure of the Lib Dems, says Ross Clark. Aspiring young politicians should sign up to Labour now with a view to running the country
Signs of good hope at the Cape
Andrew Gimson says that David Cameron and George Osborne should prepare themselves for competition. The Mayor of London might well have his eyes on the ultimate prize.
It’s dawning on me that the Prime Minister can’t listen to criticism.
IF YOU ARE PLANNING A CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION and looking for some light entertainment, you can now hire London's busiest steel
BOSC LEBAT, SW France. Only 45 minutes from Toulouse Airport with daily flights from most provincial airports avoiding the horrors
PORTA METRONIA, ROME Standing high on the top of one of the seven hills of Rome- the Coelian- this unique
Spectator Business | Apollo Magazine
Corporate | Advertising | Privacy | Terms
Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP
All Articles and Content Copyright ©2008 by The Spectator | All Rights Reserved
Enowning
January 17th, 2008 1:51pmMost new technology products are developed so that they'll look cool when demo-ed to journalists, pundits, and so on, and no so that they'll be practical to users.
Rory Sutherland
January 18th, 2008 9:13pmA very fair point. At the recent CES show, a NY Times correspondent made this very point about a miraculously thin (15mm, I think) Plasma-screen TV. In short that it would give you a very brief thrill when first viewed sideways on... this to be followed by five utterly unspectacular years spent viewing the damn thing on the square as God intended.
Amanda Craig
January 24th, 2008 11:59amOh how I laughed.Quite tickled indeed. great ending.