Information design and the new media

Abstract

Media A useful basic distinction can be made between active and passive, or between users and consumers. The old media are massified; they broadcast on a one-to-many model, and I don't really get to choose what I want, except on the widest level. The mass media deliver information on their own terms and on their own schedule, assuming the existence of a passive consumer on the receiving end. All periodicals and broadcast media select subsets of information from the vast pools available, and transmit these subsets in complete packages that they create, in a format of their choosing. The most active thing that I, as a consumer, can do is go out and choose a package. After I have it, I can't add to it. I can't rearrange its contents. I can't respond to it except inside my own head.