Here’s a message with a few updates on my “living record”. At the end, I sketched out my “affinity groups” and editorial themes. For details, see Part 2 of this message.
Transcript: Edited and Annotated
Recorded on Otter.ai on Thu, Jan 19, 2023 1:23PM • 14:46
Day 19
It’s been 19 days since I created this Substack, and every day has felt eternally illuminating. I am recording this podcast during my walk on a rainy afternoon in New York, in Queens. So, I'll conclude this introductory entry with my standard disclaimer about the production quality of my podcasts. This is not one of my strongest media skills.
On a side note, I'd love to find somebody to join me who has experience in audio production, but I'll come back to that when I talk about my recruitment plans.
The Living Record
I want to say something about the whole idea of a living record. And just as a reference, I'd like to draw your attention to an upcoming blog post that relates to this whole idea. (“What to do about…media?” is scheduled for publication on 1/22.)
But this podcast is certainly part of the living record. So the issues with audio production are part of what you get [sadly]. Not everything is going to be polished. There inevitably will be imperfections in the way I execute my editorial work.
The Many Meanings of Media
At the end of December, I listened to a podcast that, for the first time in my experience, mentioned the idea of media trauma. At some point, I’d like to elaborate on this idea. I also want to develop the concept of media therapy and consider ways in which modern media inevitably become forms of media therapy. I haven't seen much about this in my related readings, but I think it's worth talking about.
This is an idea inspired by my recent readings and readings of certain authors. Certainly Marshall McLuhan, but also Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, and Byung-Chul Han. One of the ideas that came out of this area of inquiry is the idea of dropping messages into my media and the whole relationship between messages and media.
The more I read about media, the more it amazes me how little one can understand about media even after spending 20 years in a career that essentially revolved around media. The depth of this area of inquiry is just truly astounding.
I intend to be cautious in the way I add anything to what I'm reading. In some ways, the concepts seem technical, even though they're also poetic, but they're often incomprehensible, both technically and poetically. But I'll have more to say about Marshall McLuhan throughout this year.
m=m
Maybe I'll start here with “The medium is the message”. m=m.
Disclaimer: Like most people, I both understand the idea and I don't. Both poetically and technically. These days I think of it as a mantra. And, in that sense, it kind of works for me. It helps me think about the modern uses and abuses of media.
I really feel that Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy is relevant to this area of inquiry in ways that I can't quite spell out yet. I discovered this author through a subscriber I met on Twitter, and maybe I'll connect with him and see where the conversation takes us.
Who's listening?
Speaking as a content creator, I say this is one-of-a-kind content, and to anyone listening, I ask you to treat it accordingly. And stay tuned for more, and subscribe.
I feel that I'm dropping some important messages into my media. And I'm trying to figure out the emerging rules of what we call the attention economy. I'll have more to say about that in my upcoming monthly essay under the headline "Attention please!"
But because the new rules aren't really clear, I would love to hear not only from people who enjoy the content or agree with me or whatever. I would also like to hear from people who have a different reaction. For me, during the first year back on Substack, listening and figuring out what works and what doesn't is a big part of the job. So, certainly any kind of constructive feedback is welcome (in addition to compliments and support).
What's a message?
But maybe for now I'll just conclude with a few comments about this question. What's a message?
I didn't prepare this, this is extemporaneous. My impromptu definition is it's a form of speech whose author believes matters to somebody. How's that? A form of speech whose author believes that it matters to somebody.
So, what I've highlighted in my posts so far in the first 19 days are some of the key communities, affinity groups, industries where I believe this message should resonate the most.
I've touched on sustainability and the whole idea of beyond ESG. I certainly think that this content should resonate anywhere the idea of beyond ESG resonates.
I also feel strongly that my content does resonate in what we can still call public relations. The meaning of that label is certainly something I will have a more to say about.
I also believe strongly that the message should resonate with anybody concerned about fraud detection and the epidemiology of fraud. Not just corporate fraud
I don't want to conclude this podcast without mentioning the psychedelic community. Certainly anybody who has been inspired, as I have, by the work of Terence McKenna. And certainly to the folks invested in psychedelics as a business.
Across these synapses, M2 Dialogue may offer a uniquely valuable perspective.
If you're still here…
Even if you don't identify as a citizen of any of these affinity groups, it's possible that M2 Dialogue may be the right place for you.
If you've listened for this long, there's a good chance that what I produce over the next year or so, should matter to you. It probably does, otherwise your attention would have been elsewhere by now. So, if you're still here, subscribe.
That's it for now.
Share this post