Lecture 2: History & Technology. Optus Whale Song & Apple Siri ads.

Optus Whale Song Ad

The Optus whale song advertisement embodies the successful communicative relationship between two different species of animals that normally do not understand each other. In the Sender-Message-Receiver model, we can assume that we have just witnessed a triumph in communication.

In essence, a good relationship has just been formed, as the orchestra creates the right notes that make up a love song that the whales respond to. It is an emotive relationship, and what begins with an attempt at communication ends with an achievement of mutual fulfillment, with the orchestra successfully “serenading” the whales, and the whales seemingly happy (while backflopping into the ocean).

From the sender’s point of view (the orchestra), there is an assumption or hope that the whales will respond to notes mimicking the love/mating call of whales. On the receiver’s end (the whales), the call (message) has been received and understood. As common/mutual understanding is a core basis in any communication relationship, what the ad claims is highly ambitious.

The ad also claims that “With communications, anything is possible.” and posits that communication is:

• Not governed solely by language

Using the right language/ frequency, you can have meaningful communications with anyone/anything you want. Barriers in communication can be removed as long as the sender is able to find a common language/sound to convey the message to its receiver, as demonstrated by the orchestra’s successful attempt to achieve the whales’ response when they mimicked the sound that whales made. One of underlying messages of the ad proposes that if one tries hard enough, differences in native language will not hinder successful communication from taking place.

• Not bound by geographical limitation

Regardless of where we are, we can communicate to anyone, in any part of the world - if there is intent, and a viable method to do so. Be it long-distance calls, Skype chats, or even online articles that function though the receiver and sender are physically-separated, or even travelling miles on planes and boats to have face-to-face communication, it seems that location is really not a real issue in communication.

• Universal

The right tools also give you the power to speak to the audience, in a more effective manner. The ad promises clarity and mutual understanding of the message sent, which is what most people would want to achieve in any forms of communication.

Finally, being an advertisement for a communications provider, the ad chooses to subtly remind us that Optus as an ideal facilitator of communications. It hints towards the fact of “If you want to communicate, and communicate well, choose us - we can even talk to whales!”

Apple iPhone Siri Ad

The Apple iPhone Siri ad makes the claim that technology is now capable of replacing or enhancing a human’s capabilities. One can now text hands-free, make a note in his calendar while on-the-go, or even leave decision-making  (like where to eat dinner) to Siri. With Siri, our life is made simpler, and there is always an easier and faster way to perform mundane activities such as texting, dialing, searching and getting the weather report, for example.

It also makes using communication technology a seamless, more user-friendly experience - allowing anyone and everyone to participate. This mass appeal has resulted in widespread adoption of the technology.

Communication technology (in this case Siri) has thus become an extension of a person’s hands and voice, and that communication is now integrated into everyday life. Without any tactile interaction with the phone save pressing the button, one can now dial, text, or gather information with ease. As an extension to our voice, Siri or any voice recognition software can replace physical human operators to provide information services. 

Siri also presents an extension to our minds by gathering and sifting through the many information silos available, de-cluttering the results and then presenting us with concise and accurate responses to our requests. However, this intelligence presents an interesting paradigm - that of an extension of thought.
 
A program is now helping us to think (and making recommendations on where we should to eat and notes how busy we are). How is it able to prioritize and categorize information? What criteria does it have in sorting through its results? The cognitive intelligence of a software like Siri can be likened to some other literary examples, such as the anime Ghost in the Shell, and the blockbuster movie I, Robot. Are we now looking at the next step in our evolution, or are we handing artificial intelligence the keys to our thoughts? Are we becoming a species so entwined with technology, that it’s taking over our functional roles of our human body? Are we humans too reliant and dependent on technology? Shall we ask Siri?

However, as easy as it is to give, so is it easy to take. Communication technology is like a double-edged sword in many aspects, in that it empowers us by freeing us from mundane tasks, yet at the same time, it takes away the desire for us to “get our hands dirty”, to continue pursuing perfection. It feels like we must “amputate” a part of our body whenever we gain a technological advantage. And, just like exercising physical muscles, the less you use them, the more atrophied they get. So what's next, we link all our senses to technology?

Sight - it's a wondrous thing.

Lecture 1: Communication Intro. Defining communication and what drives it.

Defining communication.

In essence, communication is a relationship between the sender, the receiver and the message.

Before, communicating with another was a very personal process. Our messages were intimate physical transactions passed on verbally, face-to-face, or through handwritten notes and letters. Then came the printing press, which extended the outreach of our messages. With recent technological advances (especially the internet), we have opened ourselves up even more - both in terms of platforms of discourse, as well as avenues of expression.  

While communication has always been a two-way process, the presence of it has never been as clearly heard, seen, or felt as it has today. The roles of the sender and receiver today is less distinct as lines become blurred in the communication process. With the help of technological advancement, the audience of today are given more channels to provide feedback to the sender. This in turn changes the audience's role into that of the sender. 

Today, with the prevalence of platforms for self-generated media content and channels for feedback, the audience’s voice has as much as, or even more impact than the voice of the originator of said media. We now send messages in hopes that there is a reply in the ether that is the new technological landscape, for example through Tweets and Facebook status updates.

Our messages also now extend past our physical boundaries at great speeds, and spread to a much wider audience than before - bringing regional and even global audiences into our circle of influence.

In the business context, communication can also be a means to an end, such as the relationship between the seller’s marketing efforts and buyer of an idea/service/product. Using strategically-crafted language such as promotional materials, words and/or even images, the business provider eventually hopes to illicit action from their target audience and potential buyers.

Motivated by the purpose of influencing, communication is also about convincing the audience into believing the message that is being brought across. This brings the element of shaping the receiver's perception, as well as changing their opinions to be in line with the sender’s own into play.

As much as technological advancement has aided the transferring of ideas through communication, messages are now more cluttered with noise. This makes it easier for one to be bombarded with too many (useful, or not) information, causing ideas to be more easily misunderstood/misinterpreted as compared to the past.

What drives / urges us to share ideas or communicate?

As human beings, we are instinctively inclined to share our ideas, beliefs and knowledge to one another. It is ingrained in our human nature to communicate - tracing back to primitive times where humans first used it to overcome the harsh realities of survival. “That way for the wooly mammoth" or "danger ahead” were simple but effective means of getting the point across, for example. 

 

Fast-forward to the present, it is evident that we have evolved the concept of passing on knowledge to a highly sophisticated degree. We now take on different roles and seek to achieve different effects in communication. We seek to entertain, educate, influence and/or (mis)inform each other, but the fundamental core of communicating with each other still stems from our need to relate to and understand each other.

In today’s world, where technology has provided an easy, efficient way of communicating with one another, we now seek approval, validation and recognition for our opinions and viewpoints (eg. movie reviews, Facebook status updates). Powered by the widespread adoption of the Internet age, we can now make use of multiple platforms and mediums to achieve almost instant gratification in the form of responses to our thoughts and ideas.
 
Another reason that urges us to communicate is the isolation we must feel today. As we spend increasingly amounts of time behind an anonymous and faceless screen persona, we have achieved a disconnection with our physical brethren, so much so that we update our statuses when we are bored, in order to provoke a response, or to show off and gain attention. Attention is one of the most basic needs of human survival (some people just need more); no one wants to be alone, but in reality, everyone is an effectual island within him/herself. 

 




Everyone can think the same thought/idea, but the first person who communicates it gets the credit. This leads us to believe that communication is also used to illicit recognition or credit for an idea, as everyone wants to be seen as leaders at the forefront of thought.

The need to invoking a call to action from our audience also brings about communication. For instance, from a business point of view, advertising is used to reach out to potential buyers.

 

“Freedom of expression” is one of the most popular belief of the 21st century. The idea of anyone being able to speak anything on their minds (yet forgetting that responsibility has to be taken for their words) tempts us to communicate even more than before. This makes us feel empowered, which feeds yet another basic instinct - the need to feel authoritative and in control.

All in all, we want to gain influence, to convince others of our viewpoint - more often than not, to push an agenda, service/product as they do not have voices of their own. We seek power - and there is inherent power in words. In short, we are creatures of habit, agents of change, and beings of relationships, all rolled into one.