The Word of Mouse: New Age of Networked Media

by Jim Banister

An essential guide to how the rapid convergence of media and digital technology will unfold over the coming years, and how our conceptions of “programming” and “consumers” will be transformed by the increasing primacy of networked media. Jim Banister provides cogent analyses of how and why certain high-profile “internet” companies have become models; outlines what different kinds of businesses need to do in order to harness the still largely untapped potential of networked media; and shows why the entertainment industry’s efforts to resist the changes in consumer behavior are misguided at best, and doomed at worst. This is a must-read for everyone from business and media professionals to regular consumers.

216 pages, Hardcover

First published August 20, 2004

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned more from writing it than reading it. ;-)

Seriously, I spent a few years autopsying what I had learned from years with one foot in "traditional media" and one foot in "digital media." And I was often asked to teach what I'd learned. So I started to pull the thread of "media" and the whole sweater unraveled. I had to re-knit my understanding of media and narrative in a way that was self-consistent and teachable. It was an amazing journey and I wrote the book much as a journal of that journey.

I'm confident it'll provide a foundation for better understanding of the changes occuring in media and commerce for anyone interesting in going down that rabbit hole.

Blue pill or red pill, y'all?

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the information seems dated and stale, not surprising considering that it was published in 2004. My fault for not getting to it sooner. I didn't get the part about networked media being feminine and how it will help balance the yin and yang that has been out of kilter since the Middle Ages. Banister concludes his book with 11 predictions for the 5 year future of networked media, many of which have occurred. The one he missed was the role of social media in political revolution (okay, maybe that one took 7 years).

[BeyondDL · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found Banister's book to be over saturated with attempts to coin new phrases and show off new paradigms. And as such I will say that for me it was just infotainment. It is as if the work took me on the scenic tourist route to where the roads had been hacked through the jungle. Only to skip across poorly supported bridges and expecting the reader to buy in and do the same. I would have preferred a more cautious and well researched angle of investigation. But I might just miss out on this glitter of a golden age.