Using McLuhan's "Tetrad of Media" (see diagram below), choose a medium or media application or tool (e.g. newspaper, books, radio, tv, film, internet, computer games, handphone, instant messaging, blogging, online advertising, youtube, facebook etc.) and explain its media effects? Please refer to Week 9's lecture notes plus your own research to discuss this topic.

“Tedrad of Media” was created by McLuhan and can be used to measured our society from effect of media application/technology. The effects can separate into four main categories –Enhances, Reverses, Retrieves and Obsolesces. And all media can be test and apply by putting it at center of diagram (as medium) and answer it with :

• What does the medium enhance?
• What does the medium make obsolete?
• What does the medium retrieve that had been obsolesced earlier?
• What does the medium flip into when pushed to extremes?
*Taken from wikipedia


And to look at our culture, I have chosen one of nowadays powerful communication, Its an electronic mail aka. famously know as E-mail.

1. What does the medium enhance?
Words, news, graphic, picture
2. What does the medium make obsolete?
Because of the invention of e-mail, it makes typical letters are obsolete. Besides that it also made stone letter (batu bersurat) and cave paintings unnecessary.
3. What does the medium retrieve that had been obsolesced earlier?
E-mail makes massages or news via text became popular. Culture of sending greeting cards during festival season can became popular again.
4. What does when pushed to extremes?
The over extended of e-mail makes user’s eyes become dry and red because of exposure long hours in front of screen computer.

My Personal Refection:
Today we study about Marshall Mcluhan and his great theory towards media. Who is he?? So based on my short finding from lecture note and internet he is one of the famous media and communication theorists and critics. One of his famous works is Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. His theory suggests that media has become an extension of the human mind and body.