In Chapter 13, Rice discusses the web and how it has affected the progression of cool. He cites the HP concept of “cool town.” Cooltown was a promotional idea that HP came up with that had some interesting commentary on technologies future role in society. This was an exciting vision where people were all equipped with the technology they needed to make their lives easier. The idea of mobility has become very important. It has become a reality since the advent of Wireless internet and the notebook computer. HP’s cooltown idea was an indea in which technology is brought in to connect every part of daily life.
Discussion then turns to Marshall McLuhan’s book Understanding Media. In the book, McLuhan compares the difference between ”hot media” and “cool media.” Hot media is media like a film. In this situation, very little participation is required from the viewer. The telephone is an example of cool media. The only way for this form of communication to work is participation from the reader. Comics and cartoons are cool as well because the reader actually has to full in gaps in order to gain a mental understanding of what they are seeing.
Corporations have now been able to use these ideas and link together everyday parts of life and get their products out into the open in new and exciting ways. By focusing on product placement and othe such tie-ins, companies are able to sell more product. Movies are cited as a major example of this. When a movie comes out, there is inevitably a slew of other products that come out promoting the movie. Action figures, posters, and Birthday cakes are just a few of the potential marketing devices and products that come out. McDonalds or Burger King might even take advantage of the idea and begin promoting the movie within “Happy Meals” or other ways.
Cyberculture is discussed in chapter 14. Cyberculture is the massive, seemingly unconnected enviorment that the internet has become. It is a culture where all is public and accepted. Cyberculture has the characteristincs of being:
*Futuristic
*Building upon old forms
*Interconnected
*Often strange and unsettling when first introduced(Rice,144)
Rice discusses the Novel Neuromancer and how the author makes the point that participants may feel they are experiencing reality, but in truth are just having completly computer generated and ficticious experiences. Since Cyberculture is a combination of Pop Culture, Sicence and art, it has become an amazing collage of ideas and viewpoints. This massive conglomeration of combined images and ideas provides members of cyberculture a new outlook on the “real” world. The connections made throughout the internet allow for the sharing of ideas and better connection of culture. The only requirement is participation of the user. The user has to make the choice to connect and search, read and find.
