Hardwiring Consumer Desire: Publishing and Promoting the Online Technocultural Experience : a Critical Textual Analysis of Wired
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Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses: Doctorates and Masters Theses 1-1-2002 Hardwiring consumer desire: Publishing and promoting the online technocultural experience : a critical textual analysis of Wired magazine and its advertising, 1993-1996 Ann Willis Edith Cowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Willis, A. (2002). Hardwiring consumer desire: Publishing and promoting the online technocultural experience : a critical textual analysis of Wired magazine and its advertising, 1993-1996. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/720 This Thesis is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/720 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. 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Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. USE OF THESIS The Use of Thesis statement is not included in this version of the thesis. Hardwiring Consumer Desire: Publishing and promoting the online technocultural experience A critical textual analysis of Wired magazine and ils advertising, 1993-1996 by Ann Willis A Thesis Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirements~ for the Award of Doctor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Communications, Heahh and Science, Edith Cowan University 2002 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the evolution of magazine publishing in the face of significnnt technological change in print-based industries. It takes as its focus the tcchno-lifesty\e magazine Wired, and to II lesserdegree its online derivative, Hot Wired because both these media magazines el\emplify the ehDtlges in publishing examined. In the magazine's initial editorial statement Louis Rossetto, the publisher Dtld editor of Wired, claimed to ''reinvent the magazine .. ,going beyond paper by making our hard copy edition a gateway to our interactive services" {Rossetto, 1993, p. 12). This claim demands nn explanation as it suggests that changes in media arc revolutionary rather than evolutionary. Specifically, it suggests a reinvention {rather than evolution) ofmagazine publishing, magazine form, the media environment and reading and consumption practices. The thesis takes this claim as a basis for exploring the evolution of the magazine as a cultural and material form in the context of!ate 20th century, hypermediatcd capitalism. In order to achieve a detailed yet nuDtlced analysis of Wired's claim of reinvention, the thesis has been organised into nreas which analyse W(red's material and textual characteristics, the construction and promotion oftechno-lifestyle in relation lo Wired's readership, and EID examination of Wired's on line derivative· Hot Wired. To achieve this level ofana!ysis the thesis draws upon three theoretical approaches. It analyses the history and characteristics of the magazine form hy drawing upon medium theory as articulated by Harold Innis and his successors Marshall McLuhan, Walter Ong, and Ronald Deibert. This approach is combined, secondly, with a historical comparative analysis of the American specialist lifestyle mag11Zine as refracted through the work of Harold Abrahamson. Finally, to analyse the relationship between magazines, technological convergence and the construction and promotion oftcchno-lifestyle, the thesis uses contemporary, critical textu.al analysis as articulated by theorists such as Ellen McCracken and Andrew Wernick. Meditun theory suggests that there is, increasingly, convergence at the level of production. Here media, telecommunications and computers/IT intersect to create a new kind of publishing environment. Such changes in textual production reflect an emergiug techno-lifostyle that promotes interconnectivity between consumers and producers and an intensification ofhybridity and intertextua\ity in material fonns such as Wired. This thesis will demonstrate that some material characteristics of the print magazine have evolved more gradually in the past century than other aspects connected with the magazine form and magazine publishing. These other aspects include, digital and online technologies, which nre currently infonning change in modes of production, distribution, content, design, authorship, readership and consumption. Relationships between media fonn and media environment, reading practices, reader and text, however need to be examined further before the claim that maga:dnes have been 'reinvented' can be critically assessed. This research is part of that project. It contributes to the nascent body of new media research by providng an innovative theoretical framework that challenges and dispels the claim of media reinvention by interrogating the technological and commercial processes of media evolution in relation to the mid-1990s print magazine and emergent new media technologies. ii DECLARATION I certify that this thesis does not, to the best ofmy knowledge and belief: (i) incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher education; (ii) contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text; or (iii) contain any defamatory material. Sign Date /8 "(O·OC. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the help, love and assistance ofso many, friends, family and ECU colleagues. It has been a long journey and a lot hBS happened to manyofthe people I care about since this project began. I would like to thank Dr Brian Shoesmith and all the lecturers and postgruduate students who offered ideas and inspiration for this investigation. This includes: Special heartfelt thanks to my mentor and supervisor Dr Lelia Green who always had faith in the project and myself. She worked extremely hard to help me get this project finished. Her guidance, knowledge, care, and generosity of spirit will not be forgotten. LindaJaunzem~ who worked tirelessly to format the thesis and also give moral support. My work colleagues Dennis Wood, Marc Brennan and Paul Halfpenny for their Rdvice, companionship, laughter, and fashion tips. Finally, I would like to thank especially my friends and family who have e:ii:perienced the everyday reality of one of'thcir people' doing a thesis. They are the guts behind the project and have had to deal with the good, the bud and the ugly. Without their support the project would not be finished. So I would like to thank; Richard, Bart and Zelda; the family in Kalgoorlie-my father Ambrose Desmond Wi!lis, my sisters Kathy and Co!leen and my nieces Margaret-Mary and Ursula. The Brains Trust: Leanne, Helen, Richard and Adrianne. The Zar family: Janine, Ivan, Portia and Mia. My good friends Carrie, John Lee, Kurt and Henry. This thesis is dedicated to my mother Constance Marie Willis. She pllSsed away while this thesis was being written. She was and remains my biggest inspiration and would no doubt be proud that the job is now done. INDEX ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................... IV FIGURES .................................................................................................... VIII ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................... X CHAPTER ONE ..............................................................................................1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Thesis topic ............................................................................................................... 3 Theoretical framework: an evolutionary analogy .................................................... 5 Research focus .......................................................................................................... 7 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 8 Background for this study ...................................................................................... 11 Technoculture ......................................................................................................... 11 Convergence and hypermedia ................................................................................ 15 Wiredmagazir,e ...................................................................................................... 18 Wired features