I believe that if Marshall McLuhan was alive today he would love Transmedia.
A fully immersive experience where the medium is the message and vis-versa – what an amazing brave new world.
One of the many gifts he left us was the Tetrad of media effects.
“A means of explaining the social processes underlying the adoption of a technology/medium”
There is sheer beauty in the simplicity of this idea – most of all as this exists simultaneously.
Meaning – The laws of it exist in the now, all at once, like any good storyworld.
McLuhan asked the next 4 questions to start the process of exploring the medium:
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?
I believe it's time we put Transmedia in the middle of it. Introducing the Transmedia Tetrad:
I am sure there is much more we can add to it – but as a starting point I thought this would be a great place.
Transmedia by its sheer existance reverses the laws of fiction to reality, brings back the campfire style of storytelling but with a 21st century twist.
It enhances audience engagment and the creation of multiple rabbits holes for the audience to explore and fall into.
But here is a question – is Transmedia a medium? is it a thing? or is it just a philosphy?
What do you think McLuhan will say about it?
I hope he says: “You know nothing of my work….”