The interaction between technologies and society: Lessons learnt from 160 evolutionary years of online news services

In mapping the evolutionary process of online news and the socio-cultural factors determining this development, this paper has a dual purpose. First, in reworking the definition of “online communication”, it argues that despite its seemingly sudden emergence in the 1990s, the history of online news started right in the early days of the telegraphs and spread throughout the development of the telephone and the fax machine before becoming computer-based in the 1980s and Web-based in the 1990s. Second, merging macro-perspectives on the dynamic of media evolution by DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach (1989) and Winston (1998), the paper consolidates a critical point for thinking about new media development: that something technically feasible does not always mean that it will be socially accepted and/or demanded. From a producer-centric perspective, the birth and development of pre-Web online news forms have been more or less generated by the traditional media’s sometimes excessive hype about the power of new technologies. However, placing such an emphasis on technological potentials at the expense of their social conditions not only can be misleading but also can be detrimental to the development of new media, including the potential of today’s online news.

Rear garden and elevation, Addison House, Brisbane

View from rear garden to bedrooms and main house.

South-west elevation, Addison House, Brisbane

View of south-west elevation through house to rear deck.

View along western elevation, PNG Coffee Industry Board Office and Warehouse, Goroka

View past timber blinds to balcony and timber sunscreens.

Front elevation, PNG Coffee Industry Board Office and Warehouse, Goroka

View of front elevation with entrance from exterior.

North elevation, Nerang Post Office, Nerang

View of north elevation, sorting area above, staff area below.

Northern elevation, Thoss House, Brisbane

View to main entrance stair and secondary entrance doors.

Windows and venting to elevation, Agriculture and Entomology Building, Brisbane

View to elevation with timber sliding shutters, aluminium double hung sash windows and brick venting.

South elevation edge, Mooloomba House, Point Lookout, North Stradbroke Island

View along south elevation, stair to belvedere beyond and bedboxes above.

North-west elevation, Sunshine Coast University Library, Maroochydore

North-west elevation as seen from library forecourt.

North-west elevation and entrance court, Sunshine Coast University Library, Maroochydore

View of entrance court under construction, with north-west elevation behind.

Part of south-east elevation, Sunshine Coast University Library, Maroochydore

View to part of south-east elevation with skillion roof, corrugated steel sheeting and concrete block.

Colonnade to south-west elevation, Sunshine Coast University Library, Maroochydore

View from south-east as seen from exterior.

North-west elevation, Sunshine Coast University Library, Maroochydore

Library and Building K as seen from outer ring road.

Batten screen to north-east elevation, Sunshine Coast University Library, Maroochydore

View of timber batten screen to north-east elevation with verandah behind.