Comments on: Happy Birthday Napster, Gameboy, and Walkman! Thanks for Changing Music Forever.

By: Bill Buchanan

Bill Buchanan — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:47:04 +0000

Like the prior post . . . I clearly remember walking outside in the front yard, with my headphones on, listening to a cassette tape and the sense that I had discovered the soundtrack to the film of my life. It was a bizarre experience and that I recall it so clearly 30 years later says volumes about the impact it made on me at the time.

To be honest, seeing my first home computer, the IBM PC (Personal Computer), just a few years later at a friends house did not make anywhere near the same impression. I think it was more that I had not experienced my own personal “killer app” for the PC as I had with the Walkman.

By: John Dyer

John Dyer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:59:19 +0000

Good point about the medium’s effect on the speaker.

By: John Dyer

John Dyer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:58:25 +0000

Wow, it’s amazing you’ve made it through the last 30 years unscathed by all those devices!

By: John Dyer

John Dyer — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:25:04 +0000

Greg, the discussion of online vs. offline identity and how much they should overlap/interact is a very good one. I’d love to spend some more time thinking about it.

My main question would be “What does it mean to attempt to convert ourselves into an online representation, and how does that process affect us?” before ever getting to the question of “Is it good or bad?”

By: Greg Jenks

Greg Jenks — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:13:50 +0000

Maybe a little off topic, but the isolation factor illustrated by the above technologies and the attempt through social internetworking to try and connect the inner self through that medium to others leads to a spectrum of responses. I saw this morning someone saying he is praying for his FB friends individually and, of course, there are Bible verses, etc. I have seen transparent sharing that makes me blush. And then there are those who react saying, “let’s keep it impersonal”–separation of church and status updates. I, too, have wrestled with how much of my Christian identity to post. Is it a tool to actively and overtly influence others towards my core values or, like in real life, should I mask my convictions and opinions to hopefully draw and attract further inquiry? WWJD? ;-)

Anyway, I like your blog John. It makes me think.

By: John Dyer

John Dyer — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:32:02 +0000

Jon, wow, what a cool experience. You’re right that the “soundtrack” experience seems to represent the shift towards postmodernity.

By: Apple, App Store, iPhone, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod, Billion, record, Apps, iPhone Apps, iTunes | AppleFever.NET | The Hot Apple Blog

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:40:05 +0000

[...] Happy Birthday Gameboy & Walkman! Thanks for Changing the World. [...]

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:16:02 +0000

I was listening to NPR yesterday and they had a piece about the glory days of the boom box and how Hip-Hop music began in a culture of people blasting their music to an (often unwilling) audience through the ‘box’. It made for a totally different cultural response to the music, which they postulated affected the type of music that was produced. Nowadays Hip-Hop music reflects a more individualized culture.
I think it’s the “Hawthorne effect”, where the subject being watched (in this case listened to) is changed ipso facto of being watched. Just another observation on how the medium changes the message, but not just for the end user, it eventually changes the speaker of the message.

By: Matthew Morizio

Matthew Morizio — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:04:55 +0000

Good post, John!

Though I personally do not (and haven’t) used any of these devices, I’m always curious as to how these things “play-out” in our lives. I suppose for all their practical and recreational credits there is a reciprocal debt (as you’ve mentioned).

As a parent of three teen-aged boys, and neighbor-in-the-hood…I remain interested.

Thank you for sharing your insights, brother.

Matthew

By: Jon Reid

Jon Reid — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:01:36 +0000

I was a teenager in Japan when the Walkman came out. Suddenly, I felt like I was in a musical or a movie: I had a soundtrack to accompany anything I was doing. Even other people moved to my soundtrack (though they were unaware of it). And that may have been a significant shift towards postmodernity: I had my own private bubble to interpret the world.

…And I just noticed that that last sentence had both “private” and “world” — a Len Sweet double ring.