Dead Media: What the Obsolete, Unsuccessful, and Experimental Can Teach Us About the Future of Media

Full title of talk: Dead Media: What the Obsolete, Unsuccessful, Experimental, and Avant-Garde Can Teach Us About the Future of Media Invited Talk given by Finn Brunton, Postdoctoral Researcher at NYU, at the 2011 USENIX Federated Conferences Week, held June 14-17, 2011, in Portland, OR. Abstract: The Telharmonium. Scopitone. The Euphonia. Bone music, Oramics, rocket mail, the Multiphone, optical telegraphs, scent organs, mechanical televisions, breath printing, calculating machines, magic lanterns . . . What does it mean for a communication or information storage medium to die? What can old media formats—dead, obsolete, experimental, or ahead of their time—tell us about the future of technological communication now? This talk will go back to Cambrian explosions in media types and the visionaries, hucksters, and lunatics who staked knowledge, fame, fortune, and sometimes their lives on the success of their technologies, and tell stories from the vast population of amazing projects that never