Carpenter, E. & McLuhan, M. (1956) The new languages. Chicago Review. 10(1) pp. 46-52.
on the format of newspapers, and the effect on perception:
The position and size of articles on the front page is determined by interest and importance, not content. Unrelated reports… are juxtaposed; time and space are destroyed and the here and now are presented as a single Gestalt. … Such a format lends itself to simultaneity, not chronology or lineality. Items abstracted from a total situation are not arranged in causal sequence, but presented in association, as raw experience.
on communication channels:
Thus each communication channel codifies reality differently and thereby influences, to a surprising degree, the content of the message communicated.
DN: both concepts apply nicely to educational technology, and to online discussion. How does the format of the online discussion platform shape the presentation, perception, and shape of the message(s) communicated?