Tworzywo bez właściwości – technologia cyfrowa jako metamedium
MATERIAL WITHOUT QUALITIES – DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AS A METAMEDIUM

Summary/Abstract: Today, we witness two generative forces of digital media culture meeting – flexible, open, easy-to-use digital technology and large-scale social communication, sharing of in- formation, knowledge and media representations. These two forces are equally important in media convergence and divergence, but also tightly coupled. This paper traces the root of “metamedium” concept, developed in late 70s by Alan Kay, to show that at the beginning two crucial aspects of digital revolution were intentionally connected within the project of creating “personal dynamic media”. Thinking of digital technology as a “material without qualities” – as a open to any transformation, mutation and extension metamedium – has significant impact on new media discourse. Not only because it reveals essential difference between “old” and “new media”, but also because it exposes solid ground for practices od media hybridization, innovation or – using Lev Manovich notion – process of “deep remixability”.

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