Feeding the Fish - Media Meditation #2

Fish is a gadget that is available for any Blogger blog. It is a little window on the side of your blog that has virtual fish swimming in virtual water. It is a fairly appealing activity to engage in every so often.

How does it work, you ask? Click in the water and food will appear. The fish will eat it! That's it - easy and fun.

One might question why this is an entertaining thing to do. What better way to answer that question than to apply the four media tool sets?

My triune brain is touched in a few different ways. The limbic part of my brain enjoys the colors of the fish and the ripples in the water. My neocortex enjoys possible the obedience of the fish as well as the control over their sustenance. Also it might appreciate the fishes' forever reliable you-give-it-I'll-eat-it way of life. There aren't many surprises, so my reptilian brain is somewhat silent. If a fish takes a quick turn or something, I might be a little freaked out.

The eight shifts of our advancing world can be seen even in a simple little application like this.

The personal shift is seen in the digital act of owning fish. We're always trying to make things easier for ourselves, so this application takes away the cleaning and maintenance of a real fish and lets you just feed it and watch it obey your every whim! Now the people who can't own a natural fish can own several digital fish!

The economic shift is subtle yet real in this application. This was created by a group that had one of two desires in mind: Create a fish simulation that is appealing and easy; or make something mindless that people will use, hopefully resulting in monetary compensation. No matter how small and seemingly unattended something may seem, it still might have ties to profiting somebodies.

Seven principles of media analysis, much like the eight shifts, offer guidance and structure in thinking about being exposed to media. Ownership immediately comes to mind with this. As seen in the economic shift, somebody might actively own this, taking statistics on how many downloads it gets, how many uses it gets, and anything else that might garner a greater profit.

This application, while greatly simple, may hold varying individual meanings and value messages. Someone who did not get to have a real fish might find some joy in this simulation, gaining greater appreciation than somebody who had or has a fish to appreciate in real life. Some people might just bask in their own glory, watching the fish obey limitlessly, always eating when told to.

Careful, though. There is a certain reality being constructed by this fishy fun (pun.)(rhyme!). Owning a fish is not this easy! You have to attend it on a schedule, remaining consistent instead of having the fish work around your schedule. Also, ten fish can not fit in a window no bigger than a standard playing card. No, they will not maintain a perfectly clean tank all on their own!

Even though this gadget is simple in nature, offering only one function, it contains a few persuasive techniques that were put in place for a reason.

Warm Fuzzies. The fish swim in a docile fashion and can be colored however the user wants. The user will probably pick a color that is appealing, not frightening.

Bribery. Feeding the fish has never been easier! Click once!

Simple Solutions. See Bribery.

Symbols. This could be a protest against blind obedience! These fish just eat and eat, having no will of their own. They cannot say, "I will not eat that food." It could also be a symbol of a caring person giving sustenance to their fellow beings.

In this end, this gadget probably doesn't serve as an alternative to pets for most people. It is a fun flavor to have on a blog and some people might find a little pleasure in the absolute dominion of the fish, but it is still a small tool intended to keep people on the page so that they may catch something of interest while they feed the fish!