Introduction
Chanel No. 5 is one of the most famous perfumes in history and sells approximately one bottle every 30 seconds. This famous fragrance was created for Coco Chanel in 1921 by a perfume creator named Ernest Beaux. The perfume was named no. 5 as it was the fifth formula to be presented to Coco Chanel. It was also her lucky number. Despite a significant move towards nature within the fashion industry in the twenty first century, this delectable scent was inspired by the artificial.
“I want to give the world something artificial.... like a dress. Something that has been made.... I want a perfume that is a composition”.
- Coco Channel
In relation to network societies, this product is evidently an active ongoing network of consumption. This particular post will identify the key elements of production, distribution and consumption associated with this product and the relevant nodes, ties and flows in this network.
Production
On researching the history behind the production of Chanel No. 5, I discovered that the fragrance, despite being described as artificial, was inspired by nature. The perfume's creator Ernest Beaux gained inspiration from the midnight sun, the lakes and the rivers of the Arctic circle which he had visited a year previously. The biological makeup of Chanel No. 5 is also organic.
The Scent of Chanel No. 5:
•Top note – Ylang-Ylang and Neroli
•Heart note – Grasse Jasmine and May Rose
•Base note – Sandalwood and Vanilla
Thus when identifying the relevant nodes in relation to this product, one can concur that nature plays a key role. These are the primary resources. The main component of the perfume is jasmine. The original flowers came from the region of Grasse. Chanel formed ties with the region's leading producers in order to assure the constant supply of the jasmine flowers. On a chemical note, Beaux also used aldehyde during the creation of his masterpiece. This enabled the perfume to accentuate every fragrance within the mixture. Jacques Polge, the brand's latest creator, has compared the chemical to adding 'lemon juice to strawberries'.
Chanel and New Media Technology
Nodes
1. Natural resources ie. flowers
2. The laboratories
3. The region of Grasse
4. The consumer
5. Researchers
Distribution
Chanel No. 5 is an iconic brand and it has gained this invincible reputation through the use of glamorous advertising and celebrity endorsement. As quoted famously by Marilyn Monroe:
“What do I wear in bed? Why Chanel No. 5 of course”.
In addition to being Marilyn's favourite scent, Chanel No. 5, like many other iconic brands, secured a place in the art world. In 1959 Andy Warhol, an icon himself, did a series of nine silkscreens of the Chanel No. 5 bottle, once again making it the fragrance to covet. The fragrance reportedly sells a bottle every thirty seconds and is the world's leading perfume. At present, the fragrance is endorsed by actresses Nicole Kidman and Audrey Tautou. The perfume's enchanting advertising campaign further facilitates the fascination and mystery behind Chanel No. 5.
Chanel and New Media Technology
Ties
1. Advertising
2. Celebrity endorsement
3. Transport
4. The media
Consumption
Chanel No. 5 has become the most popular fragrance in the world. The fascination behind its creator has thus increased significantly. In 2009, Coco Before Chanel was released, which documented the life of Gabrielle 'Coco' Channel through film. This factor heightened the perfume's outstanding reputation. In relation to product consumption, Chanel No. 5 is so much more than a perfume. Jacques Polge has described the fragrance as being a balance between 'a presence and a mystery'. This element of classic timelessness is present in their advertising campaign.
Chanel and New Media Technology
Flows
1. Chanel No. 5 perfume
2. A feeling of elegance and beauty
3. An understanding of the history behind the fragrance
The Role of ICT in Relation to Chanel No. 5
Most of the research I undertook for this post came directly from the Chanel website. The website is an outstanding source of information with regards Coco Channel and her product. It is also beautifully designed and entices the viewer to delve deeper into the heart and soul of Chanel. It contains the latest Chanel advertisement, which was directed by acclaimed French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and a documented behind the scenes video.
http://www.chanel.com/en_US/fragrance-beauty/Universe-Chanel-N5--77321/WT.mc_id=2009N5-Universe#/the-film/2-20
Conclusion
Every product is inevitably part of a network. This is most visibly scene in the example described in this blog. Chanel No. 5 rose to fame due to a number of interlinked factors: raw materials, advertising, precision and perfection.
“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”
- Coco Chanel
References:
1. http://www.chanel.com/
2. http://beauty-products.suite101.com/article.cfm/icons_chanel_no_5_perfume
Friday, February 26, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Defining The Characteristics of Network Societies
According to Van Dijk, the New Media is defined by its characteristics of integration, interactivity, and digital code. This blog endeavours to examine and elucidate these characteristics. As part of the preparation and research of this particular post, I studied Van Dijk's 'Introduction' in The Network Society.
Integration
The most important structural new media characteristic is the integration of telecommunications, data communications and mass communications in a single medium. It is the process of convergence. (Dijk, 2006: 6) It is for this precise reason that Dijk often refers to new media as multimedia. He identifies five main levels in which integration can take place:
1. Infrastructure
2. Transportation
3. Management
4. Services
5. Types of Data
Van Dijk illustrates the process of integration in his Figure 1.2 on page 7 in The Network Society. The figure demonstrates how public and private networks of data-, tele- and mass communication are flowing together to create multifunctional, high-speed networks that have been called electronic superhighways in the 1990s, but that nowadays usually carry the name of broadband (networks). (Dijk, 2006: 7)
According to Van Dijk, the process of integration is enabled by two revolutionary techniques: the full digitalization of all media and broadband transmission through all connections by cable and by air. This is the presence of the sophisticated: almost exclusively digital technologies of networked communication and information management. These technologies form the basic infrastructure for mediating social, economic and political practices. Or, as maintained by Barney, the reproduction and institutionalisation of network as the basic form of human organisation and relationship across social, political, economic configurations. (Barney, 2004: 25)
Interactivity
The second structural new media characteristic of the current communications revolution is the rise of interactive media. In a very general definition, interactivity is a sequence of action and reaction. (Dijk, 2006: 8) In other words, the audience's ability to interact and bring something to the new media. It is a process of individualization. Van Dijk identifies four levels of interactivity. According to Dijk, the levels of interactivity are supposed to be appropriate to define how interactive a particular digital medium is.
For reading purposes, I have decided to outline these levels in point format:
1. The most elementary level of interactivity is the possibility of establishing two-sided or multilateral communication. This is the space dimension. All digital media offer this possibility to a certain extent.
2. The second level of interactivity is the degree of synchronicity. This is the time dimension. This can be separated into two categories: an interrupted sequence of action and reaction, for example, instant messenger, and devices such as electronic mail that allow producing and receiving messages to be done at self-chosen times.
3. The third level of interactivity is the extent of control exercised by the interacting parties. This is the behavioural dimension, or the element of power roles in the process of interaction.
4. The fourth and highest level of interactivity is acting and reacting with an understanding of meanings and contexts by all interactors involved. This is the mental dimension.
(Dijk, 2006: 8-9)
Digital Code
Digital code is a technical media. In essence, it means that in using computer technology, every item of information and communication can be transformed and transmitted in the form of strings of ones and zeros called bytes, with every single 1 or 0 being a bit. This artificial code replaces the natural codes of the analogue creation and transmission of items of information and communication (e.g. by beams of light and vibrations of sound). (Dijk, 2006: 9)
Conclusion
The new media are defined by all three characteristics simultaneously: they are media which are both integrated and interactive and also use digital code at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. (Dijk, 2006: 9) Based entirely on my interpretation of the Van Dijk text, I would agree in saying that media has been divided into that of old and new due to new media technology. Devices such as television and the old telephone may enable interactivity but have failed to revolutionise into digitalization. In contrast, the new medium of interactive television adds interactivity and digital code.
In retrospect, the development of this study on new media has led me to conclude that the future is alight with the ever enhancing possibilities of media technologies. The question still remains whether this increasingly digitalised world is a positive or a negative occurrence. The future will undoubtedly reveal the answer to this question. Until that time, it is essential we do not exploit this growing phenom om, but use it effectively to better our world.
References used in this post:
1. Barney, D. (2004) The Network Society: 1-34
2. Van Dijk, J. (2006) 'Introduction' in The Network Society(2nd Ed.): 1-17
Integration
The most important structural new media characteristic is the integration of telecommunications, data communications and mass communications in a single medium. It is the process of convergence. (Dijk, 2006: 6) It is for this precise reason that Dijk often refers to new media as multimedia. He identifies five main levels in which integration can take place:
1. Infrastructure
2. Transportation
3. Management
4. Services
5. Types of Data
Van Dijk illustrates the process of integration in his Figure 1.2 on page 7 in The Network Society. The figure demonstrates how public and private networks of data-, tele- and mass communication are flowing together to create multifunctional, high-speed networks that have been called electronic superhighways in the 1990s, but that nowadays usually carry the name of broadband (networks). (Dijk, 2006: 7)
According to Van Dijk, the process of integration is enabled by two revolutionary techniques: the full digitalization of all media and broadband transmission through all connections by cable and by air. This is the presence of the sophisticated: almost exclusively digital technologies of networked communication and information management. These technologies form the basic infrastructure for mediating social, economic and political practices. Or, as maintained by Barney, the reproduction and institutionalisation of network as the basic form of human organisation and relationship across social, political, economic configurations. (Barney, 2004: 25)
Interactivity
The second structural new media characteristic of the current communications revolution is the rise of interactive media. In a very general definition, interactivity is a sequence of action and reaction. (Dijk, 2006: 8) In other words, the audience's ability to interact and bring something to the new media. It is a process of individualization. Van Dijk identifies four levels of interactivity. According to Dijk, the levels of interactivity are supposed to be appropriate to define how interactive a particular digital medium is.
For reading purposes, I have decided to outline these levels in point format:
1. The most elementary level of interactivity is the possibility of establishing two-sided or multilateral communication. This is the space dimension. All digital media offer this possibility to a certain extent.
2. The second level of interactivity is the degree of synchronicity. This is the time dimension. This can be separated into two categories: an interrupted sequence of action and reaction, for example, instant messenger, and devices such as electronic mail that allow producing and receiving messages to be done at self-chosen times.
3. The third level of interactivity is the extent of control exercised by the interacting parties. This is the behavioural dimension, or the element of power roles in the process of interaction.
4. The fourth and highest level of interactivity is acting and reacting with an understanding of meanings and contexts by all interactors involved. This is the mental dimension.
(Dijk, 2006: 8-9)
Digital Code
Digital code is a technical media. In essence, it means that in using computer technology, every item of information and communication can be transformed and transmitted in the form of strings of ones and zeros called bytes, with every single 1 or 0 being a bit. This artificial code replaces the natural codes of the analogue creation and transmission of items of information and communication (e.g. by beams of light and vibrations of sound). (Dijk, 2006: 9)
Conclusion
The new media are defined by all three characteristics simultaneously: they are media which are both integrated and interactive and also use digital code at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. (Dijk, 2006: 9) Based entirely on my interpretation of the Van Dijk text, I would agree in saying that media has been divided into that of old and new due to new media technology. Devices such as television and the old telephone may enable interactivity but have failed to revolutionise into digitalization. In contrast, the new medium of interactive television adds interactivity and digital code.
In retrospect, the development of this study on new media has led me to conclude that the future is alight with the ever enhancing possibilities of media technologies. The question still remains whether this increasingly digitalised world is a positive or a negative occurrence. The future will undoubtedly reveal the answer to this question. Until that time, it is essential we do not exploit this growing phenom om, but use it effectively to better our world.
References used in this post:
1. Barney, D. (2004) The Network Society: 1-34
2. Van Dijk, J. (2006) 'Introduction' in The Network Society(2nd Ed.): 1-17
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