The Value Of Internet Product Based On Social Network Service, On The Perspective Of "the Medium Is The Message"

In recent years, Internet products based on social network service have got arapid development, which have influenced people’s life and the culture. They notonly provide a function of social intercourse, but also have changed the way ofpeople using medium. However, there’s no uniform understanding for the Internetproducts about their concept, core value and its mechanism of action, thedevelopment direction. Especially, with the appearance of the product designer andoperator, the value of these products is no longer determined only by its content asthose traditional mass medium. On the other hand, in the middle of last century, agroup of communication experts represented by Marshall McLuhan had made theassertion “the medium is the message”, by which they predicted the advent of theInternet era. This theory had pointed out the importance of the medium itself thatinfluence the value of a media, and should be the basis theory for product designers.For a clearer understanding of the value provided by social network servicesproducts and its development model, this paper will analyze the social medium as areal example, which will be put in the theory framework of “the medium is themessage”, to discuss how the value of social products be influenced by techniquesincluding symbol of information, channel of information, relationship betweeninformation and people. On these bases, as examples, products like twitter andproducts like Wikipedia should be discussed, for the possibility of value controllingthrough diffident technical means.