The Value of Media on Your Phone is The Experience
The Value of Media on Your Phone: McLuhan’s "The Medium is the Message" in the Digital Age
In the age of smartphones, we carry an entire universe of media in our pockets: books, movies, songs, news, games, and now even card decks. What makes this remarkable is not just the convenience but the transformation in how we experience media. Marshall McLuhan famously said, "the medium is the message," reminding us that the experience of consuming content is as important as the content itself. And today, our smartphones are redefining those experiences in profound ways.
The Evolution of Media: No Medium Replaces the Prior
A common misconception is that new media replaces the old. Yet, history shows us this isn't true. Radio didn’t replace print; TV didn’t replace radio; and streaming services like Spotify haven’t replaced live music or vinyl records. Instead, each new medium adds another layer to the way we interact with the world, offering its own unique sensory experience.
Print gave us the experience of touch and smell, turning a book’s physical pages into an intimate, immersive act. Radio offered a purely auditory experience, captivating listeners by drawing them into stories and music with nothing but sound. Television combined visuals and sound to create an entirely different way of storytelling, one that is more immediate and visual. Now, digital media on smartphones brings a convergence of all those elements—plus interactivity, accessibility, and the constant presence of the device in our lives.
The Digital Revolution: Spotify’s Transformation of Music
Think of how Spotify has transformed our relationship with music. No longer are we limited to physical radio or CDs. Spotify introduced personalized playlists, recommendations, and the freedom to carry an infinite library of songs wherever we go. But more than that, it changed how we engage with music. We now interact with it on-demand, in the background, or through curated experiences tailored to our mood, time of day, or activity.
This shift didn’t make live music obsolete or render radio useless; instead, it created a new way to enjoy music that’s more dynamic and responsive to our needs. We now expect to have access to music at any moment, but we still seek out live concerts for the unique sensory experience they offer.
Deckible: The Digital Future of Card Decks
Just as Spotify did for music, Deckible is poised to do for card decks. Oracle decks, Tarot decks, and inspirational cards—traditionally confined to physical form—are finding new life in the digital world. Let's not forget the therapy decks, the coaching decks and the business strategy and top tactics card decks. There is a deck for every topic.
This doesn’t mean physical decks will disappear. In fact, most card deck enthusiasts are collectors who enjoy having multiple decks, each with its own texture, design, and energy. But what Deckible does is make card decks accessible anytime, anywhere, offering the same interactive, layered experience that Spotify brought to music.
On Deckible, you can shuffle, combine, and use multiple decks in one app. Never worry about losing a guidebook or forgetting a reading. The app integrates all of that for you in a seamless, eco-friendly way. Like the radio didn’t replace print, digital card decks don’t replace physical ones—they complement and extend the experience in new ways.
Deckible represents the natural evolution of how we interact with decks, making them more accessible, affordable, and environmentally conscious, all while maintaining the rich tradition of personal growth, reflection, and divination.
A New Way to Interact With Media on Your Phone
Whether it’s books, movies, songs, news, games, or card decks, having media on your phone isn’t just about convenience—it’s about transforming how you experience the content. Each medium offers a unique, multi-sensory interaction that shapes not just what we consume, but how we consume it. The medium is, indeed, the message, and today’s digital landscape is offering us more ways than ever to experience that message in new and powerful ways.
Deckible is the next step in this journey, bringing card decks into the fold of digital media in a way that honors tradition while embracing innovation. So as McLuhan predicted, we’re not replacing the past—we’re building on it, expanding our sensory experiences and deepening our connection with the media we love.