Culture-

• What brings people together; what they share; creates community.
• What defines a community as a community
• Ethnic- having a common: language; clothes; rituals, etc.
• Sub-groups- having a special languages, clothes, rituals, etc.
• Something we can look at in terms of 'meaning.'

Social-

• What keeps people apart, what organizes us
• Who is in control; who follows; who gets access, when, why, where.
• Economic Dimension
• What is exchanged; where are markets; who gets access to them; what creates markets; (where do the products come from); gifts; plunder
• Political Dimension
• How are collective decisions made; where are public forums; who gets access to them; how do they change

Skills-

• What does it take to use something; how do we become literate

Material-

• How do artifacts and practices relate to material environment; what are the (ecological) consequences of making them; where does the material come from.

Other Media/Tools-

• How are other media changed by new technologies; what is displaced; what is replaced; what is retrieved;
• Rule 1: New media (and tools) are initially designed to meet limited needs; but end up having unexpected consequences

What is left out-

• What communication needs are left unmet?
• What social needs are left unmet?
• Rule 2: New media create new complexities as they attempt to simplify older complexities.
• E.g. Writings preserves speech, but ends up creating need for libraries, access systems, scribes and other specialists. Storage and retrieval.