Marshall McLuhan famously coined the phrase “the medium is the message” back in 1964 with the publication of his book Understanding Media.

This idea has pretty well permeated society by now and the idea that the technology which carries a message affects the content of that message is mostly taken for granted nowadays.

But there is a nuance to the phrase as well which gets somewhat less attention.

The “medium” in the phrase is not just the technology of communication like television, social media, etc.

The “medium” includes the whole “environment of services,” as McLuhan puts it, which develop around the individual technology.

Thus the “medium” of automobiles is not just about increasing the speed of horse travel, it’s also about the roads, gas stations, mechanic shops, and even fast food establishments that exist as support and supplement to those automobiles.

If we take this broader view to our own content, we see that the “medium” of our content is not just about deciding whether to post on TikTok or LinkedIn.

Your whole business is the medium of your content.

So what message are you ultimately conveying?