New Media An Introduction Third Canadian Edition

Terry Flew download

https://ebookmeta.com/product/new-media-an-introduction-third-
canadian-edition-terry-flew/

Download more ebook from https://ebookmeta.com

We believe these products will be a great fit for you. Click
the link to download now, or visit ebookmeta.com
to discover even more!

Understanding Global Media 2nd Edition Terry Flew

https://ebookmeta.com/product/understanding-global-media-2nd-
edition-terry-flew/

Understanding Global Media Second Edition Terry Flew

https://ebookmeta.com/product/understanding-global-media-second-
edition-terry-flew/

Regulating Platforms Digital Media and Society 1st

Edition Terry Flew

https://ebookmeta.com/product/regulating-platforms-digital-media-
and-society-1st-edition-terry-flew/

Not Like Before 1st Edition Ava Strong

https://ebookmeta.com/product/not-like-before-1st-edition-ava-
strong/
108 Buddhist Parables and Stories Sacred Wisdom Stories
1st Edition Buddha Gautama

https://ebookmeta.com/product/108-buddhist-parables-and-stories-
sacred-wisdom-stories-1st-edition-buddha-gautama/

The Big Book of HR 10th Anniversary Edition Mitchell

https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-big-book-of-hr-10th-
anniversary-edition-mitchell/

Time Is the Fire The Best of Connie Willis Connie

Willis

https://ebookmeta.com/product/time-is-the-fire-the-best-of-
connie-willis-connie-willis/

Meaningful and Manageable Program Assessment A How To

Guide for Higher Education Faculty 1st Edition Margaret
Kasimatis

https://ebookmeta.com/product/meaningful-and-manageable-program-
assessment-a-how-to-guide-for-higher-education-faculty-1st-
edition-margaret-kasimatis/

Shaping Jerusalem Spatial Planning Politics and the

Conflict 1st Edition Francesco Chiodelli

https://ebookmeta.com/product/shaping-jerusalem-spatial-planning-
politics-and-the-conflict-1st-edition-francesco-chiodelli/
To Place Our Deeds The African American Community in
Richmond California 1910 1963 Shirley Ann Wilson Moore

https://ebookmeta.com/product/to-place-our-deeds-the-african-
american-community-in-richmond-california-1910-1963-shirley-ann-
wilson-moore/
 Third Canadian Edition

MEDIA
An Introduction

Terry Flew
Richard Smith

OXFORD
UNIVER SITY P R ESS
 OXFORD
U NIV ERSI TY P R E SS

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.

It fu r thers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries.

Published in Canada by
Oxford University Press
8 Sampson Mews, Suite 204,
Don Mills, Ontario M3C OH S Canada

www.oupcanada.com

Copyright © Oxford University Press Canada 2018

The moral r ights of the author have been asserted

Database right Oxford University Press (maker)

First Canadian Edition published in 2011

Second Canadian Edition published in 2014

New Media, Fourth Edition, was originally published in English in 2014 by

Oxford University Press Australia,253 Normanby Rd, South Melbourne, Victoria, 3205, Australia
with the ISBN 9780195577853. This adaptation is published by arrangement.
Oxford University Press Canada is solely responsible for this adaptation from the original work

All r ights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford Un iversity Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by licence, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics
rights organization. Enqu iries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Perm issions Department at the address above
or through the following url: www.oupcanada.com/permission/permission_request.php

Every effort has been made to determine and contact copyright holders.
In the case of any omissions, the publisher will be pleased to make
suitable acknowledgement in future editions.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Flew, Terry, author

New media: an introduction/Terry Flew and Richard Smith. -Third
Canadian edition.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-0-19-902634-0 (softcover).- ISBN 978-0-19-902635-7 (PDF)

1.Mass media-Technological innovations-Textbooks. 2. Mass media-

Influence- Textbooks. 3. Mass media- Social aspects- Textbooks. 4. Mass
media- Political aspects- Textbooks. 5. Textbooks. I. Smith, Richard Keith,
author II. Title.

Cover image: John Lund /DigitalVision/Getty Images

Cover design: Laurie McGregor
Interior design: Sherill Chapman

Oxford University Press is committed to our environment.

Wherever possible, our books are printed on paper wh ich comes from
responsible sources.

Printed and bound in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 - 21 20 19 18
Table of Contents
Preface vii
Introduction ix
Abbreviations xii

1 • Introduction to New Media 1

Questions to Consider
Chapter Outline 1
Why "New" Media? 2
Convergence 3
Int ernet Hist ory 7
T he Globa l Internet 17
T he Conduit and t he Content 22
Web 2.0 25
Useful Websites 30
Fu rt her Read ing 31
Discussion Questions 32
Class Activit ies 32
Debate Questions 33

2 • The History of New Media 34

Quest ions to Consider 34
Chapter Outline 34
Ea rly Traces of New Media 34
Institutiona lized, Insta ntaneous, Worldwide Comm unication:
Th e Tel egraph 35
From Telegraph to Telephone: A Revolut ion in Sound 46
By the Flickering Light , We Will Conjure Movement: Film 50
Speaking without Wires: Radio 52
Pictures and Sound, Educationa l Potential: Television 56
Usefu l Websites 62
Fu rther Read ing 63
Discussion Q uest ions 64
Class Activit ies 65
Debate Questions 65

3 • Approaches to New Media 67

Quest ions t o Consider 67
Chapter Outline 67
Getting Perspect ive 67
W hat t o Bel ieve: The Hype or the Counter- Hype? 68
Interpreting Hyp e and Count er-Hype: Methodological Considerations 72
Approaches to Technologica l Change: Divergent Perspectives 74
iv Table of Conte nts

Context for New Media 84

Virtual Communities 86
Modern Views 87
Useful Websites 91
Further Read ing 91
Discussion Questions 92
Class Act ivities 92
Debate Questions 93

4 • Mobile New Media 94

Questions to Consider 94
Chapter O ut line 94
Ma ny Kinds of Mob ile 95
The Origins of Mobile Phones 95
New Services 98
From Multifu nction Phones to Smart phones 102
When Is a Phone No Longer a Phone? 104
"New" New Med ia on Phones? 105
Kids on Phones 109
The Business of Mobility 111
M obi le Phone Usage Patterns 117
What Matters with Mobi le? 118
Useful Websites 125
Further Read ing 125
Discussion Questions 126
Class Act ivities 127
Debate Questions 127

5 • Social Networks and Participatory Culture 128

Questions to Consider 128
Chapter O ut line 128
Networking for Fun and Profit 128
The Nature of Networks 129
Race and Access: Bridging the Divide 135
Social Net work Ana lysis 137
Networks and the Economics of Social Production 140
Participat ory Media Cultures 146
Creation: The New Consum ption? 148
Non-traditional Media 150
Participatory Media, Social Software, and Social Capital 160
Downsides of Networks, Social Media, and Participatory Media Culture 161
Useful Websites 163
Further Read ing 164
Discussion Questions 164
Class Activit ies 165
Debate Questions 165
 Table of Contents v

6 • Games: Technology, Industry, and Culture 167

Questions to Consider 167
Chapter Outline 167
Game On 168
Games History 169
The Games Industry: Integrating and Disintegrating
t he Va lue Chain 175
Women and Gaming 181
The Games Industry in Canada 182
Game Cultures 183
The Future of t he Video Games Indust ry 190
Useful Websites 192
Fu rt her Read ing 193
Addit ional Reading 194
Discussion Q uest ions 194
Class Act ivit ies 194
Debate Questions 195

7 • Creative Industries 196

Q uestions to Consider 196
Chapter Outline 196
Creativity in Question 196
The Evolution of Copyright Law 203
Non-linear Storytelling 204
The Rise of Creative Industries 205
Is "Creative Industries" Still a Useful Organizing Concept? 206
Economic Drivers of Creative Industries 211
Po licy Drivers of Creative Industries 215
Creative Industries and Evolving Arts and Cultura l Pol icy 220
Useful Websites 223
Fu rther Read ing 223
Discussion Questions 224
Class Act ivities 224
Debate Questions 225

8 • The Global Knowledge Economy 226

Questions to Consider 226
Chapter Outline 226
The Globa l Knowledge Economy 227
Electronic Commerce 233
Information and Knowledge 238
Innovation and t he Innovator's Dilemma 249
A C reative Economy? 253
Useful Websites 256
Further Read ing 257
Discussion Questions 257
vi Table of Conte nts

Class Activities 258

Debate Questions 259

9 • Internet Law, Policy, and Governance 260

Questions to Consider 260
Chapter Outline 260
Internet Law, Pol icy, and Governance 261
Perspect ives on Internet Governance 264
Canadian New Media Policy 267
Next Generation New Media Pol icy 276
Copyright and Intel lectual Property Law: An Overview 277
Copyright and New Media 281
Recent Developments in International Copyright and Intellect ua l
Property Law 286
Digital Gatekeepers 292
An Alternative to Copyright: Open Source 293
Useful Websites 295
Fu rt her Reading 295
Discussion Questions 296
Class Activities 297
Debate Questions 297

10 • Conclusion 299
Questions to Consider 299
Chapter Outline 299
Key Concerns and Fut ure Considerations 299
Privacy and Surveillance in New Media 301
Augmented Reality and 3D Printing 304
New Media Scholarship: The Next Frontiers 307
Final Words 311

Glossary 312
Notes 318
Bibliography 325
Index 349
Preface to the Third Edition
Revising New Media: An Introduction has once again been an amazing experience, for
several reasons. As I noted in the preface to the first and second Canadian editions, the
pace and amount of change in the industry challenge authors of new media books. This
happens in both the technology and the ways in which people use it. New media is, by its
nature, extremely malleable and fluid in how it is used. Many of the same bits and pieces
that go into making web pages also bring streaming radio and video-for example, Google
Glass is built on top of the Android operating system for mobile phones. Even fibre optic
systems were built using right-of-ways and poles that supported the previous copper wires.
New media, of course, is not just technology but a blend of technology and what people
make with it. Thus, when you add the creative output of billions of people, the possibilities
are endless. New media content is amusing, entertaining, and inspiring change around the
world. New issues like cyberbullying and the latest reconfigurations-such as augmented
reality games (e.g., Pokemon Go)-have also been included in this edition.
This is not to say that technology is lagging behind user behaviour or that issues arise
only from social circumstances. Google Glass (privacy implications), 3D printers (gun
parts being manufactured in the home), low-cost robots (cleaning our houses, helping
with surgery) and artificial intelligence (driving cars and predicting the weather) are all
examples of enabling technologies that humans are just starting to understand and use.
We touch on these and many other aspects of new media in this third edition.
As a result, the book is considerably larger than the second edition, with longer chap-
ters and the addition of new material. New media theorists are featured as well as interviews
with some of the emerging scholars in Canada. In keeping with the pedagogical objectives
of the first two editions, I have also positioned the book as an explicitly pedagogical project,
with chapter objectives, questions to ask yourself, discussion questions, and further read-
ing included in all of the chapters. This is not to pre-empt the work of instructors. Rather,
I hope these elements contribute to their repertoire of material as they seek to animate the
text for their students and guide the use of the book in lectures and tutorials. In most cases,
the "Useful Websites" and "Further Readings" have been updated as well.
With this edition, I have continued to add more Canadian content and updated key
elements. While Canadian readers are familiar with international trends and events in
new media, it is sometimes more interesting and salient to see how these play out in the
national, regional, and local scene. This book is explicitly and proudly Canadian in its
approach, examples, and almost all of the case studies. Without making it parochial, I
have tried to position this book as a Canadian exploration of new media. Some things,
such as our specific regulatory and legal history in relation to new media, are distinct and
require a specifically Canadian treatment, keeping in mind, of course, the international
context in which all new media operate. Other facets of new media (and the history of
new media) are, in fact, Canadian contributions to the global environment. Recent success
stories, such as Hootsuite or Slack, point to major contributions from Canadian software
and technology companies.
Many of the updates to this edition came as a result of suggestions from reviewers as
well as the faculty and students-including my own-who are the primary users of the
viii Preface to the Third Edition

book. And a tip of my hat has to go to the clever students who caught errors and omissions.
You know who you are, and thank you! Keep those contributions coming in.
Although the revisions have been an extremely challenging task, I have been aided
immeasurably in the process by a number of colleagues who have contributed to this book
by participating in interviews, reviewing drafts, and making suggestions. Jon Festinger, a
colleague at the Centre for Digital Media, helped with suggestions for Chapter 6 on games,
as did Florence Chee, professor at Loyola University.
As before, the team at Oxford University Press Canada has been wonderful. In par-
ticular, I appreciate the excellent guidance from developmental editor Lauren Wing, who
ensured that the project stayed on track from both a time and a relevance perspective.
I could not have finished this book on time without the enormous support of my wife,
Deborah Kirby, who has been extremely supportive of the late nights and weekends that
went into this project. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to my research assistant (and
MDM grad), Angela Hamilton. Her research and editorial assistance made this project
possible. All errors and omissions fall to me, of course, and I encourage you to call me on
them: [email protected].

Richard Smith, Vancouver

September 2017
Introduction
This third Canadian edition of New Media is intended to be used in undergraduate
courses on new media in a range of disciplines in the arts and social sciences, including
(mass) communication, journalism, sociology, and anthropology. It could also be used
as a supplement to a business or marketing course, given our attention to innovation
and the business setting for new media. We don't assume a great deal of prior knowledge
about theories, approaches, or technology, and we attempt to cover new media from a
variety of perspectives.
Throughout the text, we pay special attention to the role of Web 2.0, which has both
captured the popular imagination via sites like Facebook (http://facebook.com) and
demonstrated the political and economic power of new media as we saw in the use of
Twitter (http://twitter.com) in the US election and UK "Brexit" campaign in 2016. We
show the negative as well as the positive cultural, social, environmental, and civil rights
implications of the widespread adoption of new media tools. Our objective is to help read-
ers become critical and analytical users and students of new media.
The first chapter asks the question, "What is new for society in new media?" and the
role of new media in social change. We explore new media as an outcome of convergence-
the process by which media technologies, industries, and services are merging-through
changes in computing and communications networks and content. We attempt to put
these changes in perspective and recognize that longstanding social, cultural, political,
and economic forces remain significant factors affecting technological change. We then
examine the characteristics of digital information and how those characteristics enable
interactive communication and communication practices. Since the Internet is one of the
most important new media forms of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, we
review the history of the Internet, its social implications, the growth of Web 2.0, and the
importance of search engines. We also look at the importance of online encyclopedias,
status updates, friend lists, and online video. Chapter 1 concludes with a review of the im-
plications of convergence and Web 2.0 for the creation and consumption of media content.
Chapter 2 provides the historical context for new media. Connections are drawn be-
tween current network technologies and prior inventions such as the telegraph, radio, and
television. Although the path has been winding sometimes, ever since we have been able
to send messages without moving physical objects (the first telegraph), immediacy has for-
ever changed our expectations about communication media. With new capabilities came
new institutions and social arrangements, and these have proven to be foundational and
influential for subsequent generations of media. Journalism, politics, and business were all
transformed by their use of the telegraph and the telephone, as Chapter 2 demonstrates.
The radio and, later, television provided a testing ground for key elements of new media
and in particular the business model in which the content could be accessed for free, if
one was willing to accept a little bit of advertising. We conclude the chapter with a brief
discussion of the educational potential of earlier new media.
Chapter 3 is premised on the notion that a well-rounded view of the role and ef-
fects of new media in society can only be gleaned by considering a number of perspec-
tives. For this reason, the chapter presents several theoretical approaches to new media
while providing insight into their strengths and weaknesses. For example, we critically
x Introduction

examine technological determinism and point out its weaknesses, while acknowledg-
ing that existing technological configurations inevitably influence society once they are
widely adopted. Particular emphasis is placed on a "social shaping" perspective, in which
groups and individuals are understood as able to influence how media is used and how it
evolves. We explore some of the hype that surrounds new media and try to understand
why science-driven messages are so compelling, while critically examining both the overly
positive and the unnecessarily negative (frequently deterministic) portrayals of the effects
of new media. Both cultural context and media forms are explored as ways of understand-
ing new media, along with social, psychological, and economic explanations.
Chapter 4 focuses on mobile technologies as a vital and important part of new media
today. In this chapter, we explore the mobile phone and related technologies, such as the
tablet, from historical, technological, and economic perspectives. Some of the key technical
features of mobile phones are explained and examined with an eye to making these some-
times mysterious technologies more comprehensible. We also look at how social media
services such as Facebook and Twitter are deployed on mobile devices, and the implications
of location on these services. We examine, as well, some of the cultural impacts of mobile
new media technologies as well as social, health, and environmental implications.
Chapter 5 is about social networks and the use of these networks for the production
of culture and cultural goods. In the first half of the chapter, we consider the concept of
social networks and how these enable a culture of mass participation-a "participatory
culture." We also examine how these networks enable and enhance many other social
processes. Although networks are not new phenomena, they are enhanced and extended
by new media and we explore this process in more detail here. Networks are economic and
political as well as social phenomena and, given their importance, it is not surprising that
new research methods have arisen to study them. One of these, social network analysis, is
considered in detail from both a practical and an historical point of view. Social network
theories are also critically examined in this chapter. In the second part of Chapter 5, we
look at social production and participatory culture as it has emerged in information and
communication technology enhanced social networks.
In Chapter 6 we examine the world of video games. Game play and the game industry
are a prime example of new media in the twenty-first century. We examine games as a
significant part of popular culture, extending beyond their economic impact. We also look
at how the immersive nature and rapid pace of change places online and video games at
the centre of debates about gender roles, culture, childhood experiences, and intellectual
property. We take a look at the economics of the game industry, including its dependence
on subcontractors. This is followed by a consideration of the tension between the creative
side of the business and the investment side, as well as the complex value chain between
production and distribution. In the last part of the chapter, we look at some of the most
significant gaming developments in the early years of the twenty-first century, such as
the role of producer-consumers "madding" games, mobile gaming, smaller indie game
studios, and free-to-play games. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of the political
economy of the game industry, as well as a look at the game industry in Canada.
Chapter 7 is about the creative industries generally and how digital media has acceler-
ated, broadened, and deepened the industrialization of creativity. We begin with an exam-
ination of the concept of creativity and, especially, under what circumstances it can flourish.
 Introduction xi

We next consider the notion of "creative industries" and how and why they have become a
policy objective of cities, provinces/states, and countries around the world.
In Chapter 8, we look at the global knowledge economy and new media as a powerful
force for globalization. Here, we explain the complexity of globalization and review some
of the main criticisms of these developments as part of an overall knowledge economy. We
examine both technological change and its role in the economy as well as more practical
matters such as e-commerce strategies and the role that new media play in "disintermedi-
ation" in order to better understand the forces that drive the global knowledge economy.
We look at the nature of digital goods and how they have disrupted many industries that
relied on the expense of reproducing and transporting ideas (e.g., news, music, movies) for
a competitive advantage and now find themselves without their former basis for extract-
ing value. In this context, we return to some of the themes on creativity from Chapter 7
and examine the creative economy more closely from a business perspective. Here, we
examine topics such as technological innovation and the innovator's dilemma.
In Chapter 9, we examine law, policy, and governance for new media, and then con-
sider the interesting and sometimes difficult issues that have arisen in a world in which
two of the foundational principles of law-property and the state-are significantly al-
tered by digital and global information flows. In the absence of a strong legal foundation
for new media, nations have attempted to use policy initiatives to establish priorities and
create programs that will boost the power and role of their own citizens and corpora-
tions in the use of information and communication technologies. Governments have also
intervened by subsidy or procurement strategies. We examine these issues along with im-
plications for copyright and property rights, and the open-source software movement. It
is clear that in Canada, at least, users' rights are regaining recognition as an important
feature for new media.
In Chapter 10, the concluding chapter, we consider how new media is evolving in the
2000s. We look at several additional topics that are particularly relevant in considering
the continued evolution of new media. We also return to look further at social media and
its implications for social interaction, whether for personal, business, political, or other
purposes, and we review in some detail the surveillance implications of our networked,
digital new media. New and digital media are moving beyond the screens and out into the
world through innovations such as 3D printing, robotics, and augmented reality. These
topics, as well as some emerging themes for new media scholars, are part of the Chapter
10 conclusion.
Abbreviations
3G t hird generation (in t he context of mobile te lephony)
4G fourth generation (mobile phones, Internet protocol based)
AC alternati ng current
ACTA Ant i-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
Al artificial intelligence
AP Associated Press
API applications programming interface
AR augmented reality
ARPA Advanced Research Projects Agency
ASCII American St andard Code for Information Interchange
B2B b usiness to business
B2C b usiness to consumer
BBC British Broadcast ing Corporat io n
BBM BlackBerry Messenger
CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
cc Creative Commons
CDS Center for Digital St oryt ell ing
CED Committee for Economic Development
CERN Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire (European Organ isation
for Nuclear Research)
CIS critica l information stud ies
CMC computer-med iated comm unication
CRBC Canadian Radio Broad cast ing Commission
CRTC Canadian Rad io-television and Telecomm unications Commission
CWTA Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association
DC direct current
DCMS Department of Culture, Media, and Sport (United Kingdom)
DDOS distributed denial of service
DIGRA Digita l Games Research Association
DIY do-it-yourself
DRM digital-rig hts management
E3 Elect ronic Entertainment Expo
EA Elect ronic Arts
EFF Electronic Frontier Foundation
EMS enhanced message service
ESA Enterta inment Software A lliance
EU European Union
EULA end-user licensing agreement
FCC Federal Commun ications Commission (United States)
FPS first-person shooter (video game type)
FTP fi le t ransfer protocol
GATS General Agreement o n Trade in Services
 Abbreviatio ns xiii

GDP gross domestic product

GIi G lobal Information Infrastruct ure
GPS g lo b al positioning system
GUI graphical user interface
HTML hypertext markup lang uage
HTTP hypertext transfer protocol
ICANN Internet Corporat ion for Assigned Names and Numbers
ICT information and commu nicat ion technology
IHAC Information Highway Advisory Council (Canada)
IP Internet prot ocol
IPR int ellectual property right
ISO Internat ional St andards Organizat ion
ISOC Internet Society
ISP Internet service provider
IT information technology
ITCP information technology related creative practice
ITU International Telecommun icat ions Union
LAN local area network
LARP live-action role-pl aying
LCA life cycl e analysis
LTE lo ng-term evolut ion (mobile p hone technology)
MIT Massachusetts Inst itute of Technology
MMOG massive mu ltiplayer online game
MMS multimedia message
MOO mu lti-user object -o rient ed doma in
MMORPG massively multiplayer online role-playing game
MUD multi-user dungeons
NAFTA North American Free Trad e A g reement
NCSA National Center for Supercomputer A p p lications
NES Nintendo Entertainment Syst em
N FB Nat io nal Film Board
NII Nat ional Info rmation Infrast ructure (United States)
NPR National Public Radio (United St ates)
NSA N atio nal Security Agency (Un ited States)
NTIA Natio nal Telecommunications and Information A dministration
(United States)
OJS O p en Journ al Syst em
P2P peer to p eer
PBS Public Broad casting Service (United Stat es)
PC personal com p uter
PDA personal dig ita l assistant
PKP Public Knowled ge Proj ect
RFID rad io frequency identificati o n
RIM Research In M o ti on
RPG role-playing game
xiv Abbreviatio ns

RSS really simple synd icat ion; rich sit e summary

RTS real-time strat egy
SMS short message services
TCP transmission cont rol protocol
TPM techno logical protection measures
TRIPS Trade-Relat ed Aspects of Intellect ual Property Right s
UNCTAD Unit ed Nations Committee on Trade, A id and Development
UNESCO Unit ed Nations Envi ro nmental , Scientif ic and Cult ural Organization
VR virtual reality
WAN wide area network
WHO World Health Organ izatio n
W i-Fi a t rade name for w ire less networking devices (often t hought t o stand
for "wireless fidelity," although th is is not the case)
W IPO World Intellect ua l Property O rgan ization
WoW World of Warcraft
WSIS World Summ it o n t he Informat ion Society
WTO World Trade O rganization
WWW World Wide W eb
Other documents randomly have
different content
 The Project Gutenberg eBook of Windmills,
Picturesque and Historic: The Motors of the Past
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Windmills, Picturesque and Historic: The Motors of the Past

Author: F. H. Shelton

Release date: January 30, 2017 [eBook #54075]

Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Chuck Greif, deaurider and the Online

Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
(This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WINDMILLS,

PICTURESQUE AND HISTORIC: THE MOTORS OF THE PAST ***
 (In certain versions of this etext [in
certain browsers] clicking on the
image, will bring up a larger
version.)
(etext transcriber's note)

WINDMILLS, PICTURESQUE
AND
HISTORIC: THE MOTORS OF
THE PAST
BY
F. H. SHELTON
Philadelphia. Member of the Institute

Reprinted from the Journal of The Franklin Institute

February, 1919

PRESS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 1919

(Reprinted from the Journal of The Franklin Institute,
February, 1919.)
 WINDMILLS, PICTURESQUE AND HISTORIC:
THE
MOTORS OF THE PAST.[A]
BY
F. H. SHELTON.
Philadelphia.
Member of the Institute.

The pessimist says that man is a lazy animal and that he invents
machines to save himself work. The optimist, that man is an industrious
creature who invents machines that he may accomplish the more.
Whichever doctrine is right, there is but little question that of all the
ingenious contrivances evolved by man none is more picturesque, of more
historic interest nor of greater usefulness in its day than the old-fashioned
windmill, the world’s principal motor for some eight hundred years. And
“motor” is the viewpoint to take of this old piece of mechanism, for just as
the later devices of steam, electricity or gasoline are for the purposes of
making power for the needs of man, so was this old appliance for the prime
purpose of securing power from the wind, and by thus harnessing that most
widely distributed of Nature’s forces, of enabling the accomplishment of
work far beyond the limits of manual power.
The steam engine came into use in the early part of the nineteenth
century. By 1825 most of the principal English cities had it in use. Before
that period, and dating back to remote ages, the only sources of power—
other than man or bullocks, etc.—were the two great forces of wind and
water. But only countries of waterways and varying levels afforded
waterfalls; while the wind was universal. Therefore, while water wheels
were in use in parallel periods with the oldest of windmills, in number they
were infinitely less, so that one can properly say that the world’s motor for
some eight centuries was the old-time windmill. These eight centuries are
from about 1000 to 1825, when, with the advent of Watt’s invention, the
zenith of windmill design and use had been attained. After that date they so
declined that in fifty years not only had new construction ceased, but the
old structures in very large measure had fallen into decay and abandonment.
It is evident from the above that an account of this old, picturesque, historic
and effective tool of mankind should have some interest, both from the
standpoint of engineering and that of sentiment; and it is believed that what
follows will give the essential facts relating to it. It may be proper to say
here that what is related applies entirely to the old-style windmill, and in no
measure whatever to the modern American type of windmill, which, while
cheap, effective and useful, is nevertheless a prosaic, galvanized iron,
squeaky thing, of which happily the larger proportion of the millions
annually made is exported out of our country!
While the antiquity of windmills is traced by some back to the Romans
there is really nothing very definitely known of their existence before the
period of the Crusaders. They were said to have been brought into central
Europe in that period from the Far East; though this is open to question.
Practically their origin is lost in antiquity, and we only know that they
appear in the earliest records as existent in some form or other.
But by 1200 they were well established. The first English windmill is of
1191. There are numerous records of them in the thirteenth century. There is
a brass tablet of 1349 at Lynn church, with a windmill graven on it. In old
stained glass of the early churches windmills are shown in some of the
landscapes; as at Great Greenford and Fairfield. In a view, “London in the
time of the Tudors” (1560), windmills are seen; and Great Windmill Street
commemorates to this day the location of one in the past in that city.
Elsewhere it was the same. Rembrandt, of the early part of the seventeenth
century, shows such mills in some of his pictures; and in the early prints and
views of France, Germany and other countries is abundant evidence of the
use of these old, useful machines, in various forms, places and ways.
What was standard in the old world was naturally brought into the new,
and so we find in America, concurrent with the colonies and settlements of
the early days, the introduction and use of windmills. The Dutch in New
Amsterdam, in 1625 and later; the Swedes on the Delaware, in 1643; the
English in Rhode Island, in 1665 and 1675, and Boston, in 1660; and on the
Carolina coast—all had their mills, as shown by early records, maps and
views. And these mills were logically the types used by the respective
settlers, according to the district from which they had come. For instance,
the old mill in Somerville, Mass., built in 1710 by Jean Mallet, a French
Huguenot, is of the pure French type; as were those near Detroit, by the
followers of the fortunes of Cadillac; while those in Talbot, Kent and Dorset
counties, Maryland, reflected the clear English design of the old country.
The same applies to the numerous ones erected in the colonial days of 1725
to 1775, in Easthampton, Bridgehampton, etc., on Long Island; at various
points on Cape Cod; at Nantucket (1746); in numerous instances on
Newport Island, Rhode Island, etc. A notable one of this type and period
was that on Windmill Island in the Delaware River, shown in an old view,
“An east prospect of the City of Philadelphia,” 1746. All these reflected the
English design of the emigrant settlers, bringing with them and promptly
setting up and using the motors or machinery of the mother country.
There are two forms into which these old mills can be grouped, viz.,
vertical and horizontal. By that is meant the relative position of the wheel
and shaft. The vertical is that form in which the wheel is vertical, mounted
on a shaft which is horizontal or nearly so. This is the form almost
universal, for while various instances of the other have been tried, scarcely
one in a thousand has been used compared with the vertical type. The
reason for this is that in the vertical form of wheel, its face directly
confronting the wind, all vanes are acted upon at once, and there is not only
the greatest resulting power, but the greatest simplicity of construction and
of operation and handling. The horizontal wheel, on the other hand,
occupying a horizontal zone and attached to a shaft that is vertical, like the
usual small water turbine, in position (but not in the fluid impact) receives
the wind impact upon only some of the vanes at a time—not the whole
circumference—with less proportional power and greater complexity of
construction. So secondary has been the use of this style of windmill that
consideration of it is negligible.
From the design standpoint, windmills involve four essential component
parts:
(a) A tower, or means of support for the moving wheel and mechanism.
(b) A revolving wheel that receives the impact of the wind, converting it
into power.
(c) Some means of turning the wheel, to follow the shifting of the wind;
and,
(d) The driven machinery.
(A) The Towers or Supports.—The support in the earliest form of mill
was merely a post, made of a suitable log or tree trunk—sometimes 30
inches thick—upon which the entire structure was carried or hung and
pivoted, so that it could turn freely to the wind. This was the original type—
the old “post-mill,” appearing in the earliest known prints and records, and
alone used until about 1650. At that time the “tower mill” was developed,
and this, of larger possibilities, soon resulted in great structures of that style
being built, that generally replaced and threw far into the shade the earlier
and simple post form.
The towers of this latter form of old windmill were made of every
conceivable or possible form and material. Straight or cylindrical; tapering
or cone shaped; octagonal or multi-sided; even bottle shaped, like a
mammoth milk bottle of the present time. Again, on open arches, as in two
notable structures later referred to—anything to carry the overhead work,
according to the fancy or purse or conditions governing the builder. Of
brick or stone or wood; slate, shingle or thatch covered, in height these
towers ranged from 25 to 100 feet. The largest ever built was at Great
Yarmouth, England, 11 stories high, and over 100 feet, exclusive of the
great vanes. The great Dutch grist mills were however, a close second in
height, and with a base of some 35 feet and a top width of 16 feet were
massive structures indeed. These tall structures were divided by various
floor levels, the lower rooms thus formed containing the mill-stones or saw
or other driven machinery, while the upper ones were used for living
quarters or storage. The structure of the smaller post mills, however, being
suspended on the centre posts, was never of stone or brick, but wholly of
wood, and these rotating or movable buildings ranged in size from about 10
by 12 feet to 16 by 24 feet in the larger ones, and up to two stories in height.
At the top of the mills, of course, was located the wheel shaft and
gearing, and to protect this from the weather there was always a covering or
“mill head” or top, and these tops have taken a great variety of interesting
forms, for no apparent particular reason, and yet often a fixed style,
following some geographical location. For instance, in France the almost
universal
POST MILLS
All pivoting on single centre post support.
Small form. Large form. North Carolina, U.S.A. England, turret form.

TURNTABLE MILL. HYBRID MILLS.

Holland, side and end view. France, grist mill. Holland, dumping mill.

England and Holland, Germany, France, Hungary, Spain, Turkey and Eastern
Holland, brick. Sweden, etc., wood. stone. stone. stone. Mediterranean.
THE FOUR TYPES OF WINDMILLS.
or characteristic shape is that of a steep true cone; in Denmark, Sweden,
etc., a Turk’s head or turban type was the standard; also in England, on the
great tower mills. Yet in Holland, on the same type of mill, such was never
used, but a distinct Dutch form of irregular shape, and almost always
thatched. And in the Mediterranean countries the tops become so flattened
or lowered as to in some cases almost disappear. The accompanying plate
well illustrates these structural and geographical differences.
While the old mills all divide into either post or tower mills, there are yet
two well-defined further forms, or variations of type, that should be
remarked.

England, South of England, Holland, Holland,

Turk head wood tower mill. tower mill. turntable type.
brick tower mill.

France, tower mill. France, hybrid mill. Belgium, tower mill. Hungary, tower mill.
 Mediterranean, tower mill. Plain, post mill. Belgium, post mill. Barbadoes,
tower mill.

Rhode Island, Long Island, Sweden, Turkey,

wood tower mill. wood tower mill. wood tower mill. stone tower mill.
TYPICAL WINDMILL HEADS.

Sometimes a tower mill would be constructed on a circular timber

framework or base, carried on rollers or iron balls, forming a large
turntable, enabling the turning of the entire edifice to the wind, as need be,
the same as a locomotive turntable or a rotary drawbridge is turned. This
therefore parallels the post
 Usual canvas England, Bywater’s England, Cubit’s England, Meikle’s England,
covered sweep. rolling canvas. patent shutter. spring sweep. double shutter.

France, France, Primitive sweep, Mediterranean, Mediterranean,

double sweep. folding sweep. interlaced boards. double sweep flying jib;
canvas. Greece, Turkey, etc.
TYPICAL WINDMILL ARMS.

mill type, in which the entire structure is turned to follow the wind, but
turning on this turntable base instead of a post. This form was extensively
used in the saw mill and lumber districts of Holland.
The other variation is what may be called a hybrid form—part post type,
part tower type. In this the contained machinery is fixed in the base, and
does not rotate, being thus of the tower mill design; while in the upper part
of the mill a rectangular wood housing, like a post mill, is pivoted and
revolves with a tail beam, as in the post design. Such hybrid forms are
found in Holland and in the valley of the Loire, at Saumur, Chinon, etc.
(B) The Sweeps.—With mills built for centuries and by all countries, it is
but natural to expect to find a wide range of form in this most characteristic
part of a windmill—the sweeps or vanes; and in this one is not
disappointed.
The usual, earliest and simple form was that of a canvas or sail covered
framework. This canvas covering could be reefed to suit the strength of the
wind, and the four measures of sail spread were known as “full sail,”
“quarter sail,” “sword point” and “dagger point,” respectively—these last
two, from a fancied resemblance of the shape of the partly furled or reefed
cloth to the point of a sword or dagger. But these canvas sails were
laborious to handle, and in no sense automatic in varying the amount of
surface according to the strength of the wind, which resulted in numerous
schemes for betterment. The most successful of these and that known as
“patent” sails was the invention of Cubit, an Englishman, who, a century
and a quarter or so ago, devised a series of wood shutters forming the face
of the vane, all connected by little levers and cords or rods to a
counterweight. This, when adjusted, would cause the shutters to give a full,
flat surface to the wind, but if the wind should increase to a danger point, its
force would overcome the pull of the weight and the hinged shutters would
all open the necessary amount to spill some of the wind through and thus
ease the pressure on the sweeps. This was a good deal like a huge Venetian
blind arrangement, as to the shutters or slats; and in some cases these
shutters worked against the tension of a spring instead of the pull of a
weight, and such were known as Meikle’s “spring sweeps.” Still another
arrangement—Bywater’s—was that of the canvas being mounted upon a
long roller, a good deal like a modern window shade, which rolled and
unrolled as needed; but this was rather complicated and not much in vogue.
It was usual to have four-fifths of the area of the sweeps on one side of
the arm and one-fifth on the other, and these were “single sweeps”; while
those in which there was a wide area on both sides—as almost the universal
practice in France—were known as “double sweeps.” Wood has been used
as a sweep covering as well as canvas—as for instance in France, where
one finds some of the most primitive, crude mills, with sails made of thin
boards interlaced or woven into the vane framework; while, on the other
hand, one also finds quite an elaborate construction. This is in the mills of
the Loire valley, in which a dozen parallel boards on each vane are rigged
much like a great Japanese fan, which when open presents a large surface,
but when closed presents but little, the boards or wood strips overlapping
and resting one upon the other. This construction I have found nowhere but
in that section.
Going still further toward the primitive, we find in the Mediterranean,
especially in the eastern end, in Asia Minor, in the vicinity of Smyrna,
Turkey; the islands of Rhodes, Chios, Samos, and of Greece and the Sea of
Marmora, a construction consisting simply of poles, anywhere from six to a
dozen, stuck in the hub, carrying flying jibs, resulting in a wheel not far
different in form from the paper spinwheel that a child may make! In Sicily
and the Balearic islands these become a little better, having the wood
framework to hold the canvas in the most effective position, and they form
a transition phase between the crude jib wheels of the Orient and the
elaborated types of the north.
In number the arms of the usual mill were four—and almost universally,
for this was not only the simplest and strongest construction compared with
the difficulty of framing six or eight firmly at the hub, but also the most
effective. For it was found that the wind had to have a certain amount of
exit space between the vanes to get away freely, and that if this part of the
circle was too much filled with additional sweeps no corresponding gain in
power was secured. A few very fine examples, however, can be found of
these five-and six-arm mills, as in the famous 100-foot brick tower mill of
Whitby, England, with five arms and its Turk’s head top; and at Lewes,
where a fine turret mill and others have five and six arms.
The length of these arms in an ordinary size mill was about 30 feet,
giving a diameter to the wheel of 60 feet; but in the big tower mills referred
to the arms were sometimes 50 and 60 feet long, making the wheels well
over 100 feet in diameter. The usual speed was about 16 revolutions a
minute. If faster than 20 a danger point was reached that was very real, for
there have been many cases of runaway mills, resulting from defective
brakes or accident or carelessness; in which accidents millers have been
caught in the vanes or sweeps and carried around and around and thrown
off; or millstones bursting from too high speed have amputated the miller’s
legs; or friction heat has set the structure afire.
 It is of course obvious that the surface of these windmill sails could not
be really flat, as in that case the wind blowing against it would merely
recoil and exert no power effect. A warp or twist was requisite, that the
wind might give a thrust to the sail in passing through the wheel, precisely
the reverse action of a screw propeller on a boat.
This twist was known as the “angle of weather” or “bosom,” and the
precise amount and form were the subjects of many early abstruse and
learned studies. Practice finally settled down to an angle of about 17° at the
inner end and about 8° at the outer end of the sail as being the most
effective.
The mounting of these huge wheels was a matter of some moment,
requiring very heavy construction, and this resulted in the use, as a rule, in
all the earlier and medium size mills of a great shaft or log, turned or hewed
octagonal, carried by gudgeon bearings, on old blocks of soapstone, or
greased oak, or cast iron bearings at either end. Into the outer projecting
end, outside the roof, the square ends of the vane shafts or sweeps were
mortised and bound with straps and bolts of iron. Later and in the larger
mills, and after foundry work was more available, these “great-shafts” were
made of iron, giving much better bearings and enabling the sweeps to be
bolted into square openings more conveniently. But with all these mills,
especially the early simpler forms, there was an enormous loss in dead
weight moved and in friction, and it is doubtful whether in most of them 50
per cent of the force of the wind reached the mill stones below for useful
work.
There was a popular belief that the wind came down from the heavens
above, and that therefore the wheel should “look up” a little, to best meet it;
with the result that the shaft of the mill was virtually never set level, as one
might suppose, but always with the outer end a little higher than the inner,
which angle of uplift varied from 5° to 10°. A very practical result of this
was also gotten, in the necessary clearance of the tapering tower by the
revolving vanes. For these revolving vanes were something to be respected
—a 60-foot wheel, for instance, weighing several tons and having a
periphery speed of perhaps 3000 feet a minute, and more than one horse or
cow straying into the path of the arms in a mill in operation has been struck
and paid the penalty. To guard against that, mills were at times set upon a
dais or raised foundation, or fenced in.
 The great shaft would have mounted upon it a “great wheel,” from 8 to
12 or 15 feet in diameter, with cog teeth, and these engaged in a pinion or
lantern or trundle or wallower wheel, as variously styled, on a vertical shaft,
which led to the machinery below, and there, by any suitable and usual gear
work of the olden times, whatever grist, saw, grinding, stamping or other
machinery was to be driven would be duly operated by the wind power
from above.
(C) The Tail Beam or Vane.—The third essential feature of these old
mills was the device for keeping the wheel head-on to the wind, for the
purpose of securing the fullest amount of power. And this was quite a point,
in view of the perpetual shifting of the wind.
The first arrangement was that of a long beam or pole projecting from
the rear of the old-time post mill, used precisely like a rudder. When the
direction of the wind changed this would be pushed from one side to the
other, to steer the post mill structure, pivoted on the post, again into the
wind. And in the succeeding tower mills, where only the top or head would
be turned, the tail beam principle was continued—as best developed in
Holland, where a somewhat elaborately braced and several-membered
framework was carried down to a point where it could be reached and
moved as the wind shifted. But in Holland the mills became of large size
and the weight to be moved was great, so that the old Dutch miller would
blow a whistle to summon his hands for help. In later years they made use
of a further rig of chains and tackle and a wheel like a pilot’s, which
enabled the snubbing around of the vanes and cap to be done far more
easily than by pushing by hand alone. This old tail beam is, however,
characteristic of the old-time small mill, and many are the tracks, well worn
and circular, around the mill that betoken the years of labor of the miller,
even if eased by an old cartwheel to carry the end of the beam, as instanced
in the well-known old mill at Nantucket and elsewhere.
Usual tail beam on post mills Tail beam. France,
and hybrid mills. tower mill.

Tiller on Holland mill. Chain-wheel on tower mill.

 Cubit’s automatic tail wheel, England. Turntable mill, rollers and snubbing posts.
WINDMILL TAIL BEAMS OR TURNING GEAR.
For keeping mill-head on the wind.

Probably the next device for turning to the wind was the use of a chain
pull, connected to overhead gear wheels and a cogged track; for not only is
this found in some early mills of Holland, and in the mills at Newport, R. I.,
but also in the rare old Peyto mill at Leamington, England, of 1632, of
which I shall speak further. These chain pulls were either inside or out; the
former being more protected from the weather.

Thatched tower pumping mill. Holland.

But all these hand devices were completely eclipsed by another

invention of Cubit—he of the “patent” sweep-shutter—known as Cubit’s
tail vane. This was the use of a small wheel of from 4 to 10 vanes, usually
6, placed in the rear of the head of the mill, up aloft, and so connected by a
train of small gearing that when it rotated it would turn the main head a
little, and if need be follow up the variations of the wind. So accurately was
this designed that it is said that even with the wind shifting but a couple of
degrees around the horizon the tail wheel would then begin to turn, and
with its gearing would in turn wind the mill head, carrying the sweeps, into
the wind. This automatic arrangement was almost universally adopted in
England, in the better class of mills; yet, with the stolidity of the Dutch
temperament, apparently content to continue with hand labor as did their
grandfathers, this admirable device was rarely transplanted even to a place
as nearby as Holland.
Turning now from the mechanical side of these old mills, as above, it is
interesting to note the varied forms, uses and characteristics as found in the
diverse parts of the world, and in the variety of races where and by whom
these old home-made motors have been used.

Saw-mill; turntable type. Holland.

Holland is usually taken as the home of the windmill, but that is so only
in the greater proportionate number there in use than elsewhere. It is not
true as regards origin nor the best development of them. It is a country
notably flat, without water power, on the sea coast, and requiring great
pumping equipment for draining, etc. This early resulted in the great
number of windmills there found and associated with that little kingdom. It
is said that in early days there were 10,000 of them. The greater number of