Content of New Media is Old Media

I've always been attracted to McLuhan's concept that "the content of new media is old media." It goes a step beyond the idea that we build our culture on the shoulders of those that come before us. The very interesting aspect of McLuhan's concept is the relationship between two different artifacts. Since relationship could be mapped to a relational database, it provides a very interesting extension of the work on tetrads.

If the tetrad database works out as I expect, it will become a mini-encyclopedia of artifacts and their effects. Besides surfing tetrads, you might also be able to surf the genealogical tree of human artifacts if this relationship is provided.  Maybe Phase 2, but interesting.

BTW, started re-reading "Scrolling Forward" to see how I might map these relationships - even if he never mentions McLuhan.