But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones you don't know...

When considering one's own position as a creator and consumer of media we must first address the psyche. I have always been a 'normal' Irish guy. When I sit down to analyze my journey I must concede this position. It is only human nature to consider one's position above where it really is on the spectrum. I suspect in my case as both consumer and creator it would have me more enlightened than the average person on the street.

My Anglo-Irish roots have been cause for consternation and it is only with the benefit of four decades that I can begin to form a thesis about my raison d'etre. I grew up on a farm outside Athlone, a large provincial town. This farm has been home to my family for generations, eleven to be precise from circa 1733 and before. Before that our history is a little cloudy.

My father would have employed quite a large number of workers over the year, all of whom we treated as equals. Ireland has always had a very tense relationship between the proletariat and bourgeoisie. I suspect this exists as a reaction to seven hundred and fifty odd years of English/Norman occupation in Ireland.

This background led to family politics that would be centre right and my grandfather and uncle were both representatives on the county council since the formation of the state. Privately educated in a boarding school with a particular strong "West Brit" flavour, my own attitude while in attendance there, were as a 'Black Sheep', though not quite as ‘Black’ as in Athlone!

I attribute to my own outlook to growing as Church of Ireland in the devoutly Roman Catholic Ireland of the 1970's, with the spectre of the "Wee Six" haunting every aspect of that particular era, fostering in me an ‘outsider’ attitude which I carry with me today. I do feel that this affords me a more objective outlook in regards to message reception. Looking back at this, there was always air of cynicism involved in message consumption in our house.

From an early age I would have considered myself media aware, which channeled me into my current career.  I was sensitive to texts of all sorts and even today I hold 'the written word' in great esteem. Throughout history, words (here we can read texts) are synonymous with power. Reading of these must be combined with a rational of the meaning behind it, on all levels.  

Our proximity to Enniskillen allowed for both BBC and RTE to be beamed into our kitchen. Events now commonplace in Irish homes were scarce back then, so two media feeds allows for a better formed opinion. I can remember the fall of Saigon and being allowed watch Ali fighting when I as a kid. Perhaps it was this more than fate that led my path towards digital media.

As a creator my background is wide. I started in a pre-Media world where subject matter concerning media and the likes fell into a category that was headed "Communications".  I hold a National Certificate in Design Communications and a Degree in Visual Communications, each of these endeavors began back in the analog days of the 1980's. My professional career then spans from darkened rooms where the analog message came into being to the lofty heights of the world of the corporate branding.

My first enterprise in New York in 1995 was in a photo-typesetting bureau, where the union typesetter were the top of the totem pole, computer operators likes of myself were very much on the bottom rung of the food chain. Having followed on from that as a cog in the media behemoth that is Madison Avenue, my insight is far from average.  

Undoubtly in the current climate more traditional media channels are on the wane. Now media specific texts can precision hit their chosen targets with numerous options via database information.  Algorithms patrol these databases throwing meaning out from mountains of data. Personal IP address' tag you across the digital spectrum, these harmless digits allow pin point accuracy to the marketers and other who may want to find you.

Though I am sure that my pigeon hole in life should have been destined to be dominant hegemonic, I would perceive myself more in negotiated position. That been said, it is my own belief that Reception Theory is exactly that, theory. In practice today’s media recipients are far more sophisticated than even a decade year ago. The proletariat are no longer ignorant and void of education, despite what we are often being told by the media...