Relevance of the Shannon Weaver Model

The Shannon Weaver model is a very old way of showing how information is communicated electronically. There is a sender, a message, and a receiver. There are other variables involved (like noise and channel), but these are somewhat obsolete if you're using it to compare to electronic communication in this age of technology.

It is a very old model, and it doesn't cover all means of electronic communication anymore with the rise of the internet and mobile applications. However, that doesn't make it completely irrelevant to designers. One could even argue that there are still concrete senders and receivers with information transmitted through websites and applications. Regardless of whether or not the sender meant for the individual to receive it, the information was still sent and received. It just lies digital "purgatory" until someone comes along and receives it.

Things get a little hazy when considering how the internet allows us to access information whenever we want. This diminishes the effectiveness of the Shannon Weaver model as it applies to our world today. Still, it is important for us to understand the model because it gives us a foundation for other more effective models of our time.