New mediums was exactly my thoughts as well. For example, think of a music magazine versus a tech magazine. The former can appeal to anyone while also delving into specific details, because there is an idea of inherent connection. Generally, music makes you feel something, even if you don’t understand it, and you can talk about that. The latter may have to focus more on specific details, making it more difficult for anyone to engage with it without having an understanding of the content, and then there’s also an almost inherent lack of connection, unless the reader already is “in it”.
From a readers point of view, “music go brr” and “big GPU go brr” can evoke similar reactions initially, but I would hazard to say that there’s more depth to the music aspect of it for the general population. They don’t need to know that the chord progression and the scale used with it are what make the atmosphere, the writer can just talk about how calming and serene the music is, then supplant that statement with details about music theory.
For the GPU and the average reader, it pretty much stops at “cool that GPU can play a game and be used for a specific task on a computer”. Then we start going into all the details about how the tensor cores used are reaching numbers and sizes of transistors suggested by Moore’s law for theory, or PCB and hardware design. Up until you get hands on with it, it’s almost entirely material desire.
The tech side has very little emotional relationship outside of the material object and the knowledge surrounding it, whereas the music side can have material objects (instruments), can have the knowledge surrounding it (music theory) but then it also connects those two things to an expressive outlet. While Gear Acquisition Syndrome is a thing, music doesn’t have as inherent of a material desire. So for as much as I do love to read tech magazines, everything you’re going to get from it is essentially “I liked this device because it makes doing this thing easier.”, which can be handy information. I like them for that reason. But I can certainly see how from a much broader perspective, books and essays, would be generally more difficult for the insider tech industry. You need someone well versed enough to understand what they are investigating, while being capable of making it readable to the average person. All while keeping the intellectual integrity of the work. Certainly can’t be easy lol