Task 5: "Concept of Interactivity"

In the article "Interactivity", Jens Jensen presents loads of different definitions by previous academical studies about "interaction" and "interactivity" together with synthesizing a conceptual construction of "interactivity".

Communication patterns are presented to see who owns and provides the information and who controls the distribution:

• Transmission type exists when information is produced and distributed by a central provide. This is how classical media (Tv, radio) works.
• Conversation communication pattern - information production and distribution is controlled by the consumer. E.g. telephone, e-mail, IRC etc.
• Consultation occurs when central provider produces information and consumer controls the distribution. E.g. FTP, WWW
• Registration pattern - information is produced by the consumer but processed and controlled by information providing center. Surveillance systems, registration systems, logging to networks work with this patterns.

In communication and media studies there isn't a clear concept of "interaction" but appears several different:

• Interactivity is presented as a prototype when a list of technologies are said to be used to exchange information in the form of images, drawings and data.
• Interactivity as criteria, that is a certain trait or feature that must be fulfilled(Rockley Miller's writing)
• Interactivity as continuum is where interactivity can be present in different dimensions:

1. 1-dimensional model by Rogers says "the capability of new communication systems to 'talk back' to the user, almost like an individual participating in a conversations. Communication technologies like press, radio, Tv have low interactivity and others like interactive cable Tv has high interactivity.
2. 2-dimensional model by Szuprowicz claims interactivity defined best by the type of multimedia in information flows. Its also divided to 3 categories: user-to-document, user-to-computer and user-to-user.
3. 3-dimensional model by Brenda Laurel characterizes 3 variables: "frequency" or "how often you could interact", "range" or "how many choices were available" and "significance" or "how much the choices really affected matters"
4. 4-dimensional model by Lutz Goertz defines "degree on choices available", "degree of modifiability", "the quantitative number of the selection and modifications available" and "degree of linearity/non-linearity" to be meaningful to interactions.
5. N- dimensional concept of interactivity is illustrated with and example of Carrie Heeter with 6 dimensions are defined.

Still these concepts are too complex and very difficult to deal with on a practical basis for the author. Jensen proposes a more "suitable" concept of interactivity with mutually independent 4 dimensional concept of interactivity. These 4 dimensions transmissional interactivity, consultational interactivity, conversational interactivity and registrational interactivity can be understood by using the communication patterns. As transmissional and consultational interactivity both concerns the availability of choice it can be represented in 3-dimensional graphic model.