Task 8: From mass media to personal media

M. Lüders article "Conceptionalising personal media" describes distinction between mass media and personal media in the matter of digital media technologies and social networks. He tries to answer the questions: “What happens to mass and interpersonal communications when private individuals turn into mass communicators.”

Different Scholars articles say that for personal and mass communication the same technologies are being used. But they are partly because of digitalization and change of network structure. For example emails can be sent for private use or as newsletters in a mass communication way.

John Thompson(1994) divides products and technologies in his concept of media. While interned is the media technology, Instant Messanger, emails, blogs are the products or actually media forms as he later proposes. Yet again the same technology is being used for both mass and personal media. By adding the theory of Andrew Feenberg the concept of media or technology slits into four stages with addition of genre which comes from media form. For example a website could be devided to personal site, corporate promotion etc.

Lüdens article outlines that difference in personal and mass media comes from the involvement made by the users. In personal communication media the users are more or less the producers and receivers of message.

Task 7: In search for my own understanding of interactivity

The articles “Interactivity” by Jensen and “Interactivity: a concept explication by ”Kiousis have argument a lot about the different definitions of interactivity. Even thought there are some similar characteristics the experience and playability each individual get from human-computer communication has change a lot in the last decade.

When we look at Jensen’s paper about communication patterns, we see that the fundamental of information communications have definitely remained as they where, just there has been fluctuation among the stakeholders. The traditional media channel like TV and radio have lost significant amount of their stake to new media. With the growth of online communication tools provided via Internet or widespread of mobile devices, new media has become the source to provide, own and share communication. Also we can see that the environments presented within each communication patterns have move to other patterns. Over ten years ago it was mentioned that WWW belonged to consultation pattern when central provider produced information and consumer controlled the distribution. Nowadays I should say that the within WWW the consumers are the largest group to produce and consume the information. Furthermore they are also interacting with the information by making replies or sharing it in another online environments.

The last decade has introduced and embraced many new media platforms, which have been the base for humans interacting with media in a multi-way communication. Mobile as common everyday gadgets, have become the source for information. Last previous years have introduced thousands of diverse mobile application. It’s has become as a “credit card in the wallet”, “voucher for purchase”, “personal trainer on shoulders”, “pet to feed” or “entertainment center”. On the other hand these application and other digital transaction have made each personal more tractable. A “leaving home” note on twitter tweed or gps map positioning reveal can lead to a crime or “hate my job” note on social network wall can lead to being fired. Hopefully the positive sides like gps surveillance devices of car or image recognition algorithms in street cameras can cover it up. For sure the interactivity and the outcomes to queries have increased.

With the years to come its rather hard to predict how the interactivity would have altered meaning. Definitely the humans are the source to communication. Maybe some material objects will start to communicate and reflect according to human’s desires or mood. Hopefully the humans can interact in such way that depending on their hand movements, eyes blinking or emotional stage the environment around, changes.

Task 6: Operationalising interactivity

Spiros Kiousis argument in his article "Interactivity: a concept explication" about different scholars definitions of "interactivity" and proposes a new concept of interactivity by operationalising interactivity.

Generally interactivity is human thoughts more related to communication technologies, online environment, mobile devises, virtual reality but to judge which medium is more interactive than the other is quite blurry.

Newhangen et al(1995) states that interactivity fluctuates across individuals and media (e.g computers are more interactive than newspapers). In media technologies interactivity can be quite stable in time reactions but varies a lot depending on individuals. Steuer(1992) points out that the interactivity should be dependent on the level where mediated environments are more important than the physical environments. Feedback should be rather multiway that two-way communication.

Based on the intellectual perspective articles the fundamental keywords for interactivity should be:

- Two-way or multi-way communication (usually with a channel between)

- The roles of the message sender and received should be changeable

- Communicators can be humans or computers either senders or receivers of information

- Individuals should be able to modify the content and form of the information with mediated environment between

- Users should be able to perceive differences in levels of interactive media

When these conditions are filled, it can refer to interactive communication.

The author proposes a new definition of interactivity with combination of fundamental components and essential components of different views.

By linking the operational definitions with the three main conceptual defintions the depenence will look like this:

- Structure of technology consist of speed, range, timing flexibility and sensor complexity.

- Communcation context has the components third-order dependecy and social presence.

- User perception depends on proximity, preceived speed, sensory activation and telepresence

References:

Newhagen, J.E., J.W. Cordes, and M.R. Levy (1995) ‘Nightly@nbc.com: Audience

Scope and the Perception of Interactivity in Viewer Mail on the Internet’, Journal of

Communication 45(3): 164–75.

Steuer, J.S. (1992) ‘Defining Virtual Reality: Dimensions Determining Telepresence’,

Journal of Communication 42(4): 73–93.

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.

Task 3: comparison of descriptions of creating a study plan

Maarjas blog

Her main factor for choosing the courses have to do with travel itinerary. She wants to take the maximum out of her studies on the first period of courses. 6 out of 9 courses are doable online. She has a nice activity chart which show the process of choosing courses. Edraw Soft seems a good tool to be used, just if it could have a mac version.

Maibritt's blog

Comparing to some other NIE's who have made a cycle about the process of choosing course, she has made a tree of factors that have been considered while making seleciton of course. She has gone really in dept. of the time planning and has considered every aspect. Probably the huge workload during last year has made her much freedom of which courses to take or not.

Norberts blog

What pop's out from his assignment that there is no visual used. Visuals are always good diving already some sort idea what the article is about and like we all know "they say more than 1000 words". He doesn't go in dept. to selection of the course as we all are mostly familiar with it in Tallinn University. The course selection is depending on the time available in Google Calendar.

Jakobs blog

He's study plan is like a piece of art:) You just want to have a closer look at it.

The ones that are afraid of blood might just get wrong impression about the red drops.

Anyway he has gone in detail to describe whole study plan development process and mentioned many aspects that have change the selection of courses on the timeline.

He has used very colorful terms which rise interest and make you want to read the blog post about it. I wish he had shared the name of the tool used.

Ottavio's blog

You always want to here what he has to say because he has always a lot of things to say. I would have expect to have a lot of "whistles" and "colors" on this schema but contrary it has a clear define of activity and most probably that's the way to be when it concerns a study plan.

Conclusion

There where mostly used two kind of visuals to present the study plan. Either keep "it simple" or "dress to impress". It's just questionable where each way of presenting is necessary. I believe in the matter of making study plan once mostly consider if the course is interesting or if it's mandatory. In the process of this it doesn't need much visualization but to keep in plain and simple. Sometimes the value of information or visual is in its simplicity.

Task 2: self-observation and analysis of creating a study plan

This semester I'm studying in Södertörn University in Stockholm. This means that the selection of the courses was rather different then during the previous years.

As I'm a third year IMKE student I have more or less completed my curriculum. There are just two courses and thesis to be made to receive masters diploma. It means that Tallinn University courses had to be taken without considering anything.

For Södertörn University courses I had free will to make selection. Still during the selection process interest, availability and weather it is in English or Swedish had to be considered. These criteria foam and list of elective course which had to be approved by international office in both host and home university.

Task1 - Web experience for New Interactive Environments course

On my workboard of tools one could find

So far I have published few weblogs both in wordpress and blogger that are either music or team sports related. What concerns webfeeds, few friends blogs along with some websites content com straight to my mailbox. This eases to get interesting content out of the overwhelming information society. I just noticed that RSS feed is actually a great way to follow courses like "New Interactive Media".

I have used and edited Wikis during previous courses. Social networks like Facebook and Orkut have been great environments where to make promotion for sharing leisure activities or for business purpose. In business the stress is more and more on social networks than updating companies websites. For few past websites I have used content management system to edith product information, add new and multimedia.

Google translator is irreplaceable everyday tool. Obviously the main reason has to do with my studies in Sweden, less than a month relationship with the language and the tiny fact that one of the courses is in Swedish. Google maps with street view is again another well used tools. Google scholar is also mostly used to find book, articles and get reviews to searches.

One of the last tools that I have used is kissyoutube.com which makes it easy to upload videos presented in youtube. Some of last advertisements Shoot a bear and Zombie movie in youtube have been quite entertaining which need interaction by users. They have been just a sort of inspiration and how the web advertisements are heading.

In consider the mentioned web tools so common for everyday so there is hard to point out something special.