Evolution of Digital Media Technologies: Communication Theories

Kathy E. Gill10 October 2006

Our Brave New World

We’ll set the stage for the quarter with EPIC2015

Overview of Tonight

Issues From Readings Communication Theories “New Media” Discussion Proposals, Papers

Issues, Questions (1/5)

Adoption What factors affect acceptance (or

rejection) of new devices? How do we judge probability of

acceptance? Crystal Ball

What is the next big thing? How will DM change traditional media?

Issues, Questions (2/5)

Profitability How do we get there? How do changing costs impact all parts

of an industry sector? Standards

Role in adoption, such as HDTV or wireless

Issues, Questions (3/5)

Societal Impacts Digital Divide …. by age, by access What can we learn from prior

technological shifts? A biggie: DRM

Issues, Questions (4/5)

Technology Use How much is too much? How do we make it usable? What are the impacts on traditional

storytelling? Time Shifting eVoting

Issues, Questions (5/5)

Did I miss any?

Definitions

Technology Communication

What is “technology”?

tech-nol-o-gy 1: technical language; 2a: applied science b: a technical method of achieving a practical purpose 3: a totality of the means employed to provide objects necessary for human sustenance and comfort

Technology, Simply Put

Knowledge used to solve problems and extend human potential

Technology is about enabling change and amplifying its direction.

Think of it as facilitating the journey not (necessarily) setting the destination.

Let’s Look At A Few Charts

Multimedia Adoption Trends (1920-2003) Chip Griffin points out that cable TV is

leveling off at 70% penetration… what are implications for broadband, he asks. What about rural America?

From the WSJ (pdf) Two from Forrester Research:

The Net’s Wealth Of Content Appeals To Younger, More Tenured Consumers (1/2)

September 2006, Trends “More Consumers Look To The Net For Content”

The Net’s Wealth Of Content Appeals To Younger, More Tenured Consumers (2/2)

September 2006, Trends “More Consumers Look To The Net For Content”

Technologies Facilitate

Dominance of any technology is a function of many things (later!)

The ones we care about have an

impact on communication

Communication

A process in which participants create and share information with one another in order to reach mutual understanding (Rogers, 1995).

Two forms: Mediated or Face-to-Face

Technology and Media: An Evolution

Caves in France Paper and charcoal/ink Printing Press Telegraph et al (radio, television) Computer mediated communications

Part 1 : Medium

A go-between/intermediary in the communication that binds the sender and receiver Considers symbolic and cognitive

theories of the psychology of representation

Considers theories of meaning in signs and symbols (semiotics)

Part 2: Channel

The physical/technical transmission as well as any device needed for encoding/decoding

May encompass advertising channels (direct mail) or news (TV)

A one-to-many, one-way channel is typical of mass media

Mass Media

Mass media communication traditionally encompasses these channels: Newspapers, magazines (print

technologies) TV, radio (electronic technologies)

Facing the industry today: what, exactly, is “news”?

New Media (1/2)

Term has been used since the 1970s by researchers conducting social, psychological, economic, political and cultural studies of information and communication technologies (ICTs)

New Media (2/2)

Some definitions focus on computer technology

Others focus on interactivity All are, at their heart, talking about

digitized communication, what we are

calling “digital media” (as contrasted with analog media)

So, what is new?

Socially? Technologically? Three things:

Scarcity Distance Time

Concept of Scarcity Gone! Bits can be easily shared; atoms

cannot Implications for intellectual property

(content owners now use digital rights management)

Implications for business models (Skype) Potentially devastating for an

economic system built upon scarcity

Distance With global networks

Work becomes independent of geography Call centers

Consumption becomes independent of geography The South China Post Al-Jazerra.net

Social groups become independent of geography MySpace Wikipedia

Anything else?

Time Time Shifting facilitates asynchronous

communication Podcasts Tivo, ReplayTV E-mail, voice mail (not IM) Directly impacts the advertising model for TV,

radio For work

Distributed teams 24x7 work flow

Anything else?

New Channels

WWW, e-mail Videoconferencing Podcasts, blogs (RSS-distribution) Mobile telephony (tension between

push and pull) Social sites for networking, news

MySpace, Facebook,Tribe.net Slashdot, Newsvine, NowPublic, Gather

Mass audience no longer

From broadcast to narrowcast Time-shifting

Podcasting ABC News, NPR

Jon Stewart on sharing TDS clips Of course, now they’re on iTunes

The Keystone Technology Hypertext is “new”

New is a relative term! Presents information as linked nodes Coined by Ted Nelson; conceptualized

by Vannevar Bush in 1945 History Hypertext Fiction

Source: http://www.mala.bc.ca/~soules/CMC290/290wk5.htm

One new technology

Moving To “Why?”

A theory explains facts or events and can be used to predict future events

An unproven theory is a hypothesis Social scientists (that’s us) postulate

theories to explain why humans act in certain ways

Why use a technology? Cognitive Needs – Desire (demand) for

information, knowledge, understanding Affective Needs – Aesthetic, pleasurable, and

emotional experiences Personal Integrative Needs – Inner-directed, deal

with credibility, confidence, stability, and status Social Integrative Needs – Outer-directed,

strengthening relationships with family, friends, the world

Escapist Needs – Desire for tension release or diversion- Katz, Gurevitch, and Haas, On the use of the media for important things. American Sociological Review, 38, p. 164-181.

Communication Theories “The fundamental goal of mediated

communication theories has been to

explain the relationship between the affordances (Gibson, 1979; Norman, 1988) of

different mediated technologies and the communication that results from using those technologies.” (Whittaker, nd) Linear or Transmission (Shannon-Weaver, 1948;

Lasswell, 1960) Circular (Osgood and Schramm, 1954)

Shannon-Weaver (1/3) Theory of signal transmission

“Transmission model of communication” Focus on communication technology Information theory is “exceedingly general

in scope, fundamental in the problems it treats, and of classic simplicity and power in the results it reaches” (Shannon & Weaver, 1949)

Shannon-Weaver (2/3)

Shannon-Weaver (3/3)

Redundancy is used to offset noise in a channel

Noise increases uncertainty What is noise in today’s digital

media?

Lasswell Formula (1/2)

Another transmission model of communication

Focus is on mass communication, propaganda

Lasswell Formula (2/2)

Who (sender) Says What (message) In What Channel (medium or channel) To Whom (receiver) With What Effect (impact)

Osgood and Schramm (1/2)

Importance of “meaning” One person can be sender and

receiver (feedback) Stresses social nature of

communication

Osgood and Schramm (2/2)

Summary

Digital media differ from traditional mass media: Time, Space Bits v Atoms

Comm theories attempt to explain the how and why Linear transmission models do not reflect

the non-linear nature of most digital media

New Media Discussion: VoIP

How many had used Skype before this article was published? How many are using some kind of VoIP today?

What are the pluses & minuses to the consumer of using VoIP? (adoption)

What tools of suppression are being used?

If you were the head of AT&T …

Proposals, Papers

Handout On 3x5 card: “elevator description of

your research project” Small groups for feedback,

refinement

Next Week’s Assignments Review On 3x5 card (anonymous unless

you want feedback from me) Feedback on the readings this week One thing you learned tonight One thing you would change Any concerns you have about the quarter