Posts Tagged: theories

After an entire week of training, I think its safe to say that we’ve officially become the Batmen (and women) of interactive media and communication. We are ready to get out there and solve the comm mysteries and restore to order to the chaos. No further explanation is needed right? In the likely the case that the bat-metaphor goes over your head, allow me to explain. Let’s consider what we learned in this week’s reading: types of knowledge, comm. theory genres, research principles and practices, research and measurement techniques, and the practical application of all these things. In essence, we’ve acquired a communications batbelt of tools. From this point on, whenever we encounter a new mystery, we can simply reach to our belt and pull out the right tool to remedy the situation.

As we discussed in class, that’s all these things really are, tools. A theory, or research methods like interviews or statistical analysis, merely give us the ability to tackle larger questions and issues. After all, Batman did not succeed because of any superpowers. Only through applying the right tool at the right time was he capable to take down the villains. So really, the responsibility still rides with us. We have to move beyond looking at the comm theories and definitions in our reading as vague generalizations, and onto using them in practical application, whether that is building a new flash site or exploring new online trends.

So what tools do we have on the belt, and can they help me answer of my previous questions? Well let’s consider my first quandary: do the old-school comm theory rules still apply? Well I guess it depends on what we’re looking at. The Hypodermic Needle might be a tad obsolete, but it does open up an interesting conversation. How influential is the media on individuals and how is that influence acted out? The Uses and Gratifications theory is a great way to examine how and why people consume certain media. And as for the more general techniques, like hypotheses, variables, constructs, and measurements… these are instrumental, not only to communications studies, but to any type of academic study. These techniques make it possible for us to focus our minds on specific cause-and-effect relationships.

My following questions dealt with the nature of interactive media and causality. Namely, how to provide the user with an optimal experience. Well that’s where we get into the research methods discussed in the third chapter. Aside from creating projects as engaging as we can, based on expert grad school educations, we’ll also have to tailor our projects toward the audiences whom we expect to interact with our creations. Whether through anecdotal research like interviews, or measure the ways people interact with the site, there are numerous ways for us to provide the best interactive media available.

So kids, looking towards the rest of the semester, program, and our careers, remember to have your belt strapped on at all times, for you never know when you’ll need to reach for another trusty bat-theory.

1. Interactive media is more than just multimedia tools we use to our advantage. It also affects us individually and socially in social science ways (fields of study that seek to explain how people operate within societies by using the scientific method to study social phenomena). What areas of social sciences are included within the interactive media umbrella and how so? How are we impacted by these as individuals and on a social level?
2. Normative theory address not how things are, but how they should be. This seems to refer to predetermined rules, but new media encourage personal liberty. Theory somewhat contradicts this notion so although we can brainstorm how new media will operate, can we control it?
3. Right now it seems like new media is available to the public. However, although it is available doesn’t mean it is accessible, financially speaking. How will new media be shaped with it is more readily available to more individuals.
4. What are the pro’s and con’s of qualitative and quantitative method? Is one better than another?
5. Now more than ever, I feel like we are at a constantly evolving state in the growth and functionality of multimedia. Although we can use media determinism to understand how society ends up being structured, I don’t believe their is a perfect answer to the future of new media right now. It seems as if there are many theories, but many lack support that will be better developed through time. Do you?