Niels Hendriks 2004

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Niels Hendriks - 2004
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First

• Presentations
• Maria
• Maarten

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Last Lesson

• Drafting a communication plan
• Likes dislikes?
• Questions?
• Problems?

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Last Lesson
Problem analysis
Objectives and target groups
strategy and content
media selection
Planning and budgeting
Evaluation
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Last lesson

• Topics of todays lesson
• Why do we choose what medium?
• Some announcements, forecasts,

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Sources

• Main Sources
• Wijngaert, van de, L., Het internet in context,
  in Communicatie in de informatiesamenleveng
  (Bouwman).
• Other Dennis Kinney, Testing Media Richness
  Theory in the New Media The Effects of Cues,
  Feedback, and Task Equivocality.
• http//pubsonline.informs.org/main/pdfstore/Testin
  gMediaRichness_article.pdf
• You need to read know this article

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Intro

• Digital Divide
• Sodexho Company in cooperation with Belgacom
  (largest ADSL-operator)
• Launched Surf_at_home
• Extra-legal voucher to pay your surf-bill
• Part of the PC Privé-plan of the government
• Good initiative?
• Yes, but

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intro

• Why do people choose for a certain medium?

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Intro

• Why?
• Physical access is just one element
• Whether or not one will use the internet depends
  upon several aspects
• Each user has a certain question which needs to
  be solved via a medium
• Whats the Question
• Who is asking this question
• What is the (social) context?
• What other media are available?
• We will deal with the question WHY we use the net?

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Intro

• From the beginning of the 20th century
• Q Why do we use which media gt relevant
  question
• First theories mass media gt had a direct effect
  on the passive audience
• Media are powerfull
• EG propaganda in WWII

SENDER
Channel
Receiver
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Intro

• First theories
• Dealt with the effect media had on the audience
• Eg war propaganda
• Eg election kennedy nixon
• Critique

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Intro

• Waples
• what reading does to the people is not nearly so
  important as what people do to reading
• What does this mean?
• It is not the MEDIUM which will realise the
  EFFECT, but its the USER of this medium

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Intro

• After the effect-theories we had the what the
  user wants-theories

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Intro

• Uses Gratifications theory
• media is to satisfy certain needs
• Eg the need to be amused gt watching television
• Eg the need to stay up to date gt reading a
  newspaper
• We want information
• We want to cope with personal feeling of
  uncertainty
• We learn about society the world
• We seek support for our norms values
• We search for an insight on our lives
• Empathy for others
• A coin of exchange for social contact
• A replacement for lost social contact
• A way of being connected to others
• Escape from problems of daily life
• We step into a world of imagination
• Its a way to get Katharsis
• We search for structure in our day

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Intro

• Uses Gratifications not this good
• with BROADCAST MEDIA (Traditional Mass Media TV,
  Radio,) only SELECTION is possible
• NOW interactive possibilities (like the
  internet) user is central element
• Will I use this medium
• Which information will I use
• If you try finding answers for media use, think
  about the USER, not the sender, channel or the
  message

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Internet technology

• Internet characteristics
• Interactivity
• Complex
• The level of steering the communication process
  changing roles
• STEERING at what time, content, sequence
• Demassification
• The personal becomes important
• The possibility to perform transaction
• Synchronity
• Synchronous Asynchronous comm
• Mediated communication
• No unique characteristics, but the combination is
  unique

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Intro

• After
• Effect theories
• What user want theories
• New idea what about these mass/personalised etc
  media like the net

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Accessibility

• First characteristic to use a certain medium
• To have Access
• Barriers for accessability

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Intro

• TechnologyWhat technology is needed to acces the
  medium?
• Physical access is the equipment available?
  ?
• Context is the technology easy accessible (em
  access) and usable?
• Not a cognitive burden
• Eg trying to look at the football scores when
  watching The Others together with my girlfriend
• When is it appropriate to use what medium

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Ph A

• ! GPRS, i-mode
• Physiscal access changes
• WAP!!! gt appropriateness, emotional
• Conclusion
• If one medium is not available gt choice for
  another is quite evident
• Someone searching for a fulfillment of his
  information or communication needs will choose
  between several alternatives.
• If context OK gt Appropriateness

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appropriateness

• Second Barrier
• Contingent-principle Is this medium suited to
  fulfill my needs, to answer my question?
• 1 medium
• can not fulfill all my needs
• answer all my questions
• perform all my tasks
• 1 need, question, task,
• Can not be performed, answered by 1 medium

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appropriateness

• Uses and gratifications-theory
• Showed WHY people used media, not WHY they use
  WHICH medium
• Media-choice-theories WHICH tasks are best
  performed by WHICH media
• So, Contingent-principle the choice for a medium
  depends upon the way a certain medium can
  EFFECIENTLY and EFFECTIVELY perform this task
• TUNING-theories
• Afstemmingstheorie gt medium afgestemd op de taak

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appropriateness

• Media-richness-theory
• Message-equivocality
• Communication needs to decrease/diminish
  uncertainty ambiguity
• E is a certain message liable to
  misunderstanding
• low E anouncing a new train time table
• High E discussion on the best strategy to have
  in negotiations gt much chance of
  misunderstanding
• Tasks can have a high a low equivocality

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appropriateness

• Media Richness-theory
• Certain criteria to define whether medium is rich
  or poor
• Possibility to direct feedback
• Possibility to use several cues
• Can we use natural language to convey a message
• the personal focus of the medium
• What would be the richest medium
• What would be a poor medium
• Rich face-to-face
• Poor flyer, brochure

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appropriateness

• Tuning-principle (afstemmingsprincipe medium
  afgestemd op taak)
• Low Equivocality poor medium
• High E Rich medium
• Changing date hour of a course low E, so
  e-mail is possible
• E-mail
• Direct feedback /-
• Several cues no
• Natural language yes, but
• Personal focus ok

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appropriateness

• Critique on the media richness theory
• Too rational equivocality (whether a certain
  task is complex, can cause ambiguity) is not a
  MATHEMATICAL thing, but a PERSONAL
• Someone performing a task for the first time
• High equivocality gt repetition, low equivocality
• This is a theory which was originally about tasks
  performed in an organisation. Media Choice???!!

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appropriateness

• Conclusion
• Physical access some barriers to communication
• Now the characteristics (rich, poor) makes a
  certain medium more appropriate for a certain
  task
• If at one point you got many alternative media
  too choose from, then the third barrier starts to
  become important Emotional Accessibility

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Emotional Accessibility

• Emotional access
• Is the medium compatible with the social
  environment of the user (de leefwereld)
• From a user point of view
• Knowledge of the medium
• Behaviour of the user
• Eg user always uses telephone for a certain task
• New task using teleph too
• Using this medium to find answers perform
  task is an everyday use
• Compare C-md students always use the net to
  perform their assignments
• When having to write a paper not searching in a
  library or calling an expert gt internet

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Emotional accessibility

• From a mediums perspective
• The characteristics of a medium determines the
  medium
• Eg, the internet is felt as being a modern thing
• So if I want to look as a modern guy gt using the
  net
• Usability is an issue too
• ! Usability is not only related to the technical
  characteristics
• ! Level of experience is important too
• Eg, UNIX gt very usable, but only to an
  experienced user
• Usability the relation between the experience of
  the user and the difficulty in use of the system

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Conclusion

• Everything has got to do with the TUNING
• The relation between the question (what task)
  the offer what media, what characteristics
  what can tis medium do.
• het afstemmen tussen vraag welke taak- en
• aanbod welke media, welke mediakenmerken wat
  kan dit medium)

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The context micro-context

• So we now have found some theories on how to
  choose for which medium
• But then you need some choice, you need
  alternatives
• What convinces someone to choose to accept a
  certain medium
• Rogers
• Verspreiding/diffusion is the process by which an
  innovation is communicated through certain
  channels among the members of a social system

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The context Micro-context

• Rogers Diffusion (verspreiding) of media depends
  upon
• 1. What kind of innovation? an innovation
• Relative advantage will this innovative medium
  have some advantages to the way I am working now?
• Compatibility will this innovation be compatible
  to the way I am working now?
• Triability can I experiment with this
  innovation?
• Obeservability is this innovation visible to
  others

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The Context Micro-context

• Rogers 2. Communication is important in the
  diffusion of innovations is communicated
• Rogers TIME 5 types of users
• Innovators actively seeking for new tech
• Early adopters people with some influence
• Early Majority right before the majority they
  switch to new ideas/technologies
• Late majority Sceptic, wait
• Laggards conservative, not willing to change
• If one group follows, they other will too
  gradually

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The context Micro-context

• Rogers social context
• If a certain social group chooses to take up a
  certain technology gt others will follow
• Domestisering gt domestication gt to tame
• New information technologies become part of the
  pattern of everyday life of consumers
• Technology starts to enter the house private
  place
• This technology influences the private place
  private life the private plce/life influences
  the way to use the technology
• Mutual adaptation TAMING gt DOMESTICATION

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The Context Micro-context

• Domestication
• Appropriation buy a product due to certain
  status or because of the desirable ideal use of
  the product
• Eg mobile phone to telephone STATUS
• Objectification the product, service is accepted
  gt it gets a natural place in the household
• Incorporation users USE the products in their
  household as they think is fit
• Eg Computers original idea very functional
  thing
• NOW Games!
• OR answering machine using it as a buffer and
  not as a safety net when impossible to answer a
  call
• Eg, a radio becomes a good thing to wake up
• Eg a microwave to save time (not to heat food-
• Conversion how the enclosed technologies in
  the household, and the meanings and uses they
  hold, fit into the wider public spaces

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The Context Micro-Context

• Micro-Context individual level
• Media Choice is not only an objective thing
  (media richness)
• BUT also a subjective issue/ a social
  construction
• Social Influence
• overt statements about media characteristics,
  task features and choice making shape views about
  different media
• Observing experiences of others may strengthen or
  change perceptions by vicarious learning when
  experiences are positive.
• Group norms affect individuals' media choice
• Social opinion may even prevent rationally most
  efficient behaviour
• When situations are ambiguous social opinion
  effect most
• When task is often repeated, social influence is
  small.

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The Context Micro-Context

• Not only a social, but also a situational Context
• Individual differences
• preference for the auditive use the telephone,
  preference for the textual send email
• Reliability, flexibility, compatibility,
• Elements which can narrow the accesTime Place
• Internet
• Time accessible 24h/24
• Place difficult, not everywhere

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The context Macro-context

• Macro-context the amount of media (aanbod)
• Critical Mass theory
• So far, we have only dealt with the individual
  making choices
• Collective Level?
• Critical mass large group of users
• The acceptance of new media is related to the
  presence of other users
• Eg it makes no sense at all to use email if there
  are no other users using it
• ! Some media Chicken Egg problem
• ITV

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The context Macro-context

• No critical mass?
• What happens then?
• Too much effort to take to use technology
• Cost of the usage of a new medium must be payed
  by too few a group
• Technologies which do not have a critical amss
  yet?
• Paying on the net, e-commerce

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Back to the digital Divide?

• Sodexho PC-Privé-Plan
• Good initiative, try to create this critical
  mass,
• BUT too much focus on the technological
• What about the appropriateness emotional access

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Research of the use of the Internet

• Most of these theories sterm from a pre-Internet
  time
• Can we use these theories for a new medium?
• Because of the characteristics of the new medium
  interactivity, individualising, mediated gt new
  form of communication
• Whats the effect of this demand for an active
  use?

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Research of the Use of the Internet
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Next some announcements

• Starting from 06.12
• My class will be on wednesdays.
• Probably it will start at 14.00h (after JLs
  class which will be some earlier that day)
• From 12.12
• You will have a research class

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Next usability

• Starting from next week, we will deal with
  usability for three weeks
• Week 1
• You will have to read chapter 4-5-6-7-8-11-12 of
  User-Centered Website Development A
  Human-Computer Interaction Approach
• Bring examples of BAD webdesign (screenshots of
  urls). Make sure you can tell us why you do not
  like this website
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Assignment, will be anounced next week.