Convergence from the User's Perspective – the Concept of Communication Modes
With this in-house project, the Institute is extending earlier work on the future of television use. In the face of the anticipated difficulty researchers (as well as media providers) will confront in differentiating the tendencies of general media use from the use of the respective individual media, given an environment where circumstances in the media are further converging technically, the concept of the communication mode is being put forward. This merits particular attention because it will become increasingly difficult to recognise from the fact that a particular technical gadget is being used just what its users are actually doing. As they use gadgets, which – to put it simply – can “do it all”, only the users themselves know, in the last analysis, what they are doing in concrete terms, that is, in what communication mode they are operating at any time.
The thesis here is that the boundaries between technical media services are indeed blurring, but the boundaries between various communication modes and their psychic, social and cultural significance are preserved. Integrating old and new media does not mean a levelling of demarcations between the specific uses and everyday routines connected to the various media services and leading to some unspecific activity in general communication. On the contrary: empirical findings – in particular those that are deliberately seeking out patterns of individual media-use that cross the boundaries between the various media – point to the development of a very specific division of functions between the various media services.
In future, the Institute will systematically investigate these and the communication modes connected with them: in this way, this initiative presents a counterpart from the social sciences to work motivated by a jurisprudential approach on a service-specific and diversified information regime. A PhD project is currently identifying the particular communication modes, which can be observed in dealings with the Internet.
The concept is useful for the analysis of characteristics of linear and non-linear television; it currently forms the basis for the project on the reception of moving images.
Publications
Hölig, S.; Domeyer, H.; Hasebrink, U. (2011): Souveräne Bindungen. Zeitliche Bezüge in Medienrepertoires und Kommunikationsmodi [Confident Liaisons. Temporal Relations in Media Repertoires and Communications Modes]. In: M. Suckfüll; H. Schramm; C. Wünsch (eds.), Rezeption und Wirkung in zeitlicher Perspektive. Baden-Baden: Nomos (forthcoming).
Hölig, S. (forthcoming): Was genau tun Nutzer eigentlich im Internet? Konzeptionelle Überlegungen zur Differenzierung von Gebrauchsweisen [What exactly do Users do on the Internet? Conceptual Thoughts on the Differentiation of the Modes of Usage]. In: A. Ligensa; D. Müller (eds.), Rezeption. Die andere Seite der Medienumbrüche. [Reception. The Other Side of Media Changes]
Hasebrink, U. (2004): Konvergenz aus Nutzerperspektive: Das Konzept der Kommunikationsmodi [Convergence from the Users’ Viewpoint: The Concept of Communication Modes]. In: U. Hasebrink; L. Mikos; E. Prommer (eds.), Mediennutzung in konvergierenden Medienumgebungen [Media Usa in Convergent Media Surroundings]. München (Reihe Rezeptionsforschung; Vol. 1), pp. 67-86.
Lectures
"Information-Oriented Communicative Acting in the Internet: Communication Modes between Mass- and Interpersonal Communication", Lecture by S.Hölig at the "Transforming Audiences 3 Conference" in London on 1 September.
"What is the TV Audience? The Audience's Perspective", Lecture by U. Hasebrink und S. Hölig at the preconference "Transforming Audiences 3" of "COST Action IS0906: Transforming Audiences, Transforming Societies" in London on 31 August 2011.
"Communication Modes as Key Elements of Converging Media Environments", lecture by S.Hölig and U. Hasebrink at the "First conference of the COST Action IS0906: Transforming Audiences, Transforming Societies" in Zagreb on 9 April 2011.
"Kommunikatives Handeln aus Nutzersicht – Kommunikationsmodi im Internet" [Communicative Action from User Perspective – Communication Modes on the Internet], workshop by S. Hölig at the Summer School "Medienkonvergenz - Konzepte, Formen, Folgen" [Media Convergence - Concepts, Forms, Consequences] in Hamburg on 27 July 2010.
"Souveräne Bindungen. Zeitliche Bezüge in Medienrepertoires und Kommunikationsmodi“ [Confident Ties. Temporal References in Media Repertoires and Communication Modes], lecture by S. Hölig, H. Domeyer and U. Hasebrink at the conference of the DGPuK work group on reception and impact research "Rezeption und Wirkung in zeitlicher Perspektive“ [Reception and Impact in Temporal Perspective] in Berlin on 30 January 2010.
"The Structure of the Internet as a Communicative Space: The Users' Perspective", lecture by S. Hölig and U. Hasebrink at the Transforming Audiences 2 conference in London on 3 September 2009.
"Kulturwissenschaftliche und kommunikationswissenschaftliche Rezeptionsforschung: Wo liegt der Unterschied? Und was können Beide von einander lernen?“ [Reception Research in Cultural and Communication Studies: What Is the Difference? And What Can They Learn from Each Other?], lecture by U. Hasebrink at the Summer School "Film, Fernsehen, Internet - Kulturwissenschaftliche Rezeptionsforschung“ in Hamburg on 27 July 2009.
"Kommunikationsmodi im Internet – Kommunikatives Handeln aus Nutzersicht" [Communication Modes on the Internet - Communicative Acting from a User's Perspective], workshop by S. Hölig at the Summer School "Film Fernsehen Internet. Kulturwissenschaftliche Rezeptionsforschung." [Film Television Internet. Cultural Studies Reception Research] in Hamburg on 27 July 2009.
"Mediennutzung in konvergierenden Medienumgebungen" [Media Use in Convergent Media Surroundings], lecture by U. Hasebrink at the lecture series of the Research Center for Media and Communication at the University of Hamburg on "Die Medien und ihre Wissenschaften" [Media and their Areas of Study] in Hamburg on 15 April 2009.
"Das Publikum verstreut sich. Nutzungsforschung in konvergierenden Medienumgebungen" [The Audience Disperses. Research of Usage in Convergent Media Sourroundings], keynote by U. Hasebrink at the SGKM Annual Conference 2009 on "State-of-the-Art und Zukunft der Media- und Werbeforschung" [State-of-the-Art and Future of Media and Advertising Research] in Zurich on 26 March 2009.
“What do People do when they use the Internet? The Concept of Communication Modes”, lecture by U. Hasebrink and S. Hölig at the 2nd European Communication Conference in Barcelona on 27 November 2008.
"Fernsehnutzung in konvergierenden Medienumgebungen" [Television Usage in Convergent Media Surroundings], lecture by U. Hasebrink at the AGF-Forum in Wiesbaden on 29 September 2008.
"Veränderungen der Mediennutzung" [Changes in Media Use], lecture by U. Hasebrink at the Strategy Day of Gruner+Jahr New Media Ventures in Hamburg on 16 September 2008.
"What do People do when they use the Internet? Communication Modes as an Integrated Concept for the Analysis of Media Use in Converging Media Environments", lecture by S. Hölig at the ECREA European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School in Tartu, Estland, on 4 August 2008.
"Fernsehnutzung in konvergierenden Medienumgebungen" [Television Usage in Convergent Media Surroundings], lecture and moderation by U. Hasebrink at a workshop of the Forum IPTV on the topic "IPTV and its Users" in Hamburg on 13 March 2008.
“Identifikation von Kommunikationsmodi. Ein Ansatz, aktuellen Anforderungen der Rezeptionsforschung am Beispiel des ‚Internet’ zu begegnen” [Identifying Communication Modes. An Approach to Confronting Current Demands of Reception Research Using the ‘Internet’ as an Example], lecture by S. Hölig at the doctoral candidates' workshop of the DGPuK section "Audience and Reception Studies" in Hamburg on 24 January 2008.
“Mediennutzung in konvergierenden Medienumgebungen” [Media Use in Convergent Media Surroundings], lecture by U. Hasebrink at the conference Mobile Content Days in Hamburg on 14 September 2007.
„Media Use in a converging Media Environment“, lecture for the curators of the Academy for Publishing, 1. November 2006 in Hamburg.
„Media Use in a converging Media Environment“, lecture in the context of an event series by the Hamburg Working Group on Technology and Culture, 4. July 2006 in Hamburg.
„Radio audiences within converging media environments”, Lecture by U. Hasebrink at the egta [association of television and radio sales houses] Fall Radio Meeting 2005 on the topic „How to make Radio an unavoidable element in an advertising campaign?”, 23. November 2005 in Hamburg.
Contact person
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