Is Twitter an Individual Mass Communication Medium?

Is Twitter an Individual Mass Communication Medium? Helga Wiesenhofer, Martin Ebner, Walther Nagler

Technology enhanced Learning http://flickr.com/photos/powerbooktrance/289992273//

uLearning and m-Learning http://www.flickr.com/photos/sovietuk/141381675

Twitter grows 1382% within one year http://flickr.com/photos/nettsu/1365343292/

What are we doing? 107% Learning -96% Sex

What are we doing? 57% Leisure -95% Money

Twitter Stream at ED-Media2008

Research Question: Can we find an appropriate http://flickr.com/photos/nettsu/1365343292/

Basic communication forms (Littlejohn, 1992)  Interpersonal communication (face to face)  Group communication (more than two persons)  Organisational communication (in large cooperative networks)  Mass communication (public and mediated communication) http://www.flickr.com/photos/nuagedenuit/276092250

Basic Transmission Model

The field-schema of Mass Communication (Maletzke, 1963)

Model Adaption to Twitter (1) Adaption to the definition of mass communication:  Messages (Tweets) are sent public by different communicators (Twitter users) through a medium (Twitter application) to different receivers (Followers/public timeline)  Tweets are indirect and unidirectional for an undefined public

Model Adaption to Twitter (2)  Interpersonal Communication → Directed Tweets  Group Communication → within a group of followers  Organisational Communication → Tweets outside a group of followers  Mass Communication → Tweets in general

Model Adaption to Twitter (3)

Conclusion compatibility between traditional communication models and Twitter Tweets are public, indirect and unilateral and get through an electronic medium to an undefined audience Twitter enables mass communication

Unlike traditional media like TV, radio and newspaper Twitter offers the possibility of an individual mass communication media http://www.flickr.com/photos/161/

SOCIAL LEARNING Computer and Information Services Graz University of Technology Walther Nagler, Martin Ebner @walthern, @mebner http://elearning.tugraz.at http://elearningblog.tugraz.at

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Is Twitter an Individual Mass Communication Medium?

by Martin Ebner on Mar 30, 2010

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Is Twitter an Individual Mass Communication Medium? — Presentation Transcript