Communication handouts

8/17/2012
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www.sti-innsbruck.at© Copyright 2012 STI INNSBRUCK www.sti-innsbruck.at
Communication
Dieter Fensel, Andreea Gagiu, Birgit Leiter
www.sti-innsbruck.at
Communication
Overview
1. What is communication?
2. Dissemination
3. Social Media Monitoring
4. Integration of Publication and Monitoring
5. Trace
6. Multi-Channel Switch
7. Multi-Agent
8. Summary

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1. Communication
 Communication (from the Latin commūnicātiōn- = “share”) refers to the
process of imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by
speech, writing, or signs.*
 Communication may mean**:
 The act of transmitting
 A giving or exchanging of information, signals, or messages as by talk, gestures, or
writing
 The information, signals, or message
 Close, sympathetic relationship
 A means of communicating; specif., a system for sending and receiving messages, as
by telephone, telegraph, radio, etc.
 A system as of routes for moving troops and material
 A passage or way for getting from one place to another.
 The art of expressing ideas, esp. in speech and writing.
 The science of transmitting information, esp. in symbols.
* http://dictionary.reference.com/
** http://answers.yourdictionary.com/language/what-is-communication.html
1. Communication
 Communication is a social interaction where at least
two interacting agents share a common set of signs
and a common set of semiotic rules.
 Types of communication:
 Spoken or Verbal communication: face-to-face, telephone,
radio or television.
 Non-verbal communication: body language, gestures,
voice tone.
 Written communication: letters, e-mails, books, magazines,
information written over the Internet.
 Visualization communication: such as graphs, charts,
maps, or logos.
Image Source: http://www.rgbstock.com

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1. Communication
Directional Streams
 Vertical communication:
 Descendant: Communication that begins in the top management for an enterprise
and flows in the way of the hierarchy base of the organization.
 Ascendant vertical communication (opposing type).
 Lateral or horizontal communication:
 Consists of intergroup communication
 Usually not dependent on standards and rules established by the formal organization
* http://www.knoow.net/en/sceconent/management/communication.htm
Image Source: http://www.rgbstock.com
1. Communication
Need for effective communication
 Issue instructions and enable the business to operate (see vertical
communication)
 Enable people at the same level to communicate with each other (see
horizontal communication)
 Communicate with stakeholders and employees.
 Provide essential information.
 Keep stakeholders informed.

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1. Communication
Models of communication:
 Conceptual models used to explain the human communication process
 The first major model for communication was created by Shannon and
Weaver (1949) to represent the functioning of radio and telephone
technologies.
 Initial model was composed of three primary parts:
 Sender - the part of the telephone a person spoke into;
 Channel – the telephone itself;
 Receiver – part of the phone where one could hear the other person.
 The “noise” component appeared as the authors recognized the
presence of static that interferes with one listening to a telephone
conversation.
1. Communication
Communication process elements*:
 Transmitter or communication’s message source: initiates the
communication process and sends the message
 Message transmission channel: enables the transmission of the
message. Connects the transmitter and the receiver.
 Message receptor: entity that receives and decodes the message.
 Noises: obstructions in the communication process. Noise is internal
(occurs during the encoding or decoding phases) or external (occurs on
the transmission channel)
 Feedback: the answer the receptor gives as a result of the received
message. Can be transmitted by the same channel or a different one.
* http://www.knoow.net/en/sceconent/management/communication.htm
Image:http://www.productphotographers.net/wp-content/uploads/images/process.jpg

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1. Communication
Information
Source
Transmitter DestinationReceiver
Noise Source
Message Signal
Signal
Received Message
Schematic diagram of a general communication system as proposed by
Shannon and Weaver (1949).
1. Communication
However:
 The model presented is a minimalist abstraction of the reality it attempts
to reproduce.
 Most communication systems are more complex.
 Most information sources (and destinations) act as both sources and
destinations.
 Transmitters, receivers, channels, signals, and messages are layered
both serially and in parallel:
 There are multiple signals transmitted and received , even when they are converged into
a common signal stream and a common channel.

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1. Communication
Moreover,
 The Shannon model is not a model of communication
 It is a model of the flow of information through a medium.
 It is incomplete and biased
 It is applicable to the system it maps (telephone or telegraph), rather
than most other media.
 It suggests a “push” model in which sources of information can inflict it
on destinations.
1. Communication
In the real world of media:
 Destinations are self-selecting
“consumers” of information who have the
ability to:
 select the messages they are most interested in
 turn off messages that don’t interest them
 focus on one message in preference to other in
message rich environments
 they can choose to simply not pay attention
 Messages are frequently stored for
elongated periods of time and/or modified
in some ways before they are accessed
by the “destination”.
 Communication is almost never
unidirectional and it is often indirect.

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1. Communication
 Communication is bidirectional
 Agents interact and communicate in parallel, permanently alternating
their role in these acts of communication.
 Destinations provide feedback in the form of a message or a set of
messages.
 The source of feedback is an information source.
 The consumer of feedback is a destination.
Individuals are simultaneously engaging in sending and receiving
of messages (Barnlund, 2008).
1. Communication
 We communicate to cooperate – regardless of the channel employed.
 Communication is
 Multi-channel
 Self-referential (the transmitter also communicates to himself), i.e. reflexive
 Embedded in a network (communication does not occur in a void, the actors
communicating are not isolated).

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1. Communication
 Computer mediated communication is compared to other forms of
communication media based on the following aspects:
 Synchronicity
 Persistence or “recordability”
 Anonymity
 Transience
 Multimodal language
 Relative lack of governing codes of conduct (McQuail, 2005)
 A strong dependence on the environment can be observed.
1. Communication
Our approach:
 We disseminate information
 Deal with the aggregation of feedback and impact by:
 simply going through the dissemination chain in the opposite direction
 integrating them under the appropriate knowledge item
We not only
TALK
LISTEN
to response

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1. Communication
Online Communication
 It is not bound by physical,
temporal and social limitations.
 Anonymity and privacy
depends on the context of the
channel used.
 It enables large number of
audience to transmit and
receive information.
Image Source:
1. Communication
 Communication must support:
 Design of an information item;
 Dissemination of an information item over suitable channels;
 Observation of communication acts
 Measure, analysis, and aggregation of the information published
 A holistic methodology for supporting communication must support the
above subtasks that form a circle or spiral
 These activities form a circle that we call the life cycle model of
communication
Image Source:

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1. Communication
Measure
Analyze
Aggregate
DesignObserve
Disseminate
Efficient and effective communication not only creates and disseminates
information, but also deals with measurement, analysis and aggregation
of feedback and impact, collecting responses in the various channels and
integrating them under an appropriate knowledge item.
A Lifecycle of Communication
Communication
Overview
2. Dissemination
5. Trace
7. Multi-Agent
8. Summary

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2. Dissemination
• Dissemination (from the Latin dissēminātus = “sowing
seeds”, “scatter wildly in every direction”) refers to the
process of broadcasting a message to the public without
direct feedback from the audience
• Takes on the view of the traditional view of communication
which involves a sender and a receiver.
• The message carrier sends out information to many in a
broadcasting system (composed of more than one
channels)
• Harmsworth et al. (2000) define dissemination as
“delivering and receiving of a message”, “the
engagement of an individual in a process” and “the
transfer of a process or product”.
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Image taken from: http://nichcy.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/rsz_1rsz_dissemination2.jpg
2. Dissemination
• “In telecommunications and computer networking, a communication channel, or
channel, refers either to a physical transmission medium such as a wire, or to a
logical connection over a multiplexed medium such as a radio channel.” (Wikipedia
Channel (communications))
• A channel is a means of exchanging information in the on-line space; a “place” where
one can find or leave information, whether it is unanimously referred by a URI or
addressed through a service.
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Image taken from: http://www.rgbstock.com

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2. Dissemination
Classification of channels by the type of service they provide:
2.1. Static Broadcasting
2.2. Dynamic Broadcasting
2.3. Sharing
2.4. Collaboration
2.5. Social Networks
2.6. Internet Forums and Discussion Boards
2.7. Online Discussion Groups
2.8. Semantic-based Communication
Image taken from: http://www.softicons.com/free-icons/application-icons/or-applications-icons-by-iconleak/file-cabinet-icon
2.1. Static Broadcasting
• Prehistoric methods of dissemination: cave drawings, stories of triumphs on
columns and arches, history on pyramids, stones with messages
• More modern means: printed press, newspapers, journals
• Online static dissemination: websites and homepages….
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2.2. Dynamic Communication
Small piece of content that is dependent
on constraints such as time, location.
Examples of tools (organized considering first
the length of message and second – the level of
interactivity)
• News Feeds
• Newsletters
• Email / Email lists
• Microblogs
• Blogs
• Social networks
• Chat and instant messaging applications
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2.3. Dissemination through Sharing
• Can use specialized applications (see below) of features of other platforms
and services (e.g. share photos through Facebook)
• Examples:
– Flickr – as a means of exchanging photos, visible to all users (no account
necessary), allows users to post comments;
– Slideshare – channel for storing and exchanging presentations;
– YouTube and VideoLectures – sharing videos, all users can see the posted
videos and leave comments on the websites
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2.4. Dissemination through Collaboration
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2.5. Social Networks
• Provide a community aspect, i.e. forms a community that shares information in a
multi-directional way
• Common features (regardless of platform):
– construct a public/semi-public profile;
– articulate list of other users that they share a connection with;
– view the list of connections within the system
• Some sites allow users to upload pictures, add multimedia content or modify the look
and feel of the profile
• Social networks typically offer more than one channel of dissemination (thus they will
be considered platforms with many available dissemination channels):
– Facebook: Pages, Groups, Share options
– LinkedIn and Xing are focused on professional use and fit the purpose of organizations
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2.6. Internet Forums and Discussion Boards
• Web applications managing user-generated content
• Early forums can be described as a web version of an email list or newsgroup
• Internet forums are prevalent in several countries: Japan, China
• Are governed by a set of rules
• Users have a specific designated role, e.g. moderator, administrator
• The unit of communication is the post
• Common features
– Tripcodes and capcodes - a secret password is added to the user's name following a
separator character
– Private message
– Attachment
– BBCode and HTML
– Emoticon or smiley to convey emotion
– Poll
– RSS and ATOM feeds
– Other forum features
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2.7. Online Discussion Groups
• Many-to-many
• Threaded conversations
• Usually created on a particular topic
• Have different access levels
• Better for disseminating within a group that shares common interests as the purpose
of the services is to enable collaboration, knowledge and information sharing and
open discussions
• Examples: Google Groups, Facebook Groups, Yahoo! Groups, LinkedIn Groups, Xing
Groups.
• Similar in many ways to Discussion boards and Internet Forums
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2.8. Semantic Based Dissemination
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• Scope: Add machine-processable semantics to the information
-> Search and aggregation engines can provide much better
service in finding and retrieving information
• Applications:
– Enrich websites by adding machine readable semantics to HTML/XML files:
• RDFa
• Microformats
• Microdata
– Inclusion of semantic annotation in XHTML docs
– Enrich content of on-line presentations by adding links and tags to the presented
information
– Reuse of predefines LOD vocabularies to describe our data to enable semantic
based retrieval of information
Communication
Overview
2. Dissemination
5. Trace
7. Multi-Agent
8. Summary

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• SMM tools facilitate the listening of what people say about various topics in
the social media sphere (blogs, twitter, facebook, etc.)
Listening: is active, focused, concentrated attention for the purpose of
understanding the meanings expressed by a speaker.
What are the Social Media Monitoring Tools? (cont’d)
• Harness the wealth of information available online in the form of user-
generated content
• These tools offer means for listening to the social media users, analyzing
and measuring their activity in relation to a brand or enterprise
• Offer access to real customers opinions, complaints and questions, at real
time, in a highly scalable way

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Channels to analyze
The
Conversation
SOCIAL NETWORKS
WIKIS
PHOTO SHARING
BLOGS MAINSTREAM MEDIA
MICROBLOGS
FORUMS/NEWSGROUPS
VIDEO SHARING
SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
AGGREGATORS
A Social Media Monitoring tool should support the following core
features:
• Listening grid
• Data analysis
• Sentiment analysis
• Historical data
• Dashboard

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Commercial Tools
• Alterian SM2
• Brandwatch
• Converseon
• Cymfony Maestro
• evolve24 Mirror
• Media Metrics socialMeme
• Meltwater Buzz
• NM Incite My BuzzMetrics
• Radian6
• Sysomos
• Visible Technologies Intelligence
Communication
Overview
2. Dissemination
5. Trace
7. Multi-Agent
8. Summary

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To make Online Communication
efficient and effective, a tool needs
to
• Integrate publication and
monitoring (and support active
and reactive communication)
• Trace the communication in an
easy to use manner
• Address the issue of multiple
channels and multiple agents
Multi-Channel
Publishing
Social Media
Monitoring
Communication
• Active and reactive communication
Address the
Issue of
Multiple
Channels
Trace the
Communication
Support Active
and Re-active
Communication
Address the
Issue of
Multiple Agents

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Active vs. re-active communication
Active communication
If an agent starts a communication – the agent takes the role of the
message sender – we talk about active communication.
Multi-Channel
Publishing
Social Media
Monitoring
Communication
 The first step in the Communication Lifecycle will be to design an
information item that will be disseminated over suitable channels in the
next step.
 E.g. the hotelier is engaging with potential costumers by publishing a new
offer on his Web site.
Measure
Analyze
Aggregate
DesignObserve
Disseminate

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Example of
Active
Communication
performed by a
hotelier on
Facebook
Customer
response to the
hotel’s message

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Re-active communication
Re-active communication describes communication situations initiated by an
external agent – the agent takes the role of the receiver and will re-act on the
received message.
Multi-Channel
Publishing
Social Media
Monitoring
Communication
 The Communication Lifecycle starts with the observation of all channels. In
the next step impact, feedback and responses are measured, aggregated,
and analyzed.
 E.g. the hotelier sees a post on his Facebook page and responds to it.
Measure
Analyze
Aggregate
DesignObserve
Disseminate

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Transmitter: guest at
hotel
Reactor: hotelier
Source: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g53449-d96753-r130438938-Hampton_Inn_Pittsburgh_Greentree-Pittsburgh_Pennsylvania.html
Communication
Overview
2. Dissemination
5. Trace
7. Multi-Agent
8. Summary

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5. Trace
Tracing a conversation through all
channels involved is crucial for
making communication effective and
efficient, and is therefore required for
 Communication has a history
 The communication history IS the
trace
 Communication must be
remembered otherwise it is
meaningless
Multi-Channel
Publishing
Social Media
Monitoring
Communication
• Tracing the communication
5. Trace
Trace can be viewed as a set of 5 elements:
 Speaker – transmitter, source of the message that initiates the
communication process;
 Listener – receiver, the destination of the message, witch which a
collaboration relation has been established;
 Message – the information disseminated;
 Channel – the type of channel used to transmit the information (e.g.
Facebook, email, Twitter, etc.)
 Time and Date – when was the message received;

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5. Trace
 Thus, trace can be viewed as
WHO
WHAT
HOW
WHEN
Speaker and
Listener
Message
Channel
Time and Date
5. Trace
No reaction
No reaction
Reaction
Reaction
Reaction No reaction
Reaction No reaction
Reaction Reaction Reaction No reaction
…
Hotel
Website

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5. Trace
Example
 A hotel disseminates offers using the hotel website.
 Five potential clients view the offers.
 2 clients (marked as green) do not react.
 The red client sends an email
 The hotel replies with a phone call.
 The client is satisfied. The communication stagnates.
 The purple client posts on Facebook a message
 The hotel replies
 The communication stagnates.
 For the yellow client
 Responds with a tweet, the hotelier replies with a private tweet;
 The client posts on Tumblr, the hotelier responds;
 …
 A chat discussion is initiated via Skype
 The customer is satisfied. Conversation stagnates.
 Note – the communication with either client can be initiated again at any
time.
5. Trace
Speaker
Listener
Message
Set
Time Set
Chanel
Set

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5. Trace
 For yellow it will be:
1: {Hotel, Client, Message1, Time1, Hotel Website}
2: {Client, Hotel, Message2, Time2, Twitter}
3: {Hotel, Client, Message3, Time3, Twitter}
…
N: {Client, Hotel, MessageN, TimeN, Skype}
 Thus:
 S = {Hotel};
 L = {Client};
 M = {Message1, Message2, Message3, …, MessageN};
 T = {Time1, Time2, Time3, …, TimeN};
 C = {Hotel Website, Twitter, Tumblr, …, Skype};
Communication
Overview
2. Dissemination
5. Trace
7. Multi-Agent
8. Summary

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(Online) Communication is scattered
over multiple, often very different
channels.
• Agents are challenged to
disseminate information over all
appropriate channels.
• Activities of all channels the
agent is active in must be
monitored.
• Impact, Feedback and
Responses need to be collected
from all channels.
Multi-Channel
Publishing
Social Media
Monitoring
Communication
• Multi-channel switch

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WHY
 Transmitting a message over a channel does not guarantee that the reply
will be received on the same channel.
 For example, a hotelier might post an offer on Facebook, and receive a
response from Twitter.
 Transmitters must be able to switch cannels properly and identify the
channel where the response will appear.
 Due to the abundance of channels, most of the times there are more than
one agents transmitting and receiving messages – a workflow must be set
up to ensure that all agents are aware of what is discussed and who is
speaking.
 To do so, the trace mentioned in the previous section must be used.
Abundance of Available Channels

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• On multiple channels
Disseminate
• For a response on the channels selected
Listen
• The impact of the dissemination (and the customer
response)
Monitor and measure
• Respond to customers
React
6. Multi-channel Switch
Hotel Client

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Communication
Overview
2. Dissemination
5. Trace
7. Multi-Agent
8. Summary
7. Multi-Agent
 Communication requires at
least 2 agents: a speaker and
a listener
 However, communication does
not occur in a void – thus the
initial model may never occur
in real life as there may always
be more than one listener or
more than one agent.
 More agents may be required
when the communication
receives responses from
multiple listeners.
Multi-Channel
Publishing
Social Media
Monitoring
Communication
• Multi-channel switch
• Multi-agent

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7. Multi-Agent
 Moreover, due to the lack of time constraints
on online conversations (they may begin at
any time, and be picked up again at irregular
intervals), it may be impossible for a single
agent to be on call for every response.
 Thus, a client may begin a conversation with
one agent, and receive a response for a
different one.
 The trace – explained in the 3rd section,
plays an important role of preparing agents
and ensuring that the proper response is
given.
7. Multi-Agent
1-to-1
 The model represented by the two agents can be coded as 1-to-1, one listener
and one speaker
 The two agents may communicate over a wide variety of channels
 Examples of 1-to-1 communication include phone conversations, char and
instant messaging, email (when the email is sent specifically to one receiver
and the sender knows it will be read only by that person), etc.
 The transmitter will always be active, while the respondent is reactive.
A B
Transmit message
Transmit response

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7. Multi-Agent
1-to-n
 When broadcasting information, usually there is one agent who disseminates
information to n possible respondents.
 This model can be mapped out as 1-to-n: 1 speaker to n listeners.
 Examples of such communication include news releases (a press conference
for instance, involves 1 speaker and many listeners), a blog post, a Facebook
post, Tweet, etc.
Speaker
Listener1
ListenerN
…
7. Multi-Agent
n-to-1
 There are situations where there are more speakers and only one listener.
 The n-to-1 model is not often encountered in real life.
 The speakers would have to transmit messages in a turn-based manner.
 One example is ascendant communication – employees reporting to employer.
 In some situations, the communication is not turn-based – such as the case of a
protest (more speakers trying to address a single listener)
Listener
Speaker1 SpeakerN…

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7. Multi-Agent
m-to-n
 In real life, there usually are more speakers and more listeners.
 An enterprise will use n agents to disseminate information and listen to
customer reactions and responses.
 Communication is not isolated, thus there will often be more than one listener.
7. Multi-Agent
m-to-n
Agent1 Posts offer on Facebook
Client Responds on
Agent2 Responds on email
Hotel
Clients
Client’s wife reads the email

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Communication
Overview
2. Dissemination
5. Trace
7. Multi-Agent
8. Summary
8. Summary
 Communication (from the Latin commūnicātiōn- = “share”) refers to the
process of imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by
speech, writing, or signs.

8/17/2012
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8. Summary
 Shannon and Weaver (1949) communication model consists of: sender,
channel, receiver, information source, and destination.
 The model is incomplete: communication is bidirectional, agents interact
and communicate in parallel, permanently alternating their role in these acts
of communication.
 Communication is
 Multi-channel
 Self-referential (the transmitter also communicates to himself)
 Reflexive
 Embedded in a network (communication does not occur in a void, the actors
communicating are not isolated).
 Communication must support:
 Design of an information item;
 Dissemination of an information item over suitable channels;
 Observation of communication acts
 Measure, analysis, and aggregation of the information published
8. Summary

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References
Barnlund, D. C. (2008). A transactional model of communication. In. C. D.
Mortensen (Eds.), Communication theory (2nd ed., pp47-57). New
Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction.
Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of
communication. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press
S. Mulpuru, H. H. Harteveldt, and D. Roberge: Five Retail eCommerce
Trends To Watch In 2011, Forrester Research Report, January 31, 2011
McQuail, Denis. (2005). Mcquail's Mass Communication Theory. 5th ed.
London: SAGE Publications.
Warschauer, M. (2001). Online communication. In R. Carter & D. Nunan
(Eds.), The Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of other
languages (pp. 207-212). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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