Brief Introduction
Communication is the transmission of a message from a source to a receiver. Lasswell (1948)1 opined that a convenient way to describe communication is to answer the following questions:
Who…? Says What? Through which Channel? To whom? And with what effect? Putting this into consideration, then we can boldly conclude that communication occurs when a source sends a message, through a medium to a receiver producing a result or an effect. A meaningful result of course which made Baran (2010)2 to stress that communication is better defined as the process of creating shared meaning; owing to the fact that communication requires response from others…
Summarily communication is a means of expression that takes place in a “specific” form when people come together or meet each other. That specificity refers to many dimensions of communication which could be interpersonal, the mass media and new media; achieved through voice i.e. spoken language, writing, and signs.
Interpersonal Communication
This is a face-to-face type; a form of communication that exists between two or a few people (one-on-one). In every society, humans have developed spoken and written language as a means of sharing messages and meanings; likewise sign language among the hearing-impaired people. Families, clubs, religious groups, friendship groups, or work groups- these are small groups where interpersonal communication is very common. A special case of small-group interaction occurs in organizations where there is work to do or a task for the group to perform. Or several small groups may need to interact among each other within a single organization.
Interpersonal communication can also occur with larger groups as well, such as when a speaker gives a talk to a large crowd. A speaker who wants to reach an even larger audience than the people who can physically hear the speech in one place must use communication technology or media to get the message across distance and even time. And that leads to the second form of communication.
Mass Media
The mass media is a “one to many” system of communication. In mass media, information is transmitted through a medium. Baran (2010) observed that Sound waves are the medium that carries our voice to friends across the table; the telephone is the medium that carries our voice to friends across town. When the medium is a technology that carries messages to a large number of people- as newspapers carry the printed word and radio conveys the sound of music and news- it is termed a mass medium (the plural of medium is media).
Mass media through their platforms broadcast and send messages which gets to most or all the people in the society. Television, Radio, Newspaper, Advertising, Telecommunication, even the New Media fits this spectrum of Mass communication. Technological evolution for many centuries has generally influenced the mode of hearing, feeling, seeing and perception.
NEW MEDIA
New Media is an innovation to shape the culture of communication and direct senses, be it consciously or sub-consciously for certain purposes. The outburst of internet is a great influence to several developments in the area of new media: interactive TV, Virtual Environment, 3D cinemas, Social Networking Sites (SNS), podcast, blogs and webcast (streaming via the internet- a virtual network) etc.
New media involves many people sharing information at a time and provides equal control over the multimedia content. Thanks to advanced technology and the internet that makes this possible. People can now chat together on the social media; likewise engage in Video conference/ Call. New Media will definitely be less effective without the use of Multimedia elements: video, sound, images animation and texts which has transcended the normal traditional or conventional text to “hypertext” and “hypermedia”. The development in Mass media as a whole is so great that the convergence of media has blurred the demarcations between the various communication media. The same programming that can be found on a television station, is available in a theatre, online- ready for download, and also on a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) at the rental store, or accessible through a mobile phone Millerson and Owens (2009)3. The changes in the technology behind the medium too is worthy of mentioning. For example TV set that was once a big Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) now consists of Flat Panels that even makes it possible to mount TV on the wall. It also allows interactive digital communication methods that support the internet. High end pocket size computer tagged “Smartphone” now exists.
The merits of the New Media as a means to reach targeted media audience has been utilised judiciously by marketing companies. Specifically, Leyshon (2009)4 noted that the alcohol industry has been quick to recognise the potential of reaching consumers through such platforms. He stressed his fear that the New Media is consequently providing specific new challenges to the protection of public health as young minds who are the major patronisers of New Media (SNS to be specific) are being influenced by the contents distributed online. Sincerely, the internet brings a dynamic environment in new media that is just very attractive to the young generation. Besides, the New (Online) Media has come to stay forever and will continue to experience rapid growth. The development in media as a whole is so significant to the extent that you will find virtually all experts you can think of in the Mass media industry: IT Specialist, psychologist, engineers, experts in the field of visual communication design (the focus of this blog), Business/Data analyst, researchers, Cognitive Scientist etc.
Above all, I support the explanation of Crosbie (1998)5 that what generally stand in the way of people's understanding of New Media are the very terms “media” and “medium” and as commonly used, those terms are misnomers that block understanding. To be continued…
REFERENCES
1. Lasswell, H. D. (1948). The structure and function of communication in society. In L. Bryson (Ed.), The communication of ideas. New York: Harper.
2. Baran, S. J. (2010): Introduction to Mass Communication, Media Literacy and Culture. 6th Ed. NY; McGraw-Hill Companies.
3. Millerson, G. and Owen J. (2009): Television Production. 14th Ed. Asbury College, Asbury; Focal Press.
4. Leyshon, M. (2011): New media, new problem? Alcohol, young people and the internet. London; Alcohol Concern, 64 Leman Street
5. Crosbie Vin (1998): What is New Media? www.scribd.com/mobile/document/216805490/as4mm3a accessed on 12/1/12
