Strategically Communicating

In keeping a weeklong media diary, my most worthwhile observation is that I seem to be on a wave-like continuum with my personal use of social media. I can be all-in, for several weeks, then too involved in the tangible reality of my life to broadcast it. I have come across very little research or popular knowledge on this pattern of use. But when I talk to people about this, it seems commonplace. I imagine understanding this would be of extreme value to marketers and others in the communications field.  It makes me wonder how our media use, specifically our social media use change throughout the course of a month and through seasons? Is it random, or predictable?

Uses & Gratifications Theory could be the lens with which to examine this question. I agree with Ruggiero’s argument that mass communication theory must include examination of uses and gratifications. I found that in keeping a media use journal, my uses and gratifications were important to the story. Media does not exist in a vacuum. It is no longer a new technology. It is part of our humanity. We have a relationship with it and it is where and how we experience relationship with others as well as ourselves.

I found the reading of Jenkins’ Convergence Culture in our first week strangely difficult. I am very interested in these topics. However, I never got into Survivor or American Idol or Matrix and I find this level of entertainment immersion bizarre. I relate to the extent that I can be found heading out to the video store like a fiend in the middle of winter to get the next disc of an HBO series.

I talked with my nine year old about the “black box” idea. Specifically, the part about software companies wanting to find a reason that everyone in the house would want one in their home. “What would mom do with it when the kids were at school? What would make a family buy one fro Grandpa’s birthday?” It turns out that the closest thing is a white box.