research ideas

I have two concerns regarding to the information age. One is will competition between media benefit audiences? The other is how information technology influences media consumption.

My first research idea is to see the inter media competition between online video and MVPD (Multichannel video programming distributors). What benefit readers are that can viewers have more diversified content?  Or that can viewers enjoy cheaper price?  ”Viewers of online video are growing but the development of online video is not as promising as we thought. Previous study pointed out obstacles to online video’s future growth: competition from MVPDs, including advantage they have in large of scale aggregation of online content via TV Everywhere service, limited availability of high quality content, especially window programming. It seems that competition between online video and MVPD is rising but audience choice is the key. Therefore, my research question is how people choose the platform to watch video.

Concept: gratification-utility niche. the theory of niche, gratification opportunities. One of the obstacles for online video is window programming. Therefore, I want to see “media content as a niche dimension” to see the competition.

Data: For gratification-utility niche: data from survey. The unit of analysis: users.

For media content as a niche dimension: data from media content. The unit of analysis: content.

Question: Is the theory of the niche an outdated theory? Not many research applying this theory recently.

My second research idea is to see what can consumer benefit from information overload.

When “the wealth of information makes the poverty of attention,” it means what audience have is scarce resources. It is buyer’s market. Consumers’ should have more bargain power than being bombarded by information. It seems that audience should have more choices but the reality is abundant information limit people’s choice.

My research question 1: Within the overabundance of information, what factors influence people to make selection to consume news.

In addition, there is no valid measurement to measure information overload. We cannot talk about information overload without a solid measurement. My research question 2 is how to measure information overload.

Concept: Attention economy, information goods. Experience goods, infinity variety.

Data: online survey

The unit of analysis: users

 Question: How to use attention economy? There are no variables or a model in the concept….

Net advertising / net neutrality

            My first research question is the different reach and perceptions in mobile and online version of same brand advertising. Specifically, this study aims at examining whether the Internet advertising and mobile advertising in the smartphone or tablet PC would complement or supplement each other for the product company. Nowadays, mobile service already penetrated the advertising market, having some comparative advantages rather than the Internet layout in terms of smaller screen size and shorter user sessions. Advertisers and product companies might concern the portfolio management for news products, which means that ‘new projects (mobile advertising) are evaluated, selected, and prioritized; existing products (may be accelerated, killed, or deprioritized; and resources are allocated and reallocated to active projects (Cooper, Edgett, Kleinschmidt, 2001, p.3).’ It is questionable whether the Internet and mobile users are mutually exclusive or not. Thus, this study will examine the patterns of two users first, which might be decisive to determine whether online and mobile advertisings complement or supplement each other. This study will benefit academic and practical area together. For academic, this study might confirm the idea of complementary and supplementary goods and find the new ground: the influence of mobile advertising. For advertisers or brand managers, this study will help them establish marketing strategies based on the results.

            The second research question is about the relationship between network neutrality and social welfare. The definition of net neutrality is that owners of the networks that provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that network and should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that network (Wu, 2003). In 2010, the FCC’s Open Internet Order (FCC, 2010) announced three basic rules to maintain net neutrality: transparency, no blocking and no unreasonable discrimination. However, net neutrality is being currently threatened by service providers, like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and so on because they insisted that net neutrality is a government intrusion into the private sector (Steigler & Sprumont, 2010), harming efficiency of source allocation. 
           From the perspective of market shares, government regulates the market of network to pursue the equivalent distributions of the net. From the perspective of supply and demand curve, government forcibly intervened the price decision process, setting the accessible price for the most person. This was possible because still the Internet was defined as a common career and public good. Such an intervention by government might affect consumer welfares. However, after the extinction of net neutrality, more competitions among service providers will be expected, increasing the price of the Internet. Thus, my second research question is to figure out the differences of market status in free competition and regulated markets for net neutrality. Case studies and mathematical analysis based on the current data (undecided) will be conducted.

Research topics

Now that the world is experiencing a rapid democratization in the production of content, traditional media has been strongly affected by digital advances. Technology has simplified the transmission of information by giving free online tools to users. Some elite media seems to have been left behind in the digital space because of the way other tech-savvy parties are implementing innovations in a fast pace and taking over traditional privileged position. As a consequence, online news entrepreneurs and social networks are taking advantage of this disruption, creating new media outlets that intend to capture audiences and revenue. With these concepts in mind, I would like to propose the following projects:

My first research idea aims to understand how online news entrepreneurs are adopting technology and innovation into their newsrooms. This research project will analyze the innovative contribution of those online entrepreneurs who confront the digital news ecosystem, create news business models and survive. It will also examine the development of innovative ideas and the entrepreneurial effort to integrate and provide information to news audiences. Finally, it will look at how this new online networks are structured.

My second research idea aims to understand how traditional TV is relaying on social networks and second screening to provide an “ambient” experience for their audiences when it broadcasts live programing. I understand and define second Screening as a process in which users, while watching television, utilize an additional electronic device-space to access social networking sites in order to obtain more information about the program they are watching, share their thoughts, glance other viewers’ opinions and discuss ideas with them in a conversation created around the program or event in real time. This process builds a sense of community and connects people outside their own physical area and networks. Reaching people outside viewers’ physical TV space and sharing a virtual room through social networks are key characteristics of second screening that often enrich TV viewing.

Some of the economic theories and concepts I can use for this project are Network externalities (using social networks to increase the number of people consuming live TV), engagement (using second screen to create a new experience that motivates people to view a TV event as it happens), and attention economy (using the social online ambient to draw users’ attention to TV viewing from many other activities and content). This project will try to find a unique way to help traditional industries (TV Networks) to maintain engagement and attention share, and to increase the number of people consuming content by repurposing the Web.

Research Ideas

1.) YouTube has become a hub for informal learning on the web. There are countless how-to tutorials that teach you everything from learning how to play the solo on Jimi Hendrix's Wind Cries Mary to affixing your headlight properly on your car. In the last couple years I've noticed that a number of small electronics companies, film gear producers, as well as thought leaders of communities have been releasing tutorials on how to use their products. There is certainly a learning component within these videos as audiences learn how the product works, how to use it and also within the comments as people form an ad-hoc community around the video that affords opportunities to ask and answer questions about the product. But a second layer to this is I am proposing is that these tutorials videos are seamless advertisements that not only help educate audiences, but also make it easier for them to purchase products on their sites.

I propose the following research questions.

• How are different types of companies utilizing YouTube's platform for informal learning as a way to advertise their products? 
• How do audiences interact with these videos: as ads or as tutorials or both? 

2.) As Pew's State of the News Media reports, relatively new media companies such as Vice, Buzzfeed, and Quartz are expanding their international news coverage as newspapers have been cutting back on their foreign coverage. I'm particularly intrigued by Vice Media's video content model by which they have forged partnerships with traditional media (HBO show) and also by releasing video content on YouTube, a digital platform. Additionally Vice offers high quality, long form content that resonates with viewers, often takes a stance/position, and seemingly gets access to people and places other media cannot. 

I propose the following research questions: 

• Is Vice Media's digital content strategy successful as compared with traditional media publications? 

Some Research Ideas

As a potential first research topic, I was intrigued by an article about peer-to-peer lending, which argued that it was likely to grow because peer-to-peer companies like Lending Club offer a) lower interest rates than traditional lending institutions and b) easier access to loans for people with shorter credit card histories. Though this isn't strictly about a media company, it is about the use of the medium for new banking platforms. My research question would be: can peer-to-peer lending sites compete with traditional banks? Drilling down: Are the services they offer substitutes for personal bank loans? How sustainable is the economic model given the flux in the economy? In theory, the concept is interesting because it allows people to bypass more restrictive banking requirements to acquire loans, consolidate debt and perhaps improve their lives.

In order to pull this off, I would likely need to find out how the structure of peer-to-peer lending operates, what kind of regulation it faces, if any. On one front, I would need to compare the fluctuation of interest rates in both traditional and peer-to-peer lending institutions, compare average sizes of personal loans, and compare how many are funded and by what criteria. On another front, I would also need to find out how stable the return on investment is for both types of lending institutions and how many defaults there are in both settings. I think this is both supply and demand side data, since the demand-side here is actually the number of defaults for peer-to-peer investors, and since the focus is on loans then the unit of analysis is the product. In terms of peer-to-peer lending institutions, Lending Club for example actually offers some really solid data of its business. For traditional lending institutions I would probably look at data from the Federal Reserve.

As a potential second research topic, I am interested in exploring the search engine optimization market. Given that we live in an information economy and that search engine clicks and visibility depreciate with their rank on Google searches (which is ultimately the biggest portal to the web), it seems like SEO can play an enormous role in helping businesses get “attention” currency. On the other hand, I don’t think SEO is something entirely new. It’s essentially advertising, though on a more technical level (metadata, keyword precision, etc). Also, some question the need for SEO, especially in a world where attention is gained through sharing (on social media and elsewhere). If someone has an inferior product, will SEO matter?

I am interested in finding out a) what challenges this industry faces, including compliance with Google policies, b) whether it has grown and how significantly, c) how concentrated it is and how much competition there is and d) whether its services actually create value for the clients. In terms of data, I think this would be largely an industry / market study, so probably sites like Searchenginewatch.com and SearchEngine Journal, which dedicate sections to SEO industry news, could provide information about the structure of the industry. Some companies, like Industrial Business Marketing provide data about their own performance. But also, Sempo has released reports on the state of the industry which also provide some good figures about their performance. Ultimately I hope this sheds light on a bigger question – if online advertising makes little money for advertisers (except for giants like Google), then how do SEO firms thrive financially? 

Research on New Media Economics That Makes Sense (and Hopefully Makes a Difference)

When proposing a research topic, start with

1) a real-world phenomenon:

 Start with what’s new (by that I mean “what’s unusual and thus worth looking at,” not “here comes another technology so let’s apply the same old theory.”) -- check industry news for inspiration;

Identify a "problem" (and imply you can solve it through research).

2) an economic concept that you find interesting and relevant (e.g., inferior vs. normal goods; market structure; media concentration; engagement): Go through our readings and PPT slides.

Then ask yourself:

Is this important? (Important to whom?)

Is your RQ answerable? (If you like hypotheses, test only counter-intuitive ones.)

What kind of data do you need? (Demand-side vs. supply-side data)

Where are they? (Try find them.)

Unit of analysis: Users, products, or news organizations

It's just that simple!

By next Tuesday (noon), post two plausible research topics or questions on the blog.

More on web 2.0, based on cutting-edge technology

Technology changes so fast in this time, and one of the main foci of the communication research focuses is the effect of technology developments towards individual communication patterns, like political or civic engagements or real participation. Honestly, what I believe about academic trend is ‘technology deterministic’ perspective. Even though I lamented the fact that I was moved easily by technology, not human, I cannot explain anything without the involvement of technology.

The involvement technology in our life means that technology itself forms the fundamental platform of life. As a researcher, I should realize that academic interests and academic papers should be concrete; it should not be vague or ambiguous. When I firstly dipped my feet into academic field, I was asked a lot about my research interest. I replied that “my research interest is new media.’ How I was naïve! As time went by, I asked myself “so what about new media?”, “why should I study this?” Luckily, my research interests became concrete and I became little bit clear (even though I need more improvement), about my research interests: “the effect of communication technology on political communication patterns, especially how new opinion leaders stimulate their neighbors to be engaged in political polarization.’

My research interests just followed what Gauntlett mentioned about new media studies at the early 2000. Of course, things have been changed significantly and research agenda suggested by Gauntlett became old fashioned and little bit abstract. What we have to do for the future of communication research is that we should find more on this basic agenda, of course based on the cutting-edge technology.

Look at our own navel

We are asking mass media to react quickly to technological innovations. We are asking traditional media to change the way things had been done and to include their former audience as a key component of the editorial process. We follow with passion the news industry’s innovations and failures, looking for particular cases of study that could shed light on the new digital environment.

However, in the middle of this turmoil, we are probably not taking the time to reflect upon our own craft as scholars. I agree with Gauntlett when he claims media researchers are in need to find innovative tools and theories in order to better explain the media reality brought upon us by the Web.

Journalism Schools in particular must carefully evaluate their role in two main areas: Curriculum and research. Are J-Schools contributing to create new professionals who can take advantage of the new media landscape and work in the digital world? Are they preserving fundamental elements of journalism when implementing changes? Are they teaching students how to use users’ input? Most importantly, are they implementing new technologies to do advanced research and to reach/engage students outside their campus physical space?

Technological trends such as MOCCs are creating universities in the virtual space that soon might start to erode old institutions.


P.D. I am reading the most recent book of Robert W. Gehl, “Reverse Engineering Social Media,” and I found these interesting quotes that I would like to share with you:

"Social media are the corporate response to the mass creativity, collaboration, and desires of networked peoples. It is a tacit admission by large media companies: when given a choice, people prefer content produced and recommended by themselves and their friends to that recommended by editorial authorities. They are leery of mass culture and globalized corporations, so they seek to create their own culture. They express political opinions and offer frank assessments of commodities, corporations, and states, and they openly share these opinions with their friends and colleagues…"

"Social media outlets are new media capitalism’s attempt to absorb and capture this explosion of user-generated content as objectified surplus value.. Social media also have to be understood as software engineered to privilege and enhance certain users while closing off others…"

"However, it is myopic to only talk about exploitation while ignoring the power of the new social movement," Robert W. Gehl (p.5-6).

Week 6 Reflections

David Gauntlett offers a thorough yet streamlined history of the web/internet, which in its creators eye was a space for collaboration and democracy, but was quickly usurped by capitalists with dollar signs in their eyes. He nicely explains that subsequent to the internet bubble popping, we began to see a read/write web, the adoption of blogs, hyperlinks, and creativity. I think he brings up several interesting points within his exposition.

I agree with Gauntlett that there needs to be nuanced, qualitative approaches to understanding the web as we see in the work of James Paul Gee, Henry Jenkins and Clay Shirky. As Jane Jacobs describes cities being living, breathing things in the Death and Life of Great American Cities, new communities, civilizations, ways of communicating are constantly being created and tested on the web.

It is difficult to fully understand the web through research that views its users and communities as specimen rather than equal. Gauntlett calls for, "the fetishisation of 'expert' readings of media texts is replaced with a focus on the everyday meanings produced by the diverse array of audience members, accompanied by an interest in new qualitative research techniques." I really like the idea of more research with not only "audiences" (who are producers too) but also the video, photo, graphics, text they create. 

 

What’s new about new media?

            New media is evolving. There is always a new media, and new media today might be old media tomorrow. What’s new? They are similar in some senses.

            

            Internet empowers people. Viewers become content providers because of easy access. Attention economy caught people’s attention to look at this new media—web, as if there is never such media to provide oceans of information, and it makes attention a scarce resource. If we look back at cable, DBS, and MSOs, which provided viewers multichannel, attention economy seems applied. Multichannel provided more information than broadcast. Each TV station competed for viewer’s attention. A remote is crucial. If the channel was not appealing, it lost viewers’ attention. Rating is a measure of attention, and rating determines advertising revenue. Isn’t it similar to the Internet? Websites compete for attention because attention represents advertising revenue. Click is the measure of attention, just like rating. In this sense, new media is not that new.

            Is new media research new or not? As Guantlett (2007) pointed out, traditional media is replaced with “long tail” of alternative media. Internet fundamentally changed the way in which we engage with media, that is, new media change media consumption behavior. In spite of new changes, Guantlett stated that the old part of new media research is to rework critical perspective, like power, hegemony, or polysemy, to fit new media context. In my opinion, critical perspective never grows old. Where there is media, there is power. The questions for critical researchers ask are how to empower people and how to resist hegemony. The new for the new media research is like how firm make more money in the changing media environment? What is the business model? Or how new technology reshapes the landscape of media? How new technology redefines the concept of market? How traditional theories apply to new media?