Conceptual Approach in Support Research of a New Media - Case Study Example

Develop a methodology or conceptual approach to support research into a chosen new media user experience. Part I As Jane arrives at London Liverpool street station on a busy Monday morning, she fights her way to the central line westbound platform to catch the train to complete the second leg of her journey. As she stands on the platform, she glances across and is pleasantly taken aback by the digital advertising screen showing an advert of her favourite designer, Luoboutin. The advert showcased the collection for Summer 2012; she suddenly felt butterflies in the bottom of her stomach, as she quietly got excited about the thought of her feet in one of the studded heels in the advert. The hairs on her arms stood up as each shoe was showed in 360 degrees; gripping her attention further. She stood still, mesmerised, wishing she could just reach across the platform, just to touch, feel the shoes. However within the twinkle of an eye, her train speedily arrives, gushing through the platform; bringing her viewing to an abrupt end. As she stepped onto the train, she could not stop thinking about the advert, wishing she could have seen the end. She manages to get a seat; pulls out her Vogue magazine, she looks up and notices the static adverts above her head. Suddenly, as if she had never been on the tube before, she actually realises that all the adverts are static. Then she asks herself “how come tube adverts are static?” Why has no one developed digital displays on the tube?” Part II The recognition that there should be digital displays on the tube is an important consideration in the field of new media advertising. In establishing the methodological approach to this consideration one recognizes that there are first a number of overarching concerns that must be addressed. Perhaps the most pressing concern is the simple question of why such new media approaches to advertising have yet to occur. Such infrastructure considerations no doubt exist on a series of lines. From a purely infrastructure standpoint one recognizes that modern railway system emerged from earlier trains and much of the qualitative approach to infrastructure, in this instance print advertising appears to have been carried over from an earlier era and not enough consideration given to the increasing technological mediation of the modern world. In this regards the study design is aimed not only at determining the general effectiveness and best possible course of action of digital advertising displays, but also that it would financially benefit the rail system to implement these digital displays. With these considerations in mind the methodology advanced is firmly rooted in a logistical series of methods. This approach is akin to a mixed methods approach in that it involves both quantitative and qualitative assessment mechanisms. In terms of quantitative assessment mechanisms the study will implement statistical research that has been previously been implemented on the economic impact of print advertising against the economic impact of new media advertising. In this context of understanding one recognizes that new media advertising spans a wide array of inputs. Indeed, in one of the seminal texts on new media Manovich (2003) described eight different new media incarnations. While the level of user interactivity for these digital displays is limited compared to that of such new media outlets as gaming, the study recognizes that viewer participation in viewing the specific advertisement will undoubtedly contribute to the advertisement’s success in selling the intended product. The next stage of the methodology implements individuals in direct action research. The participants will first ride a specific tube car that has been temporarily outfitted with digital advertisements. A test recorder will ride with the participants and make ethnographic observations concerning their behavior. It’s recognized that this approach will not determine the extent that digital advertisements are more effective than the print advertisements in motivating the participants to actually purchase the product being advertised. Still, this direct action research functions to determine the extent that the viewer remains engaged with the specific digital advertisement. These findings can then be compared with findings that test the individuals’ interaction with static advertisements. The prevailing understanding being that the more the riders on the tube become engaged and mentally interact with the advertisements being shown, the more effective the advertisement can be considered to be. In addition to this research, participant interviews will be conducted. The interviews will be conducted with the specific passengers that participated in the test-run of the digital advertisements. Among the interview questions will be those that target the individuals’ specific impressions on the experience of watching digital advertisements in the tube. The intention of the questions is to discern if the specific context of mass transit can co-exist with the dynamic form of digital advertising. Other questions will attempt to determine if the viewer’s believe that they will be more willing to purchase products that are advertised in digital form rather than those advertised statically. Finally, the interviews will function as a means of discerning how much the participants truly interacted with the advertisement, as their recollection of the specific advertisements, compared to the print advertisements will be investigated through specifically tailored questions. Part III These methodological considerations are important on a number of grounds. One recognizes that the extent that it’s determined the passengers engage with the digital advertisement over the static advertisement corresponds directly with the financial potential of the digital advertisements. In these regards, a strong degree of passenger involvement is financial reason enough to motivate both the rail system and the makers of the advertisements to develop the necessary infrastructure to support the process. Still, it’s recognized there are weaknesses to the methodology in this context. Perhaps the most pressing weakness is the recognition that the study cannot definitively indicate how effective digital advertisements are over static advertisements in motivating viewers to purchase the product. While the study aims to reach general assumptions through the incorporation of past research, testing of interactivity levels, as well as group interviews, the possibility remains that even if the passengers watch the digital advertisement more there could be something about static advertisements in the context of the tube that unconsciously appeals to the passenger’s desire to purchase the product. While the financial implications of this research is the overarching strength and driving force, one also recognizes that the methodology is significant as a means of investigating the very nature of new media cultural productions. In these regards, the research takes place at the very juncture between old world and new world media advertisements. One recognizes the strong link between art and advertising, with such seminal contributions as Andy Warhol’s ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ and artists who argue that the greatest art of the 20th century is advertising. These recognitions combine with the understanding of new media as being largely concerned with forms of interactivity. Indeed, Schorr, Schenk, & Campbell (2003) note that new media has been seminally envisioned as technologies that enable or facilitate user-to-user interactivity and interactivity between user and information. While static advertisements convey information, it seems that the implementation of digital technology is significant in that it bridges this divide between pass viewership and true ‘interactivity’. Indeed, a strength of the methodology, particularly the interview portion, is that it allows the participants to convey the extent and means by which they interact with the advertisement. In addition to contributing to sharper advertisements, these findings will contribute to our understanding of how the digital world influences one-to-one or many-to-many interactivity in the context of mass transit. Part IV One of the predominant considerations of the methodological approach is the extent that it responds to the notion of a third paradigm of human computer interaction research. Harrison & Sengers (2007) argue that human computer interaction research has previously focused on two paradigmatic models. The first model considered the development of technological interaction in terms of man-machine coupling. The second wave paradigm built on this coupling, further considering the way that technological interaction constitutes a form of information communication. The third paradigm, they contend, considers technological interaction as phenomenological experience. Considered within the context of the previously established research methodology it’s clear there are many areas where the research fails to address the third paradigm of human computer interaction research. In some areas the methodology considers the third wave paradigm experience of digital advertising in the tube. One recognizes that the phenomenological means of interaction the current research refers to places great emphasis on the experience the user has with the technology. One such prevailing notion is that of embodiment. The research methodology specifically worked to consider the centrality of context. In these regards, a part of the study design was aimed at determining the extent that viewers interacted with the specific digital advertisements instead of the static advertisements within the context of the tube. Additionally, Harrison & Sengers (2007) note that there are specific methodological approaches that are characteristic of the third paradigm. In these regards, the action research, as well as interviews proposed by the research methodology, both fall directly in line with investigations into the phenomenological nature of technological interaction. While to a degree the proposed methodology functions within the third paradigm, it is recognized that there are significant ways it could be expanded to more directly address these concerns. While the third paradigm is referenced by Harrison & Sengers (2007), other theorists also article the nature of this phenomenological experience with technology. McCarthy and Wright (2004, p. 2) note, “We don’t just use or admire technology; we live with it. Whether we are charmed by it or indifferent, technology is deeply embedded in our ordinary everyday experience.” This perspective has also been echoed by Schuman (cited in McCarthy and Wright, 2004, p. 8) who considers that in terms of design processes “…the detail of intent and action must be contingent on the circumstantial and interactional particulars of actual situations.” Considering these specific concerns one recognizes that the methodology could have been structured in a way that more directly attempted to gain not just the participants perspectives on the implementation of digital advertising in the tube, but how the very context of the digital advertising in the tube affected their lived experience. With the recognition that the methodology could have been geared more towards gaining knowledge of the participants’ contextual interaction with the digital advertisements, the question then becomes how could these digital advertisements be better structured to encourage optimum interaction. McCarthy and Wright (2004, p. 5) argue, “it is no longer considered sufficient to produce a computer system that is effective, flexible, learnable, and satisfying to use…it must not also be useful in the lives of those using it.” While digital advertisements may be firmly entrenched in new media technology they must be more situated towards subjective viewer experience if they are to gain maximum interactivity. One possible way the digital advertisements could achieve these aims would be if they were integrated with information that is specifically relevant to the tube context. For instance, between advertisements notifications about the weather, traffic, and upcoming stops could be displayed. McCarthy and Wright (2004, p. 12) further indicate that third wave new media should “try to interpret the relationship between people and technology in terms of the felt life and the felt or emotional qualities of action and interaction.” In these regards, the methodology could have benefited from more questions that specifically targeted the users’ felt life. For instance, questions could have asked how the digital advertisements made the participants emotionally feel; how did the added sound affect their experience in the tube; did they feel more or less connected to the other passengers when the digital advertisements were in the tube. While the digital advertising included in the car is specifically linked to capitalist production through the promotion of products, the third paradigm considers that in terms of new media it is impossible to separate human emotion and felt interactivity from design innovation. References Harrison, Tatar and Sengers, (2007) “The Three Paradigms of HCI,” Proceedings of CHI, San Jose, CA,. Archived at: http://people.cs.vt.edu/~srh/Downloads/TheThreeParadigmsofHCI.pdf Manovich Lev, ‘New Media from Borges to HTML’, Wardrip-Fruin, Noah and Nick Montfort, ed (2003). The New Media Reader. pp.16-23. The MIT Press. McCarthy and Wright (2004) Technology as Experience, MIT Press http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262134470chap1.pdf Schorr,A & Schenk,M & Campbell,W (2003),Communication Research and Media Science in Europe, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin Read More