MediaSpace Wiki

Organizational Media Ecologies

This is a project being done with Meghan Parsons (mailto:mparsons@oswego.edu) as an independent study. We will, in this project, view organizations as media ecologys (see http://www.media-ecology.org for more information on the concept of media ecology.

Organizations use a variety of communication media for a variety of purposes. This range of media covers the full spectrum of media types, from interpersonal to broadcasting and everything in between. In this independent study we will attempt to look at Organizations as Media Ecologies (e.g. as collections of media that are used to accomplish the goals of the organization. Media will often be used either together or in parallel to achieve complementary and perhaps other outcomes. In this course of study we will attempt to identify a range of organization types that can be differentiated by their media use profiles (e.g. their media ecologies).

Towards that end we will do the following:

• The readings for the COM 365 course that will be held slightly behind the independent study.
• Some readings in media ecology, starting with Paul Levinson's "The Soft Edge". See the Media Ecology Association reading list at http://www.media-ecology.org/publications.html.
• Explore the variety of media as the apply to organizations. TheVarietyOfMedia (Meghan, be sure to look at the different typologies of media that are referenced there) is a starting point, as are RolesInMedia (Meghan, be sure to look at the Roles In Media paper that is pointed to there). I have identified over 200 distinct media. There are more. What media do organizations use for what purposes.
• Propose a paper to the media ecology association conference and to the college QUEST (OswegoQuest) day. Both may be February 4. Double check.
• Write that paper.
• Do some minor assistance in prepping the OrganizationalCommunication course.

1. Learn about what it means for something to be an ecology. The book should help with that.
2. Familiarize yourself with the concept of roles in media. The best way to do that is to read my Roles in Media paper (see RolesInMedia for a pointer). You may want to take a look around the various pointers from the RolesInMedia page here. It stores much of the research that underlies the paper.
3. Familiarize yourself with the variety of media. The Roles In Media paper is a good start for that. The typologies on TheVarietyOfMedia page will make more sense after that.

• Eisenberg and Goodall, c. 1-2
• Levinson, C. 1-7
• Roles in Media http://evolutionarymedia.com/papers/rolesInMedia.htm)
• On one page: What is a media ecology?

• WhatIsaMediaEcology
• OrganizationalMediaEcologyModels
• QuestAbstractOnOrganizationalEcologies
• OrganizationalEcologyRelatedConstructs
• OrganizationalStakeholders
• WhatIsAnOrganizationalMediaEcology?
• CorningIncStakeholdersAndMechanismsOfCommunication