(Essay Final) Limitless Communication

PLEASE NOTE: I have changed a number of in-text references to Hyperlinks, so that clicking on them will take you straight to the source information. I have also added, where necessary, pictures and videos to my essay (on the blog) to make a more immersive experience.
Formal essay already submitted at L@G. 

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Aristotle stated that communication is the exchange of information and ideas between a deliverer and receiver (Rhetoric). This is the key concept in understanding what communication is, more specifically, human communication. The sharing and expressing of ideas, opinions, questions and answers between two or more people have been the basic principals of how people converse. As such, since the introduction of the Internet, the concept of human communication is changing, creating a more broadened interactive, limitless and open environment via which people can communicate.

In relation to this, first understanding how modern human communication operates is paramount. The way people communicate has always been influenced and improved by the latest strides of innovation for communication. Firstly, take the mobile phone as an example; invented in 1973 (The History Of The Mobile Phone) the mobile has greatly influenced how people communicate. After its conception, the mobile phone allowed people anywhere to call friends and family, communicating via radio waves, “essentially a two-way radio, consisting of a radio transmitter and a radio receiver (Rong Wang, PhD 2014).” There is an estimated 6.8 billion mobile phonesubscriptions as of 2014 (Fernholz 2014). Thus the end result allows communication between the deliverer and receiver over long distances.

Similar to mobile phones, is the invention of the television: with the conception of the television being deeply bound to the technological development of the early 20th century (Hilmes 2006, p. 4). With television, one can share their creative and or educational ideas and opinions (in the for of film) for people to receive worldwide. In the USA alone there are 114.5 million TV homes, 54% of those homes owning more than three television sets (More Than Half The Homes In The U.S Have Three Or More TVs 2009). 

Hence creating a successful and popular means of communication. The massive success of both television and mobile phones, they have been indoctrinated into our society, becoming a staple part of communication. However, with all that stated, the Internet is truly the first new communication technology to create a seemingly interactive, limitless world, changing and broadening the way in which we communicate.  

The Internet itself saw its birth during mid-to-late 20th century (BriefHistory of the Internet). It is now accessed by 3.174 billion people globally (Number of worldwide Internet users from 2000 to 2015) and has been directly involved in the birth of many industries, examples such as social media, online video sharing/streaming websites and online video gaming. All afore mentioned fields becoming leading innovators in changing the way humans can communicate.

Firstly, with the quick rise in online social networking websites, and their gain on the Internet in popularity and accessibility, it is already becoming evident that the way people can communicate is evolving. Online social networking utilities allow users to create profiles (public or private) and form a network of friends; allow users to interact with their friends via public and private means, also allow the posting of user-generated content such as photos and videos (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield 2008, p. 121). Facebook as a principle example, launched on February 4th, 2004 (FacebookNewsroom), has now become the most successful social networking website ever created (Ballve 2013). As of August 24th, 2015, a recorded 1 billion peoplewere signed in on Facebook on thatday alone, from a pool of 1.15 Billion+ MAU (Monthly Active Users)(Ballve 2013).

Facebook allows users to privately message, publicly message (referred to as commenting), upload photos, videos (either self-created or from other sources) and music, and the ability to call people with the option of enabling web camera(s). In comparison to this is the mobile phone, with both sides sharing a variety of contrasts. Online social media websites and mobile phones both share the characteristic of Instant messaging {text messaging for mobile phones (accessible by owning subscription to phone company)} allowing the synchronous exchange of private messages between another user, primarily in text but also the offered availability of attaching documents, photos and other multimedia files (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield 2008, p. 121). However, through the Internet, social media offers more variety, with greater customisation in the way users can communicate between each other. Examples include, but are not limited by the ability to have a larger group of people receive content and the option of controlling who can view information and ideas. On the other hand, whilst mobile phones do have access to social networking sites via the internet, core features such as texting and calling people are more narrowed therefore, offering less interaction. Text messaging as an example only offers one-on-one messaging at a time and there is no customization to the users experience. Overall this gives communication through social networking a larger spectrum for varying possibilities. This Internet based industry, produces a more open environment for humans to communicate through.

Secondly, is the production and publication of online videos via the Internet, creating possibly one of the most interactive ways to communicate ideas between people. Allowing users to upload, view, and share video clips is a feature that has only developed in recent years (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield 2008, p. 121) with two examples being YouTube and Twitch. YouTube that launched in 2005 (Kuhn & Westwell 2012) has an average of 1 billion MAU and 4 billion videos streamed daily (Lange 2014, p. 8). Whilst Twitch, a live streaming website, created in 2011 (Twitch) had recorded 12 billion minutes watched in December 2014 alone. What both of these websites have in common is the ability for users to upload and receive content. They also offer live streaming/broadcasting services allowing users to broadcast content live to viewers. This is similar to how television content is received as afore mentioned. Both fields enable live broadcasting of content, and delivering content already filmed and edited (not live). However this is where the Internet prevails in creating commutative interactivity between the sender and receiver. YouTube and Twitch enable viewers to reply while content is being broadcasted live, and ultimately affect the outcome of the story. An example is the Twitch Plays Pokémon Red videos. When broadcasted live in 2014, a computer was linked to a game of Pokémon Red and the Chat Feed on Twitch. Typing in commands in real time affected the direction the character moved in the game. 1,165,149 peopleentered chat commands to guide the Hero through the “perilous trials of Pokémon Red” (Chase 2014). The journeytook 16 Days and 7 Hours with 122+ million commands issued (Chase 2014). 

Additionally YouTube allows content providers to see what the chat feed says as they perform live. YouTube channel Funhaus for an example, hosts Q&A podcasts, letting fans of the channel ask questions over the Internet and receive answers. Andrew Stanton stated in a TED talk video (The clues to a great story, 2012) that effective story telling is the “unifying theory of two plus two. Make the audience putthings together. Don't give them four, give them two plus two”.

Used in television production this theory can engage “the audience” in what content is being shown. However with the Internet, new possibilities have arisen that enable “the audience” to receive content and then communicate back, affecting the overall story and outcome. The allowance of participation, back and forth between deliverer and receiver over visualised content has created limitless possibilities for interacting and affecting something through communication.

Finally, online video gaming and the aspects that have made it a social meeting ground for people. The video gaming industry is now the 4th largestentertainment industry, behind “Gambling, Reading and TV (The BiggestEntertainment Markets in the World 2015)”. It is estimated 1.2 billion peopleplay games worldwide, with 700 million of those people playing online (Takahashi2015). Since gaming consoles started incorporating Internet features, there has been a surge in online gaming. Online games can be played by large numbers of players simultaneously (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield 2008, p. 121). “Online multiplayer games typically encourage interaction between players: some go even as far as demanding it (How Does Online Gaming Affect Social Interactions 2007)”. These social interactions between members of multiplayer game communities share similarities to interaction and communication in face-to-face groups (How DoesOnline Gaming Affect Social Interactions 2007). Communities set goals by communicating and gain a shared understanding when completing said objectives. Destiny, released in 2014 (Destiny) is an example of communication required in gaming. Destiny offers high-level players a “raid mode”. “Raids consist of 6 man (friend) only fire-teams that must utilize teamwork and cooperation to explore and clear large areas complete with bosses and puzzles (Raids)” This places a high emphasis on consistent communication. Due to this interaction and communication between people over online games, people form communities across the Internet, allowing “players” to communicate with others on an international scale, creating a broad communicative environment.

To conclude the Internet is broadening and changing the way people communicate. Achieved through Internet industries such as online gaming and video sharing, and social media, humans are changing their means of communication to adapt to the growing interactivity, open and limitless environment of modern ways of exchanging information and ideas between the deliverer and receiver.

References:

1. Aristotle & ebrary, I. 2000, Rhetoric, Book 1
2. Ballve, M 2013, ‘Our List Of The World’s Largest Social Networks Shows How Video, Messages, And China Are Taking Over The Social Web’, Business Insider Australia, 18 December, viewed on 24 September 2015
   < http://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-worlds-largest-social-networks-2013-12>
3. Chase 2014, TPP Victory! The Thundershock Heard Around the World, 1 March, viewed on 24 September 2015
   http://blog.twitch.tv/2014/03/twitch-prevails-at-pokemon/ >
4. Destiny, viewed on 25 September 2015
   <http://www.game.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/HubArticleView?hubId=208291&articleId=208292&catalogId=10201&langId=44&storeId=10151&merchname-_-search-_-header-_-Destiny>
5. Facebook Newsroom ‘Company Info’, viewed on 24 September 2015
   < http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/>

6.    Fernholz, F, More people around the world have cell phones than ever had land-lines, 25 February 2014, viewed on 23 September 2015
< http://qz.com/179897/more-people-around-the-world-have-cell-phones-than-ever-had-land-lines/>

7.    Hilmes, M 2006, The Television History Book, British Film Institute
pp. 4

8.    Kuhn, A & Westwell, G, A Dictionary of Film Studies: YouTube 2012, 1st edn, Oxford University Press,

9. Lange, P.G. & ebrary, I. 2014, Kids on YouTube: technical identities and digital literacies, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, CA
   pp. 8

10. Leiner, B & Cerf, V & Clark, D & Kahn, R & Kleinrock, L & Lynch, D & Postel, J & Roberts, L & Wolff, S, Brief History of the Internet, viewed on 22 September 2015
< http://www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet>

11. More Than Half The Homes In U.S Have Three Or More TVs 2009, 20 July, viewed on 24 September 2015
< http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2009/more-than-half-the-homes-in-us-have-three-or-more-tvs.html>

12. Number of worldwide Internet users from 2000 to 2015, viewed on 24 September 2015
<http://www.statista.com/statistics/273018/number-of-internet-users-worldwide/>

13. Raids, IGN, viewed on 25 September 2015
< http://au.ign.com/wikis/destiny/Raids>

14. Rooster Teeth: Funhaus, viewed on 24 September 2015
<https://fun.haus/ >
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCboMX_UNgaPBsUOIgasn3-Q >

15. Writer, S 2015, The biggest entertainment markets in the world, BusinessTech 31 May, viewed on 24 September 2015
< http://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/88472/the-biggest-entertainment-markets-in-the-world/>

16. Stanton, A, The clues to a great story 2012, video recording, TED, viewed on 26 September 2015
<http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_great_story/transcript?language=en#t-431699 >

17. Subrahmanyam, K. & Greenfield, P. 2008, "Online Communication and Adolescent Relationships”, The Future of Children, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 119-146.
18. Takahashi, D 2013, ‘More than 1.2 billion people are playing games’, Venture Beat, 25 November, viewed on 25 September 2015
    < http://venturebeat.com/2013/11/25/more-than-1-2-billion-people-are-playing-games/>

19. ‘The History of the Mobile Phone’, The Washington Post, 9 September 2014, viewed on 24 September 2015
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/09/09/the-history-of-the-mobile-phone/ >

20. Twitch, viewed on 22 24 September 2015
< http://www.twitch.tv/year/2014>

21. How Does Online Gaming Affect Social Interactions?, University of Jyväskylä, ScienceDaily, 20 September 2007, viewed on 23 September 2015
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070915110957.htm >

22. Wang, R PHD, How Do Cell Phones Work, 20 December 2014, viewed on 23 September 2015
< http://www.pongcase.com/blog/cell-phones-work/#sthash.PeE2DjCr.dpbs >