New book announcement
New Media Technologies and User Empowerment
Jo Pierson, Enid Mante-Meijer and Eugène Loos (eds.)
Peter Lang - International Academic Publishers
May 2011
ISBN 978-3-631-60031-3
Peter Lang published the book 'New Media Technologies and User
Empowerment' (edited by Jo Pierson, Enid Mante-Meijer and Eugène Loos)
Volume 6 in 'Participation in Broadband Society' series (edited by
Leopoldina Fortunati, Julian Gebhardt and Jane Vincent)
/'This collection provides numerous and refreshing insights into the
claims about the ever more proactive role of users of information and
communication technologies. Through a variety of case studies,
illustrating the array of theoretical frameworks available, the
authors throw light upon the diverse ways in which users engage with
innovations. From outlining the challenges of involving users in
design, through appreciating the diverse origins and nature of user
engagement with ICTs to critically commenting upon the constraints
of the user experience, this book provides a welcome and useful
contribution to the field.'/ (Leslie Haddon - LSE London School of
Economics and Political Sciences)
/'User-generated content, produsage, collective intelligence – these
terms have come into their own in recent years, filled with detail as
researchers explore the finer nuances of participative
Web environments. This is a rich collection of such work, exploring
the successes and failures of innovative online projects,
and examining how they affect the rhetoric of user empowerment
that surrounds Web 2.0. A very welcome addition to this field of
research.'/ (Axel Bruns - Author of Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and
Beyond: From Production to Produsage)
Synopsis:
Recent developments in new media devices and applications have led to
the rise of what have become known as ‘social media’, ‘Web 2.0’,
‘social computing’ or ‘participative web’. This shift in ICT, from
unidirectional to conversational media of mass self-communication has
lowered the technological thresholds for everyday users to cooperate
for their own benefit, to participate in online environments
and social network sites, to co-create business value and to become
‘produsers’ or ‘pro-ams’. At the same time, we see an evolution
towards people-centred design and user-driven innovation in the design
of new media technologies. This has created new opportunities and
heightened expectations regarding user empowerment in different
societal arenas.
However, the question remains to what extent users and communities
interacting in an all-IP new media ecosystem are empowered (and
not disempowered) to express their creativity and concerns in their
social and cultural environment and to obtain a prominent role in the
process of new media design and innovation. The book attempts
to answer this question through a collection of chapters that
scrutinise this issue. The different chapters focus on the way that
social and economic opportunities and threats enable and/or constrain
user empowerment.
This work consists of four major sections, each of which examines the
(potential) empowerment/disempowerment of users in relation to new
media technologies from a different angle. The chapters in the first
section describe different theoretical perspectives on user roles and
user involvement in the new media ecosystem, referring to
interpretative, positivist and critical schools of thought. Based on
these overall guiding frameworks, we then explore the leverage users
have, both on content level and on technological level. This refers
respectively to the second and third section of the book. In the
fourth section different case studies are presented, each of which
highlight how user empowerment manifests itself in different new media
sectors and environments (such as publishing, the music industry and
social networking sites).
The book is based on interdisciplinary research. It offers innovative
insights based on state-of-the-art academic and industry-driven ICT
user research in various European countries. This work will appeal to
post-graduate students and researchers in the field of media
and communication studies, social studies of technology, digital media
marketing and other domains that investigate the mutual relationship
between new media technologies and society.
Contents:
Yves Punie: Introduction: New Media Technologies and User Empowerment.
Is there a Happy Ending? - Enid Mante-Meijer/Eugène Loos: Innovation
and the Role of Push and Pull - Valerie Frissen/Mijke Slot: The Return
of the Bricoleur: Redefining Media Business - Serge Proulx/Lorna
Heaton: Forms of User Contribution in Online Communities: Mechanisms
of Mutual Recognition between Contributors - Aphra Kerr/Stefano De
Paoli/Cristiano Storni: Rethinking the Role of Users in ICT Design:
Reflections for the Internet - James Stewart/Laurence Claeys: Problems
and Opportunities of Interdisciplinary Work Involving Users in
Speculative Research for Innovation of Novel ICT Applications -
Marinka Vangenck/Jo Pierson/Wendy Van den Broeck/Bram Lievens:
User-Driven Innovation in the Case of Three-Dimensional Urban
Environments - Mijke Slot: Web Roles Re-examined: Exploring User Roles
in the Media Environment - Philip Ely/David Frohlich/Nicola Green:
Uncertainty, Upheavals and Upgrades: Digital-DIY during Life-change -
Eva K. Törnquist: In Search of Elks and Birds: Two Case Studies on the
Creative Use of ICT in Sweden - Levente Szekely/Agnes Urban: Over the
Innovators and Early Adopters: Incentives and Obstacles of Internet
Usage - James Stewart/Richard Coyne/Penny Travlou/Mark Wright/Henrik
Ekeus: The Memory Space and the Conference: Exploring Future Uses of
Web2.0 and Mobile Internet through Design Interventions - Sanna
Martilla/Kati Hyyppä/Kari-Hans Kommonen: Co-Design of a Software
Toolkit for Media Practices: P2P-Fusion Case Study - Ike Picone:
Mapping Users' Motivations and Thresholds for Casually «Produsing»
News - Stijn Bannier: The Musical Network 2.0 & 3.0 -
Enid Mante-Meijer/Jo Pierson/Eugène Loos: Conclusion: Substantiating
User Empowerment.
For more information on the book, follow the link below:
<http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk=53090
<http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk=53090>>
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Jo Pierson
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels
Interdisciplinary Institute for Broadband Technology (IBBT)
Studies on Media, Information and Telecommunication (SMIT)
Pleinlaan 2 / B-1050 Brussels / Belgium
T: + 32 (0)2 629 2412
F: +32 (0)2 629 1700
E: (Jo.Pierson /at/ vub.ac.be) <mailto:(Jo.Pierson /at/ vub.ac.be)>
#imuses
Office: 0C.005
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