Living Information Chapters 1 & 2

concurrent media exposure

being exposed to multiple media at the same time, whether people are aware of such exposure or not

crowdfunding

raising money to finance projects and businesses from a large number of people via online platforms

crowdsourcing

obtaining work, information, ideas, or opinions from a large group of people who submit their contribution online

digital inequality

differences between people in the material, cultural, and cognitive resources required to use information and communication technology

egodocuments / self-life writings

all forms of voluntary and involuntary autobiographical writing, such as memoirs, diaries, letters, travel accounts, blogs, vlogs, and social media posts

infodemic

a rapidly spreading large amount of information about a problem that is typically unreliable or the product of a disinformation campaign

misinformation

the dissemination of false or misleading information

disinformation

the dissemination of false or misleading information with the intent to be deliberately spread

intertextuality / intertextual referencing

parts of a media text that refer to other texts

life in media

media disappear, media are what people do, and people love media

mass self-communication

the circulation and reformatting of any digitally formatted content, generally consisting of egodocuments

media multitasking

deliberate use of multiple media at the same time

pervasive media

media are always on and impossible to completely turn off

technomyopia

people tend to overestimate the short-term impact of technology while simultaneously underestimating the long-term potential

ubiquitous media

the notion that media are everywhere and impossible to completely escape from

media

all the devices and channels we use to communicate

weak definition of media

definition that reduces media to a singular device, application, or process

strong definition of media

definition that encapsulates all forms of media, including society’s interactions with it and how it shapes society’s interactions within itself

information carrier

an avenue by which information is transported over distance or time such as books, infographics, and newspapers

interface

program that links our actions to specific functions of a digital device

thirst trap

intentionally posting something provocative to trick people into engagement

affordance

potential action that is possible by a given object or environment

algorithm

a series of instructions telling a computer how to transform data into useful knowledge

charismatic technologies

media that contribute to processes of personal transformation, identity formation, and expression

command line interface+ (CLI+)

an interface whereby users interact with a computer by typing in text commands to run programs and manage files

functionality

ability of a particular device or technology

graphic user interface (GUI)

an interface that allows people to interact with electronic devices via visual indicators, such as menus, icons, pointers, and windows

lean-forward media

media that engage the user directly, requiring people to pay close attention

media activities

the activities and practices involved when people use media

media arrangements

how people organize and coordinate their lives with and around media

media artifacts

the hard- and software people use to live in media

natural user interface

interface that makes you use electronic media using touch, gestures, or voice, in effect naturalizing the interface

polysemy

media content always has multiple meanings

relational labor

the work involved for freelancing creatives to build and sustain connections with audiences

Shiny (New) Toy Syndrome

always wanting or being oriented toward the latest or newest piece of technology or gadget

supersaturation of media

the notion that media completely saturate the average household, and in doing so, become unremarkable

ubiquitous computing

technology that works in the background, is intuitive and easy to use, is available anywhere, and is interconnected