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MLM 64 - New Media Communication – practices and prospects of web 2.0*"

Faculty
Ib Tunby Gulbrandsen
Course Coordinator
Ib Tunby Gulbrandsen
Course content, structure and teaching
On the global market place where demands for transparency and knowledge sharing are rising and where ROI from traditional communication channels are declining, New Media technologies like blogs, mash-ups, peer-to-peer, pod- and vodcasts, ratings, RSS, social networking, tagging and wikis, have become vital communication tools for organizations. Both internally and externally.
Tim O’Reilly calls these tools, or technologies, web 2.0 – a second edition of the Internet he claims emerged after the dot-com bubble burst in 2001. No matter if one agrees with the notion of a second edition of the Internet, disagreeing with the concept of the Internet as “an architecture of participation” is tough. Due to the emergence of these technologies, today (close to) anyone can contribute, distribute, and publish. The Internet has become our day’s bonfire, where stories are told, shared, negotiated and disputed. Some call it democracy, others anarchy. Either way, being able to understand, utilize and capitalize on these New Media technologies is essential for the future systems manager, marketing director, management consultant, and communications executive.
Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this course will discuss theories and empirical studies aiming at a better understanding of the new communication platforms.
The course will be built up around the following themes:
  • New Media society – looking into the cultural and global perspectives of New Media technologies; who participates and how are they behaving?
  • New Media technologies – exploring the challenges and possibilities of New Media technologies; which technologies can organizations employ – and how?
  • New Media politics – discussing the legal and ethical framework of New Media technologies; how are they regulated, and at what cost?
The course will consist of lectures, student presentations, and workshops.
By the end of the course, students should be able to
  • diagnose and analyze the challenges and usability of New Media technologies for an organization, seen from an operational point of view (e.g. information management, marketing, public relations, management),
  • respond to these challenges with recommendations and practical solutions based on a given organization’s strategy and communication needs,
  • present, and assess, the recommendations and solutions based on theoretical and empirical data,
  • and reflect on the relationship between New Media communication, technology and people in a global context.
Type of examination, exam aids and assessment
An individual paper, prepared at home, based on a case chosen by the student. Grading given according to the 7-point scale. No second examiner.
Recommended literature
Benkler, Y., The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom, http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/wealth_of_networks/Main_Page, 2006-20??
Lievrouw, L. A., and Livingstone, S., The Handbook of New Media (student edition), Sage Publications, 2006
Scoble, R., and Israel, S., Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers, Wiley, 2006
Scott, D. M., The new rules of Marketing and PR, John Wiley & Sons, 2007
+ articles and book chapters made available online

Last updated by Electives Secretariat 14/01/2011