Dissertation preview

What better way to begin the New Year, than with a dissertation teaser?

Here it is.

Title: Online games as a medium of cultural communication: An ethnographic study of sociotechnical transformation

• Introduction
• Methodology and Rationale
• The Rise of Korean Gaming
• Gaming: from Subculture to Mainstream
• Conclusion and Moving Forward

Abstract:

This dissertation explores the place and meaning of online games in everyday life. In South Korea, online games are a prominent part of popular culture and this medium has come under public criticism for various societal ills, such as addiction. Humanistic accounts of Information-Communication Technology (ICT) usage are still a minority body of research. All too often, the explanations for engagement with technology are reductionist to the most basic variables and the social aspects omitted in the name of science. An ethnographic approach is employed in order to understand the place of games as a communication medium.

Exactly how has it come to pass, that online games have come to occupy such a prominent place in the media ecology in South Korea, and yet not been replicated in other national contexts? First, I outline the discourse on addiction as it pertains to online games and suggest some scholarly support for the viewpoint that the rhetoric surrounding a biomedical interpretation of online game addiction may not be the most appropriate way to address problems that have been typically laid at the feet of online gaming (or any other new form of media). Second, I transition into discussing my rationale for approaching South Korea as a fieldsite, the ethnographic methodology employed, and how this examination of online games is a particularly illustrative case of the profound role played by culture, social structure, infrastructure, and policy in audience reception. Third, I delve into the foundational aspects of Korean social history and culture that I assert, set the stage for the present new media scene in South Korea. Fourth, I explore what games mean in the lives of Korean youth according to the ethnographic data I have been collecting during research stays in 2004, 2008/2009 and 2010.

Overall, this dissertation examines the contextual factors of which a medium of communication in the sociotechnical transformation of South Korea can begin to be understood within the porous boundaries of its national circumstances.

Keywords: Games; Ethnography; Korea; Addiction; Sociotechnical; Media; Anthropology; Communication; Culture; Social Structure; Infrastructure; Policy;

3. Media presence

As if being located in Geneva was not enough of a centralizing force for media coverage, Lift was able to leverage the presence of prominent speakers and media due to the World Economic Forum that had just taken place in Davos-Klosters, known in most cases as simply, "Davos."



This resulted in a number of the same people who had just attended or spoken at Davos to be in the audience or on stage, such as Robert Scoble or Matthias Lüfkens.

Here's a link to the aggregation of Lift press coverage.

Le Temps

On the train into Geneva from Zürich, I realized I was in the land of the Le Temps newspaper, and enjoyed browsing through the day's copy on the table in front of me. Little did I know that the following day at the conference, I would be ambushed by a reporter from said newspaper, while catching up with Gilles Florey and having just opened my computer. The reporter was curious and asked me questions about my desktop wallpaper, and then asked if I had time to be photographed in various positions with and without my laptop before the opening sessions occurred. The French photographer insisted, "no smile, no smile." And despite all of us not smiling, it resulted in a relatively lighthearted weekend piece in Le Temps.



The media would be omnipresent throughout the conference. One might say swarming.

Mediafin

After my openstage talk on games, I quickly retired to the conference's Zen Lounge and ironically partook in one of the numerous Red Bull drinks... pretty much to get myself to some semblance of "normal."


I was shortly approached by someone who I would later get to know as Roland Legrand, from Mediafin. We had a pleasant discussion, which resulted in this blog about Digital Natives and a resolution to keep in touch.

Then I downed the rest of my RB like a good Austrian resident.

Next up: My Open Stage talk.

**UPDATE: Le Monde

The talk was also discussed, along with two of the other Lift11 speakers (Steffen Walz and Etienne Mineur) in French newspaper Le Monde. I was wondering how there was a sudden spike in blog traffic from France! Bienvenue! :)

March Brown Bag Lunch - Dal Yong Jin

The School of Communication's Dal Yong Jin will be giving this month's Brown Bag lunch talk this Wednesday, March 11th.
Location: Mallinson Conference Room (K8652), SFU Burnaby at 12 Noon.

Title: De-convergence: a shifting business trend in the U.S. digital media industries

Abstract: Since the early 21st century, several media companies, including Time-Warner, Viacom, Walt Disney, and Vivendi, have utilized de-convergence as a new business model. The emergence of de-convergence in the communication industry has raised a fundamental question, that being whether de-convergence will become one of the major business models in changing the ownership structure and system. This topic investigates this shifting trend and applies it in relation to digital media, including Internet, mobile, cable, and television. It analyzes why and how communication giants in Western countries, particularly the U.S. broadcasting industries, have pursued de-convergence in recent years. It first examines the background and practice of convergence between the early 1990s and 2007. Then, it maps out how media companies have pursued de-convergence through split-off and spin-off strategies as their new business model. Finally, it articulates whether the de-convergence trend has consequently contributed to the enhancement of the policy goals of competition, diversity, and promotion of democratic discourse that are embedded in antitrust laws and regulations relevant to mass media.