Defining Communication from Different Perspectives

Recently in one of my special topics seminar classes (Careers in Communication), I had an assignment that required me to look up definitions related to the field of Communication as well as my industry focus. I have provided them here to help enlighten any readers to a number of different definitions related to the Communication field as well as a few related to Social Media (Marketing). If you would like more information regarding some of the experts quoted below, feel free to comment on the post and I will do my best to answer your questions or direct you somewhere that may help! Enjoy!

  Education Focus Definitions

a.       Speech Communication

                                                              i.       “The historical study of speeches. Years ago, the Communication field was known as the Speech Communication field, and at that point in time most Communication scholars studied public speaking (great speakers, great speeches, etc.).”

Dr. David Levasseur. Professor of Communication Studies, West Chester University of Pennsylvania. (Ph.D., University of Kansas in Rhetoric and Communication).

                                                            ii.      “A program that focuses on the scientific, humanistic, and critical study of human communication in a variety of formats, media, and contexts. Includes instruction in the theory and practice of interpersonal, group, organizational, professional, and intercultural communication; speaking and listening; verbal and nonverbal interaction; rhetorical theory and criticism; performance studies; argumentation and persuasion; technologically mediated communication; popular culture; and various contextual applications.”

Speech communication and rhetoric. (n.d.). National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Retrieved September 11, 2013, from http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/cipdetail.aspx?y=55&cipid=88045

                                                          iii.      “The study of the nature, processes, and effects of human symbolic interaction. While speech is the most obvious mode of communication, human symbolic interaction includes a variety of verbal and nonverbal codes.”

What is communication? . (2013). The National Communication Association . Retrieved September 11, 2013, from http://www.natcom.org/discipline/

b.      Communication Studies

                                                              i.       “The development of theories designed to explain the transmission of information among people.”

Dr. Edward Lordan, Professor of Communication Studies, West Chester University of Pennsylvania. (Ph.D., The S.I. Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse University in Mass Communication).

                                                            ii.      As “Communication Education:”

“The study of communication in the classroom and other pedagogical contexts.”

What is communication? . (2013). The National Communication Association . Retrieved September 11, 2013, from http://www.natcom.org/discipline/

c.       Communications

                                                              i.       “The transmission of information between two people.”

Dr. David Levasseur. Professor of Communication Studies, West Chester University of Pennsylvania. (Ph.D., University of Kansas in Rhetoric and Communication).

                                                            ii.       “The discipline of communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within and across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media. The discipline promotes the effective and ethical practice of human communication.”

What is communication? . (2013). The National Communication Association . Retrieved September 11, 2013, from http://www.natcom.org/discipline/

d.      Mass Communication

                                                              i.       “The practice and study of communication through the media…”

                        Thompen, P. (2007, March 7). What is communication?. DrThompsen.com Exploring communication, technology and life. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from http://drthompsen.com/?p=28 

                                                            ii.       “The transmission of information between one source and multiple receivers using mediated means. “

Dr. Edward Lordan, Professor of Communication Studies, West Chester University of Pennsylvania. (Ph.D., The S.I. Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse University in Mass Communication).

  Industry Focus

a.       Social Media

                                                              i.      Consumer-generated media

1.      “…describes a variety of new sources of online information that are created, initiated, circulated and used by consumers intent on educating each other about products, brands, services, personalities, and issues.”

Mangold, W. G., & Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, 52(4), 357-365. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681309000329

b.      Industry History

                                                              i.      The origins of social media can be traced back to around 1997 when some of the first social networking sites were created (i.e. Sixdegrees.com, Classmates.com, etc.). The now all-but-defunct site, Friendster, is credited with spurring competition for the creation of new social media sites such as Xanga and MySpace. MySpace was one of the first sites to evolve and catapult social media, and marketing through social media, forward. The site was enhanced to introduce users to bands and artists. This brought about an opportunity for musicians to promote their group on a new forum. In 2004, MySpace lost a lot of  “mainstream press coverage” and growth significantly slowed. In 2005, a social media site in its infancy stole the show. Previously a site exculsive for college students, Facebook’s popularity increased greatly in 2005 by allowing high school students to join the site. It wouldn’t be long before Facebook became the most popular social media site in the world. The increase in popularity of social media sites created innumerable marketing opportunities of all sorts. (Boyd and Ellison, 2007).

Paraphrased from:

Boyd, D., & Ellison, N. (2007). Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x/full

c.       Similar Industries

                                                              i.      “…consulting, market research and advertising.”

The Princeton Review

http://www.princetonreview.com/Majors.aspx?cip=521401&page=1

  

  Resources

a.       The Top Five Companies in Social Media

                                                              i.      1. Facebook
                                    2. Blogger
                                    3. Twitter
                                    4. Wordpress
                                    5. LinkedIn

 From the Nielson Social Media Report, 2012.

b.      Top Publications

                                                              i.      1. Journal of Marketing

                                    2. Journal of Marketing Research
                                    
3. Journal of Consumer Research
                                    4. Journal of Retailing

                                    5. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science

Hult, G. Tomas M., William T. Neese, and R. Edward Bashaw (1997), "Faculty Perceptions of Marketing Journals," Journal of Marketing Education, 19 (1), 37-52.

c.       Important Industry Associations

                                                              i.       American Marketing Association (AMA)
                                    Promotion Marketing Association, Inc. (PMA)
                                    Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

Professional Organizations - Marketing. (n.d.). University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from http://www1.usfsp.edu/cob/undergraduate_studies/ProfessionalOrganizations-Marketing.htm