The goal of this dissertation is to discuss interactivity in the digital realm. It proposes a specific understanding of this phenomenon in the midst of a nascent digital culture. Interactivity is a central aspect to the transformational power that digital media entails. Its study is fundamental to the comprehension of the digital revolution, of which we live the early stages.
This paper begins with the outline of three fundamental concepts: interactivity, the studied phenomenon; digital culture, the territory at which the phenomenon is studied; and interface, the main operator of the phenomenon in the territory.
Following, it proposes a particular method for the analysis of interactivity in the digital culture. The main hypothesis is that there are four identifiable dimensions, by which interactivity can be performed and perceived. They account for the variations in aspects of how agents of communications act, meaning is produced, time performed and spatiality is built. Within each of these proposed dimensions, a series of vectors are identified and discussed through examples of various technologies, which supports interactivity in the digital medium, such as email, instant messaging and electronic conferences.
In the third part of the dissertation, the mechanisms of interactivity are analyzed in the perspective of the proposed dimensions and its vectors, for which a summarizing table is constructed. They are divided in three groups: enablers of publishing spaces, potentializers of dialogues and builders of virtual communities. Various technologies are presented within these groups. They are discussed for their functionalities and major consequences. A specific manifestation of an interactivity mechanism is chosen in each group for the purpose of demonstrating the viability of the analysis that dimensions and its vector entails.
The present dissertation is presented in the expectation of persuading readers of the importance of interactivity. The analysis model constructed by the identification of the dimensions of interactivity should inform the understanding, the application and the development of tools of interactivity tools and environments.
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