Computer-Mediated Interactivity

Abstract

The present article proposes a social semiotic conception of interactivity. Subjectivity is a central element in this analysis, which responds to the social and contextual nature of meaning as engendered in reception. The present analysis discusses both topoi and temporality of interaction in the production, use and revision of computer media applications, and differentiates experienced interaction in terms of the immediate application as well as that application as a representation of its designer. This analysis further supports the differentiation of degrees of apparent intersubjectivity as an index of the comprehensiveness of interactivity displayed by an application. As such, interactivity is discussed as a possible quality of communication. This approach extends and develops historically significant conceptions of mediated interactivity. In the discussion three such conceptions are reviewed and correlated with historical developments in models of computation.