Synopsis "Communicate, Connect, Collaborate"
Communicate, Connect, Collaborate explores the implications of convergence-the melding of all media with digital networks-for human communication and everyday life. Convergence serves as the foundation for the current ubiquitous communication era, a time in which individuals can interact with anyone, at any moment, from anywhere. The lines delineating interpersonal, small group, organizational, public, and mass communication have blurred as people routinely share their thoughts and ideas with others via social networking platforms, blogs, messaging apps, texts, and emails. These ways of connecting have altered how individuals think about communication, enact relationships, and inform and persuade each other. Connection, collaboration, participation, and accessibility animate the text's overarching principles in understanding the roles and skills essential to communicating effectively in today's pervasive communication environment. In recognizing communicators as prosumers, or active message producers rather than passive message consumers, the text empowers students to successfully negotiate their agency and identity across communication contexts. Written in an engaging, conversational style, the book centers on an innovative model of communication that integrates networked digital media, addresses cultural differences and diversity, incorporates examples from popular culture and current events, and offers sound pedagogy grounded in the authors' extensive teaching and research in the discipline. Providing a fresh approach to socially relevant and traditional communication topics, Communicate, Connect, Collaborate is the ideal core textbook to introduce students to the fundamental knowledge and tools they need to participate as competent and critical communicators in today's increasingly complex world.
