February Shelfie Feature: Alec Tefertiller

Alec Tefertiller
PhD candidate, Media Studies
School of Journalism and Communication

Discovery of NMCC:

I discovered the New Media and Culture certificate prior to enrolling at UO this past Fall, and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. As a media studies student who is particularly interested in media convergence, I was excited about the opportunity to collaborate with students around campus. One of the things that drew me to Oregon was the wide range of scholarly pursuits available across campus. The New Media and Culture Certificate seemed like a great way to tap into that community.

I am always amazed by the points of intersection I find between my research interests and those of others working in completely different departments. I am a big fan of collaboration, because I feel like we all have something unique to bring to the table. You may have forgotten more about computer programming than I will ever know, but you have no idea how audiences work. I bring audience motivations to the table, and you bring computer programming.

Useful Resource for new media students:
The Digital Scholarship Center:

This past term I have been in the Digital Scholarship class with John Russell in the library’s Digital Scholarship Center, and it’s like my world has expanded to 243% it’s previous size. I’m learning methods and approaches I had no idea existed. I thought I was going to get some useful tools to help me with what I am doing; instead, it’s transforming my approach entirely.

You can learn more about credit course opportunities at the Digital Scholarship center here. The DSC also welcomes proposals for workshops or credit courses that meet the digital scholarship needs of students or faculty. Contact Karen Estlund (kestlund@uoregon.edu) or John Russell (johnruss@uoregon.edu) with ideas.

Wordcloud generated in DSC course showing recent Twitter activity regarding SlingTV, a new streaming cable service.

Recent Research:
Currently, I am interested in streaming media, in particular streaming content providers such as Netflix and Sling. While these services deliver what we would think of as traditional media content, like television shows and films, their delivery stream is very different. It’s really shaking up the industry, as we now have new categories of consumers, such as “cordcutters” and “cordnevers,” along with new concepts, such as “bingewatching” and “connected viewing.” I’m interested in understanding how these new concepts are changing our notion of media attendance.

One thing I’ve learned in my research is that consumers are intentional about distribution window selection when it comes to when they first experience a film. With so many homeviewing options, from Redbox, Vudu, Amazon, and on to Netflix, we don’t go to movies unless they provide particular content that seems to fit the theatrical experience. I want to understand the implications of these shifts in consumer attitudes for content producers, in particular independent artists. The good news is that artists now have a host of lowcost digital tools, crowdfunding, and distribution options they can utilize to create and release their works. I want to understand how these opportunities are manifesting themselves in the real world.