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According to this week's readings, the term interactivity has been difficult to define largely because it has various facets and has changed with the onset of new technology.

Spiro Kiousis, who wrote "Interactivity: A Concept Explication," went into great detail to define the term. In the "tentative definition" section, Kiousis states interactivity definitions have three principal domains: technological properties, communication context and user perceptions. He goes on to say, "Interactivity can be defined as the degree to which a communication technology can create a mediated environment in which participants can communicate, both synchronously and asynchronously, and participate in reciprocal message exchanges." It clarifies that the definition includes a human users ability to perceive the experience as interpersonal communication.

In "Defining Interactivity," Edward Downes and Sally McMillan interviewed six "interactive communication" experts to attempt to find a consensus on the definition of interactivity. What they found was interactivity dealt with impacts, messages and participants. Downes and McMillian also said interactivity is a "multidimensional construct and each of those dimensions seems to be represented by a continuum." When it comes to the message dimension, they state interactivity increases when the communication enables all participants to actively communicate, the timing is flexible and it creates a sense of place. In terms of the participant dimension, they would feel as if they have greater control of the environment, communication would be responsive and individuals would perceive communication is about exchanging information versus attempting to persuade anyone.

I would define interactivity as communication among two or more individuals in web environment where messages are relayed instantly or overtime and the message senders feel they are active participants in the communication. It's probably oversimplified, but I'm learning.

When it comes to The Long Tail theory, interactivity plays a role in it, but it is different than the definitions provided above. For example, an algorithm is selecting the titles that would possibly interest a consumer rather than a human being. While the Web site is communicating to the consumer information, it isn't really a dialogue and if you consider Downes' and McMillian's definition of interactivity, the information does attempt to persuade the consumer to buy whatever product as well.

The Long Tail does have viable expectations for future business models, but I would say only terms of the web. The article mentions the elimination of physical distance, which would be an issue anywhere else except the web. It is important that businesses get the products that consumers want no matter how obscure, because if one doesn't do it, another will and profit from it. Word of mouth is a powerful thing.