I have done research on the structure of the telecommunication industries. I presented my work at ICA in 2008. I still love doing macro-level communication research. i think it provides one with a bigger picture of the media.
I have also done some research about video games, particularly online games and mobile games. Gaming is a unique context for one to test some interesting assumptions ow how people socialize and collaborate.
My current research interest is in information sharing in online communities. Specifically, I look at how new technological artifacts influence the socio-psychological processes that motivate participation and contribution.
I believe communication research is useful only when it is theoretically interesting and rigorous, and when it generates relevant insights for users and designers/developers. To make it rigorous and relevant, I think the best approach is to be involved in the development of user communities for the technologies of interest. Both computer and social science of the communities are the subjects of inquiry and learning.