REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATION ISSN: 2146-0353 ● © RIGEO ● 11(5), SPRING, 2021 www.rigeo.org Research Article The Ecosystem in Communication Networks Sinta Paramita1 Engkus Kuswarno2 Doctoral Student of Communication, University Department of Communication, University Padjajaran [email protected] [email protected] Agus Rusmana3 Eko Harry Susanto4 Department of Communication, University Faculty of Communication Science, Universitas [email protected] Tarumanagara [email protected] Abstract This study aims to determine whether there are relationships formed in the communication ecosystem and whether there are dominant actors in the communication ecosystem through YouTube content. The Ecosystem is a reciprocal relationship and is interrelated with one another in an environment. Social media as a means of interaction in a virtual world makes it easy for anyone to interact. Viewers who like it will often comment, click, like, share on the content. Automatic actions become digital data that can be traced so that they can shape the communication ecosystem. One of them is the content that is the object of this research is the Lupis Mbah Satinem edition of the hawker series made by Netflix. The theory used in this research is Network Theory, which prioritizes actors and relationships in a network. The approach used is quantitative. This study uses the Communication Network Analysis (CNA) method with the Netlytic application as a tool for data collection techniques. The population and sample used in this study were 2,893 comments. The result of this research is that there is no relationship between nodes as indicated by the value of Reciprocity 0; it can be said that the Ecosystem is not formed in the YouTube content. However, there are five dominant actors in the material. The message conveyed through comments attracts the attention of other actors to form 5 clusters in CNA. The relation model that is obtained in the research is one mode and undirected relationship types. Keywords ecosystem; communication; network; youtube To cite this article: Paramita S, Kuswarno E, Rusmana A, and Susanto E, H. (2021). The Ecosystem in Communication Networks. Review of International Geographical Education (RIGEO), 11(5), 170-182. Doi: 10.48047/rigeo.11.05.17 Submitted: 20-01-2021 ● Revised: 15-02-2021 ● Accepted: 25-03-2021 © RIGEO ● Review of International Geographical Education 11(5), SPRING, 2021 Introduction Based on Internet World Stats 2020 data, Asia ranks first internet users at 50.3%. Nearly half of the world's population who use the Internet are in Asia. Of the total percent, Indonesia contributed 7.4% or the equivalent of 2 million internet users throughout Indonesia (“Internet World Stats Usage and Populations Statistics,” 2020). A survey conducted by APJII in 2016, internet users in Indonesia reached 132.7 million people. An increase occurred in 2017 as many as 143.26 million people from the total population of Indonesia's 262 million people. This increase is increasing every year, seen from the latest data released by APJII in 2018, recording internet user penetration reaching 171.17 million people or an increase of 64.8% of Indonesia's total population of 254.17 million people (APJII, 2018). The 2 data above related to the development of the Internet in Indonesia brings several changes, especially in the event of Communication Science. The rapid development of communication and information technology has brought changes in the event of Communication Science research in various fields in Indonesia. For example, a study with the theme of developing adolescent interpersonal relationships in the use of social media in the city of Bandung, this research results in young attitudes that need to build interpersonal relationships in communicating using social media (Darmawan, Silvana, Zaenudin, & Effendi, 2019). Another research related to technological developments is the Portrait of Indonesia's Digital Society. This research results in 51% of urban internet users and 49% of rural internet users. The exciting thing is that rural communities have almost caught up with urban communities using the Internet. This shows that online penetration through IT infrastructure to rural areas in Indonesia is quite high (Kuswarno, 2015). Other research is related to negative things that are formed from daily life and technology, namely Fraud in interactions through social media, this research produces internal and external factors that can encourage victims to interact, impression creation strategies and framing strategies by fraudsters, and social media characteristics that can create the reality in the minds of victims of Fraud (Rusmana, 2015). Research related to media and government texts, such as research with the theme Cyber media, Apparatus, and Diversity News. This research results in the dynamics of the relationship between cyber media and government officials today in terms of reporting on the issue of diversity characterized by the closeness that was previously framed in power relations, currently in relationships of primary interests, accuracy, and risk management (Susanto, Loisa, & Junaidi, 2020). Research with the theme of Cyber media news coverage on diversity issues in Indonesia results that mass media do not fully support diversity, they are still found to be non-neutral in news coverage, this is indicated by the theme of coverage and some of its supporting elements (Loisa, Susanto, Junaidi, & Loekman, 2019). Furthermore, research related to media management information management in managing the reputation of the Indonesian Police has resulted in mass media collaboration and optimization of social media that can suppress negative news by using the IMM application which is proven to increase positive trends for the Police in Indonesia (Amar, Mulyana, Bajari, & Rizal, 2019). The six previous studies described above are related to the portrait of the use of technology in Indonesian society. This research will also raise technology with the theme of Digital Media Ecosystem for Viral Communication, particularly seeing content as the power to create issues. Digital Media Ecosystem, a group of researchers and practitioners first introduced the term digital Ecosystem from the Directorate- General for Communications Networks, Content, and Technology (DG-CONNECT), a European Commission institution. This group uses this term when designing a new ecosystem model that adopts the use of information and communication technology tools (Wisnuhardana, 2018). In the terminology of Biology, an ecosystem is a unitary system consisting of various communities of non- living organisms in the form of matter and energy and living organisms that are interconnected and interacting (G & Spoolman, 2012). Furthermore, the Ecosystem is commonly used in the field of biology to describe a reciprocal interaction between living things in an environment. More specifically, an ecosystem is the entire formation of living things (biomes) and their place of life (Kartawinata, 2010). Living things and the environment are two inseparable entities. Both have a dependence on one another. Living things such as humans need the background to live, socialize, interact, and survive by relying on natural resources produced by the environment. Likewise, the situation requires humans to maintain environmental wisdom so that it is always maintained. Ecosystems have a direct or indirect influence on human life (Seftyono, 2011). The development of communication and information technology today brings humans into a different ecosystem. The current Ecosystem, which is no longer concerned with environmental issues but 171 © RIGEO ● Review of International Geographical Education 11(5), SPRING, 2021 has entered a virtual environment, has become a digital ecosystem. McLuhan once came up with the concept of media ecology that intersects ecosystems in this research. According to McLuhan, ecology is a study of the environment and its effects on people (Richard & Turner, 2017). In Greek, ecology is Oikos and logos. Oikos is a house or place to live, while logos is defined as knowledge or knowledge. The following is an illustration of the most potent Ecosystem in the field of Biology. From these two syllables, ecology is simply defined as the study of the organisms in which it lives. Or in general, ecology is the study of the reciprocal relationship between groups of plants and their environment (G & Spoolman, 2012). In short, the Ecosystem can also be defined as a system of organisms that always interact mutually with their environment. The concept of the Ecosystem is a broad concept, which forms the basis of ecological theory. The ecosystem concept emphasizes reciprocal relationships and is interrelated with one another in an environment. Adopting the thought of Biology in the realm of Communication Science certainly has its challenges, as a great science Communication Science can cover the breadth and depth of science. One of them is Biology. As part of the science of biology, ecosystems focus on the interactions and interrelationships between organisms. This is also the initial foothold in the communication process. Humans who are organisms interact and communicate with other humans in the ecological sphere. With the development of technology, human ecology began to shift towards a more abstract direction. Ecology as a science that studies the environment as a place to live for an organism, to virtual ecology. Humans begin to enter, live, grow, and develop