#computermediatedcommunication

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is an umbrella term that encompasses various forms of communication through networked computers (i.e., videoconferencing, phone calls, email messages, etc.)

My daily communication is mediated through the use of technology, such a cell phone, laptop, and social networks. I use my cell phone everyday almost all day, I even sleep with it or have it on my night stand next to my bed. Being in school online requires me to be on my laptop so often, completing my assignments or I will use my laptop to research multiple things if my cell phone is running slow. Also, I usually check my social networks like Instagram and Facebook every day, I just recently deleted my twitter account app, but I still receive emails often about twitter.

Some advantages smartphones provide – better means of communication, learning options to users, great exposure to the latest things, ways to personality development, simple ways to access applications, ideas to succeed in business, platforms to grow their applications, and more

Laptops allow employees to virtually connect with customers at any time of the day. Besides traditional email, employees can follow up with leads in creative ways using tools like Skype, social media outlets like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter and customer service chat platforms

Experiencing Connection, On and Off-Line. At its core, social media holds out the promise of connection. A key idea behind Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and other platforms is that we can create rich networks of friends, receive frequent updates from people in our lives, and build a sense of community.

Social rules may be constrained by technical means that enforce a given policy of use. Privacy is one such example: to allow wide acceptance and use of computer-mediated communication systems, these systems must guarantee privacy protection.

In order to find a balance between the exchange of (private) information and keeping a certain degree of privacy, users need to develop a certain communication.

In the future, computer mediated communication can be leveraged in conducting businesses, for instance, telecommuting and video conferencing.

You will be able to get immediate feedback, have rich resources thanks to the collective information from different parts of the world, effective communication, effective alternative than other communication medium, and it will also Bring people together beyond social, religion circle.

Computer mediated communication breaks down geographical barriers to communication enabling collaboration through communication over distance. 2. People can exchange, store, edit, broadcast, and copy any written document.

The term computer mediated communication is a term given to modern day communication with others. This communication is computer based, and may involve sending, receiving, or posting information, such as emails, instant messages, social media posts, blogs, etc. The vehicle for these forms communication could be phones, laptop and personal computers, modern cameras, and others. 

In my daily life, I use my smartphone and laptop to access Facebook, email, and instant messaging to communicate with my friends and family, as well as my colleagues at work and others. By far, I utilize Facebook on my cellphone more than any other form of computer mediated communication. Sometimes even before I lift my head off of my bed pillow in the morning, I feel an overwhelming urge to check my Facebook page and instant messages, and check friends’ pages for new, interesting and even opposing social and political views. 

What is it that leads all of us to favor computer mediated communication, versus one-on-one verbal interactions? Why have we adopted a form of communication that largely bases its interactions on words sent and received over the internet in an often impersonal manner, instead of conversing with people and forming personal and professional bonds with one another in a face-to-face manner? 

Optimists may say that internet forms of communication allow for faster, more streamlined communication, such as WebEx meetings in offices that may be on opposite sides of the globe. They allow allow friends and family the chance to communicate when face-to-face visits are impossible. 

Pessimists may take the opposite view, that computer mediated communication such as social media websites give participants a false sense of community and unity, that it facilitates a separation of family and friends that truly care about us, in favor of a series of impersonal posts that aren’t real.

My stance is that I fall squarely in the middle of the two views. I feel computer mediate communication has given us so much to be thankful for, like scientific collaborations, more streamlined processes for things like voter registration, census taking, social security changes, etc., and it has allowed many of us to find and communicate with childhood friends and other loved ones that we may have not been able to find otherwise. However, the nuances that come with traditional communication may become lost on all of us, if we continue the trend that computer based communication is our new favored form of interaction.

We must all remember that computer mediated communication does not come without a price tag. With the evolution of this relatively new medium, we now have to worry about cookies from our website visits storing information that may be used by social media to sell us products, information that may be stored and used against us in the future, and information that could be stolen from us, including our own identities. It’s a price many of us have in the past, and one that we continue to pay with each day that we log into websites. 

For instance, if I were to click on a blouse that I find stylish in an ad on Facebook, I might receive ads for that blouse and other apparel from that company and others in the future, based on my choices. If I were to log onto a patient portal for my medial records, and that server is hacked or if I were to use a password that isn’t strong enough and hackers are able to discover that password, all of my personal health information may not only be uncovered, but it might be used against me in the future by those who may want to harm me and my identity. We can counteract these threats by honestly being smarter about what we put out there about our lives, and we can also be smarter about answers to our security questions and passwords. 

The future has no limit with regard to computer mediated communication. Who knows, maybe in the future, video calls may consist of hologram “in-person” chats with business colleagues, friends and family. Maybe instead of watching videos and movies on our smartphones and computers, the scenes will act out in a hologram short of way, to bring us into a virtual reality without headsets. We may be able to have preventative and diagnostic medical visits in the same way, in order to be treated without even going to a doctor’s office, and have national medical records that store information about allergies, medical issues, etc. that make emergency medical treatment easier, and abuse of prescriptions a thing of the past. Truly, the possibilities are endless. What an amazing and exciting time we live in, with this kind of media evolution being within reach.

However, we must never forget that getting smiles and hugs from our family and friends and sharing our daily experiences with one another cannot ever be replaced - there is no substitute. Like anything else in life, we must proceed into the future with caution and common sense. 

That’s my view. What is yours? 

In last week’s lecture we talked about new media communication and how emoticons are used in written and spoken communication. Sauter (2014) spoke about “computer mediated communication” of how we use tools and symbols to communicate and express ourselves thru new media. One of the readings from Crystal (2006) discusses the difference between written language, what we see online, and speech language, face-to-face communication (see below).

Written Language:

Lacks of simultaneous feedback such as nodding and facial expression.

Messages cannot overlap and there is a “waiting period” between the messages.

“Time delay” – it can take seconds/minutes/ hours/days/weeks before you get a reply and this change each time (see first picture 1).

Easy to misunderstand each other and it also takes   longer time to correct (see picture 2).

We do not have the opportunity to express feelings, meaning or emphasise a point. Therefore, we try to find ways to express ourselves by the use of symbols such as smileys/emoticons or spelling/abbreviations   (see 3 picture).

Speech Language:

Instant feedback.

Overlapping messages, there is a normal “flow” in the message.

Direct/instant response. 

No misunderstanding since the message is clear.

Use of facial expression, body language, gesture, facial expression, using tone of voice, speed, pause, rhythm.                     

(Google Image 2014)

Emoticons

Salló (2011) explains that “the first emoticon, ‘the smiley’, was created by Harvey Ball in 1963, after which the symbol was trade-marked in London in 1968, and it became more and more popular”. Moreover, it was first used to decorate object such as t-shirts, cups, buttons and stickers. In the 1990s the smiley became “the symbol of acid house music culture” and was often seen on ecstasy pills.

(Google Image 2014)

Today the smiley, called emoticons, it is used through new media were it assists us to express our feelings. Skovholt, Gronning and Kankaanranta (2014) states that emoticons are “graphic signs which are used to indicate an emotional state” and we use these to compensate for “lack of nonverbal communication’ such as gesture, facial expressions.

(Google Image 2014)

However, there are so much more to emoticons then just expressing a feeling but also expressing an activity. For example, Facebook uses cats and dogs to support the written language. Salló (2011) states that ”emoticons can provide support to written communication, in much the same way that visual or body language can enhance verbal communication”. Furthermore, image and text makes the process of written communications more entertaining, the conversation becomes more colorful.  

This YouTube video demonstrates how written communication would look like in real life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmU3f6Ow36Y

Theresa explained it as “the end of anticipation” where we constant communicate through new media to the state that we longer have anything left to talk about in real life. Baron (2008, 7) explains it as “to the extent language technologies make it possible to always be in contact, we end up sharing a great deal of information and experiences, which in earlier times we might have saved up for face-to-face meetings.” I usually keep my family update about my life by sending messages. The backside is that when we Skype we always end up talking about the weather because there is nothing left to say.

  References

Baron, Naomi. 2008. “Ch 1: Email to Your Brain: Language in an Online and Mobile World.” In Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World, 3-10. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed April 3, 2014. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au

BuzzFeedVideo. 2014. “IM-ing In Real Life”. Youtube Video, posted March 5. Accessed April 7, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmU3f6Ow36Y

Crystal, David. 2006. “Chapter 2 : The Medium of Netspeak”. In Language and the  internet, edited by David Crystal, 26 – 65. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Accessed April 3, 2014. http://blackboard.qut.edu.au

Google Image. 2014. Image. Accessed April 3, 2014. www.google.com

Salló, Szilárd. 2011, "The Faces of Messenger Emoticons in the Virtual Communication“. Journal of  Social Analysis (1)  2: 307-332. Accessed April 7, 214. http://search.proquest.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/docview/1418299539

Skovholt, Karianne, Anette Grønning and Anne Kankaanranta. 2014. “The Communicative Functions of Emoticons in Workplace E-Mails: :-).” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. Published online before print. Accessed April 3, 2014. doi: 10.1111/jcc4.12063