• “Is communication intended for a single person (one-to-one) or for a larger audience (one-to-many)" (pg 14). I think more and more communication is, or should be thought of as, created for a larger audience. Even E-mail and txt messages, traditionally one-to-ones, have the potential to be saved, stored, and shared in ways the author possibly did not intend. For adults— especially adults that did not grow up in this age of increasingly public communications —it has become habit to censor and save. Because it is so easy to self-publish and also easy to unknowingly create a digital history of one-to-one communications, I think skills for effective communication have become more and more important earlier.
• AIM and Skype (pg 18 and 21). I really enjoyed how this chapter went through a list of different communication technologies. The two that stand out in my personal experience are AIM and Skype. Using AIM daily in college to keep in touch with high school friends had a huge impact on improving my spelling. I am a horrible speller by nature, and in high school avoided writing on the board because my spelling embarrassed me. While spell check let me write papers, anytime I wrote unedited it was a nightmare. Essentially, using AIM to talk to my friends was writing on the blackboard everyday, but without the stress. My spelling improved. Moving on to Skype… I’ve used Skype to speak with my boyfriend in Scotland for the last two years (he is in the states now). Without the ability to talk, type, and see each other via Skype, I don’t think our relationship would have worked. This raises an interesting question about how communication technologies change the way we relate on personal levels, for example dating.
• I could be wrong, but I think this is an example of a MUD: http://www.homestarrunner.com/disk4of12.html (Peasant Quest). If I am wrong, at least it’s a fun, old-timey game! This one will be bring you back.
• Finally, I can’t think of Second Life without thinking of this scene from The Office: http://www.hulu.com/watch/15619/the-office-dwights-second-life. On a more serious note, I’m interested in what people think about paying real money for virtual land (pg 23) or other game bonuses. I had friends finance trips to Europe by selling items in MMORPG in college.
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Kristine, I think the role communication technologies play in dating is an extremely interesting one! After moving to New York from Switzerland to go to TC, my then boyfriend and I relied heavily on Facebook chat, Skype and texting to stay in touch. He was never much of a conversationalist on the phone and I think these mediums, especially the Facebook chat feature, really helped us stay together. Or should I say, it helped prolong the inevitable break-up. Ultimately, we broke up for reasons that had nothing to do with technology. And I think in our case, the ease and ubiquity of these new technologies made me think it was OK that he wasn't actually picking up the phone and calling me.
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