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The Internet
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Service
Without the Smile
Contributor: Mike de
Sousa, Director, AbleStable®
Servicing
the Internet is a remote activity and there's the
rub. It's easy to forget a public without a physical
presence. We explore the remote nature of the Internet
and the differences between off-line and on-line
communications. For now it is the exchange of text
that fuels the progress of the Internet and this
forms the focus of this article.
The
rich man's context
Before
we set off on this journey it's wise to remember
how information exchange on the Internet is in general
text based (this will change as technologies develop
which effectively translate the written word into
audible words). At present most of the worlds' population
do not have access to a computer, are not literate,
and are therefore largely excluded from the Internet.
More
than meets the eye
For those who can read and write and have access
to a computer connected to the Internet, the Internet
is an inclusive communications medium. It's possible
for an individual to establish a web presence for
little or no money. The Internet has liberated thousands
of people who have, for the first time, connected
with others and expressed their feelings and circumstance
to a wider public.
The ease with which someone can present themselves
on the Internet however can lead to the mistaken
impression developing a web site is a simple matter,
and that once a site is up and running it's largely
a lights-out affair as it runs itself. If you want
to deliver a quality web site nothing could be further
from the truth. A good site is like a well kept
garden in a temperate climate. Leave it for a week
and the weeds start to grow.
It's
not what you say, its how you say
The Internet encourages a certain mindset. In some
ways this mindset is aligned to our conversational
behaviour, in others it establishes entirely new
modes of operation.
The real-time signals we receive and interpret when
we converse person to person (when both parties
are in close physical proximity and not on a phone
or remote device) forms a great part of our evolutionary
heritage. We have at our disposal an arsenal of
mechanisms that respond and manage the complexities
of our day to day interpersonal exchanges. We respond
differently in the way we speak to one another depending
on whom we are speaking to (eg family, workmates)
and in what context we find ourselves in (eg home,
work).
Sometimes we're guilty of speaking inappropriately
according to the context. Some people don't easily
migrate from one context to the next, and despite
the behavioural signals given to them they fail
to moderate their language accordingly. When this
occurs there's a breakdown in communications and
often a dislocation of purpose. The mechanisms have
failed. On most occasions however we manage to communicate
enough to one another to maintain and progress society.
Are
you remote?
As a remote communications medium, the Internet
establishes a new set of human behaviours. Communicating
by e-mail is a liberating experience. No longer
do you have to react real-time to a person's mood,
change of tone and behaviour. E-mailing allows you
to be less personally involved as compared with
real-world exchanges, and is such an important means
of communication on the Internet I'll now devote
considerable space in discussing the issues surrounding
it.
The
nature of e-mail
The strength of e-mail is that it allows a considered
response and can be picked up as and when it's convenient.
It's weakness is that because there is no 'interpersonal
imperative' you are not required to respond immediately
and become personally involved in the exchange.
This is significant as the person receiving the
e-mail has far more control than in a real-world
conversational context. In a real-world conversation
(again, when both parties are in close physical
proximity and not on a phone or remote device) the
exchange is more dynamic. Both parties respond and
exchange ideas real-time as the path of conversation
changes and develops depending on what is said.
The up side then of e-mailing is that those individuals
who are generally less confident communicating person
to person in the real world, or who are reporting
or communicating in a subordinate context, significantly
improve their chances of communicating their ideas
if they effectively develop their written skills.
The down side is that all the additional non-linguistic
messages that complete a real-world exchange are
absent, and those who are not as articulate cannot
rely on additional non-linguistic signals to convey
their message.
The
dominant partner
When a web site corresponds by e-mail, usually in
a support, informational, or marketing context,
there is a temptation from the site issuing the
e-mail to abuse the remote nature of the medium.
As the sender is less concerned by interpersonal
matters, the pressure to respond promptly and in
a personal manner is reduced. As the sender is in
the controlling position, there is also a tendency
to assume the language of dominance rather than
adopt a position of 'mutual correspondence'.
Dynamic
and interactive
So called 'dynamic web sites' often promote themselves
as interactive. Human interactivity however is far
more complex than the composed interactivity that
defines a web site. Web sites are not intelligent,
they do not interact with you, the person. Web sites,
no matter how sophisticated, simply respond to commands
inputted by the user and spit out results according
to a set of preconfigured algorithms. Although web
sites may at times promote their status as a dynamic
exchange, it is the lowly e-mail that more often
fulfils the conversational model of communication.
Community
The future of the Internet lies in the creation
of effective on-line communities where people are
encouraged to connect and share ideas and information
in real-time. At present on-line communities are
defined as forums, chat rooms, message boards and
the like. The development of software and the roll
out of higher bandwidth will see the web site become
a meeting place like any other where people interact
conversationally.
At present a significant difference between the
Internet and the real-world is the fact we can easily
turn away and switch off without difficulty. As
the Internet matures and technologies allow us to
interact in an increasingly more complex way, cutting
off a conversation as and when we choose will begin
to become as difficult as in our off-line real-life
conversations. For some of course cutting off a
conversation in mid flow will always remain a simple
affair...
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| Authors
background |
Mike
de Sousa is the Director of AbleStable®.
Mike has been commissioned as an artist, music
composer, photographer, print and web site designer,
and author.
If you observe inaccuracies in our in-house
contributions or wish to contribute an article
or review to be included at AbleStable®
visit Feedback.
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Notice
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AbleStable © 2002-2007 |
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