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April 27, 2009
Tactile Text Comprehension!
April 14, 2009
Appreciating the now, but not the here?
One of the consequences of CMC that we reviewed this semester does leave me with lingering concerns. Specifically, what happens when the people we are with physically, in the present moment, have to compete with those who are not physically present for our attention? What does it mean when we use technology to communicate with "absent" individuals when we are supposedly carrying on a conversation with those sitting next to us? Are we ever able to be in the here and now when the "here" has a limitless scope thanks to technology? How does this change in "here" affect our ability to have a deep, reflective conversation when our minds are only half in the here and are half out "there"? How are we able to engage in active listening? How do we contribute in a meaningful way to such conversations? And, if we are no longer able to accomplish these communicative goals, what are the long-term consequences to our relationships and to the development of our social skills?
Renny Gleeson expresses similar concerns in a recent TED Talk.
April 8, 2009
A Call to Arms, via Twitter.
When discussing David Crystal's txtng, the question of whether CMC can support political engagement and political activism was raised. Some of us questioned whether tools like texting really could unite people and bring them together for common action. Crystal discussed the phenomenon of pasalo (pass it on) texts which, after the train bombings in Madrid, brought people together to stand against the act of terrorism. He also discusses flash mobbings where the goal of the community action is perhaps less meaningful, but no less impressive an example of collective action. In our discussion of these acts, we seemed to question whether social upheaval via texting was possible. Would receiving such a message be enough to inspire students to get involved? Would communities come together as a result of a call to arms initiated through CMC? Or, would we simply control the volume and move on to the next message from a friend?
On the front page of the NY Times today, I saw at least one form of evidence that, yes, CMC can support the type of collective action Crystal described. In the article Protests in Moldova Explode, With Help of Twitter the reporter details how the use of text messaging, Facebook, and Twitter brought thousands of young people together in protest. Food for thought.