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Hi, y’all.
I’ve been on the Internet longer than most people (since a time when there were only two public Internet Service Providers), and before that used to dial in to bulletin board services.
Since we’ve been able to communicate electronically, the desire to build community and connection online has existed. It seems like there is a lot of speculation about how social media is changing human interactions, and I wonder why the speculative futurists penning those sorts of articles don’t spend more time studying Usenet newsgroups, just to name one example. Most of the behaviors we see today are not new; they just occur on a larger scale than ever before (which, admittedly, is new in its own way).
People connect, share, fall in love or create fast friendships with people they have never met and with whom they may never share the same physical space. Of course, just as often people fight and feud, often despite agreeing on many important fundamental issues. This passion is a lot of how we define our identity, but it can also find us in dispute with potential allies — and the Internet seems to exacerbate this tendency as we’ve all observed; I’m no stranger to the belief that I can’t go to bed yet because someone on the Internet is wrong.
When it comes to activism, of course, this behavior’s been around a long time — long enough to be spoofed by Monty Python in 1979.
Thanks for being part of the MyFDL community with me and for welcoming me here in the time I’ve been editing.
This is today’s open thread. What’s on your mind?
22 Comments
Well I have been on the internet before it was commercial. When it was an educational/research network. Two 56KB lines into the Univ. with a very basic router. Had my own dial up to my office PC too.
But forming these kind of relationships via technology goes back to the days of land line telegraph. Then wireless. Ham Radio operators (like my self) have had long term/long distance friendships for years and years. Some never meeting except on the radio.
But even with Morse code, an operator could tell who was on just by their “fist”. Their sending style. The forerunner of the avatar, I suppose.
Oh and thanks for the rely. My title got FUBAR somehow.
This is an interesting topic. I think that a lot of communication is lost in the online community (body language, inflection).
I have a general question about the site reads ticker. At my own little WordPress site, I can see how many reads an article gets, and if the topic is a dud, I try not to revisit the topic. Is there any talk about allowing writers to see their reads? I know this is a very busy time at this site. I asked the question at Jane’s thread, but I think it was lost in the shuffle.
Hope you are feeling better today!
Yes! Have you ever read the book The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage? It’s a fascinating look at ‘online community’ when the lines were telegraph lines.
No problem. Another thing I have seen happens is sometimes a message gets deleted (some spam for example) and the list of recent titles gets confused for a minute or two.
The loss of body language and inflection leads to a lot of confusion and debate, to be sure. Even more so when we boil it down to a mere 140 characters!
But there’s just the factor that even though we still want to connect virtually, we lose the sense of presence — it’s too easy to objectify the other person into someone we can attack without considering the human being on the other side of the screen. Even people we know. I am far from immune from this, as I said in my post, though I have tried to learn coping mechanisms to avoid it.
I don’t know if post counts or stats or the like will be exposed at all, but if I hear anything I will let you know!
I’m feeling a little better because I got some mucinex, I’ve been drinking a lot of hot tea and cold fizzy water, and doing other things to mitigate my symptoms. I’m still not sure if its awful allergies (ugh, Central Texas) or a headcold/sinus infection. I still feel like my head is wrapped in cotton wool and my throat still hurts though. :(
I think the body language thing is a big issue. That we may lose this ability and mine was never all that great to begin with.
Fascinating about telegraph communities – thanks cmaukonen!
I miss the community of usenet – that strong sense of community standards and etiquette while intense disagreements and flames were the stuff of legend (and often reputations). I miss it … a lot.
And while I agree with the body language concern – and so much of what folks say online would never be said in person – I revel is how we’ve been able to share across so many boundaries because of it – and I think folks who grow up with this capability will be less reliant on body language to “read” a person’s comments.
I was gonna suggest Mucinex, but I forgot. I hear it works miracles!
Thank you for the reply.
Yeah it’s great stuff.
I do hope future online communications come with a bit more built in awareness of its limitations, but of course as our ability to interact visually expands (and more phones come with front facing cameras) some of these limitations will also be overcome.
I also tend toward the optimistic and feel that online communication and online communities, at their best, also facilitate offline meetings and connections. I don’t personally believe the necessity of or ability to reading body language is going away anytime soon.
In reading this post, and the comments (which are great) I realized that it is not just the facial expression and body language that I miss, but the inflection used. Boy, can inflection communicate different things. Perhaps, I am more auditory than visual, but I miss the inflections used to deepen the meaning we are attempting to convey.
Most new technologies trigger some sort of fears of changing things and of having the potential for grave consequences – I read, long ago, that at one time it was feared that if a car drove over 25mph the occupants might die.
Sounds silly, now, doesn’t it?? I suspect that all the concerns we have about online communities, and social media will also, one day, seem as silly as dying from driving over 25mph.
I enjoyed your post,Kit, thanks.
p.s. I do hope you feel better – I’ve had allergy and sinus infections for years. Hate the damn buggers. You feel awful, but not awful enough to justify going to bed. Mucinex helps a lot.
What a wonderful post, Kit. Thank you.
I’m kicking a fundraising Wild Hair idea I had into fruition…….and it’s WORKING!
I’m not going to wake up on June 24th and feel like the world’s worst fool!!!
Fuckin’ A. Power to the people. And dog bless good PR.also
especially, good PR.
:]
140 is a vote. and its a groupifier. and its a focusser. and its a doorbell. and, like the ocean, it can piddle on the shores or build up a big kahuna.
ditto
I think the people who grow up with it may or may not be able to tell a natural “read”.
Personally, I have doubts.
We are animals, no matter how advanced we place ourselves. I think we respond to a much baser animal code than we’re willing to acknowledge.
I’m a person who interacts with animals better than I do humans. I used to have a group of deer coming up to me when I fed my horses,[ I never fed them] serious photo-op. People thought it was so awesome and it was. It was also not in the deer’s best interest, it’s not right to turn them into creature’s between wild and domestic. That’s all fucked up. It’s complicated when you have animal friends.
I was raised among the 1960′s white intellectual academic, genius/artist set with their heads firmly up their asses. Animals feel no pain, no emotion, nothing but gratitude for being owned, and a field/hunting dog is different because they’re bred to develope a working relationship with their Master…………
Also, dogs don’t have Vaginas.
Sorry, Siun, I coasted horizontal in my reply….
I don’t know how the next people will communicate via tech. I have questions.
And of course, I always have FEAR handy to back up any research study./s
I spoke with our tech team, and they said they would love to offer a feature like this someday but are not sure when it fits into the schedule. I know right now they are in the middle of some complex, high priority upgrades.
Fantastic, thank you, and thank you for the tweet.
Inflection is a good point. So much of what we communicate is not just in what we say but how we say it. Fast or slow? What tone? Our perception of others’ speech can be so complex.
I’ve heard the 25 miles per hour story, and I don’t know how to verify it, but its a colorful comparison to make with other new technologies and one I tend to agree with. I think that new tech changes us, but in ways we can’t see until long after — and rarely in any of the ways we predict.
& yeah, been a lifelong sufferer of sinus infections & allergies. Somehow practice doesn’t make it easier!
As the offspring of a PR & Media flack, I must agree! Good luck with your new endeavor.
Recommended Kit. I’m just sitting back and enjoying the conversation.