I have no answers to any of this because I think the situation is much broader than just the use of letters in words. It is about the communication process overall. I am writing a course on email that includes a heading "Collaboration" and mentions FaceBook - in other words, the designer has no idea what either is about. And nor did I till I started exploration. I found there are two classes of Web 2.0 site out there that get mixed - collaboration sites and networking sites, with some crossover between the two. The first key difference with the networking sites such as Face Book and Ning, is that there is little attempt at structure - they are random pages of information with lateral links to unrelated pages of information - very frustrating for a brain trained to think logically and sequentially. They cater to two activities only, passive observation, and I-centred self-expression. They have nothing whatever to do with communication. There is no responsibility on the part of the writer to write in a way that is heard, and no responsibility on the part of the reader to provide feedback or in any way react to what they have read. So the purpose for writing has changed from communication to self-expression. There is a concept of inviting someone to be your friend, and the idea seems to be to collect as many "friends" as possible. This means that the meaning of the word friend has changed to mean acquaintance. That is just one example of the conceptual substance of a word changing as a result of the new technology. Another word that confused me was "collaboration". I thought it meant people interacting in a way that changes what each does as a result of input from others. When it is used in the networking space, it doesn't. A Wiki is apparently collaborative. In other words, if lots of individuals add lots of individual entries into a common space, that is collaboration. Maybe my meaning was wrong - or maybe the meaning has changed. Again, it has lost the element of communication. It has become a collection of I-centred self-expression. However, when you look at collaborative sites such as Google Docs, Office Live and Windows Live, collaboration does still mean collaboration the way I define it. It is still about sharing documents and doing whatever you do with them together. These are currently designed for grown-ups. I speculate that as the current "texting" generation progresses through life, they will take their new meanings for old words with them. They will also take their "communication" processes with them - which means that the whole process of communication as we understand it - the inter-relationship of two or more people that changes each - will be a lost concept. They will also be masters of lateral non-sequential thought, and the logical analytical process that is necessary for structuring information will be the preserve of the few. My own analysis is all over the place at present, because this whole field of exploration is new to me and I am "un-learned" - ie, I don't have the language I need to make it make sense - a great example of the importance of sophisticated language in the process of gaining and communicating intellectual clarity. Christine ................................... Hi Everyone! Great Mate vs Gr8 M8 What is the difference between the two and why should one set of symbols render the other as useless when in fact they are still the same in pronunciation and meaning and in fact nothing has really changed or has it? Has the meaning been diminished in any way? .............. No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.13/1377 - Release Date: 14/04/2008 9:26 AM ************************************************** To view the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes). To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION modes) go to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **************************************************