atw: Re: Great Mate vs Gr8 M8 (very long and philosophical)

In response to Christine Kent's recent comments on Facebook.
 

"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 -
veryfrustrating for a brain trained to think logically and sequentially."

 

I am not sure I understand your point here. I'm not familiar with Ning at
all but use Facebook regularly - what is it about Facebook's structure that
is not logical? Part of Facebook's appeal is that each page is structured in
a similar way - which was a departure at the time from MySpace, which
allowed for direct editing of the HTML/CSS. The pages of information
(presume you mean third party apps and the standard information shown on
each profile page) are anything but random when you consider they are
constructed by a user specifically to reflect that user's interests and
network connections. The links are related therefore to that user's
interests. 

 

"They cater to two activities only, passive observation, and I-centred
self-expression.  They have nothing whatever to do with communication."

 

I totally disagree. It is my opinion that Facebook is a useful networking
tool and an innovative centralised means of keeping in contact and
communicating with friends/acquaintances. For example, I use Facebook as the
sole means of communication with several friends overseas. How you use
Facebook is up to you - we must be aware though of the distinction between
the capability of the application and its presumed limitations (being
subjective to each user's imagination).

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Christine Kent
Sent: Tuesday, 15 April 2008 10:19 AM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: Great Mate vs Gr8 M8 (very long and philosophical)

 

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

 

 

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