Transcript ch12

CONSEQUENCES AND
CONCLUSIONS
Chapter 12
Shedletsky & Aitken
Human Communication on the Internet
Introductory Comments
In the early days of the Internet, there
was a great deal of access to
information and discussion;
 With the commercialization of the
Internet, we see a striking move in the
direction of controlling the flow of
information and discussion;
 This has created a tension;
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Tension
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The tension between an open Internet and a
controlled Internet could lead to leaving
people out--or not;
The ideology of the early days of the Internet
has been described as collectivist—content
not determined by the corporate world;
Just how this tension will be played out is
important to us all;
What We Do Think
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Computers and the Internet will become more
capable;
Computers and the Internet will become more
pervasive;
Technological advances should include;
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Increased capacity
More convergence
Smaller size
Greater mobility
Increased flexibility
Lower cost
Convergence
Convergence is the integration of
various media;
 Internet users vs. nonusers is an over
simplistic approach to analyzing Internet
effects;
 We live at the beginning of the age of
convergence;
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The Future
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We recognize the great danger in suggesting
possible future scenarios;
Media history has left a long and quite
evident trail of mistaken prophecies;
Erroneous predictions date back to at least
the advent of writing;
Change in communication technology goes
quickly and slowly (“Paul Saffo and the 30Year Rule”);
The Future
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Our focus is on a communication perspective,
and certain facts get our attention:
– The great increase in Internet traffic
– The amount of communication behavior of Internet
users
– Time spent online is increasing
– Wireless technology to access the Internet
– The size of the Internet is expanding rapidly
– The public’s (positive) attitude toward the Internet
The Future
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Recognizing that our predictions are
likely to be wrong, we speculate that:
– The Internet will encourage a casual style
of writing
– That this will carry over into non-Internet
writing
– Writing will mimic the spoken,
conversational form
The Future
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We speculate that:
– Collaboration over the Internet will grow
– The Internet will be transformative in our thinking
– It engages our imagination with the idea of a
‘space’ for multiple purposes
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A space accessed from multiple locations
In more and more ways
In multiple times
One that expands and integrates far flung functions
One that blurs boundaries and creates new categories
A New Space
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The generative idea we are proposing
here is at once:
– private and public
– Intrapersonal and transpersonal
– Breaks old communication boundaries and
creates new ones
Some Final Thoughts
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In spite of the dangers of predicting the
communication future, we offer a few
thoughts to guide our observations:
– (1) computers and the Internet will become more
capable
– (2) computers and the Internet will become more
pervasive
– (3) the capabilities of the Internet and human
desire will determine the future of communication
on the Internet