This past weekend I attended a leadership conference for my sorority in Indiana. While I managed to survive four days in the woods with about 200 girls, my travels home proved far more challenging than I had anticipated. Two layovers, three very small planes, and (of course) some lost luggage is a bit less than an easy traveling experience. Needless to say, upon traveling home to Ithaca I sent several text messages and made several phone calls.
As soon as my plane landed at the Ithaca airport I text messaged my ride: "we landed- early apparently. no rush though." When talking about rides I like to keep it short and to the point. No need for the "Hi how are you" filler, when we both just need to communicate when and where.
On the other hand, later in the evening when I was calling the airport to inquire as to where my luggage was located, I decided to take a very direct route and call as opposed to email. While both means of communication can effectively get ones point across I wanted to use a synchronous medium through which my tone of voice could be heard.
Both instances of communication are fitting with the Media Richness Theory. In my first situation of text messaging, I used a lean medium to transmit a less equivocal message. Ultimately, in order to most efficiently communicate the needed message (when to pick me up), a text message was best suited for the job. In the second situation in which I called about my lost luggage, I chose a richer medium since I was communicating a more equivocal message. Aside from the simple question of where my luggage was, I was also communicating my frustration with the airline through my tone of voice. In this case, calling via telephone was the most suitable medium for communicating information as well as emotion.
My comments:
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/09/3-creepiest-experience-ever.html
&
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/09/assingment-3-old-man-and-young-girl.html
Monday, September 10, 2007
who DOES that? ...Assignment 3
For this assignment, I chose the second option. I decided to do this one a few days ago, and since I've had it in my mind, I've realized how much we rely on our different media selections to communicate with one another, and how the different types of media we use can convey a certain message in and of itself. In particular, one of my media selections was definitely a poor choice. Although it took place last Tuesday, it was way too appropriate not to write about.
So Tuesday night, I was absolutely exhausted. Tuesday is my worst day, what with this horrible 10:10 class I have that's about 312 miles away from my dorm (lol... just kidding I love the class... but not really kidding about the distance), and three other classes
As soon as I woke up, I saw with dismay that it was 8:39, which meant that I had missed dinner. Then I realized that, no, I had missed my class that was from 7:30 to 8:30 (but incidentally that day went late) that night. I of course flipped out because not only do I not want to be that kid that skips class, but it was a 13-person class, and my teacher is my faculty advisor. Great. I immediately texted a boy in the class that had called me earlier that day to ask about the paper that was due. My text read, "@*$% I just blew off class... im gonna tell him im sick". Apparently, at the exact time that I texted him, the class was asking about me. Thinking to get a laugh, he said "hold on, she's texting me now", and proceeded to read the text aloud to the entire class, including the professor, without reading it first (and inserting "explative" for the swear). Luckily, my professor just laughed, and said not to worry about it after I emailed him and sent him the whole story along with my paper that was due. He told me this when I went in to apologise to him face to face the next day. I chose to go in person to speak with him because I wanted to show him that I cared, and I wanted to let him know that I was not the kind of irresponsible student that "blows off" classes; I had just worded it badly and not in my best interest. The professor was very understanding and interestingly enough, was more concerned about the boy's actions than my own. When you think about it, why on earth would you read something out loud that starts with a swear word? Seriously, who does that?
As for the applications to the theoretical perspectives, I believe that my actions were in like with different aspects of the Media Richness Theory and with O'Sullivan's Impression Management Model. I chose to text in the first example because it was both efficient and got the point across as quickly as possible, and also because the message was very clear and I didn't see a need for a richer method of communication. I think the text message was more in line with the MRT because I really based my decision to text solely on efficiency. I thought the boy could possibly still be in class and I wanted him to get the message quickly but I didn't want to cause a disruption, and if the professor asked about me, I didn't want him to say that he had talked to me earlier in the day.
My second media choice, face to face, can be percieved to be either for or against O'Suullivan. On the one hand, expected locus was self, and the expected valence was negative. Therefore, according to the table, I should have preferred to use a mediated interaction instead of approaching my professor face to face. On the other hand, the message was ambiguous because I wanted him to percieve my honest nature and sincere apology in person as opposed to simply reading the words on a screen. This goes along with the MRT in that I specifically chose to use a richer method of communication as a result of the more equivocal nature of the message.
The moral of the story is, definitely don't use swear words and incriminating evidence in text messages with sketchy kids you don't really trust. And don't be an idiot and forget class.
So Tuesday night, I was absolutely exhausted. Tuesday is my worst day, what with this horrible 10:10 class I have that's about 312 miles away from my dorm (lol... just kidding I love the class... but not really kidding about the distance), and three other classes
As soon as I woke up, I saw with dismay that it was 8:39, which meant that I had missed dinner. Then I realized that, no, I had missed my class that was from 7:30 to 8:30 (but incidentally that day went late) that night. I of course flipped out because not only do I not want to be that kid that skips class, but it was a 13-person class, and my teacher is my faculty advisor. Great. I immediately texted a boy in the class that had called me earlier that day to ask about the paper that was due. My text read, "@*$% I just blew off class... im gonna tell him im sick". Apparently, at the exact time that I texted him, the class was asking about me. Thinking to get a laugh, he said "hold on, she's texting me now", and proceeded to read the text aloud to the entire class, including the professor, without reading it first (and inserting "explative" for the swear). Luckily, my professor just laughed, and said not to worry about it after I emailed him and sent him the whole story along with my paper that was due. He told me this when I went in to apologise to him face to face the next day. I chose to go in person to speak with him because I wanted to show him that I cared, and I wanted to let him know that I was not the kind of irresponsible student that "blows off" classes; I had just worded it badly and not in my best interest. The professor was very understanding and interestingly enough, was more concerned about the boy's actions than my own. When you think about it, why on earth would you read something out loud that starts with a swear word? Seriously, who does that?
As for the applications to the theoretical perspectives, I believe that my actions were in like with different aspects of the Media Richness Theory and with O'Sullivan's Impression Management Model. I chose to text in the first example because it was both efficient and got the point across as quickly as possible, and also because the message was very clear and I didn't see a need for a richer method of communication. I think the text message was more in line with the MRT because I really based my decision to text solely on efficiency. I thought the boy could possibly still be in class and I wanted him to get the message quickly but I didn't want to cause a disruption, and if the professor asked about me, I didn't want him to say that he had talked to me earlier in the day.
My second media choice, face to face, can be percieved to be either for or against O'Suullivan. On the one hand, expected locus was self, and the expected valence was negative. Therefore, according to the table, I should have preferred to use a mediated interaction instead of approaching my professor face to face. On the other hand, the message was ambiguous because I wanted him to percieve my honest nature and sincere apology in person as opposed to simply reading the words on a screen. This goes along with the MRT in that I specifically chose to use a richer method of communication as a result of the more equivocal nature of the message.
The moral of the story is, definitely don't use swear words and incriminating evidence in text messages with sketchy kids you don't really trust. And don't be an idiot and forget class.
Blog 3- My Media Selection: "Efficiency of Choice"
The two instances of media selection that I chose to discuss for this assignment reinforce the elements of the Media Richness Theory. The Media Richness Theory states that there is an optimal match between the equivocality of a communication task and the richness of the medium. As further background information, equivocality relates to the ambiguity or vagueness of what is being communicated. Additionally, Richness within the context of this theory refers to the multiplicity of cues, availability of feedback, and language variety allowed by a medium.
Instance one dealt with the communication task of coordinating a simple lunch meeting time with a friend. The message was simple and straightforward, and it included a specific time and place to convene. I sent the message content via text message. It consisted of something like “Lunch today? 1:30 at Terrace.” Because the message itself in this case was a “lean” one it did not require a rich medium. The most efficient way to communicate this unequivocal task was by using a corresponding direct medium like text messaging. There was no need for a rich medium, like a telephone call, because all the information that needed to be communicated was done so in a lean medium.
Instance two dealt with the communication task of informing a family member about the death of relative. Unlike instance one, the message was complex, emotionally charged, and somewhat equivocal. I gave the message over the phone only because physical distance did not allow for a face to face meeting. The message called for a rich medium that provided the easy transmission of a variety of cues, and a variety of emotions that needed to be expressed, making it appropriately efficient for the situation.
Many media selections we make are chosen to communicate a message in the most efficient way. The above two instances are examples that clearly demonstrate that, and moreover they support the essential framework stated in the Media Richness Theory. I believe that many people choose a medium for their message based on efficiency, especially considering we live in such a busy and hectic society. It would be interesting to examine research data about the content of a message and the corresponding medium people decide to use, especially with the recent popularity of text messaging.
Comment links:
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/09/3-media-richness-two-impression.html#comments
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/09/3-my-weekend-media-selection.html#comments
Instance one dealt with the communication task of coordinating a simple lunch meeting time with a friend. The message was simple and straightforward, and it included a specific time and place to convene. I sent the message content via text message. It consisted of something like “Lunch today? 1:30 at Terrace.” Because the message itself in this case was a “lean” one it did not require a rich medium. The most efficient way to communicate this unequivocal task was by using a corresponding direct medium like text messaging. There was no need for a rich medium, like a telephone call, because all the information that needed to be communicated was done so in a lean medium.
Instance two dealt with the communication task of informing a family member about the death of relative. Unlike instance one, the message was complex, emotionally charged, and somewhat equivocal. I gave the message over the phone only because physical distance did not allow for a face to face meeting. The message called for a rich medium that provided the easy transmission of a variety of cues, and a variety of emotions that needed to be expressed, making it appropriately efficient for the situation.
Many media selections we make are chosen to communicate a message in the most efficient way. The above two instances are examples that clearly demonstrate that, and moreover they support the essential framework stated in the Media Richness Theory. I believe that many people choose a medium for their message based on efficiency, especially considering we live in such a busy and hectic society. It would be interesting to examine research data about the content of a message and the corresponding medium people decide to use, especially with the recent popularity of text messaging.
Comment links:
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/09/3-media-richness-two-impression.html#comments
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/09/3-my-weekend-media-selection.html#comments
Assignment 3: Excuses, excuses
For blog assignment 3 I am writing about choice two. The first example of media selection is text messaging and the second one is e-mail.
It was around eight o’clock on Friday night when my roommate and I were discussing our plans for the evening. Being that we both had practice Saturday morning, and it was extremely hot in our room, we decided to relax in an air-conditioned movie theater. We weren’t sure what our other friends were up to so I sent a mass text to five girls saying “Hey, Hairspray at Regal at 9:10, wanna go?” I chose this method of text messaging for a couple of reasons. First, I wasn’t physically with my friends so I couldn’t talk to them face to face. Texting was the fastest way for me to get in contact with the five girls because I could send the same message to all of them at the same time. The message that I was trying to communicate would have come across the same way if I had been talking to them face-to-face, on the phone, or online.
The second instance of media selection I thought of was sending an e-mail to my coach about having to miss practice on Monday. While e-mail is probably the most convenient form of communication, I just as easily could have called her. I chose e-mail, however, because I felt more comfortable giving my excuse through text, in an asynchronous format. On the phone, I would have to deal with her immediate response, as well as the tone of her voice.
In America today, efficiency is an essential component to successfully completing everyday tasks and activities. In the first instance of media selection I chose text messages for that very reason. This fits with the Media Richness Theory in that I chose a lean media for communication because my message was unequivocal. In the second instance I was agreeing more with O’Sullivan’s model because I was “confessing” to my coach that I would not be at practice. As the data suggests, a negative locus and negative valence increases the number of preferred mediated communication.
It was around eight o’clock on Friday night when my roommate and I were discussing our plans for the evening. Being that we both had practice Saturday morning, and it was extremely hot in our room, we decided to relax in an air-conditioned movie theater. We weren’t sure what our other friends were up to so I sent a mass text to five girls saying “Hey, Hairspray at Regal at 9:10, wanna go?” I chose this method of text messaging for a couple of reasons. First, I wasn’t physically with my friends so I couldn’t talk to them face to face. Texting was the fastest way for me to get in contact with the five girls because I could send the same message to all of them at the same time. The message that I was trying to communicate would have come across the same way if I had been talking to them face-to-face, on the phone, or online.
The second instance of media selection I thought of was sending an e-mail to my coach about having to miss practice on Monday. While e-mail is probably the most convenient form of communication, I just as easily could have called her. I chose e-mail, however, because I felt more comfortable giving my excuse through text, in an asynchronous format. On the phone, I would have to deal with her immediate response, as well as the tone of her voice.
In America today, efficiency is an essential component to successfully completing everyday tasks and activities. In the first instance of media selection I chose text messages for that very reason. This fits with the Media Richness Theory in that I chose a lean media for communication because my message was unequivocal. In the second instance I was agreeing more with O’Sullivan’s model because I was “confessing” to my coach that I would not be at practice. As the data suggests, a negative locus and negative valence increases the number of preferred mediated communication.
Assignment 3
For assignment 3 I am choosing to analyze two instances of media selection I made this past weekend. One of them deals with the selection of email to communicate, and the other selection was the telephone.
A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked me for help in a personal extra-curricular project he will be working on for the next couple of months. I was hesitant to give him assurance that I would be much help because I am extremely busy with my school work, membership to Cornell organizations, and preparing to take the LSAT this semester. He promised that he would not take up a lot of my time and would really appreciate me helping him, so I finally agreed. His project has been moving along and I have been able to give him my advice as often as he asks for it, however I feel as though I am being asked to do more than I bargained for. My friend has been calling me frequently and IMing me every time I sign online to ask me more questions and give him more advice. This weekend when I was studying in the library he sent me an instant message saying that he really needed to talk to me and asked why I haven’t been returning his calls. I chose to respond to this message by selecting the media choice of email.
I chose email because I was a bit worried that my friend was upset with me and I did not feel like dealing with being reprimanded or being made to feel guilty in person or on the phone by not keeping my promise to help him out. My media selection supports O’Sullivan’s third hypothesis of impression management that when a person’s own locus of self presentation is being threatened, that person will prefer a mediated form of communication more than any other form. My friend was getting a bad impression of me and I had to explain why I hadn’t been more of a help to him in a way that I could control.
Another media selection I made this weekend was calling my parents to tell them about my first graded speech assignment for COMM201. After successfully completing a “How To” speech and getting extremely positive feedback from my classmates and professors, I wanted to let my parents know how well I did because they had given me the idea for my speech topic. This interaction also supports O’Sullivan’s findings on locus, valence, and self-presentational conditions. The locus of this interaction was self-presentational and it had a positive valence. I chose to call my parents to share my good news with them because this was the most personal means of communicating with them I had. I would have liked to talk to them face to face but this was impossible seeing as I am at school and they are home in NJ.
Overall, both media selections I made this weekend support O’Sullivan’s impression management hypothesis.
A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked me for help in a personal extra-curricular project he will be working on for the next couple of months. I was hesitant to give him assurance that I would be much help because I am extremely busy with my school work, membership to Cornell organizations, and preparing to take the LSAT this semester. He promised that he would not take up a lot of my time and would really appreciate me helping him, so I finally agreed. His project has been moving along and I have been able to give him my advice as often as he asks for it, however I feel as though I am being asked to do more than I bargained for. My friend has been calling me frequently and IMing me every time I sign online to ask me more questions and give him more advice. This weekend when I was studying in the library he sent me an instant message saying that he really needed to talk to me and asked why I haven’t been returning his calls. I chose to respond to this message by selecting the media choice of email.
I chose email because I was a bit worried that my friend was upset with me and I did not feel like dealing with being reprimanded or being made to feel guilty in person or on the phone by not keeping my promise to help him out. My media selection supports O’Sullivan’s third hypothesis of impression management that when a person’s own locus of self presentation is being threatened, that person will prefer a mediated form of communication more than any other form. My friend was getting a bad impression of me and I had to explain why I hadn’t been more of a help to him in a way that I could control.
Another media selection I made this weekend was calling my parents to tell them about my first graded speech assignment for COMM201. After successfully completing a “How To” speech and getting extremely positive feedback from my classmates and professors, I wanted to let my parents know how well I did because they had given me the idea for my speech topic. This interaction also supports O’Sullivan’s findings on locus, valence, and self-presentational conditions. The locus of this interaction was self-presentational and it had a positive valence. I chose to call my parents to share my good news with them because this was the most personal means of communicating with them I had. I would have liked to talk to them face to face but this was impossible seeing as I am at school and they are home in NJ.
Overall, both media selections I made this weekend support O’Sullivan’s impression management hypothesis.
Hi! (Assignment 1)
Well, this is quite late, but I just joined the class and am trying to get caught up! My name is Mark and technically I'm a second semester senior but preferably I'm a SUPER Senior. Believe it or not even through my fifth year at Cornell, I am without a "real" major. Currently, I'm what one might call an Interdisciplinary Studies Major. It's not exactly the best claim one can make at a party, but generally I'll get a follow up question i.e. "what the hell is that?" Basically what it breaks down to is that I need to fulfill the CALS requirements to graduate and that is it. Everything else is upto me. In reality, what it has resulted in is me looking to graduate this December with no major and four minors (Finance, Business, Comm, and Info Sci). Anyways, that's all well and fine but also quite boring. What I really do with my time is work and work out. This past summer I was doing 64 hours a week between my primary job as a Marketing & Communications Intern at Advion BioSciences, Inc. which is based out of Ithaca and my moonlight job at Nestle Library in the Hotel School. Now, I just started at the Cornell Center for Technology, Enterprise & Commercialization (CCTEC) as a Marketing & Economic Development intern which keeps me busy for 20 hours a week on top of my classes and the 8 hours I still put in at Nestle Library. Beyond that I try to work out at least once a day and just enrolled in Beginner's Yoga M & W at 6 in Teagle (you should come it's open to all as long as there is room, no sign up necessary!).
As as far as Internet Phenomenons go, well they're all pretty sweet. But, the one I'm most interested in-- which won't be very interesting to most passive readers of my post-- is Browser Based MUDs. I'm sure you've all read a little about MUDs by now from Wallace Ch.1: they're multiplayer games, text-based, mostly for nerds. Well, that's pretty much true. Sure now we have fancy pictures and terrible monsters to look at in games like World of Warcraft and Everquest, but the classic text-based MUD still exists in its niche market and has moved off the private telnet systems onto the World Wide Web. Thusly, we have Browser Based MUDs. These interest me, because well I'm trying to build one myself after having played one or two for years and taking some web programming classes it's finally starting to come along. Why would anybody still play text-based games (and why the heck would you want to make one!)? Well, for starters accessibility is often the key in many senses of the word. Text-based gaming allows blind and handicapped web-users an entertainment outlet unavailable through consoles and graphics heavy games. For users with old computers, browser based games are a good alternative to processing heavy programs. And, it's a heck of a lot easier to access to a stand-alone website game than install World of Warcraft on your work computer to get in your gaming addiction fix without getting caught.
I've already explained the "online space" that Browser Based MUDs take place in: the World Wide Web. Basically, people take the same old game style and ported it over onto web browsers using newer programming languages. What's most compelling about using web browsers for MUD making is the new surge in the so-called "Web 2.0" technologies that back most active content and community building (including this blog). Not only are game makers creating a world for their users to dive into, they're using web technology to allow their players to create the community that surrounds their game in the form of messageboards, fansites, player-groups, derivative works, wiki-based game guides, and more. From a business standpoint (mind you that is one of my many minors), tapping your clients as creators of auxiliary content is an extremely powerful and cool tool.
As as far as Internet Phenomenons go, well they're all pretty sweet. But, the one I'm most interested in-- which won't be very interesting to most passive readers of my post-- is Browser Based MUDs. I'm sure you've all read a little about MUDs by now from Wallace Ch.1: they're multiplayer games, text-based, mostly for nerds. Well, that's pretty much true. Sure now we have fancy pictures and terrible monsters to look at in games like World of Warcraft and Everquest, but the classic text-based MUD still exists in its niche market and has moved off the private telnet systems onto the World Wide Web. Thusly, we have Browser Based MUDs. These interest me, because well I'm trying to build one myself after having played one or two for years and taking some web programming classes it's finally starting to come along. Why would anybody still play text-based games (and why the heck would you want to make one!)? Well, for starters accessibility is often the key in many senses of the word. Text-based gaming allows blind and handicapped web-users an entertainment outlet unavailable through consoles and graphics heavy games. For users with old computers, browser based games are a good alternative to processing heavy programs. And, it's a heck of a lot easier to access to a stand-alone website game than install World of Warcraft on your work computer to get in your gaming addiction fix without getting caught.
I've already explained the "online space" that Browser Based MUDs take place in: the World Wide Web. Basically, people take the same old game style and ported it over onto web browsers using newer programming languages. What's most compelling about using web browsers for MUD making is the new surge in the so-called "Web 2.0" technologies that back most active content and community building (including this blog). Not only are game makers creating a world for their users to dive into, they're using web technology to allow their players to create the community that surrounds their game in the form of messageboards, fansites, player-groups, derivative works, wiki-based game guides, and more. From a business standpoint (mind you that is one of my many minors), tapping your clients as creators of auxiliary content is an extremely powerful and cool tool.
3 Our generation's got it easy
The amount of lean communication channels have increased in recent years because of new technologies. Back in the 70's, nobody could pop onto their computer and send an instant message to their friend saying they were gonna be late. Nobody could shoot off a quick text. For time-sensitive communication, you needed to use the phone.
The benefits of these lean communication channels are numerous. I recently used a lean communication channel to avoid a potential argument or confrontation. The situation involved me trying to get something of mine back from a former friend, with whom things had not ended well. I decided that an FtF communication would not only result in an argument, but it was also unnecessary. A rich channel communication was not overdoing it, but similarly would have probably resulted in some sort of fight. This prompted me to use Email. It allowed the other person to manage their feelings and words carefully, without me seeing it.
My choice's support of the Media Richness Theory is not certain. Since my request was very clear, you could argue that it didn't require a rich media. On the other hand, I automatically anticipated high potential for my request being misconstrued because of my previous experience and history with the friend. MRT says this would have made me choose a rich media. More importantly, my decision supports O'Sullivan's Impression Management Model. The valence of the communication was negative, because of our past and unspoken issues. The first hypothesis of IMM says that a negative valence favors lean communication.
Throughout college I've communicated with my mom by Email more than by phone. We usually send a few each week, compared to the weekly, or less then weekly phone calls. My schedule is hectic and usually out of sync with hers, so it's much easier to have an asynchronous medium. I've also found that we can exchange more information, sometimes more accurately, through Email. Talking on the phone for extended periods is much harder because of other commitments and the loss of multitasking. Emails can be written over extended periods of time at one's leisure.
I feel that in this case, my experience goes against the Media Richness Theory. I choose the leaner media because it helps me transfer information clearly and accurately by taking time to choose the perfect, unequivocal words. My choice of communication medium with my mother isn't generally influenced by the valence or locus of the conversation, so O'Sullivan's IMM theory isn't very applicable. However, in extremes such as time-sensitive material or very emotional
situations, I will choose a richer medium.
The benefits of these lean communication channels are numerous. I recently used a lean communication channel to avoid a potential argument or confrontation. The situation involved me trying to get something of mine back from a former friend, with whom things had not ended well. I decided that an FtF communication would not only result in an argument, but it was also unnecessary. A rich channel communication was not overdoing it, but similarly would have probably resulted in some sort of fight. This prompted me to use Email. It allowed the other person to manage their feelings and words carefully, without me seeing it.
My choice's support of the Media Richness Theory is not certain. Since my request was very clear, you could argue that it didn't require a rich media. On the other hand, I automatically anticipated high potential for my request being misconstrued because of my previous experience and history with the friend. MRT says this would have made me choose a rich media. More importantly, my decision supports O'Sullivan's Impression Management Model. The valence of the communication was negative, because of our past and unspoken issues. The first hypothesis of IMM says that a negative valence favors lean communication.
Throughout college I've communicated with my mom by Email more than by phone. We usually send a few each week, compared to the weekly, or less then weekly phone calls. My schedule is hectic and usually out of sync with hers, so it's much easier to have an asynchronous medium. I've also found that we can exchange more information, sometimes more accurately, through Email. Talking on the phone for extended periods is much harder because of other commitments and the loss of multitasking. Emails can be written over extended periods of time at one's leisure.
I feel that in this case, my experience goes against the Media Richness Theory. I choose the leaner media because it helps me transfer information clearly and accurately by taking time to choose the perfect, unequivocal words. My choice of communication medium with my mother isn't generally influenced by the valence or locus of the conversation, so O'Sullivan's IMM theory isn't very applicable. However, in extremes such as time-sensitive material or very emotional
situations, I will choose a richer medium.
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