Week Four Response Communication in Digital Space

Dear Nancy Baym,

In chapter 3 you said, “ I’ll argue that mediated interaction should be seen as a new and electric mixed modality that combines elements of face to face communication with elements of writing, rather than as a diminished form of embodied interaction”.  (Baym, p.52)With this being said I would have to strongly agree with you that mediated interaction should be seen as a new and electric mixed modality…   I think that especially dealing with communication we have built and created more efficient and faster ways to communicate with through these mediated interactions.   It is with out a doubt exciting and awesome that we have technology that now creates our every day communication styles to be more than just face-to-face interaction.  Mediated communication through the computer, Internet, telephone, has allowed us to communicate in digital spaces.  Whether it is from our couches at home, or the back seat of our cars, or waiting in a doctor’s office we can now communicate digitally and electronically at pretty much any place we would like to.  I think in this chapter you are trying to show us that today we can now express ourselves digitally especially through text messaging or emailing.  If you want to express that you are excited, happy, or sad, we now have emoticons that allow us to show animated smiley faces to add whether it is texting, blogging, posting on Facebook.  We have things like emoticons that allows to this.  You also say “mediated groups develop strong communicative norms that guide behavior”. (Baym, p. 56)  I also agree with you.  Today with texting we have ways that we communicate.  Instead of spelling our you, we spell u, or we say haha or lol to things that are funny.  We use these expressions because it is normal and goes with the mediated groups and their communicative norm.  My opinion on communication whether it is in a digital, or face to face I think the realest connection is face to face.  Although I think we should be embracing all these new and electric mixed modalities.