Can creative keyboarding ever truly disambiguate computer mediated communication? Reflect on how good creative keyboarders might actually capitalize on the techniques to enhance impression management.

Creative Keyboarding techniques

The fact that cyberspace has reduced sensations - in which you can't see features such facial expressions and body language, or hear inflections and tone of voice, understand jokes or sarcasm - is quite a weakness. As a result ‘creative keyboarding’, using text to convey non verbal aspects of interpersonal communication, was introduced. See opposite for examples of creative keyboarding techniques. 

For example, one could just say ‘Thank you for the present. I really like it.’ but using creative keyboarding to full extent: ‘Thank you, thank you, thank youuuuuu for the present! :D I REALLY like it! *hugs*’ conveys much more emotion and expression, to the point where the first message is now interpreted as almost cold in delivery.

As demonstrated above, creative keyboarding techniques do help to disambiguate CMC, but I still can’t consider it as being as good as face to face communication, such as actually seeing the expression on the person’s face when they receive my gift. An individual can use action accentuation, such as *hugs* in CMC, but this still doesn't feel as personal as actually receiving a hug. A hug can convey a lot of information too, such as closeness to the other; if somebody hugged me in a tight embrace, I would feel that this individual held me dear a lot more than if they engaged in a loose embrace upon receiving their gift. Whereas online, this information is not received; all '*hugs*' hold the same value. Also, some creative keyboarding techniques may have different meanings to different people. For example, an exclamation mark can sometimes come across as shouting if interpreted that way, or manic if overused - even if it wasn't intended. With the lack of context online, it can be difficult to disambiguate a persons use of creative keyboarding. 

Another point of interest is the possibility that creative keyboarding can actually go on to help people form impressions when meeting others online. Wallace (1999) explains a situation where she formed a negative impression of somebody because of the way they spoke to her online. It later transpired, upon meeting this individual, that this negative opinion had been gained purely because he was not savvy in creative keyboarding. If somebody with a complete lack of creative keyboarding skills can accidentally give off a cold impression, can somebody expert in the ways of creative keyboarding capitalize on these techniques? Reflecting on this, there is no doubt that it can, and does happen. I can imagine the situation in which I have accidentally given somebody an awful gift, and to make me feel nice, the recipient says 'Thank you, thank you, thank you for the present! :D I REALLY like it! *hugs*' to give off a certain impression, whilst they're also currently wrapping this gift up for somebody else. Also, situations of online dating have occurred where an individual portrays themselves in a suave and appealing nature, through the use of winking emoticons and seductive trailers, when in reality, this individual has no idea how to be romantic. 

See, those good in the ways of creative keyboarding are in an excellent position to actively manipulate the impressions of those they speak to online. This may also go on to reduce the effectiveness of creative keyboarding techniques, because individuals may start to become sceptical of the sincerity of that colon and parenthesis. At the end of the day, it's much easier to press buttons than it is to pull your facial muscles into a certain expression, and as a result I don't feel creative keyboarding will ever replace the comfort and security of face to face communication.

Until next time... ;)

Philippa. *hugs*

Does the lack of regulatory control on the internet lead to a state of adaptive and productive independence or is it fostering expression of, perhaps latent toxic behaviours and danger?

So this weeks question focuses on whether lack of regulation on the web leads to productive independence or the expression of toxic behaviours. The answer to that is, quite simply, both! Just like anything else ever invented, the internet is used for both good and bad, and most of the time it depends on the individual using it. Cyberspace - that 'non-existant' plane between 'here' and there', your computer and mine - has become a platform for people to completely and freely express themselves, without the limits and repercussions that would occur in meat space. For artists and musicians, it has become a platform for them to productively and independently promote their music, share their art and even gather funds in order to make these creative endeavors possible. Take the brilliant site ‘Kickstarter’, for example. Since Kickstarter’s launch in just 2009, 4.9 million people have pledged $796 million and funded 48,000 art projects. Wow! There’s also sites such as Wikipedia which allow you to access information on a wide variety of topics, free of charge; this alone will allow individuals to personally and professionally develop without the reliance on institutions and classroom based learning. In meat space, there’s a large amount of dependence on what other companies tell you. For example, you are only given as much information as BBC news wish to divulge on a situation, and often there is a slant on this news. The internet allows anybody the advantage to seek the information they want to know – they control what they want to see and hear, and this does indeed lead to a state of adaptive and productive independence. The problem with this comes the major increase of confirmation bias – people will only Google search the terms which support their point of view, so this alone can lead to a blinding effect on the internet.

Now for the downsides. With cyberspace comes anonymity, and with anonymity comes the freedom to say and do anything you would normally refrain from in meatspace. It is incredibly easy to become the victim of verbal abuse and harassment without even knowing the name and face of your attacker, and through the distance of CMC (computer mediated communication), it's equally very easy to insult somebody forgetting that there is a real person on the receiving side. The worst and most disturbing aspect of the internet is the increasing opportunities for paedophiles to gain access to child pornography, meet and groom children online and otherwise express behaviours that would normally be latent through a fear of detection. Behind the veil of the internet, these individuals are free to express these behaviours and it is extremely difficult to catch them. This is not to say that the internet has created paedophiles and cyber bullies, but more that cyberspace has given them a platform to freely express these aspects of their personality. The internet has even given murderers easier access to victims (see the craigslist killer). When addressing behaviour like this, it's clear that the internet does indeed foster dangerous situations.

There have been attempts to regulate the internet, and individual cases of people jailed through cyberbullying, however, these are just attempts. I don’t personally believe cyberspace could truly be regulated - even back in the days of ARPANET, employers tried to keep the use of the network to work based activities and that type of regulation failed. You also have to pose the question of who would regulate it, and how? In the words of John Perry Barlow 'legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context do not apply to us. They are based on matter, There is no matter here…’ (A declaration of the independence of cyberspace, 1996). 

Whether this freedom helps aspiring artists and musicians, and individuals who want to take control of their own media, or is used as a platform for a new wave of crimes and endangerment that not even the government can successfully control, there is no doubt that cyberspace really has extended our abilities, for both good and evil. 

Until next time,
Philippa.

A Brief Introduction!

Hey,

This blog was created to ponder on some interesting and thought provoking questions raised each week on my psychology of cyberspace module. Throughout the next 5 weeks I'll be writing 400 words on a variety of topics, including my next post discussing whether cyberspace leads to productive independence or an expression of toxic behaviours. Given the amount of people using the internet every day and the variety of activities available online, this will be quite an interesting one to answer!

I've got to admit, when I heard that I was going to write a blog for this module, there was part of me that thought 'wow, right up my street' because I am more than used to writing long rambling posts whenever something outrages me, but then there's also apprehension - I'm so used to writing academic essays and reports, that writing a blog for part of my assessment is completely uncharted territory! It'll be quite interesting to see how it goes anyway...

As these are questions on debatable topics, please feel free to comment and add to the debate, It'd be quite interesting to hear your views too!

Until next time,

Philippa.