I never liked talking on the phone for long periods of time as some people do, and with the discovery of texting I do not have to anymore. Given the choice I now send short text to ask simply questions. However if the situation calls for it, I will call a person for a more in depth conversation. I find that misunderstandings however, can come from both forms of communication. Text messages can be cut short, misspelled or its intentions can be misinterpreted. The same can be said for talking over the phone. A tone of voice or sarcastic phrase can be misconstrued. In the end I find it easiest to communicate face to face. However cell phone, text messaging, email, instant messaging, and, social networks make it incredibly easy not to.
Emails I find are the best way to communicate with professors and organizations. Instead of interrupting them with a phone call, emails allow the recipient to respond to you when they decide to. I can easily go a day or two without checking or sending an email because I mostly use it for just that; emailing a professor or receiving updates from school listserves. I do use email to keep contact with friends in other states because easier to email someone on the opposite coast rather than try to figure out a convenient time to talk over the phone. Sending email seems to have replaced letter writing because it can get a more immediate answer. I find now that I used Facebook and Myspace in a similar way that I use email.
Like most people I found my way to Lipstick Party, Friendster, Myspace and most recently Facebook through friends. I joined whatever the latest networking site was at the time to keep up with my friends. When most of your friends are on a networking site like these and you are not it is a common thing to feel left out. I believed I would not spend much time on Facebook when I joined however, now I post pictures, send messages and check out what other friends are doing almost daily. One of the best uses that I have found for the site is to send messages through it to people whose email addresses I may not have.
I have recently experimented with live voice chats on my Mac as well. This feature I find like the cell phone. I do not like to chat live just like I do not like to talk on the phone. This voice chat is an extension and evolution of the instant messenger. The traditional instant messenger though is possibly one of my favorite forms of communication. With an instant messenger you are able to have multiple conversations, do various computer and online tasks as well as send media such as pictures, video and sound other these applications.
There is one last form of communication I had almost forgotten; the blog. Along with this blog I also have been using Live Journal for quite a few years. I had forgotten about it because I think of it as a sort of outlet, something that I use to rant in randomly or to post pictures of events for friends and family to look at. When I had more time I would write in it regularly. However these days it is hard to find time to keep up with it. I believe that people like me are where early perceptions of blogs came from. I have no formal journalistic training yet I can use my blog like anyone else to voice my opinions on any different subject. “The emerging stereotype of bloggers has mostly amateur writers using easy-to-use software and committing ‘random acts of journalism.’ ” (Carroll) With the use of blogs becoming more and more popular and newspapers and other traditionally published journals and magazines wanting to keep up with the media and technological trends, many publications are turning to the web and the use of blogs. Those who do turn to blogging are more likely to keep up with the changing times by allowing the community to more easily interact with the media and the news.
Carroll, Brian. "Ulture Clash: Journalism and the Communal Ethos of the Blogosphere Brian Carroll, Berry College." Into the Blogosphere. 16 Feb. 2009
