I know I'm not the first person to contemplate this subject, and I certainly won't be the last, but lately I've been thinking about the impact of the strange world of web-based communication, particularly through social networking sites.
It seems that these days the degrees of separation between humanoids is infinitesmal as sites such as Facebook and Twitter bring together virtual strangers in interactions that, from my observations, can be transformed in a timeframe that is mindboggling from 'Hello, what bar of soap are you?' to a level of sometimes cloying intimacy.
In a matter of hours or minutes in fact, if you tallied up the real-time allocations to each discrete communication activity, a person who is just a series of on-line conversations can be elevated to 'close friend' and before you know it, you're intimately acquainted (or you believe you are) with someone who it is highly likely, you will never encounter in the flesh. The funny thing is, you probably don't even really know if you want to!
It's no wonder then that this new mode of communicating and connecting with people raises many questions about the etiquette that should be followed and the kinds of boundaries that may be wise in part to ensure that these virtual relationships are authentic.
From my observations, most humans have barely mastered the art of face-to-face communication and now, the average Joe and Janine are required to understand the dynamics of a a still evolving mode or interaction.
The paradox, however, is that while online forums are arguably one of the most accessible forms of communication for busy people, time-strapped, money conscious and hindered by draining routines that make more meaningful face-to-face interactions well nigh impossible, they are also the most complex and, to a degree, difficult.
That's because, to state the bleeding obvious, raw words delivered in the written form on screen are scribed often quickly and less conscientiously than other communication tasks. At the same time, they are not finessed by the usual modifiers that are the luxury of the spoken word - tone, expression, volume, pitch, pace and so on - that can convey emotion, and therefore intent.
Words onscreen then are just what they are. Words. And like any collection of words, they are open to interpretation based on, for example, the receiver's experiences, education, expectations, circumstances, current state of mind and even sobriety.
All of this needs to be considered when exchanging any kind of virtual communication - whether it is an email or a comment on your Facebook page.
The first rule therefore should be to always check and recheck what you've written to ensure it may not be read in a way you might not have intended.
Remember my motto: Fingertips that slip, can sink friendships.
More on this topic in later blogs.
