Current Frontiers in Computer-Mediated Communication Susan C. Herring Center for Social Informatics School of Library and Information Science Indiana University.

Presentation on theme: "Current Frontiers in Computer-Mediated Communication Susan C. Herring Center for Social Informatics School of Library and Information Science Indiana University."— Presentation transcript:

1 Current Frontiers in Computer-Mediated Communication Susan C. Herring Center for Social Informatics School of Library and Information Science Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana USA

2 Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) Definition: Human-human communication by means of messages transmitted via computer networks.

3 Genres of CMC >E-mail >Distribution lists >Usenet newsgroups >Internet Relay Chat >Social MUDs >Web pages >ICQ >Video chat >Graphical VR environments >SMS via mobile phones >etc.

4 A brief history of computer networking and CMC ARPANET INTERNET USENET 1st e-mail 1st distribution lists 1st IRC 1st social MUD 1st game MUD Packet switching invented Research & Development Popularization Commercial- ization video chat WWW audio chat graphical VR

5 The basic question How does computer mediation affect human communication?

6 A two-level perspective 1st level effects: efficiency, group process, decision quality, task appropriateness, etc. 2nd level effects: social equality vs. hierarchy, interpersonal relations, community, etc. (Sproull & Kiesler 1991)

7 Early claims … Technological determinism: features of the computer medium lead to breakdown of hierarchy, disinhibition (self-disclosure, “flaming”), limited expressiveness, etc. (e.g. Kiesler et al. 1984; cf. Markus 1994) Homogeneity: CMC is a single genre, characterized by reduction of structural complexity, typographic innovation, etc. (e.g. Baron 1984; Ferrara et al. 1991)

8 … since modified User adaptations to the medium : people use CMC to meet their needs; create means to circumvent limitations (e.g. Cherny 1999; Herring 1999) Variability: CMC is variable according to system features, genre, and social context of use (e.g. Baym 1995; Herring, In press)

9 Computer-Mediated Discourse Analysis (CMDA) Definition: A specialization within the broader trans- disciplinary study of CMC, distinguished by its focus on language and language use in computer networked environments, and by its use of methods of discourse analysis. (Herring, In press)

10 Historical overview of CMDA Mid-1980’s: Case studies: Murray (1985), Severinsen-Eklundh (1986) Early to mid-1990’s: CMC as an “emergent genre”: Ferrara, Whittemore & Brunner (1991) Panel at 5th International Pragmatics Conference organized by Danet and Herring (July 1993) Name first used for pre-session of the Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics (GURT) organized by Herring (March 1995) Mid-1990’s to present: Growing international research community

11 CMDA is interdisciplinary Anthropology Cognitive Science Communication Cultural Studies Discourse Studies Education Information Science Journalism Languages Linguistics Political Science Psychology Rhetoric Sociology Women’s Studies etc.

12 Goals of CMDA 1. To classify and describe new discursive forms as they arise through CMC systems 2. To understand the effects of computer mediation on human language and communication in a variety of contexts 3. To study computer-mediated discourse as a window into other phenomena, e.g. cognition, learning, identity, addiction, group dynamics, community, culture, language change, etc.

13 CMC classification Medium variables Technological properties of computer communication systems, including interface design Situational variables Properties of the social context in which the communication is embedded

14 Medium variables synchronicity unit of transmission (character, message) size of message buffer persistence of transcript channels of communication anonymous messaging filtering quoting etc.

15 Situational variables participation structure participant characteristics setting purpose topic tone norms linguistic code etc. (cf. Hymes 1974)

16 Example: an e-mail message Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 10:03:13 -0500 To: HERRING SUSAN From: Nancy Baym Subject: Re: keynote scheduling HI Susan, the last day is Sunday and we're having no keynoters at all, so not to worry about that. Appreciate your flexibility, and expect we'll be able to work within such lax parameters! Plenary topic and title sound great, as does the workshop idea (you might want to call that one gender and the internet, just to hit the broader population a bit). Look forward to meeting you f2f and will stay in touch as things progress, Nancy

17 Medium variables (of e-mail) asynchronous message-by-message transmission unlimited message buffer persistent (must be deleted or will remain) text only anonymous messaging not readily available filtering not readily available (depends on mail system) previous message may be quoted by default (depends on mail system)

18 Situational variables One-to-one; private; real identities Sender and receiver are white, female, 35-45; native speakers of U.S. English; experienced with e-mail; professors and CMC researchers; S is senior to N; S and N have e-mailed before but never met F2F Setting is academic Purpose is communication re: upcoming conference to which S is an invited speaker Topics are scheduling S’s presentation and title of workshop S has agreed to give before the conference Tone is professional yet friendly Norms (of professional e-mail) are semi-formal, polite Code is written U.S. English, telegraphic register

19 Variables suggest ways in which this message may differ predictably from other samples of CMC, e.g.: a synchronous chat message from N to S (synchronicity) a public message posted by N to a listserv to which S is a subscriber (public vs. private) private e-mail between teenage female acquaintances, or between academic male acquaintances (age, gender) an e-mail with a different purpose, e.g. N rejecting a paper written by S for publication (purpose) an e-mail about the conference from N to S in which personal topics are discussed (topic)

20 A linguistic approach to CMDA Linguistic structure typography, spelling, word choice, sentence structure, message organization, etc. Meaning of symbols, words, utterances, exchanges, etc. Interactional coherence turn-taking, back-channels, repairs, topic decay, etc. Social function signaling identity, group membership, humor and play, managing face, conflict, negotiating power, etc.

21 Example: Linguistic structure Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 10:03:13 -0500 To: HERRING SUSAN From: Nancy Baym Subject: Re: keynote scheduling HI Susan, the last day is Sunday and we're having no keynoters at all, so not to worry about that. Appreciate your flexibility, and expect we'll be able to work within such lax parameters! Plenary topic and title sound great, as does the workshop idea (you might want to call that one gender and the internet, just to hit the broader population a bit). Look forward to meeting you f2f and will stay in touch as things progress, Nancy learned vocabulary GREETING MESSAGE BODY CLOSE abbreviation (CMC jargon) ellipsis of subject, definite article typo no cap; no line break no line break

22 The analysis reveals Educational level of the sender: N is an educated writer, probably a native speaker, of English (accurate spelling; grammatically well-formed sentences; sophisticated and varied vocabulary) Style of the message: somewhat informal (‘HI’; ellipsis; ‘f2f’) Organization of the message: follows basic e-mail message schema: Greeting-Message Body-Closing (Herring 1996) Sender’s state of mind: N appears to have been in a hurry (uncorrected typo; all parts of message run together)

23 Example: Meaning Speech Acts 1. HI Susan,GreetingOPENING 2a. the last day…Explanation 2b. so not to worry…ReassuranceACCEPTANCE OF 3a. Appreciate your flexibility…ThanksS’s PROPOSALS 3b. and expect we’ll be able to…Promise (mitigated) 4a. Plenary topic and title…Evaluation 4b. you might want to call that…SuggestionREQUEST FOR FUTURE ACTION 5a. Look forward to meeting you…Assertion (formulaic) 5b. and will stay in touch... Promise (formulaic)CLOSING 6. NancySignature

24 The analysis reveals Overall content of the message: task focus; negotiation The meaning of each utterance in context: e.g., 3b functions as a promise How direct the sender is in communicating her meanings: somewhat indirect (promise must be inferred; uses conventionally indirect speech acts such as politeness formulas)

25 Example: Interactional coherence Exchange Structure N (30 May 20:35)Initiation [Request time preferences] S (1 Jun 2:19)Response [Suggest preferred times] N (1 Jun 10:03)Follow-up/ [Approve times; request Initiation modification to workshop title] N (17 Jul 15:07)Re-initiation[Request workshop title + abstract] Cohesion Links to previous message: ‘that’; ‘your flexibility’; ‘such lax parameters’; ‘the workshop’ Links to future message: implicit (‘you might want…’)

26 The analyses reveal The function of the message in a longer sequence of messages: as a follow-up to a previous response, and as an initiation of a new exchange Adherence to (or breakdown of) the expected exchange structure: S doesn’t respond to N’s 2nd initiation, so N re-initiates her request The extent to which the message explicitly references other messages in the sequence: minimal linkage, especially to the expected future reply

27 Example: Social functions Identity: as conference organizer (topic); Internet-savvy (‘f2f’) Group membership: academic (displays knowledge of conference conventions); female (see below) Face management: positive politeness (‘appreciate’, ‘sound great’, ‘look forward to meeting you’, ‘will stay in touch’); negative politeness (‘not to worry’; ‘you might want’; ‘a bit’) Power: backgrounded. S is senior to N (S > N); N is inviting S as keynote speaker (S > N; N > S); N is conference organizer (N > S), but N addresses S as her equal

28 Some CMDA studies Abbreviations as community markers in a social MUD (Cherny 1999) Interjections in Catalan chat (Torres 2000) Schematic organization of e-mail messages posted to academic listservs (Herring 1996) Structural features of private e-mail compared with written memoranda in a workplace setting (Cho, Forthcoming) Structure of exchanges in recreational and pedagogical IRC (Herring & Nix 1997) Effects of medium, task complexity, and number of participants on turn-taking strategies (Condon & Cech) Agreements and disagreements in a television soap opera fan newsgroup (Baym 1996) Language choice as a marker of ethnic identity among diasporic South Asians on Usenet (Paolillo 1996) Gender differences in politeness in listservs (Herring 1994) Expressive use of emoticons in IRC play (Danet et al. 1997) The rhetorical mechanisms of online harassment (Herring 1999)

29 A challenge for CMDA: Multimodality Text Graphics Audio Video

30 The World Wide Web Broadcast format (1-to-many) Limited interactivity Multimodal Hypertextual Links to other CMC modes E-commerce

31 Levels of Web Analysis Users Page presentation Linkage Navigation Uses

32 Example The Internet Learning Forum (ILF) http://ilf.crlt.indiana.edu/

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35 Analysis of ILF page (Bud’s physics class) Users Producers=researchers at Indiana University School of Education. Consumers=mathematics and science teachers, grades 7-12. P. have higher status than C. P. hope to create a supportive professional “community” for C. (to improve C.’s teaching). Page presentation text (lesson overview; written by Bud) + video w/ audio (classroom) + limited graphics (ILF logo; video control bar) Linkage link density=medium-high; “vertical” links within ILF site only Navigation navigational trajectories=intended to lead to discussion; actual users often don’t go to discussion page (embedded at 4 levels) Uses see and discuss how other teachers teach (professional development); participation is required for pre-service teachers

36 Graphical virtual reality (VR) Graphical spatial representation Navigable geography Avatars Manipulable objects and props Multimodal (graphics + text + sound + WWW) Recreational use

37 Levels of Visual Analysis of Graphical VR Text Graphics Perspective Movement Location and distance (Krikorian et al. 2000)

38 Example < The Palace http://www.thepalace.com/

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41 Future directions New and emergent CMC technologies CMC in languages other than English One-to-one CMC Comparison of CMC with communication in other media, especially by the same people

42 End

43 Contact Information: Dr. Susan Herring School of Library and Information Science Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA herring@indiana.edu