E-mail
Once a technology is admitted, it plays
out its hand; it does what it is designed to
do. Our task is to understand what that
design is -- that is to say, when we admit
a new technology to the culture, we must
do so with our eyes wide open.
- Neil Postman
7/1/2016
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1. What are the critical features of email?
Networked computers
Asynchronous communication
Spatially distributed
Input medium = key board
Output medium = monitor
Part telephone/ Part letter
Intranet and/or Internet
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2. E-Mail Issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Telephone tag (83%)
Increase in messages ( 60%)
Non-complex, brief, & time sensitive
“What” instead of “who” medium
Changing relationships
Information “float” time
No front page editor
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3. Comparative Effects
Micro Level
Macro Level
 Amount of physical energy
required
 Confidentiality
 Complexity Capacity
 Time/Space constraint
 Amount of NVC
 Visual Emphasis
 Feedback Potential
 Scanability
 Timeliness
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




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Task comm. (easy)
Task comm. (complex)
Social Communication
Persuasion/Negotiation
Information Sharing
Consensus building
Crisis management
 Maintenance Comm.
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4. Impacts
A. Organizational
Info. Load (23 +
messages)
Character of
relationships
Democratizing
Privacy
All CAPS
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B. Societal
Virtual Communities
Spamming
(advertising)
Privacy
Love
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4. Impacts (cont.)
c. Legal
Today’s Why won’t Tomorrow’s
Fix
Solution
work
Censorship Bans
Global
Comm.
Copyright
All computer Lawsuits
transmissns.
Fraud
Traditional
law enforc.
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Bad guys move
off shore
User’s
Restrict
Encrypted
software
International
cooperation
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5. Conclusion
E-mail is a hybrid creature, part telephone
and part letter. It is done most often in real
time, quickly and to the point. You lose the
subtleties of vocal inflection from voice calls.
Furthermore, the spontaneity means that
most e-mail gets sent without the sender
stopping to think about things like tone and
civility, as one might before folding a written
note and placing it in an envelope for
sending. -- james coates
7/1/2016
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Quiz Answers
1. 40%
2. 67%
3. 40 million
4. False
5. True
6. True
7. True
8. True - 85%
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9. False
10. True
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