Computer+Sociability

toc =WE ARE SOCIAL BEINGS= In time everything changes. Throughout history, every invention has been modified in order to fit our wants and needs: · the radio · the telephone · the camera · the computer In today's society, **human-to-human communication** is dominant. That is why the computer of the 1980s has been reinvented with sociability purposes in mind. =TWO DEFINITIONS FOR SOCIABILITY=
 * 1) “**Sociability** is concerned with developing software, policies and practices to support social interaction online” (Preece 2001).
 * 2) “‘**Computer sociability**’ is to be understood above all as the interactive link with the employer's office and with all users of the system” (Commission).

=**SOCIABLITY'S PURPOSE**= These two definitions are similar in that, “The focus of sociability is human-to-human interaction supported by technology” (Preece 2001). Social interaction is important because it is necessary for achieving shared understanding and knowledge based on the social negotiation of views and meanings (Jochems 2002).

The Original Purpose** In the beginning, computers were designed to initiate completely different tasks and had no extensive sociability purposes in mind: · Alan Turing’s first all-electronic digital computer was used by the British secret service to decode Nazi secret codes (LaRose 2004). · **ENIAC** (electronic numerical integrator and calculator) was enlisted in the Cold War and ran calculations for the first hydrogen bomb (LaRose 2004). · The Apple II in 1972 contained a floppy disk drive, which became an easier way to transport information (LaRose 2004).
 * COMPUTERS THEN....

=**WHAT CHANGED?**=

Manufacturers found that more computer users had sociability purposes in mind After Pong came out later that year of 1972, it became popular and people started using their personal computers for games as well. Surprisingly, the demand in consumer wants and needs increased. Recognizing both the rapid growth of networking systems and the increased volume of messages sent and received over the networks, computer manufacturers and software developers were continuing to enhance the networking capabilities of their products (Greller 1993).

New computer and network-mediated patterns of human interaction, formed in the informational process of **globalization**, are reshaping the global marketplace towards **network-oriented economies**, the development of electronic commerce and the growth of electronic communities possessing particular consumer needs. (Boudourides 1997) New software was put out on the market specifically for interaction with others. Even the hardware started to change: · keyboards now have buttons specifically for the web like a “home” button =THE CONTROL REVOLUTION= The idea of information technology evolved due to: 1. “the rapid technological innovation in the infrastructure of transportation and **telecommunications** at the end of the 19th century that restored the economic and political control lost during the Industrial Revolution” (Boudourides 1997).
 * Computer games come with “Play On-line” features allowing users from around the world to connect in a game of Chess for instance.
 * 1) The new information technologies has a certain power that aims “‘to organize more of social life through indirect relationships, to extend the power of various corporate actors, to coordinate social action on a larger scale, or to intensify control within specific relationship’” (Calhoun 1992, p. 221, Boudourides 1997).

=**THE INTERPERSONAL COMPUTER**= “‘The personal computer is gradually becoming the interpersonal computer” (Johansen, 1988, p. 1, Greller 1993). “The relation of the personal computer ‘to the user will change from that of an isolated productivity tool to that of an active collaborator in the acquisition, use and creation of information, as well as a facilitator of human interaction’” (Tesler 1991, p. 86, Greller 1993). =****COMMUNICATION DRIVEN BY THE PSEUDO-COMMUNITY ****= Beniger explains that a **pseudo-community** is “‘a hybrid of **interpersonal** and **mass communication**,’ part of ‘the reversal of a centuries-old trend from organic community - based on interpersonal relationships - to impersonal association integrated by mass means’” (Beniger 1987, p. 369, Boudourides 1997). This means that a technologically-mediated “**face-to-interface**” communication is connected to the term “pseudo-community” (Jones 1994, p. 27, Boudourides 1997).
 * Computers today are on an interpersonal level - due to increased sociablity over time**

=**THE ROLE OF CYBERSPACE**= 1. “**Cyberspace** personifies telecommunication and implies that the synergy created by massive information exchange will result in an entity that will be greater than the sum of its parts” (Gochenouer, 1994).
 * 1) “Cyberspace may be the catalyst for ‘the greatest transformation of society and commerce since the invention of the automobile’” (Stewart 1993,Gochenouer, 1994).

=**THE HYPE AND POWER BEHIND THE INTERNET**= As soon as people realized the power of the Internet the future was predicted promoting the idea that the computer may be the greatest machine ever invented with the potential to be customized even further depending on the user’s needs, “...The production of powerful computers that will be held in the palm of our hand, as mobile as a watch and as personal as a wallet,...[they] will recognize speech, navigate streets, take notes, keep schedules, collect mail, manage money, open the door and start the car, among other computer functions we cannot imagine today”. (The White House 1993, Gochenouer, 1994).

=**COMPUTERS TODAY...**=

The computer as a technological device and as a medium of communication Neil Postman said “while ‘a technology. . . is merely a machine,’ it ‘becomes a **medium** as it employs a symbolic code, as it finds its place in a particular socialsetting’” (Greller 1993). When personal computers are used as a medium of communication, people mainly use them to connect to the internet with other users so that information can be exchanged (Greller 1993). The Internet is “‘a collection of networks around the world that links military, university, and research sites. . . millions of computer [users]. . . participate in a kind of electronic village’” (Ward 1992, p. 99, Greller 1993). Innis said, “‘A medium of communication has an important influence on the dissemination of knowledge over space and time and it becomes necessary to study its characteristics in order to appraise its influence in its cultural setting’” (Innis 1951, p. 33, Greller 1993). The computer as a medium of communication is changing through interpersonal text. The computer can collaborate both space and time and also store and retrieve information exchanged instantaneously (Greller 1993). =**COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION **= In fact, computer users have the ability to adapt to limited communication situations, and even substitute graphic symbolic cues to replace conversational shortcomings (Metz 1994). The medium of CMC is changed accordingly to the users depending on form, immediacy, and interaction (Metz 1994).
 * The Internet is one example of how the computer can be used as a medium of communication.
 * Interpersonal text is a method of communication where users have the ability to edit or create documents or even engage in an “electronic conversation” (Greller 1993).
 * Computer-mediated communication** (CMC) allows users to “open up” or express themselves in online conversations. “Communication via the computer is dependent upon the software available and chosen.” (Metz 1994).

=**THE INTERNET FLAW**= One shortcoming to the internet is that it “may also encourage extreme narrow-mindedness due to people customizing their software so that they read only what they want to read and visit only sites that support their existing views” (Preece 2001). Systems with low sociability will most likely experience problems with the emergence of a social space which can also include a social system defined as “a set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem-solving to accomplish a common goal” (Rogers 1995, p. 23, Jochems 2002).

=****WELCOME TO THE GLOBAL VILLAGE****= Is face-to-face communication slowly disappearing? Evidently, the original purpose of the computer has shifted towards sociability. There does not seem to be enough hours in the day, but with the internet, time has become instantaneous. Thanks to e-mail, e-journals, e-newspapers and instant messaging, we can access anything at any time. “‘Time’ has ceased, ‘space’ has vanished. We now live in a **global village**’” (McLuhan & Fiore, 1967, p. 63). (Greller 1993).

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 * Bibliography**