For this week’s assignment I’ve decided to examine media selection and how it applies to my everyday experiences. The two instances I have decided to consider are: discussing schoolwork and inviting a friend out for a movie.
Wednesday night, my friend Shay sent me an IM me asking if we could talk. I didn’t know what was bothering her but she seemed very upset. As our conversation went on, she mentioned having a hard time with one of her classes. I immediately realized that instant messaging would not be the best medium of communication and ventured across Collegetown to her house. This proved to be a good decision as the type of interaction we had would not have been possible online. When I walked in her room, I gave her a hug. This, for instance, would not have possible online. Also, during our discussion (synchronous) I was able to understand the situation and her emotions by paying attention to facial expressions, body movements and gestures (another advantage to ftf). Shay and I discussed why she was having trouble in the class, what her options were and how to improve on her grades. These are all topics that could be ambiguous, vague and should not be discussed online (lack of “…multiple cue systems, immediate feedback, natural language and message personalization…”) and it would have been very easy to misinterpret each other’s comments. This follows the Media Richness Theory. The theory states that people match technology to the social context they find themselves in. Here I chose a rich media for more equivocal and complex communication activities.
Two nights later, on Friday, I decided to invite my friend Svetlana out to the movies. We both have extremely busy schedules and have been having a hard time meeting up. I decided to send her a text message. I chose this type of media for two main reasons: first because of its convenience. As alternatives I could have called Svetlana or I walked over to her house. Both these types of communications are synchronous, meaning that both her and I must to available at the same time to exchange messages in real time. Second, the information I conveyed was not in any way ambiguous, vague or deceptive. On the contrary, it was a simple and clear: “Superbad at 9:45?”. My media selection follows the Media Richness Theory as well. Here I chose a lean media (text message) because of the nature of my task (very unequivocal).
Finally, both my experiences supported the Media Richness Theory. The theory assumes that in the first case, a rich media is appropriate for a more equivocal task (comforting a friend.) In the second case, a lean media is appropriate for a less equivocal task (setting up a meeting time.)
COMMENTS:
http://comm245blue.blogspot.com/2007/09/3-media-selection_2428.html
http://comm245blue.blogspot.com/2007/09/3-its-never-that-simple.html
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2 comments:
Bianca,
For the most part the two mediums you selected seem to fit the situations pretty well. In your first situation you chose FtF to help out a friend in need. I probably would have done the same thing because like you said the discussion you two had was too ambiguous for such a lean medium. As for the second situation, you used a text message to invite a friend to a movie. Very unequivocal, I probably would have done the same. Although, you probably could have just called her since texting occurs on the cell phone, which everyone carries with them everywhere nowadays, but like you said the information unequivocal so a phone call was probably unnecessary, just as the Media Richness Theory states.
~Will Douglas
Bianca,
Great examples! I also found that your first instance of media selection also slightly supports O'Sullivan's model. Although you had no intentions of "acusing" your friend, the locus of the situation was of other, which may have made it slightly easier to choose a richer media. According to O’Sullivan, the immediate cues available through the richer media you selected also gave you more effective "damage control" to help lift your friend’s spirits. I'm sure your friend was appreciative of the fact that you recognized the significance of her situation and put in some extra effort to give her the full face-to-face support she deserves.
Kristina Moore
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