[Dthind]

Is the usage of e-mail enhancing communication or protection from verbal communication?

Prior to the advent of the computer world and e-mail, people spoke on the phone met in person or sent correspondence back and forth (mail or memo�s essentially). Now the majority of the modern corporate world uses e-mail to talk to each other (this statement is based on)

From my personal experience, I use e-mail to speak with people that are 50 feet away, but usually behind doors with locks that I have no key, and the phones display who is calling you. I have worked for the same company for 12 years (all of my adult life, so to speak). In these 12 years, we have migrated from talking to each other (in meetings) to using e-mail for everything.

The question being, does e-mail actually enhance the process of conveying information to one another or does it substitute for actual verbal communication, and thus is less effective.

BTW, I am not talking about forums that can bring the world to a commonplace or e-mail to friends. I am specially speaking of e-mail in the business world.


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Freunde kommen und gehen, Feinde akkumulieren

[This message has been edited by Dthind (edited March 28, 2001).]

[faustgfx]

i use email to communicate with people 7 feet away from me..

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sky high with a heartache of stone you never see me 'cos i'm always alone/ministry
the law of lead now reigns!@#!/earth crisis

[email protected]
icq#35983387
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webcam trend

[GreenPeach]

Stupid reply of the day.

I've been thinking about this, I think technology is changing our world like this: It expands our ability to do things like comunicate, makes oportunities afforable to more people, and at the same time lessens the quality of that expieriance. For instance, e-mail, it's lightning fast and convieniant but it doesn't have the intamacy of a phone call or the thoughtfullness of a letter. Digital painting; we can create images way faster than traditional illustrator, but the quality? hm. I could get in trouble with that one. Also, video. When video was invented it was like holy shit, we can make a movie with this little machine and play it back imeadiatly, over and over again. But film, oh film, like oil painting is a lucious thing.

Of course I'm probablly wrong about this. I think what Dthind was talking about was technology makes us lazy or something, which it does. And you probably don't gain as much skills in the long run because everything is so easy to do.

I don't know, maybe we're all screwed. But we can't turn back now.

[Affected]

Well, I don't use e-mail that much, and almost never with anyone I could call and not get enormous bills... But then there's ICQ, of course. It has the benefit of being cheaper than phone calls for me.

[[Shizo]]

I beat you all! I sent msg to my brother who then switched to his user and sent a reply so i went, switched to my user and read it =]
(eeeh that was a jk, cause im not a l4mm3|2 g33|< like you alls)

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nothing really matters

[Giant Hamster]

depends on who uses it.

i use email pretty much only to recive messages, get shipping info or talk to people that i cant really call on the phone for one reason or another.
i dont like talking on the phone, i would rather be in person.
i rarely ever fell the need to send email, hell, half the time i dont reply to emails, even if its my own mothers.

being able to use email can help people that are "afraid" of people be able to communicate. or people that are mute...yeah theres sign language, but, do you know sign language to understand what they are saying to you?
email is just another form of communication, and people will use it for what the will. i know people that still dont know what a modem or even a mouse is.
eh, useless post. moose.

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-JameZ the Giant Hamster-

The Hamster Alliance
AIM: Gianthmstr
Multimedia Producer/designer/all of the above.,overall guru :)...and music music music! weee!!

[DrBof]

i know its not quite the same but i have used icq to talk to people sat next to me

[Waldo]

I think both. Good points by all.

faustgfx' example reminds me of my Mom and Step-father. They have adjoining home offices and are literally 3 feet apart and I swear half their conversations with each other are electronic.
And do they bother to check with each other before they send me the same dumb blonde joke 4 times to my home and office?
No.
Am I tired of telling them to send them at all?
Yes.
But then again, it is communication and they live on the other side of the country. Sure it's not as intimate as a phone call, but it's a whole lot cheaper and it's usually not a dumb joke that gets relayed several times a day. I wish I had the same availability with my Dad, but he wouldn't even know how to turn a computer on...

On the other hand, it makes it a lot easier for folks to take the easy road. Particularly here at work, I can't tell you how many times myself or coworkers have been informed of personal and/or sensitive issues that involve the entire company by a one sentence email. Much easier to hide behind a door and a keyboard than face the music...

[Ian]

email sucks. Chances are you will say things in email you wouldn't say in person and thus it is easy to hurt feelings that way. Or even just let a little to much information out than was required :| I don't like email or chat with peeps that I know. So I rarely do, try to avoid it.

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To thine own self be true.