Monday, March 12, 2007

The Technology of Communication


There was a time not too long ago when we had simple options for communicating with each other. We would stop each other on the street, visit each other's houses, call on the telephone or write a letter. Now we tend to choose between calling from a cell phone where all can hear our conversations, text messaging or e-mail.


Last week a new writers' group formed and we began looking for ways to communicate with each other. Several of us knew of structured forums we could use either through Google or Wiki on the internet. We tried setting up groups, but many of us were not persistent enough or sopisticated enough in the required technology to continue with our initial enthusiasm. Our excited communication even through the medium of e-mail fell off to nothing once we encountered the frustration of trying to deal with the technology of the forums. Best of all was meeting together in person although our schedules do not allow us to do this whenever we wish to share something with each other. I think we are coming to realize the limitations of technology which is not always an improvement on the old ways.

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