Come in CQ

Ullman in this article talks about “an odd intimacy” that occurred in her online writings and responses. She was making a connection that she appreciated and welcomed. She loved her email interactions. Truth be told, email for me doesn’t hold that promise. I use email very infrequently and almost never for personal matters. Email is for business due to its rigid requirements. In email what you say has to be exactly what you mean. You have to declare absolutely that something has to be done. For example, Ullman is given the task of reading a certain book, going for a dinner, and then responding thankfully and thoughtfully to a personal story. Words do have power and emails are often lists of required tasks or instructions, but Ullman’s list of tasks seems rather extreme to me.

When using other forms of online communication, such as Skype and AIM, the communication is less formal. I think this is because these programs are more instantaneous. There is no long delay between what is said to each other. Since Skype or AIM conversations can flow more like an actual talk, people can focus more on the key parts of the conversation and not get hung up on formalities like responding to everything in a neutral polite form. Because participants respond quicker, they can actually have a communication that is both personal and collaborative due to the increased back and forth rhythm and pattern of the conversation.
This is why my online community usually will not talk through emails. My online community includes friends I have personally met and know. Others are gamers that I have never met except through gaming sessions. My friends and I instant message and talk on Skype because we are able to respond to various points or the story faster. When I was working with other artists this summer on a project, AIM was the only way we could effectively collaborate due to the group being able to quickly respond and share. Through my various conversations with people online, I have personally experienced that odd intimacy that Ullman experienced. The feeling I think comes from our mixture of shared experiences that overlap. I know this person on the other side of the wire is a friend… But do I really know him or her? The intimacy comes from the camaraderie we have from experiencing the same things. In other places or in other times, we may not have that camaraderie and share nothing at all.