One of These Days

When we talk one-on-one and face-to-face with someone, there’s a chance they might not like what you say. They could disagree, they could be offended, they could misunderstand you. There’s a risk of embarrassment. They know what you said, and you know that they know. There’s no escaping it.

With social networks, there is less risk. If you say something then many people will see it. Some will still disagree, but it’s also likely that someone will agree and like what you have to say. From behind your computer, you won’t know if someone disagrees until they say so, and so it becomes easier to say things. (Besides, if you’re on Facebook, you can always delete their comments).

There’s also less meaning. We lose the raw nature of conversations, and we lose the feedback that drives us to improve. It is also open to all kinds of misinterpretation. There’s a limited sense of sarcasm, and other attitudes, that we effortlessly portray and interpret through intonation when we speak.

The person who can fit body language, vocal pitch, intonation, facial expression, appearance, pace of speaking, volume, as well as the words we say, into 140 characters will well and truly change the world.

NB just look at how many more text comments there are on youtube than video responses. Showing yourself is scary.