Assignment 2
Email today has revolutionized the way we communicate. It has become incredibly easy (especially with the inclusion of blackberry devices) to communicate quickly and efficiently although with the risk of ambiguity. However, I find that so long as emails are well thought out and clear, ambiguity does not have to be a major problem.
A recent example of using email was when I had to contact a family friend inquiring about a position at his firm. Naturally knowing someone at the firm who you are applying to helps dramatically so it was a very necessary email. In the email, I basically wrote about how I would like to meet sometime to discuss his career, the firm etc. I chose email because of its ease and that he could respond on his own time. It’s annoying and awkward to call someone while their in the midst of an important conference call. This idea falls under the media richness theory because I was selecting a media with which best fit my intentions. I wanted a clear and concise email that he could respond to at his will. By calling on the phone, I could have called at the wrong time or forget to mentioned specific information that I could have remembered to include in the email. While calling may have been more personal, it just wasn’t necessary in this situation because a basic message was being sent and was rather unequivocal. For O’Sullivan’s model, I wasn’t particularly looking to make any real kind of impression (I’d do that in person) so the leaner medium made sense.
Another instance of using media was when I was contacting one of my sister’s friends on the phone about her current job. Here this task was equivocal because I had a number of rather vague questions. It was also not that weird to call her since I knew her already. This again supports the media richness theory because I was choosing a more rich medium to talk to her and to gain information (and hopefully to impress her to let me get an interview). This fits O’Sullivan’s model as well because I was trying to make more of an impression so I chose the richer medium.
I think that when choosing a medium today many factors come into play other than just what kind of impression you want to display. I think the handiest factor of email is its asynchronicity. That is, its ability for the receiver of your message to respond on their own time, rather than right away that a richer medium such as a phone would cause.
3 comments:
I think your comments about email are really interesting, and so true. I think it is its asynchronous nature that make it so appealing to users. Also, a great thing about email is that you are positive you will reach your intended audience. With a phone call, you are likely to play "phone tag" with someone for days before making actual contact. In an e-mail, you have ample time to say precisely what you would like, with the confidence that it will be received. O'Sullivan would classify email as a lean medium, maybe for all of the characteristics described. The Lack of social cues and feedback are what can make it such an attractive medium. You can discuss any number of things, with the locus being self, or another. If it is a sensitive issue, which you lack confidence discussing, you just need to muster the confidence to click send. Since feedback is not instantaneous, the cost of expressing yourself may seem minimized, unlike a synchronous environment where feedback is instantaneous. O'Sullivan's model describes situations where clarity is key sometimes and ambiguity others. Email provides the perfect medium to achieve either of those options.
Hi you!
I think your post stood at to me this week because as I am in the midst of a major career crisis, I have been contacting countless numbers of professionals in hopes for some advice. Just the other day, I was talking to my dad on the phone and he suggested that I give this banker he knew a call in order to gain some insight on his field. “Call him?” I asked hesitantly. “Why can’t I just send him an e-mail?” My dad responded with, “Because you know how many e-mails you get a day? I promise you he gets ten times more and you want him to remember who you are.” After a few breathing exercises, I finally developed the courage to call this banker, and as soon as I hung up, I called my dad telling him how much more “intelligent” and “cooler” I would have sounded if I had the time to develop the perfect e-mail.
I agree with you that it is the asynchrony of e-mail that makes it so appealing, but I believe its attractiveness is more so due to the factor of impression management. On the phone, the crackling of my voice and the multiple “ums” gave the impression that I was nervous and anxious. If I had the time, however, I could have developed the perfectly sounding e-mail, that portrayed me the way I wanted to be seen, and where no hint of my nerves were exhibited.
Overall, great job! It was a really interesting post!
Hey Brendan,
First off, I really liked your take on e-mail. I certainly feel much more comfortable making first contacts via e-mail where I can take my time and say exactly the right things. The Asynchronicity of e-mail allows people to focus on their self-presentational tactics, only sharing some of our self in interactions where we normally couldn’t hide parts of our self. Personally, I am very shy, and this can come out as standoffish to some. Writing e-mails craftfully and with wit and humor allows me to let the other person see that I am not hostile, which makes the first time of contacting someone in person much easier.
With regards to media richness theory, I think your e-mail example might actually contradict the theory. At least how I see it, media richness theory would say that since you needed to ask this person very important questions, this would lend itself to a rich media such as f2f. Your choice to use an e-mail seems to go against this. Perhaps I’m misunderstanding your point; I just wanted to bring that up. Overall great post!
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