1. E-mail Once a technology is admitted, it plays out its hand; it does what it is designed to do. Our task is to understand what that design is -- that is to say, when we admit a new technology to the culture, we must do so with our eyes wide open. - Neil Postman 17

2. 1. What are the critical features of e-mail? • Networked computers • Asynchronous communication • Spatially distributed • Input medium = key board • Output medium = monitor • Part telephone/ Part letter • Intranet and/or Internet 18

3. 2. E-Mail Issues • Telephone tag (83%) • Increase in messages ( 60%) • Non-complex, brief, & time sensitive • “What” instead of “who” medium • Changing relationships • Information “float” time • No front page editor 19

4. Micro Level Amount of physical energy required Confidentiality Complexity Capacity Time/Space constraint Amount of NVC Visual Emphasis Feedback Potential Scanability Timeliness Macro Level Task comm. (easy) Task comm. (complex) Social Communication Persuasion/Negotiation Information Sharing Consensus building Crisis management Maintenance Comm. 3. Comparative Effects 20

5. A. Organizational Info. Load (23 + messages) Character of relationships Democratizing Privacy All CAPS B. Societal Virtual Communities Spamming (advertising) Privacy Love 4. Impacts 21

6. 4. Impacts (cont.)c. Legal 22

7. 5. Conclusion E-mail is a hybrid creature, part telephone and part letter. It is done most often in real time, quickly and to the point. You lose the subtleties of vocal inflection from voice calls. Furthermore, the spontaneity means that most e-mail gets sent without the sender stopping to think about things like tone and civility, as one might before folding a written note and placing it in an envelope for sending. -- james coates 23

8. Quiz Answers 1. 40% 2. 67% 3. 40 million 4. False 5. True 6. True 7. True 8. True - 85% 9. False 10. True 24